Home theater companies are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition, and those that have earned the prestigious Diamond Certified award are already several steps ahead. In addition to its Diamond Certified status, Avid Home Theater sets itself apart by developing long-term relationships with its clients and helping them find easier, more convenient ways to live. “The home entertainment and automation field is new and evolving,” explains owner Micah Brown. “Equipment is constantly being upgraded, but customers need more than just components and features–they need a service company that’s there whenever there’s an issue, from outdated software to remote control problems. We take care of everything for our clients.”

Avid Home Theater has been installing all types of audio/video systems for residential and commercial clients through¬out Northern California since 2005. In addition to home theater systems, the company designs, sells, installs and maintains security and automation systems for both homes and businesses. Its systems can control everything from audio/visual components to lights and heating/ventilation settings.

Unlike home theater companies that emphasize workload volume over customer satisfaction, Avid Home Theater considers managing customer expectations a huge part of its business. “What we offer most of all is honesty,” says Mr. Brown. “A lot of our competitors tend to oversell their products. In this business, no product is perfect. We understand that, so we offer realistic expectations and make sure our customers know we’re available if they have problems with their systems.”

The final component to Avid Home Theater’s success in achieving customer satisfaction is its installation technicians, all of whom attend regular training seminars on the latest industry products, methods and trends. “We have extremely high standards when it comes to hiring technicians,” says Mr. Brown. “We strive to find people who share our values and understand customer service. We’re constantly getting positive feedback from customers who tell us how much they enjoy working with our employees.”

Don’t let an oddly shaped room diminish the power of your home theater system. When audio engineers invented surround sound, they envisioned the speakers being positioned perfectly in a rectangular room. But the reality is, not everyone has the ideal room for a home theater system—tricky layouts, L-shaped rooms and open floor plans can cause audio and visual problems that interrupt the movie/TV watching experience. If you have an oddly shaped room but want to get the most out of your home theater system, consider the following tips:

• Whenever possible, make sure your listening position is somewhere in the middle of the room, away from the back wall. This will improve the front soundstage (the part of the speaker system that’s arranged around your TV) and help the surround speakers work better.
• Position the main speakers so they fire into the length of the room, rather than the width.
• If you want the best surround effects, place your surround speakers on floor stands. They should be at roughly equal distances from your listening position.
• If stands aren’t an option, you can also wall-mount your surround speakers. You can even mount them to a joist in the ceiling if you have a ceiling-mount bracket, though the speakers might not sound ideal when placed that high.
• Placing your subwoofer near a wall will generally result in more bass, and placement near a corner (where three room boundaries come together) will get you even more. Keep in mind that even though the bass increases as you place the subwoofer near a wall or corner, the quality of bass may be slightly “boomier” and less controlled. Aim for a spot where you get a compromise between quality and quantity of bass.
• If you have to place your rear speakers at different distances from your listening position because of a door or window, you can use the speaker levels in your receiver to help compensate for that difference. You can also rely on your receiver’s auto-calibration to handle that for you. It’ll work best if the difference in distance is five feet or less.
• Place your front left and right speakers equidistant from your listening position (or within a few inches of that) whenever possible. You’ll notice more subtle differences in volume and timing in the front soundstage than you will in the back.

Q: What home theater brand is the best?

A: There’s no single best brand in this business. There are a lot of quality manufacturers, but what’s most important is how the components work together in a single system. We’ll recommend brands based on what you want the system to achieve. In some cases we may recommend Sony, but in others we may recommend Samsung.

Q: Can you help me choose the right theater system for my needs?

A: Yes. With our guidance, you’ll be able to select the most appropriate components for maximum system performance and capability. We consider your needs, objectives and budget to provide you with the best options.

Q: Do you offer any warranties?

A: We offer a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty on most of the systems we install. We also offer a 30-day advance replacement service. If any component fails within the first 30 days, which is when failure is most likely to occur, we’ll automatically swap it out.

Q: What kind of system testing do you do?

A: When we complete an installation, we run a rigorous series of checks to ensure everything is working correctly. This is the most important step, because it allows us to double check our work to ensure we haven’t made a mistake.

Q: Do you train your customers on how to use their systems?

A: Absolutely. That’s a big part of what we do. However, our experience allows us to design intuitive interfaces that don’t require a lot of training. Often, our customers can figure it out all on their own. The systems are very complex, but the controls are simple.