Kennedy Hi-Fi, situated on Hwy 7 in Markham, Ontario is one of our newest partners. Owner Markus Bundze and his staff have been helping home and business owners with their audio, video and automation needs for close to 30 years.
I met Markus as a young lad in his early twenties, back in the ’90s when he was just starting out in this industry of ours and learning the ropes at the original store. The old store was much more modest than the current one and was located on Kennedy Road, hence the name Kennedy Hi-Fi. Markus quickly acquired an in-depth product knowledge, as well as a passion for the AV business that I always attributed to his inquisitive nature, combined with a genuine desire to perfect his skills and to ultimately strive to deliver the best service. He and his team are committed to providing customers with an experience they won’t soon forget. The store is a well-oiled machine, where every detail is important and every team member ads to the overall experience. You will rarely find a system that isn’t fully wired and ready for a demo. All members of the Kennedy Hi-Fi team are consummate professionals devoted to giving the best advice, not on what they like, but more importantly on what will work best for each individual client and their respective budget.
Kennedy Hi-Fi prides itself on constantly seeking the best brands and updating their full range of products in order to offer, design, pre-wire and install systems that their customers will be proud to own and to show off. Thus the addition of Nordost, which they view as an extremely well-regarded name in the cable industry that offers unique sound and technology in contrast with the other brands of cables on display. As Kennedy Hi-Fi puts, offering Nordost “gives the customer another degree of flexibility in pursuing their perfect sound.” Nordost also complements very well with the impressive list of other fine brands you will find in their showrooms: Moon by Simaudio, Focal, Audiovector, Fezz Audio, JL Audio, Klipsch, Naim, Oracle Audio, Parasound, Primaluna, PS Audio, Project, and Rega, to name a few.
If you are looking for a multi-room custom installation, their team of professionals are very well equipped to make your home entertainment dreams come true: full automation, lighting, video, audio, etc… both for indoor and outdoor. They pretty much do it all! As Markus would say, “No job is too big or too small for Kennedy Hi-Fi.”
The many great customer reviews they continue to receive are a true testament to the kind of service you can expect to get from these guys. Just take a few minutes to see for yourself on their social media platforms.
Whether you’re in the market to acquire a new piece of gear in the near or distant future, I strongly encourage you to pay a visit to Kennedy Hi-Fi and let Markus, Sean, or Chris show you around, and perhaps indulge them in giving you a demo for a taste of their “savoir faire”.
Since 1995, Audio Solutions has served customers in Indianapolis. Located in the Broad Ripple community, near Butler University, this pedestrian-friendly area of town is the perfect location for a hifi shop.
The Audio Solutions team, led by Graham Lundeen, showcases some of the finest brands in audio from their new, custom-designed building. Shoppers can be confident that they are hearing products properly by conducting auditions in one of Audio Solutions’ four sound rooms. From insulation and soundproofing to room dimensions, these sound rooms were tailored-made for critical listening. However, if you would rather hear components in your own sound system, they even offer in-home demonstrations before purchase.
Audio Solutions is more than just a great building. The team is what makes this company special. Victor Gazorek, the store manager, has been with the company for over ten years. Originally a customer of the store, he brings decades of experience to the team (especially in the realm of audio and digital distribution, networking, and streaming!). They even offer an on-staff service tech, Scott Gleason, to take care of any problems and to assist with warranty service, further proving that customer care is a top priority.
Custom home installation for whole-house audio and video is a very important part of the business, but their hearts are truly rooted in high-end audio performance. Audio Solutions carries the entirety of Nordost’s extensive product range, from Leif to Odin 2. They even have the brand-new QNET Network Switch available for audition (one of our first dealers to have one). Don’t worry, cables and audio enhancers aren’t the only things on offer! From the best, new streamers and DACS, turntables and electronics, to a large selection of previously owned gear (now accepting trade-ins), you are bound to find what you are looking for, along with the service and expertise you would expect of a hi-end audio retailer.
