Hi Y'all

[hifi_dave]

Joined a few minutes ago and thought I'd post a quick 'Hello' from sunny NW Essex.

I have been meaning to sign up for some time now but a combination of being too busy and laziness at other times has held me back but I have now done the deed.

Regards to you all.
David

[Marco]

Welcome to AOS, Dave :)

Ian Walker said you might join, so I'm glad you have. Feel free to use the forum where appropriate to advertise, especially in the trade room. Let's hear about all the lovely sale bargains you've got from time to time in there.

Perhaps you could outline your business briefly here to our members?

You know the ropes, so get stuck into discussions just like you do on pfm :cool:

Marco.

[John]

Welcome Dave looking forward to you shring your knowledge and experience

[Beechwoods]

Hi Dave, and greetings!

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Dave

Welcome to AOS.


Who are you ? Which shop ?


Regards D S D L

[hifi_dave]

Many thanks for the greetings folks.

I'll do my best to assist The Art of Sound without promoting my business but as Marco has requested I'll just say a few words.

I try to keep my business low-key and enjoyable rather than high-pressure and stressful. I love good Hi-Fi and like nothing better than helping people achieve good sounds at moderate cost. Great Hi-Fi needn't cost a fortune IMO.

I don't do multi-room, that's for electricians and I don't sell 'Home Cinema', it doesn't do music. What I do is high quality, good value, two channel Hi-Fi with the emphasis on Analogue. British equipment is prominent.

Contact me by e-mail radlettaudio@hotmail.co.uk

Website www.radlettaudio.co.uk

Best wishes,
David

[Spectral Morn]

There are way to many Daves in audio. Now I know Radlett...nice very nice.

I used to be in the trade managing an Audio shop, but sadly was made redundant when the multi-room side went belly up (due to the collapse of the new build industry). Dave you are so right not doing this nonsense. I was left out of work while the owner has now gone back to doing the audio side of things (which I was managing for him). I could say more but not here. :steam::(


Regards D S D L

[hifi_dave]

Hi Neil,
Sorry to hear about that. Maybe if the owner had stuck with Hi-Fi you'd still be there. Multi-room has never interested me. I far prefer good sound in one room rather than indifferent sound in several rooms.

My first big 'multi-room' sale was for a customer who had been quoted £50K by another shop. I offered and then installed the best £50K system I could and gave him 3 Teac systems for the other rooms. Worked a treat. He had great sound in one room and good, highly flexible sounds in the others. Why would you want to spend days chiselling walls, lifting floors and crawling in lofts just to provide naff sounds in several rooms. Nowadays you can do it for a few hundred Pounds with Apple (I believe).

Not only does multi room normally provide bad sound but the whole business thing is flawed as you no doubt experienced when customers refuse to pay the bill because of some nit-picking problem. Many dealers have gone belly-up because of this.

No, I prefer the simple life. A turntable, good simple amp and efficient speakers - you can't beat it !!! Back to the future.:lolsign:

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Dave

You are so right. Thats what i used to say much to the owners horror and the dirty looks of his installations manager/programmer :lol: Put in one excellent system and smaller set ups in other rooms.

I like your solution.


Not only does multi room normally provide bad sound but the whole business thing is flawed as you no doubt experienced when customers refuse to pay the bill because of some nit-picking problem. Many dealers have gone belly-up because of this.

That was the main problem...I was alone voice crying in the wilderness, I was ignored.

Regards D S D L

[hifi_dave]

Hi Neil,
For a time it must have looked like multi-room was a licence to print money but IMO it's an Electrician's job, not a music lover's !!! Then when you start looking into it, the pitfalls are truly scarey. I'm sure it works well in the USA but it's not for this country or for the enthusiast Hi-Fi dealer.

Anyway, you are vindicated as a pile of defunct Hi-Fi dealers will testify. I bet you also told them that high-end Home Cinema was a dead end. :doh:

[Spectral Morn]

Anyway, you are vindicated as a pile of defunct Hi-Fi dealers will testify.I bet you also told them that high-end Home Cinema was a dead end. :doh:


No I must be honest and say that I was in favour of Home Cinema as an additional service, not as a take over from hi-fi. However decisions about that had been made long before I joined the shop. I basically had to try and build the hi-fi side of things back up. It took 5 years to win back credibility. Just in time for me to be kicked out (made redundant).:( :steam:


Regards D S D L

[hifi_dave]

I just couldn't get into it, not even when we were doing Megabuck stuff, it just didn't do 'music'. Then there were the logistical problems like, how can you dem all this gear which needs constant setting up every time you change a system component ? No matter how good and well set up the system is, someone always wants to hear something else and you just can't do it - no space, no time and you can't stock everything. So you end up offering the customer one or two choices of complete system. Which is fine but it won't be what's in favour this month with the mags.

