Investing in high-end audio is a commitment to getting the highest quality music possible in your Southlake, Texas home. If you're only interested in a bit of ambiance while you cook, perhaps this kind of system is not right for you. But if you're the kind of person that categorizes their CD and album collections by eras, genres or themes—it’s time to upgrade your system. The right pair of speakers should be invisible, a transparent window that lets sound come through naturally. If that’s the kind of experience you want, check out how to find the right speakers: 

SEE MORE: 3 Ways to Fill Your House With Music

Things to Look For in High-End Speakers:

• Sound Characteristics: Certain speakers are better at producing different styles of sound, from subtle tones to ‘bright' tones with a lot of trebles. Depending on your musical preferences, we find speakers tuned to the styles you like.
• Frequency response: This is a good way to gauge how pure a sound your speaker can create. It is the amount of frequencies your speaker produces, the fuller the range, the more realistic your audio will be. You also want this range to be flat, meaning that certain frequencies aren’t overwhelmingly louder than others.
• Cone Material: Your speaker has three main components: a cone, a coil, and a magnet. The coil sits in front of the magnet; the coil and magnet interact to create a vibration which is then amplified by the cone. As air comes through the come, it may flex at certain frequencies and distort the sound. What you want is the sturdiest material possible to avoid any flexing.
• Cone Variations: Audiophiles want to hear a range of high, medium and low frequencies. High-end speakers often include multiple cones, each corresponding to a particular frequency to create the most accurate sound reproduction possible.
• Design: You need to have the right design so there’s not too much echo within your speaker cabinet. Everything also needs to be tightly packed to avoid any movement that can create disruption.
• Tweeters: Your tweeters are important in getting higher frequencies to stand out. To reproduce high-frequency, they need to be light enough to move quickly, yet strong enough that they hold their shape at loud volumes. High-end manufacturers work to adjust the design and material of your tweeters to get the best results.
  
  

Give Your Speakers a Test Drive

Ultimately, listening to music is a subjective experience. For you to figure out which speakers sound best, you have to hear them yourself. Just because a speaker is the most expensive or highest rated, doesn't mean it's necessarily the right one for you.

Many AV technicians like DB Media Solutions have showrooms where you can test drive speakers before you buy them. Let us know what you’re looking for in your system and we’ll pick out a few options for you to check out.

Consider Where You'll Use Your Speakers

For one, large speakers in a smaller room can result in too much bass and muddled sound. Meanwhile, small ones will be unable to fill up larger rooms and result in weak, overworked systems

When it comes to a smart technology, overwhelmingly the first thing that most consumers are interested in is home security. In a recent study by Icontrol, ninety percent of users said personal and family security was one of the main reasons they used their system. If you want to embrace the smart security movement in your Westlake, Texas home, you need to make sure your system offers these four features:

SEE MORE: How Does Automation Enhance Your Lifestyle?

Smart Locks

What’s the simplest thing you can do to protect your home? It all begins with locking your doors. So it should come as no surprise that smart locks are one of the first features adopted by smart home users. There are a variety of ways you can ‘smarten up’ your locks. Opening your doors through an app, creating key cards or using unique access codes.

Instead of having to leave a key under the mat, simply give guests or workers an access code. Each code is unique to the person using it, so from a touchpad or smartphone you can monitor who is coming in and out at all times. Want to revoke a person's access? Just erase their code from the system.

Surveillance System

There are two key components to a good surveillance system: having the right cameras and the right monitoring solution. We partner with IC Realtime for the best cameras in the industry. From its trademark Allie that covers 360 degrees (perfect for placing at the center of a room) to more traditional bullet cameras for outdoor use, IC Realtime has options for any environment. We let you know which cameras would work best and where to install them.

Are you looking for a subtle way to upgrade your home’s technology? Motorized shades serve a myriad of functions from protecting your privacy to reducing your energy costs. And your smart shading solution can be custom-designed to meet your needs. Start in one room, then expand to your entire Colleyville, Texas home as you see fit. Choose the control option that works best for you, whether it’s a remote, touchpad or smartphone. Read on to find out how the right solution can transform your home.

SEE MORE: 5 Ways to Manage Your Lights With Smart Control

Protect Your Family’s Privacy

Large windows are a trademark feature of luxury homes, letting you bathe your home with natural light and exposing beautiful views. These windows come with their own set of challenges. Windows may be too tall to reach or hard to manage for children or older family members. Don't worry; motorized shades can help! With control from a remote or touchpad, you can close them in seconds at the touch of a button without having to deal with them manually.

Having smart control of your shades also helps with your daily routines. Did you forget to close the shades before you went into the shower? There’s no need to walk up to the window to close them when you get out, just use the remote by your bed. To ensure all shades are closed when you go to sleep, use a "Shutdown" button that closes all the shades in your home.

Enhance Your Home’s Interior Design

One of the reasons motorized shades are so popular is that they serve both pragmatic and aesthetic purposes. While shades are there primarily for your privacy, they’re also a vital component in your interior design.

We work with the top manufacturers in the country to offer thousands of style, color and texture options so you can dress up your home with the perfect shades. No matter how big or out of reach your windows may be, we find the fabric and control solution that works best.

Deciding what song to play should be the only challenge when enjoying music throughout your home. With a multi-room music system, it’s easy to access all your sources—media library, streaming service, turntable—from one centralized control interface.

What makes multi-room music stand out is its reliability. With a professional installation in your Dallas, Texas home, the sound is evenly spread out throughout your space. You also get consistent control of all your technology; everything can be managed from the same user interface or app, so you don't have to learn multiple platforms.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s only one way to listen to your favorite music. Below we take a look at three unique audio design options for your home.

SEE MORE: What is the Best Entertainment Gear for Your Outdoor Spaces?

Denon Wireless Solutions

As you prepare to renovate your Southlake, Texas home or begin construction on a new one, what details are most important to you? So far you’ve likely decided on which architectural style you prefer and the way you’d like to design your interior spaces. Usually lost in all the commotion is a comprehensive plan for your technology. You could bring it all together with a smart home automation system that makes your home more beautiful and efficient. Below we’ll take a look at some of the biggest perks of building a smart home.

SEE MORE: How Does Automation Enhance Your Lifestyle?

1.  Make the Technology in Your Home More Efficient

The primary reason to invest in smart home automation is efficiency. Placing control of all your technology under one system makes it easier to manage it. From the same touchpad or tablet, you can adjust your lights, music, and thermostat. A unified front also lets your technology work hand-in-hand. For example, in the case of a fire, your security system communicates with your lighting. Once the alarm goes off, the lights turn on to guide the way to the nearest exit.

2. Reduce the Equipment Clutter in Your Home

Even if your primary focus is aesthetics, smart home automation can be a great design partner. By centralizing control of your technology, you can reduce some of the clutter in your home. With smart lighting, switches and dimmers can be taken off the wall. Through your audio video system, you can place all your source components –including Blu-rays and media servers—in a dedicated AV closet instead of keeping the equipment in each room.

3.  Eliminate Energy Waste With Smart Control

There are a variety of ways smart control ensures your energy doesn’t go to waste. For most homes, air conditioning and heating represent the brunt of energy expenses. Your smart home is built to take the load off your HVAC system. Shades close automatically during the hottest times of the day to help cool down the house. You can also set different temperature presets for certain times. So when you’re away from home, the thermostat goes up to use up less energy.