About Us – The Sound Environment

who we are

We are a group of seven experts in how to get best music reproduction from an audio system. We have been in business for 48 years. We seven have a combined tenure at The Sound Environment of 132 years. We stress great music reproduction, ease of use and continued performance of your system over the years. Our Trade Up policy allows easy upgrades from beginning systems to truly amazing systems. Our consultants are not commissioned. They are inspired by a love of music. They will work passionately with you to get the best music reproduction possible, no matter your level of investment.

Finding great value components, where performance for price is key for us. If we wouldn’t want it in our own homes, we don’t want it in yours. Any home stereo or theater system we work with you on is done so with great care and consideration and is individualized to your situation, music choices, budget, and home environment. 48 years of treating people right and continually pushing ourselves to learn more and grow in our craft has made for a rewarding history and promises a compelling future.

What Defines Us

Unparalleled Trade Up & Trade In Program

Unique History and Experience

Dedication to System Design and Setup

Ability to Offer Great Demonstrations & Comparisons

Where We Are

OMAHA KANSAS CITY

Omaha, Sound Environment headquarters

Omaha is a really nice city with great restaurants, exciting events, quality museums, and the best Zoo in America. Whether you come just to visit us and spend some time listening to great audio or for a complete vacation with sporting and cultural events, Omaha will surprise you.

We complete high-level installations throughout our region and across the nation from Florida to Hawaii. Our consultants work with our customers from introduction to The Sound Environment to long after we set up a system or new component in their home. Customers spanning the country have been with us for decades.

A Space for Music lovers in KC

We're back and better than ever! Our new showroom at 1611 Oak street is now open! We will be open every Saturday, every Crossroads First Friday, and by appointment. Just give us a call at 402-391-3842 to ask questions or set an appointment.

Our first build out is a large music room with two music systems. The most advanced system features the new Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers. In addition, we show affordable high-performance one box music system solutions from Naim.

The second build out will be a home theater room with a very high-performance system. We plan to build that out soon but can still work with you on a great home theater system for your home. We show four home theater systems in our Omaha location.

LEARN MORE!

Our Showrooms

The Sound Environment – Omaha

West Showroom – Omaha

East Room Chameleon System – Omaha

Upstairs Theater – Omaha

World Class Theater – Omaha

ELAC Theater – Omaha

Totem Theater – Omaha

World Class System – Omaha

Sasha DAW System – Kansas City

Kansas City Showroom Lobby

Sonetto V System – Kansas City

Il Cremonese System – Kansas City

Our Team

Charlie Santmire Founder/CEO
Charlie Santmire started The Sound Environment 48 years ago and hasn’t looked back. He has wide-ranging musical and audio knowledge. He has designed many rooms for the store and clients and they always look and sound spectacular. He is deeply immersed in classical music, attending live orchestral concerts frequently in Omaha and around the country. The annual Aspen Music Festival is a favorite.
Doug Robinson Partner/Resident Audiophile
Doug’s audiophile roots go back into the 1960’s and he was one of Charlie’s very early customers. Doug has eclectic musical tastes including vocal music, jazz and classical and is the proud owner of a very large library of music. He has a knack for putting together awesome playlists and always knows the right song to put on no matter the genre of music.
Jim Wichita Installation Specialist
Jim is the Sound Environment’s long-time installation specialist. For almost 38 years he’s been meeting clients needs with amazing multi-room and theater set-ups. We get great feedback from clients working with Jim, many who have gotten his help in home after home. He works extremely well with designers and architects to make their project vision come to life. Jim likes rock, jazz, and a bit of classical music.

Gale Cooper Audio Consultant
Gale has an impressive 30 years of experience with TSE. He is a master of system setup and in his spare time plays drums for a local rockin’ soul band. He has a music degree from UNL, is our go-to guy for everything analog, and is one of the best audio advisors in the business. Gale enjoys jazz, classical, and classic rock.
Todd Snyder Audio Consultant
Todd has a passion for a well thought out stereo or home theater system. He’s been with TSE for 10 years, distinguishing himself as a favorite advisor of many of our clients. In his time with TSE, Todd has grown to an incredible system setup specialist. He enjoys a wide range of electronic, art-pop, and experimental music.
Zach Born Audio Consultant
Zach is our newest Audio Consultant, but he’s not new to great sound. He played trumpet and French horn in school, and has spent years building a great stereo. He’s traded in his job in biological indicator R&D (ask Zach) for his first love, music. Zach likes alt-rock and electronic music and is active in the local music scene.

