MIAMI _ Audio One, based in Miami and nearby Dania Beach, is a company that designs and builds sophisticated home and office automation networks, audio-visual systems that can include home IMAX theaters, and state-of-the art recording studios.
Their clients are wealthy _ and include rock stars _ and their work costs from a minimum of $50,000 to several million.
Audio One was founded by David Frangioni, who grew up in Boston with a passion for rock music and technology, moving from drumming gigs when he was 12 to developing and applying new sound technology as a recording engineer, audio technologist and consultant who designed and installed professional recording studios.
"At 16, I caught the technology bug and realized what new technology could do for drums and other music," said Frangioni, who is CEO of the company. "I was a ferocious learner and was self-taught in technology." He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and Northeastern University in Boston.
Frangioni was the rock-star sound engineer behind many well-known acts. He worked for about 15 years as chief in-house engineer for the iconic rock group Aerosmith and collaborated with other music luminaries including Shakira, Sting, Elton John, Styx, Ringo Starr and Ozzy Osbourne.
Working with the rock community, he earned numerous awards for his technical expertise and became a prominent consultant in the recording industry. His office is lined with gold and platinum records reflecting his work as a sound engineer with different groups.
In 1995, Frangioni founded Audio One in Boston as a small operation and moved the company to Miami in 1997 to take advantage of the city's music community and high-end demographics. A few years later, he joined forces with Jennifer Yosowitz, a music lover who studied pre-med and music composition at Simmons College and the New England Conservatory. Yosowitz, vice president and CFO at Audio One, and Frangioni are equal partners in the business.
"Our vision at Audio One was to create a company providing the world's best home automation and AV systems for high-end clients," Frangioni said.
"We went from becoming the top company for designing and installing professional recording studios to integrated security and audio-visual systems for homes," Yosowitz said.
Still working with the rock star community, Audio One is now focused on developing smart home automation systems, top-quality custom AV, customized blinds and other high-tech devices for homes and offices.
"We provide world-class technology solutions that are made easy," Frangioni said. Clients _ whether residential or commercial _ can control every aspect of their smart systems and see what's happening (via cameras) from anywhere, with a simple display on a tablet, computer or smartphone.
"We have a lot of competitors but no competition," Frangioni said.
The systems Audio One sells are highly sophisticated and complex. "We follow each project from start to finish, working closely with the property owners, architects, builders and the construction trade," Yosowitz said. Sometimes, a project _ like a multi-acre estate _ may take over two years to complete, and Audio One must ensure that its systems _ including complicated wiring, electronic devices, speakers and screens, fit into the construction plan and work perfectly.
"About 80 percent of our work now is residential," Frangioni said, with 70 percent new construction and 30 percent renovations, mostly in South Florida.
"We're now partnering with luxury condo developers, designers and architects like Kobi Karp to install our systems in new projects."