You just can't win, then when you try to sell your demo stock, it's worth zippo because it's last week's model and no one wants that.:doh:

My idea of 'Home Cinema' is 2.1. A good stereo system with speakers positioned either side of the screen and a sodding great sub-woof if you need more bass. Perfect and it plays music.:)

[Spectral Morn]

Everything you say is true....but I managed to do it by having shop based systems set up and a special room set aside which was more about selling the concept. We then sold items based on what the client needed and what could be done in their room.

Music is my first love, but I do love movies too so for me home cinema wasn't as big a compromise . The major problems happened when the Super markets started offering so called home cinema and the cost of DVD players went through the floor. Same is true for flat panel tv's. A specialist is great for info but not so good for cheap kit. Like hi-fi a lot of people just can't see or hear the quality but they are more than happy to try and rob you of your set up knowledge:steam:

Retails hard no matter what you are doing. You seem to have made the right choices and I wish you the best. Your reputation is excellent.

Enjoy the forum Dave and thanks for the chat.

Regards D S D L

[Haselsh1]

Welcome to you... Radlett has an astonishing reputation.

I used to work for a very well known 'Sound and Vision' franchise but it didn't last as I'm a purist and a realist. I left...!!!

[hifi_dave]

Thank you.

I know what you mean and how you feel. I'm no salesman, I can't sell what I don't like only what I believe in. Perhaps if I was more persuasive and aggressive I'd be a rich man now. :doh:

[baron]

Hi Dave,
Nice to see you on this forum.:)

[hifi_dave]

Hi Philip,
Thank you. It was your link with pic of the Dais/12 inch which prompted me to sign up. I was on the site and it was rude not to.

All the best,
David

[DSJR]

Dave's too modest!!!

You can thank (curse??) him for my epiphany twenty years ago. My acquisition of a NAS Mentor/Decca MicroScanner, some Tube Technology power amps and, later, some humungous and rare Celef monitors and Croft gear is ALL HIS FAULT!!!!!:gig:


Thanks to his beneficial input into my audio "education" over the years, I've discovered no end of wonderful sounding equipment outside the Linn/Naim/ATC/AVI circles I once revelled and took part in. Curently, it's NAS, EAR, dear old Crofty, Tannoy, Puresound, Tron, Naim, Rega and many other audible delights with Harbeth coming soon.......

P.S. This post is totally off my own bat and I wasn't prompted at all by anyone - honest!! (Dave, you know where to send the dosh....... :lol:)

[hifi_dave]

Did you say 'dosh' or 'nosh' ? I'm still waiting for you to come over for a pint and sausage sandwich. :cool:


I love these 'smileys' but I haven't managed to squeeze in the 'gig' one yet. I just can't find an excuse. :scratch:

[snapper]

I love these 'smileys' but I haven't managed to squeeze in the 'gig' one yet. I just can't find an excuse. :scratch:


You don't need an excuse,Dave.

Welcome to the forum BTW.

:gig:

[DSJR]

Zeit eh? You really are a disciple aren't you Snapper? Do I know you from any of the TeeDee forums by any chance?

Currently playing - some Ulrich Schnauss with loads of pitch-bending - reminds me of my LP12 :lol: and in the car, Phaedra 2005 (ugh!!!). It gets turned off in favour of the original within a few minutes every time I try to play it........


Pint and a sausage sarny? Is it really nearly a year Dave? Time flies when you're not having much fun don't it?

[Beechwoods]

:lol: I knew you were an Ulrich Schnauss fan with the location given in your profile. I have his first two albums. Both are superb...

[DSJR]

"Goodbye" ain't too bad either, once you get through the dense mix (understatement) ;)



That man's music - touches my soul............

Apologies HiFi Dave. I'll give you your thread back now.......