Sandi Boudreau Accountant
Sandi is the Sound Environment’s accountant. She has been with us for two years and keeps the financial ship tight. To get away from the world of numbers, Sandi enjoys spending time with her beautiful grandchildren, riding horses, swimming, and even country-western dancing. Chances are if Sandi throws on some music it will be in the country or pop music realms.
Eric Baines Operations/Marketing Manager
Eric manages store activities and marketing. He’s played in a band as lead guitarist and loves all genres of rock, electronic music, classical and has recently been delving into jazz thanks to the guitar stylings of Grant Green and albums like “A Tribute to Jack Johnson” by Miles Davis. He’s been with the company for six years.
Ben Sloup Online Sales/Shipping
Ben is our shipping, receiving, and inventory guy. He’s also become adept at installation through his work with Jim Wichita. At a young age Ben developed into a musician playing guitar and creating electronic music. Ben has been with us for four years and loves all music including hard rock, electronic, and classical. Exposure to new music in the store has him branching out even further.

What our clients are saying

I can’t count the number of hi-fi shops I’ve been to all over the Midwest and Montreal, but the Sound Environment is hands down my favorite. They provide a welcoming, customer-centric experience, along with a range of products from mid-fi to world class.

Cory H.
The sales staff aren't paid commission, they simply love high end audio like myself. It's a very relaxed atmosphere, no pressure. While you can find entry level gear here, know that they have some of the highest hi-fi gear money can buy. It's always a pleasure to spend some time listening to the systems they put together and conversing with other stereo nerds. I highly recommended you stop in.

Robert H.
I've been a customer of The Sound Environment for 40 years. We have worked together on home theater, whole house audio and high-end audio. The Sound Environment has done design, consulting, and installation in my homes in Illinois and Colorado. Through all the years, The Sound Environment treated me like a king and treated my installation like it was the most important project they had. They always offer excellent product selection to fit any budget. If you want the ultimate, they have it. If you want an affordable basic music system, they have it. Either way, it will be tuned to perfection to give you the best possible experience. I can't say enough about Jim. He is passionate about matching clients with the right solution for their lifestyle and budget and implementing an installation that is second to none. Charlie has the same passion and has helped me build my music library. Todd is freakishly good at setup and tuning speakers and components. Gale is another go-to guy. I wish I had the ears that these guys have! For music or home theater, don't look anywhere else. If you don't live in Omaha, still don't look anywhere else.

Mark H.
I have written about 2 online reviews. The Sound Environment is world class. I walked into the store hoping to get something a little better than Nebraska furniture mart or Best Buy to compliment our TV. Instead I walked out with the best sounding speakers I have ever heard, and also a breadth of knowledge on how to get the best sound quality. I have been back several times to buy and also just to hang out and listen to great sound quality. They are great people with the best customer service.

Michael R.
Awesome place! The people are very helpful, not pushy and educate you with out sounding snobby which can often happen at high end stores selling anything. Also just because its high end doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. I am a college student and I was able to get into a budget pair of speakers which sound amazing. Go check the place out.

Anonymous
The event yesterday was truly over the top! I had been under the impression that I had a good analog system, and it’s not bad, but not even close to the big system featuring the Air Force turntable… I will survive, but with loss of innocence.

Doug R.
I remember how cool it was checking out the Klipsch speakers Charlie featured when the Sound Environment was located in his home in Lincoln back in the day. Since then The Sound Environment has become one of the country’s premier quality high-level home theater companies serving clients throughout the region with installations from Florida to Hawaii. I’ve been working with Gale Cooper for several years, first from the Lincoln store (now located in Omaha’s Rockbrook Village), who’s designed my entire home theater system and who I’m continuing to work with. I’ve been in stores featuring the highest quality audio, visual, home theater, etc… equipment from coast to coast and in my opinion, The Sound Environment’s one of the nations best.

Jaye O.
I’ll try to keep this as on point as I can but that’s not an easy task because The Sound Environment (TSE) is so far ahead of their competitors they are on an entirely different level. In my opinion TSE is among the absolute best in terms of sound and video reproduction in your home. They emphasize value at all price points whether that be a mega-bucks world-class system or simply a small desk top system you could use at your computer. Regardless of your budget TSE will provide you with the highest quality sound and video for your money. Period. Beyond that, they have an immensely helpful and patient staff of experts that are as passionate about what they do as anyone in any field. I would absolutely, without hesitation or equivocation recommend TSE to anyone who values high quality sound and video. If you’ve got a budget give TSE a shot before dropping your hard earned money into something from a big box retailer. TSE is locally owned and operated and it shows. I hate to sound over-the-top effusive but I just cannot say enough about these guys. They are the real deal. Give them a shot. I’m extremely glad I did.

Ryan C.
Great people, great products. Consultants do a great job of qualifying the customer and matching their needs/tastes to the product.

Andy E.

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