We opened on Purchase Street in 1996.
This is where the company started: a storefront on Purchase Street, in 1996. We are in Armonk now, nearly thirty years later.
Marshlands Conservancy. Photograph: Minard38, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bob Krasne opened Westchester AV on Purchase Street in Rye in 1996, in a traditional storefront, with a van and one idea: home technology should be a pleasure to own rather than a project to manage. Thirty years on that is still the whole business, and Bob still sits down with most clients himself.
We mention it because in this town it is not a marketing line. Some of the houses we work in now, we first worked in when the equipment was completely different and the people in them were younger. That kind of continuity is not something a firm that arrived last year can offer, and it is worth asking any integrator you are considering how long they have been within twenty minutes of your house.
Rye's housing stock asks particular questions. Older colonials and shingle-style houses near the water were not built with structured wiring in mind, so much of the work here is patient retrofit, network cable fished through closets and back stairs, and wireless lighting control that replaces a bank of switches without opening a wall you have just had painted. Anything mounted outside near the shoreline has to be specified for the exposure rather than chosen from a catalogue.
The work itself is the ordinary run of things and we like it that way: a media room that finally sounds right, music that follows you through the house, Wi-Fi that reaches the third floor, shades on the western windows. Start with one, add the next when you are ready.
We cover Rye Brook and the surrounding streets on the same terms. If you are on the town line, call and ask. The answer is nearly always yes.
Rye
Have a house in Rye? Tell us about it.
We will come out and look. If you want a sense of budget before that, the calculator gives a planning range from what you are considering.
An easier first step
Come and sit in the seating before you decide anything.
The showroom is at 5 N Greenwich Rd in Armonk, with CinemaTech seating on the floor. Ten minutes in the chairs, handling the finishes, settles more than a swatch card will, and it costs nothing.
From Rye
“They took the time to design several different home theater/whole-house music system solutions for us taking into account our needs, wants and budget and ultimately let us select what package we liked best… Best of all, they trained my whole family on how to use everything and we've been enjoying our system immensely.”
“Westchester AV worked with me from start to finish. Bob and his team have access to the finest equipment at reasonable prices, they are professional, and I am very happy with the end result…so happy that I have recommended them to friends.”
“I found westchester a/v by chance way back in ’08 while looking to build an automated living area and home theater system. As technology advances I have continued to rely on them time and time again to help me keep up with the latest and greatest in equipment out there. I am disabled and non-verbal plus demanding so it is difficult for me to find people willing to spend the time to address my special needs. however I was lucky enough to have found this great team of guys which Bob [president] has surrounding him. Take the word of a self proclaimed techie these guys know technology and even went out of their way to teach me a few things. Due to the expertise and professionalism of this company I will continue to entrust Westchester AV with my sophisticated technology projects.”
“Westchester AV was the right choice for me. They exceeded expectations and I would use them again. Bob, the owner, wanted to make sure the job was done properly even though the work on my home took longer than expected. He kept sending his people until the job was done. I would highly recommend them!!”
Common questions
Questions we get from Rye homeowners.
- Do you cover Rye Brook as well?
- Yes, and the surrounding streets on the same terms. We are a short drive from all of it. If you are right on a town line and unsure, call and ask. The answer is nearly always yes.
- Our house is from the 1920s. Can you do this without opening walls?
- Usually, and it is a large share of what we do in Rye. Wireless lighting control now replaces a bank of switches with no new wire in the room at all, and speaker and network cable can generally be fished through closets, back stairs and whatever the attic allows. We will tell you honestly and up front which rooms are straightforward and which ones are going to be a fight, that conversation is more useful than an optimistic quote.
- What holds up near the water?
- Not everything does. Salt air is hard on outdoor speakers, mounts and connections, and equipment specified for a lawn in Bedford will not last the same number of years three streets from the Sound. We specify for the exposure, marine-rated hardware where it matters and placement that keeps what we can out of the weather.
- You are in Armonk now. Does that change your service in Rye?
- Not meaningfully. Armonk to Rye is a short drive, and it is still the same county and the same crew. For clients on a service plan we hold next-business-day response here as everywhere else.
Services available here
Start a project
Tell us about the space. We'll come out and give you a straightforward plan.
The consultation is complimentary and it starts with a walkthrough or a set of drawings. You will leave it knowing what is realistic in your house, what it costs, and what can wait until phase two.