EssentialHABITECH

Register for your free entry to Essential Install Live! South at www.essentialinstalllive.euEssential Install

Since the 1990s the custom install industry has regarded

multi-room music as a sure-fire way to generate satisfaction

from customers and a healthy working margin for installers.

Exclusivity and ‘wow’ have kept us at least one step ahead

of the high street, but in recent years the complexion and

expectations of ‘multiroom’ have changed with the advent of

wire-free plug-and-play systems, which can deliver the ‘wow’

factor in spades as well as being a synch to set up and use.

The likes of Sonos have developed a perfect retail model,

backed by the marketing power that ensures that customers

of every electrical store and interior design shop know about

its ‘life-changing’ virtues. Not too long ago you couldn’t

buy ‘multiroom’ on the high street, now it’s everywhere.

Off-the-shelf and wire-free, it’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing

compared with the wired reliability and quality of the best

custom installations, but who’s bothered? Certainly not the

customers who’ve never heard of multiroom and now think of

Sonos as a gift from God.

Habitech believes it has an answer to the challenge, which

it says offers great quality, versatility and all the choice and

touch control of any of the wireless pretenders. According to

Habitech’s MD Jonathan Pengilley, it’s tailor-made for CI and

re-introduces that vital element of all CI business: exclusivity.

“NuVo’s new home audio system puts your customers in

touch with the features they value most: reliability, powerful

access to their own networked content and vast on-line

libraries; plus unique and intuitive drag-and-drop control

for easy play in any zone, and a lossless sound quality

way above the wire-free systems. “Most importantly, says

Jonathan, “Nuvo gives installers the chance to reassert their

superior skills and knowledge in order to champion high

performance and reclaim margin lost to retail”.

Rack ‘em and stack ‘emThe slim, rack-friendly NuVo P3100 Ethernet-connected player is

actually three zone players and amplifiers in a single chassis. And

it’s stuffed with functionality, offering built-in access to tunein radio,

the vast Napster songbook and all the digital music content on

PCs or Macs on a home network - conveniently organised in one

place. Control and play content through NuVo’s brilliantly intuitive

apps for iOS or Android: drag, drop and play music in any zone

and change volume - the system is designed for absolute ease of

use - any room can be controlled independently.

All of this functionality, says Jonathan, is backed up with genuine

musically ability. “The P3100 delivers 40W of power and

high quality, uncompressed audio to three separate zones,

all from its single, central 1U rack-mounted location. Add

further zones, simply by adding more P3100s. Think about

it - do you really want a rash of ‘client’ players dotted all over

the property, or do you want to give your customers high

quality music delivery direct to their speakers from a properly

mounted racked product, complete with all the advantages

of centralised access and discrete installation”. The compact,

cool-running NuVo power amps offer easy low-profile rack

storage, which is a distinct advantage in larger projects.

Installers can fine-tune the system perfectly to the client’s

spec as well with the flexibility of NuVo’s compatible wireless

24

GET READY TO RACK WITH NUVO Jonathan Pengilley, MD of Habitech, exclusive distributor for

NuVo multi-room music tells EI why the product is the perfect

choice for custom installers.

Habitech says the NuVo system offers everything the installer needs to deliver compelling multi-room music and margin to boot

24_Habitech.indd 24 16/05/2013 15:24

EssentialHABITECH

Register for your free entry to Essential Install Live! South at www.essentialinstalllive.eu Essential Install

P100 and P200 players and ‘Gateway’ wireless bridge. If the

client really insists on wireless elements, or if it makes sense

in certain areas of the home installation, wireless capability

is provided by Nuvo. In addition the P200 offers lossless

Bluetooth aptX™ connectivity for direct localised playback

from a portable device.

“We genuinely believe this concept amounts to nothing

less than a re-boot for the whole concept of CI multi-

room music, says Jonathan “but NuVo is not just about

convenience and rock solid connectivity, the system has

musical talent as well.”

Music at its coreMany installers might be unaware that NuVo’s roots go all

the way back to the 1920s when it manufactured musical

instruments, branching into amps and guitars in the 1950s.

In the early 1990s the company made the move into multi-

room audio and by the time that NuVo itself was formed,

the company was staffed almost exclusively by music

professionals with an innate sensitivity to audio quality – a rich

musical heritage that runs through every NuVo product. The

presence of Audyssey’s digital EQ technologies underlines

this commitment to sound quality. Featured on many high-

end audio brands, Audyssey deals with volume spikes,

improves intelligibility at low volumes and compensates for

poor room acoustics - and it’s another benefit from Nuvo

that’s unavailable from off-the-shelf systems.

Appetising ControlNetworked content from WMP, iTunes, external hard drives,

memory sticks and on-line sources is corralled and organised

by the excellent NuVo App for iOS and Android devices.

Move music from zone to zone, and when a particular zone

is associated with the selection, the music begins to play

in that area immediately. Drag in other zones to play the

same selection for a party atmosphere; zone volume can

be independently controlled and there is also a convenient

whole-house master on/off control.

“It’s a really well thought out and enormously capable

interface from tablet or smartphone, confirms Jonathan, “but

even so, what happens if you’re in the bedroom and you’ve

left the tablet downstairs? I think there’s still an important

role to be played by in-wall panels if the client demands

ultimate luxury and access. “We’ve taken the decision to

build our own dedicated 7in in-wall touch-screen to partner

the system, and we’re offering the product at a very attractive

price point. “Installers will see it for the very first time at

Essential Install Live! South, so come along to stand 43-46

and check it out”.

“Ultimately, says Jonathan “ NuVo is a CI product made

by CI people for the CI market. It delivers everything your

customers could want in terms of control, quality and

convenience and as importantly, it gives installers an answer

to Sonos and a chance to pocket a decent margin.”

More information: Habitech +44 (0)1420 540054,

www.habitech.co.uk

25

GET READY TO RACK WITH NUVO

The system has its own dedicated App which channels the power of NuVo and presents it in an intuitive control interface.High quality audio is assured, optimised by Audyssey EQ.

NuVo provides access to everything on a home network, including online content from tunein and Napster. The P200 player offers Bluetooth for direct wireless play from tablets and smartphones.

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