If you follow Leon on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that we recently displayed at the CEA Line Shows at 7 West 34th St. Maybe you caught us in the press: Home Theater Magazine, Custom Retailer, Big Picture Sound, or the CEA Blog. Here’s the executive summary: we killed it. For the long (but worthwhile) version, keep reading.
Yeah, our booth was cooler than anyone else's.
It all began, as it always does, with Noah Kaplan and team brainstorming outrageous ideas, which are then subjected to the constraints of mechanics, budget, and time. In the end, two very important sketches came out–as well as a concept to tie the whole installation together.
Probably the most interesting thing that emerged was the Trithon REYN Panel–the three-legged future-retro TV monster. According to Noah, it represents an outgrowth of three influences: the Moisse Phantascope, the 1915 tripod stand on which it sits, and the 1959 Philco Predicta. So, how do you build one of these?
Noah Kaplan's original sketch of the Trithon REYN Panel
First you stretch the real python skin around the frame for the inlay–a job completed by Noah himself. Next, do a dry assembly of the frame to make sure it all fits:
Rob Waissi and Bryan Lancaster do a dry fit of the cabinetry for the Trithon REYN Panel
After that, add a nice dark mahogany stain, put all the electronics inside, and perch it atop the tripod using a pair of Timken precision ball bearings.
Timken precision bearings (made in Michigan!) supported the mass of the Trithon REYN Panel.
Finally, route all the cables neatly in the umbilical cord and plug it in–simple, eh?
Matt Wilken, Joe Shaheen, and Rob Waissi attaching the REYN Panel to the tripod base.
The other Leon product highlight of the show was surely the redesigned Pr-SEVENS–making their official debut at the CEA Line Shows. I’ll save the details of their design and construction for another day, but here’s a nice look at the pair.
Noah Kaplan's original sketch of the wenge SEVENS for the CEA line show.
The finished pair of SEVENS for the CEA Line Show 2011
In addition to all the work that went on at the show, Noah also took the time to give a live art and music performance at the “Women in CE” event, showing off his fabulously fast brush skills to create a painting of Josephine Baker which was auctioned off to raise money for the ELF Foundation. The buyer was Mickey Chadha of Saga Electronics, who plans to create a Leon showroom around the piece.
Noah Kaplan with Micky Chadha of Saga Electronics, finished painting in the background.
Well, that’s about it, except for the fact that our HUGE crate would not fit in the lift to the 11th floor, so we had to haul all the individual boxes across the exposition hall, down the freight elevator and load out on the sidewalk…
Joe, Rob, and Ana loading the crate on 35th St.
-TC
leonspeakers
