Some of the most technically demanding audio, video, and lighting projects in the New York metro area do not come with a typical AV vendor on the credits. They come from Synapse Audio Visual Designs, LLC — a Paramus, New Jersey design-build firm that quietly engineers the technology behind 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the FDNY Fire Zone, The Peninsula Hotel, Sony, Unilever's North American headquarters, the Jewish Museum of New York, the Hartford, and a long list of casinos, museums, healthcare facilities, and cultural centers.
Synapse is the kind of firm Restrepo Innovations collaborates with on the largest, most complex jobs in the region — the projects where a single AV trade is not enough and the work requires a full design-build studio that can carry audio, video, lighting, projection, and control engineering through every phase from schematic design to commissioning.
A design-build studio, not an integrator
Synapse is explicit on the About page about how they see themselves: "Synapse Audio Visual Designs, LLC is a design/build firm that specializes in demanding technical and artistic audio, video and lighting projects in the commercial, industrial, entertainment, and residential markets." That distinction matters. They are not a box-stacker installing other people's drawings. They are an in-house engineering studio that produces the drawings, owns the design responsibility, programs the system, and stays on the project through commissioning.
Their Why Synapse page lays out the philosophy in five pillars: Dynamic Failure Protection (self-monitoring systems engineered so problems are caught before the client sees them), Quote Confidence (fixed-price design architecture), Bigger Picture Design Philosophy (one firm coordinating audio, video, lighting, networking, and control instead of three or four siloed vendors), Your Needs Commitment (designs built around end-user requirements, not pre-packaged kits), and the Clear Control Promise (touchscreens, remotes, and button stations tailored to each user). It is the same operating thesis that defines the best high-end integration shops anywhere.
The leadership team
Synapse is led by two managing partners with complementary backgrounds (full bios):
- Stephen M. Cannella, LC, CTS-D — Started his career at age 15 in the entertainment business and founded the East Coast's premier live-event videography and visual-design firm by the time he was a teenager. Worked as a chief lighting technician on commercials, television, and major motion pictures. Former IATSE member. Holds the NCQLP's Lighting Certified (LC) credential and CTS-D, the highest design certification AVIXA issues. Has lectured at Columbia University, NYU, and The Art Institute of Philadelphia on lighting and integrated AV design. Cannella's film-industry background is the reason Synapse's lighting work consistently photographs as well as it performs in person.
- Christopher P. Obssuth — A 25-year veteran of the New York tri-state AV market. His electronics training began in the United States Marine Corps as an avionics, electronic countermeasures, and counter-surveillance engineer. Founded MYI Audio Video in 1995 and personally oversaw the design and installation of more than 1,000 commercial and residential systems before launching Synapse. Early clients in his career include Merrill Lynch, the American Museum of Natural History, and FAO Schwarz.
Between them, Cannella and Obssuth bring entertainment-industry production discipline and military-grade electronics rigor to every Synapse drawing set — a rare combination in the custom AV channel.
A portfolio of marquee work
Synapse's portfolio reads like a tour of New York's most recognizable spaces:
- 30 Rockefeller Plaza — Large-format video walls, projection systems, and architectural lighting for the visitor experience.
- FDNY Fire Zone — The interactive learning center in Rockefeller Center honoring the New York City Fire Department.
- The Peninsula Hotel — Exterior architectural lighting design that turns the landmark Fifth Avenue facade into a Manhattan signature after dark.
- The Pierre Hotel — Hospitality AV and lighting for one of the city's most storied addresses.
- Unilever's North American Headquarters — Corporate AV, video conferencing, and digital signage for the consumer-goods giant.
- Sony — Corporate enterprise AV systems.
- The Jewish Museum and Museum of Russian Icons — Cultural-institution AV, projection, and exhibit design.
- The Hartford — Corporate AV and conferencing for the Fortune 500 insurer.
- Golden Nugget Casino, Finger Lakes Casino, Sugarhouse Casino, and The Venetian — Hospitality and entertainment AV for major gaming venues.
- Robert Wood Johnson, New Century Spine, and Vanguard Medical — Healthcare AV.
- Hebrew Union College and the Christian Cultural Center — Worship and education AV.
- Il Villagio, Seasons Catering, The Tides, The Terrace, Florentine Gardens, Waterside Catering, Valley Regency, and Eagle Oaks — Banquet, catering, and event-venue AV across New Jersey and New York.
The full services stack
Synapse's services menu covers nearly every technical discipline a complex AV project requires, which is what allows them to operate as a true design-build firm rather than a single-trade subcontractor:
- Audio design — Performance, reinforcement, and distributed audio.
- Building automation systems.
- Centralized control systems — The brain of any large integrated facility.
- Digital content creation and management.
- Digital media distribution and networking.
- GUI and human-interface design — Tailored touchscreens and remote interfaces.
- Lighting design — From architectural facade lighting to theatrical and entertainment rigs.
- Networking.
- Projection systems.
- Signal distribution.
- Technology general contracting — Single-point coordination of all tech trades on a project.
- Video and camera integration.
- Video conferencing.
- Video walls and digital signage.
Markets served
Synapse's market verticals map directly to the most demanding AV environments in the country: broadcast, corporate enterprise, cultural and event centers, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, and hospitality. There is meaningful overlap with the four divisions Restrepo Innovations serves — commercial, hospitality, government and military, and luxury residential — which is why these two firms work well in the same room.
How Restrepo Innovations works with Synapse
Synapse Audio Visual Designs is based at 411 Sette Drive, Suite N3, Paramus, NJ 07652 — a short drive from many of the Bergen County estates, corporate campuses, and hospitality properties where Restrepo Innovations is engaged. We work alongside firms like Synapse on commercial AV, hospitality, and large estate projects where the scale of the technical design exceeds what a single integration trade can responsibly own. Their lighting design depth and our control, networking, and luxury residential integration experience pair cleanly on projects that need both.
Michael Restrepo on the partnership: "Synapse is one of the firms in this region whose drawings I respect on sight. They are design engineers first — when the project has architectural lighting, projection, video walls, networking, and control all riding on the same drawing set, that is the kind of work Stephen and Chris do every day. When we collaborate with Synapse, the client gets two teams who care about the design as much as the deadline."
If you are planning a commercial AV, hospitality, healthcare, government, or large-estate project in the tri-state area that requires real engineering depth, contact Restrepo Innovations — we will tell you honestly whether the right answer is a single Restrepo team or a collaboration with a design-build firm like Synapse.