Balance AV Systems (BLNC AV) is a commercial audio, lighting and video integration company that understands the challenges and complexities of today’s live-event landscape. Our world-class event production services are uniquely tailored to meet the competing demands of budget, performance and value.
Our work goes beyond traditional venues and concert events. We are experts at conference-room technologies; music systems for bars and restaurants; audio systems for multi-use spaces, including gymnasiums, theaters and classrooms; and recording studios.
Backline rentals, audio and lighting retail, staging services, custom cables, video equipment and power products are among our ancillary services. All of these products and more can be discovered at our 1050 S. Academy Blvd. showroom.
MEET THE TEAM
Ryan May
Balance AV Systems Founder and Owner Ryan May brings a lifetime of sound-and-lighting experience to stages across the country.
During his career, he’s helped thousands of customers around the world by finding solutions to their audio, visual and lighting needs. He’s worked with artists Scotty McReery, Staind, Avatar and Insane Clown Posse, and he’s supported the Ernie Ball stages at Vans Warped Tour.
Venues that have benefited from his services include Denver’s Marquis Theater and Summit Music Hall, and The Black Sheep in Colorado Springs. He’s also provided products and services to places of worship like Red Rocks Church in Denver, Legacy Church in Green Mountain Falls and many others.
Ryan’s approach is simple, but unfortunately unique in the AV industry: He digs in with his customers to determine their true needs, understand their budget and provide true value-added solutions that solve real problems and save real money.
Simply put, Ryan helps his clients look and sound like pros, even if they don’t think they have the budget for it.
Ryan grew up in Colorado Springs, witnessing the birth of the region’s underground alternative and hip-hop scenes. Even as a teenager, he was playing shows with a local rock act and fine-tuning his AV skills.
He made a big move in 2004, relocating to Burnsville, Minnesota, where he served as Regional Sales Manager of the Live Sound division (Western U.S.) for audio manufacturer Electro-Voice. There, Ryan managed large national accounts at Guitar Center, training employees on the best way to present Electro-Voice products to consumers.
His experience working with those large national accounts — including Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend and Best Buy — provided Ryan with a unique inside look at the mechanations of the big-retail success model.
While at Electro-Voice, Ryan also worked with countless AV and concert-touring companies, learning their distinct needs and the most innovative, cutting-edge ways to meet them.
Ryan collaborated closely with Staind and Finger Eleven in supporting their national tours, ensuring that tens of thousands of fans enjoyed engaged, immersive experiences.
In 2016, Ryan partnered with Performance Audio to open Performance Audio Colorado, which quickly became the most notable pro-audio company in Southern Colorado. In 2020, as the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic and related government actions set in, Performance Audio decided to close its Colorado location.
But Ryan saw an opportunity to develop a new kind of AV company — one that’s more agile, more adaptable. Later that same year, he launched Balance AV Systems, named to reflect both his deep knowledge of AV system engineering and his budget-friendly approach. But it also signifies his commitment to finding solutions that work in a dynamic environment, where the right balance is more crucial than ever for an industry experiencing unprecedented disruption and technological advances.
During his limited free time, Ryan plays in the Colorado hip-hop band Audible and enjoys spending time with his family.
