madVR and Ascend AV Collaborate to Open an "Experience Center" in the Midwest

(February 15, 2024) The video processing experts at madVR and a Kansas-based custom installation outfit named Ascend AV are collaborating to open "The madVR Labs Experience Center - Midwest, by Ascend." The center will stand as a "singular venue for exclusive demonstrations of leading audio-visual brands," according to madVR, with an expected opening date of Summer 2024.

madVR's press release detailing the center's plans paints a picture of a location approaching high-level demo rooms you're likely to experience at industry events like ISE and CEDIA. Brands included in the project range from Ascendo and Trinnov to StormAudio, Seymour Screen Excellence, Christie Digital, Kaleidescape, master room builder Officina Acoustica, and, of course, madVR. The center will be operated by Ascend AV in Olathe, Kansas, just miles from downtown Kansas City in the southwest burbs, a location, according to madVR, that's strategically positioned to open accessibility to most US residents.

The center isn't just a place for manufacturers to sell products to potential install customers. It's also designed as a pad where audiophiles, videophiles, and tech enthusiasts can experience the latest and greatest home theater technologies in person. Visitors can anticipate interacting with a meticulously selected and calibrated range of products. And both manufacturers and industry professionals can use the center as a dedicated space for training, product demonstrations, and integration testing.

At launch, the center will feature a drool-worthy, high-dollar lineup of brands and equipment, including:

• madVR: Envy Extreme MK2: HDR tone mapping, MotionAI, and video processing for exceptional video quality and immersion.
• Ascendo: 3x Black Swans for LCR, 14x BE Pro Passive, 8x 21 Subwoofer Passive, 2x 32” Infrasonic Subwoofer, and a 50” Infrasonic Subwoofer
• Christie Digital: Griffyn 4K35-RGB projector: Offering exceptional visual clarity, detail and brightness.
• Kaleidescape: Strato C and Terra Prime 48 Terrabyte
• Officina Acustica: Providing room design, construction, and acoustic treatment engineering and expertise.
• StormAudi: Elite ISP MK3 32, offering 24-channel decoding and up-mixing with 32-channel amplification, exclusively with Dirac Live Active Room Treatment.
• SurgeX: Various power protection and management solutions
• Trinnov Audio: Altitude32 processing and Amplitude16 amplification, showcasing Trinnov’s Optimizer and WaveForming technology.
• Seymour Screen Excellence: 170” acoustically transparent screen

Additional manufacturers and equipment announcements are coming soon.

 

[Sonnie]

I wonder if this might coincide with the https://midwestavexperience.com/

I'm planning on making this show and would love to check it out if it's open by then.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Hope you can make it... I heard last year was a good one

 

[Mike Schramm]

I was really hoping to make MWAVE this year but family vacation got in the way. Hoping for a 2025 visit and this will definitely be on the must see list while I'm down there.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm in the same boat, Mike. Family first on this one... but, I'm sure it will be a fun show.

 

[Mike Schramm]

I'm only about an hour from AXPONA, but there is normally only one or maybe two HT rooms there. An entire HT show like MWAVE would be so much fun to get to.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I hear ya, Mike. I'm much more HT-focused in interests as well... the two-channel shows are a little lower on the scale of importance for me.

 

[gatestick]

I wonder if this might coincide with the https://midwestavexperience.com/

I'm planning on making this show and would love to check it out if it's open by then.

I went to Mwave last year. It was a terrific time. Getting to have conversations with owners, or other high ranking people, without pressure to buy stuff, about the products they offer is fantastic. The atmosphere is not like any other show I have been to. I didn't notice any 2 channel snobbery. Our family is trying to plan vacations around the show. I can hit the show 1 day and do family stuff for the rest of the vacation. Highly recommend.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I went to Mwave last year. It was a terrific time. Getting to have conversations with owners, or other high ranking people, without pressure to buy stuff, about the products they offer is fantastic. The atmosphere is not like any other show I have been to. I didn't notice any 2 channel snobbery. Our family is trying to plan vacations around the show. I can hit the show 1 day and do family stuff for the rest of the vacation. Highly recommend.

It to derail, but that high-end snobbery vibe is a problem at 2-channel centric events.

Last year, I spent some time at the Capital Audio Fest and requested a Muse song in one of the rooms. First came a few head turns… then some looks of confusion… then the room began to shuffle around.

I don’t get it.

 

[Sonnie]

I haven't noticed it too much at the shows, although when I took my own music on CD and on a USB thumb drive to one of the events, there were several rooms that would not play the music or wanted to know what was on it before they would consider playing it. A few rooms liked it, but some thought the sound was "masked with a veil" because I copied it onto the media. I would have loved to have conducted an AB test with those few. But all in all, I think I missed being in the same room as some of the elitists who think those who have home theaters don't know what true music sounds like. I know they exist, as I've seen it referenced in various places... it's truly a shame.