Bournemouth based Bang & Olufsen dealership, Dawson's AV Marine, has a reason to celebrate after winning the award for ‘Best Marine Installation' at the 2008 CEDIA (The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) Awards. The company, who specialise in the design, installation and integration of AV systems, won the award for installing the most technologically advanced products available to the AV industry into a stunning Sunseeker 37 Metre Tri-Deck, making it the first Sunseeker Super Yacht ever to have a Bang & Olufsen/Crestron AV interface.

The prestigious annual awards ceremony, held at the Vinopolis, London, recognises and rewards CEDIA ESP members for their high quality system design and use of technology. Judges look for imaginative and appropriately designed systems that are beautifully concealed and integrated into an interior whilst also creating a bit of ‘wow' factor. More members than ever before entered this year's awards, with installers from across the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain and France participating.

The integration of technology in a marine environment poses its own unique challenges and Dawson's had to meet the stringent judging criteria to win the award, which included looking at the overall quality of the design and the installation, technical and design innovation, overcoming of financial and physical obstacles, customer feedback, project objectives and results.

This was achieved by a fully integrated custom installation with multi-source, multi-cabin system with full 2-way Crestron control of Kaleidescape movie/music servers and the use of stunning Bang & Olufsen audio and screens throughout all cabins. A Fully Managed Cisco Switch was used to resolve all networking issues, and in order to enhance the entertainment system a "Party Mode" function was used so all loudspeakers could be used inside and out, allowing the Sunseeker to turn into a nightclub at the touch of a button.

On winning the award, Managing Director Kevin Dawson says, "I am very proud to win this prestigious award. This was the first year that CEDIA included the category so we are delighted to have beaten off stiff competition to win it. This award is also in recognition of the team we have here at Dawsons as without their hard work and commitment this award would not have been achievable."

Robert Braithwaite CBE, Sunseeker, says "Dawson's worked very closely with us from the initial concept stage, installation, and programming as well as offering after sales support once the boat had left our ship yard. The AV installation on this particular boat was the single most important area to the client, so we had to ensure both Sunseeker and Dawson's fulfilled the client's expectations."

Founded by Kevin Dawson's great-grandfather George Dawson in 1927, "Dawson's" started life providing accumulator recharges to the local Westbourne & Bournemouth community to allow in-house power to early gramophones and radios. George Dawson passed on the business to his son Cyril, who in turn passed it onto his son, Peter, the father of current MD Kevin Dawson - the 4th generation Dawson's MD.

Dawson's became the original B&O dealer in Bournemouth in 1964 and over 40 years later they are the longest serving dealerships in the UK. Today, Dawson's Home Cinema, specialises in custom installs nationally and internationally, creating bespoke systems which are acoustically and visually fantastic for the homes of the future.