Our Dealer Spotlight this month centers on Nordost’s most southerly audio store in the world, Soundline of Christchurch, New Zealand. Soundline was founded by industry legend, Frank Denson in 1979. At the time, there was very little quality HiFi equipment available in New Zealand. As a result, Frank began building his own turntables and speakers from kits. These initiatives were complemented by also building various amplifier designs under license.
In the early 1980s import duties and tariffs began to be relaxed in New Zealand, so Frank started to attend international audio shows, such as CES in Las Vegas. He had a particular focus on wanting to import hi-end equipment and made such an impression on the likes of Accuphase, Audio Research, Kimber Kable and Meridian Audio that he began importing these brands – brands that are still part of the Soundline family some forty years later.
By the late eighties, home theater had come along. As with the two-channel brands, Soundline were passionate about importing high-end video brands that they believed in. And so the likes of Stewart Filmscreen, Runco, Harman Kardon and Yamaha joined Soundline’s impressive portfolio. Such brands were perfect for the bespoke custom home theater designs that Soundline were now offering their customers. Soundline invested in their home automation department, and their professionalism and reputation for the high standard of install work meant that they were well placed, as this area of the business naturally expanded into distributing audio and video throughout the home. The ‘wow factor’ of integrating lighting into these installs further strengthened Soundline’s reputation across New Zealand, as clients preferred to only deal with one installer.
These days, Soundline in Christchurch is run and co-owned by Terry Wyatt. Terry has had a long-standing interest in music and audio equipment. In his teenage years in the mid-1980s he would frequent the hi-fi shops in Wellington and read the American and British hi-fi magazines. He was in awe of all the reviews and pictures of equipment that he could not afford. Two months after Terry left college, he had scraped together enough money for a deposit on his first separates hi-fi system – a Denon CD Player and Amplifier with Acoustic Research speakers to enjoy listening to the likes of Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Dire Straits, and The Cure. He wasn’t old enough to have a line of credit, so his mother acted as his guarantor. He thanked her by playing the likes of Dark Side Of The Moon until neither she or the walls could handle it anymore. He continued to spend any spare time in music shops and hi-fi shops. He was offered a job working as an audio consultant for Absolute Audio, which he embraced with typical enthusiasm. He was conscientious enough to borrow equipment from the store and began to build up his vast knowledge of audio manufacturers and their respective sonic signatures.
In 1995, after six years working at a couple of hi-fi stores in Wellington, Frank Denson asked Terry to join his Soundline team in Christchurch. Terry didn’t need asking twice, as he had admired how Frank had built Soundline up as a company, and it was considered the premier hi-fi store in New Zealand. Frank already had enough faith in Terry to be out of the country when he joined! The faith was well placed, as Terry subsequently bought into the company in the early 2000s.
Nordost has been a feature in Soundline in Christchurch for the last three years. This came about by Terry’s tried and trusted methods of taking products home to evaluate in his own system. On this occasion, this was thanks to my friend and colleague, Bjorn Bengtsson, who had left Terry with a QB8 distribution block and a range of Nordost power cords to try, after visiting him all the way from Sweden. This was over the Christmas break of 2019/2020, so Terry had a little more time than normal to audition these items at home. Terry isn’t easily impressed but he was taken aback by the difference that the QB8 distribution block and the Nordost power cords offered over the distribution block and power cords that he was previously using.
He quickly placed two Nordost orders, firstly a QB8 and power cords for his own system, and then the same for demonstration purposes in the Soundline store for their many customers to audition in their own systems at home. Three years later, on a rare day off you will find Terry enjoying the likes of Vasily Kalinnikov’s beautiful 1st and 2nd Symphonies conducted by Neemi Jarvi through his fantastic Accuphase electronics and TAD speakers, with the veins of the system being a loom of Nordost Valhalla 2 cables.
Soundline’s longstanding database of happy customers is a testament to the values instilled by the company’s founder, Frank Denson, and the encyclopedic knowledge that Terry and his trusted Lieutenant, James Heal, have of their customers’ systems. They are both firm advocates that you should always upgrade your power cords before interconnects and speaker cables in your system. To quote Terry, “It’s incredible what one or two power cords can do for the sound of your system and for audio components that you thought you knew well”.
