POWER HOUSE
Turning up the volume with Jackson Hole AV
By: Molly Kordares
For Rich Ashburn, the best part of every single project is the final step. It comes after a home has been designed and built and wired. After every TV has been mounted and every speaker installed. That’s when he presses play on his client’s favorite song. “They get to hear that song like they never have before, on one of the best sound systems in the world, customized just for their home. They get chills,” he says, “and I get chills, too.”
That immersive sensory experience, whether it’s listening to music or watching a movie, is why Ashburn founded Jackson Hole AV, a home automation and audio video services company. His love for sound and design began as a teenager, when he and his grandfather installed a new stereo into a restored 1954 Chevrolet truck. Now, Ashburn and his team seamlessly integrate technology into homes, with that same blend of classic design and state-of-the-art equipment.
Jackson Hole AV began in 2002, and the company specializes in high-end residences. Across the Jackson Hole Valley, their dream team of technicians design and build out projects big and small. Home theaters and sound systems are the obvious show-stoppers, but Ashburn’s team can help clients automate just about anything in a home: lighting, locks, HVACs, security systems and more.
Of course, the holy grail of projects is when the team is able to streamline all of these technologies and create a true smart home. “You don’t want to deal with dozens of apps and a bunch of systems that don’t talk to each other,” says Ashburn. “And neither do we. So we’ll make it easy for you.” One of their favorite platforms for this is Savant. Ashburn calls it the world's most elite system for home integration. Everything in a client’s home can be controlled using a single app, and owners can access it all from their phones -- no matter where they are. “It’s a very user-friendly system,” says Ashburn. “I can typically teach people to use it in about an hour.”
Jackson Hole AV prides itself on a customer service process that’s as seamless as the technology they install, from their initial consultation to the in-house training they provide for homeowners after everything has been set up. Technicians are also available 24/7 in case any problems arise. Technology can strike fear in some, and the company’s goal is to make sure that their systems bring joy, not complications.
“For a lot of people, the constant evolution of technology can feel unrelenting,” explains Josh Stephens, the Project Manager at Jackson Hole AV. “But when it's done well, it can be very effective. That’s what we do for our clients: we take high-end tech and install it in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. We make it transparent and easy to do all the things that you want to do.”
Recently, the team was able to design the ultimate smart home for a family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The owners, Chris and Lynn, are both audiophiles and hobby musicians. “So they had a real unique vision for their home, and they already knew a lot about technology,” recalls Ashburn. In addition to whole-house audio and video, the couple also wanted karaoke, a recording studio, and a live music venue on site.
“They’re very spontaneous, fun people,” explains Ashburn. “So if they were hanging out in the living room and they felt an urge to start singing, they wanted karaoke mics to be right there and ready for them. Or if they wanted to take it to the next level, they needed a home where they could record songs or perform live music. The question for us was, how do we make all this happen for them?”
The team started in the great room, where a beautiful ebony Steinway grand piano sits. “That piano was the heart of the whole project,” says Stephens. It served as a daily reminder to everyone that music was the focus in this house. “This was going to be their dream home,” says Stephens. “So everything that we did needed to facilitate that dream, and make it seamless, effortless and enjoyable.”
The team installed a TV above the fireplace in the great room that was on a motorized mount, so it could be raised or lowered depending on whether or not it was being used. The TV was then hooked up with microphones and programmed for karaoke. The karaoke songs being sung could then be piped into any room in the house for everyone to enjoy.
Right outside the great room lies an outdoor living space and a walking path, and the whole area was outfitted with speakers and lights so that the music being played inside could also be enjoyed outside while sitting or even walking around the property. “It really became a beautiful outdoor experience,” says Stephens. “I don’t think we had ever done anything like that before.”
The project would end up being full of firsts for the Jackson Hole AV team. Chris and Lynn also wanted a recording studio set up in their home. Their goal was to be able to record and mix music, and then be able to publish the music and play it over the home’s sound system. Again, the team had never designed anything like that before for a residential home. “Chris wanted a room that would effortlessly showcase his and his wife’s musical talents, and we delivered,” says Stephens. “It’s always fun to do something new that you’ve never done before, and I was really impressed with how well it turned out.”
With help from their partners at Paradise Theater, they designed an intimate custom home theater that would double as the perfect place to screen the new music that Chris and Lynn created. The two-level room features cozy loveseats on the main floor and a ceiling covered in shooting stars made of fiber optic lights. “Listening to the music you just recorded is one thing,” says Stephens. “But hearing it played on Dolby Atmos speakers in a home theater is a very special immersive audio experience -- not a lot of people get to do that.”
For musicians who love to entertain, a dream home wouldn’t be complete without a place to perform for family and friends. Enter Chris and Lynn’s “party barn”, a miniature live music venue, fully complete with a stage and professional sound and lighting systems. Chris designed the space himself, and Jackson Hole AV took care of all the connections and hook-ups to make the barn fully concert-ready.
After the home’s construction was complete, Chris and Lynn threw a party for all the contractors in the barn. They created a set-list of all their favorite cover songs. Chris played the keyboard, his wife sang lead vocals, they flew in a back-up band, and their daughter even designed a lighting show to accompany each song. “They wanted to say thank you to everyone -- to us, to JH Builders, to Paradise Theater -- to every single person that worked on their dream home and made it come to life,” says Ashburn. “It was such a special group to be a part of, and it’s absolutely why I do what I do. The people we get to work with are just so amazing. They allow us to be a part of their lives and they trust us with their homes. I appreciate that so much.”