While the team at Soundline has very much embraced new technologies, they remain very much focused on their customers’ needs in buying the right system for their respective tastes and requirements.
SOUNDLINE CHRISTCHURCH
329 Madras Street Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm Saturday 10am to 2pm (03) 379 5695
Innovaciones Acústicas is a High End Audio/Video/Automation boutique based in Quito, Ecuador. Established in late 2009, Bryan Moyano (CEO) always focused on sound quality, whether it be for distributed audio, home theater, or, his personal favorite, two channel HiFi. Bryan took on a difficult task when starting a high end focused company in a non-existing market, where people thought the typical commercial brands were all that existed. Over the years, he has educated the market, creating demand, pushing to improve sound quality, and constantly raising the bar of the brands and products Innovaciones Acusticas proudly represents. With brands like Raidho, Moon by Simaudio, VPI Industries, and Nordost, there’s no doubt that quality is the company’s main focus.
This journey has led the company to have an Experience Center with 13 different listening and viewing “areas” in Quito, partnership in Guayaquil, as well as their new Experience Center in Miami. Bryan’s strategy of having an “Experience Center” rather than a showroom, with many different products piled on top of each other, is one of the reasons that the company has been able to flourish in an inexperienced market. Bryan explains, “We try to avoid talking about specs. We take our customers on a tour through the 13 different areas we have, just enjoying music and some movie clips. Great sound with beautiful decoration and lighting, focused on every minimal detail. After enjoying that, we recommend the most suitable equipment for each client, depending on their taste and budget. We have an upgrade program that permits our clients to constantly improve their systems, little by little, at their own pace, so there are no limits!”
Innovaciones Acústicas has established itself as a HiFi pioneer in Ecuador as well as all of Latin America. And now, they have taken it to the next level, being the first in the world to purchase VPI Industries Flagship model: THE VANQUISH. A beautiful Ruby Red (for the 40th anniversary) magnetic direct drive turntable with Nordost wiring, it’s not only arguably the best turntable in the world, it is a sculpture, a true masterpiece.
This past February, Nordost was absolutely delighted to add Woodbridge Stereo/Video to our fine roster of authorized dealers. Located in Woodbridge, NJ, this NYC metro area dealership was established in 1971 and has grown steadily during the past 50 years. Their longevity in the marketplace is quite admirable having faced many challenges over the years — a devastating fire in 1978, store expansion, the birth of the custom home theater industry (along with its proliferation of numerous inexperienced/unqualified “integrators” working from the trunks of their cars), as well as several US economic downturns. However, these challenges ultimately made Woodbridge Stereo/Video stronger and more dedicated to adhering to their core, guiding philosophy: consumer electronics should be a fun labor of love, focused on the music and the technology behind it. This was their guiding principle back in 1971 and it remains just as important to them today!
Tom Altobelli joined this company in 1980 and began its expansion into high end audio. He carefully brought in many high-end audio lines that met his high standards. They were lines that paid careful allegiance to the accurate reproduction of music, and had robust build quality and longevity in the marketplace. This growth and adherence to superior music reproduction continues today! These folks intimately know (and love) the gear they sell to their legion of dedicated customers. In addition to their two channel audio offerings, Woodbridge offers a wonderful array of custom home theaters and home automation services. These services run the gamut from the initial design stage all the way through installation, all done in-house. They are dedicated to competently building robust yet easy to use systems. Custom designed for each individual client, these services include lighting control, distributed audio, home networks, motorized window shades, HVAC and so on.
However, that does not mean they have minimized their dedication to putting together awesome home audio systems for their loyal clients. After all, this was their first true love that guided them 50 years ago when opening this wonderful retail environment. Woodbridge S/V has several well appointed and acoustically treated sound rooms in which to demo the fine gear they offer. Brands like Mark Levinson, Revel, KEF, Hegel, JL Audio, Krell, Martin Logan, Moon, Prima Luna, Sony, Totem, VPI, Thorens, Music Hall and many more, now including, of course, Nordost!
No stuffy salespeople here either! Tom and his dedicated staff are just about the friendliest and most passionate group of folks you will ever meet. Tom’s vast knowledge of this industry, honed over a forty year plus period, is second to none. This passion and expertise for putting together great sounding audio systems for his clients is based on one major premise — everyone is different, so throw out the cookie cutter formula. Getting to know each client individually is paramount to building a unique system that satisfies their needs and tastes.
You will greatly enjoy a visit to Woodbridge Stereo/Video because they love what they do and they love their clients! Next time you are in the area, please drop by to get a demonstration of Nordost products from a very talented group of individuals who will make you feel at home and help engage you in this wonderful hobby we call high performance audio!
I had the great pleasure of sitting down with John Rein, owner of Audio Video Therapy in Nashua, NH. John and his knowledgeable staff are dedicated to giving their clients a hi-fi experience tailored to their specific needs and budgets. I hope you enjoy reading this interview with John as much as I enjoyed sitting down with him.
– Amy Hansen
Q: What started your passion for HiFi?
A: When I was in high school, I walked into Tech HiFi in Harvard Square and, for the first time, I heard a good speaker that impressed me…and I remember there was a wall of receivers all lit up. Everything was back-lit dials, and it was mesmerizing. That’s when I started spending all of my money on audio. In college, I heard a pair of early B&W 800 series driven by Audio Research monoblocks and realized, oh my god… there’s a whole other level I didn’t even know existed.
Q: How did AV Therapy come to be?
A: About 8 years ago, it was time for me to move into a different area and concentrate more on two-channel audio. The driving force was that it seemed like everyone in audio had left the people in the middle behind. There were no feeder systems for younger people to get into the hobby because ultra high-end products were so expensive. After places like Tweeter closed down, there was really no place for someone who had a $3-4K budget and wanted better stuff to go to in order to get started in the hobby. My goal was to have everything from $199 to $50K speakers in the same place. To help, we even have a trade-up policy to help people gradually work towards their goal.
But, what’s going to keep this going when we’re not here? We have to build for the future. I want what AV Therapy is doing to continue whether I’m here or not.
Q: How has this past year been? Has the pandemic been the
most challenging thing you’ve had to face as a business owner?
A: COVID has been the weirdest time because it exploded our
business! I really have to say that you are either on one side of the pandemic
or the other. You’re either a restaurant
owner, or a business owner that is working in a field where people are stuck at
home and need your product. We are blessed enough to be on the right side of
this pandemic. I have friends who own restaurants, that have not been so
fortunate. Anyone who’s in this business should be incredibly grateful.
Q: How do you incorporate music into your personal life?
A: As you know, I’m on the board of trustees for Symphony NH.
But that’s only part of it. Music for me has always been an emotional switch. When
the right music comes on, it can transport you into any moment of your life.
Music is relaxing, invigorating, and one emotion after another. How often do
you watch your favorite movie? Once in a while? Once in five years? Now, how
often do you listen to your favorite music? You can do that every day and you
don’t get tired of it!
I have five systems at home and a very tolerant wife. With
five systems, I have obviously taken over a fair amount of real estate in our
house, and she has tolerated this for over 40 years. For me, music and quality of life are
synonymous. It’s playing all the time. Whenever I can, I play with toys at work
during off-business hours—that’s one of the joys of work and it’s a great
thing.
Q: Is there any genre of music you prefer?
A: I embrace every kind of music there is. Since I went to college in Boston in the 70’s, there was always a reasonable amount of live folk music available, and I’ve always liked it because of that. I go to the Montreal Jazz Festival every year, so Jazz has always been part of it too. I grew up in the rock ‘n roll era, so there is a lot of rock ‘n roll in my background too. When I was 13 years old, my mother bought two records: one was a Mozart record, and one was a Beatles record, so my musical taste has been diverse from the beginning. There’s beauty and complexity in classical, and modern classical has incredible diversity that pushes the envelope and is quite engaging. I like to explore everything, and I like it all.
Q: How do you see vinyl and digital evolving in
popularity?
A: I think streaming has opened the door and that digital’s quality has gone up astronomically in the last few years. The edginess of the 80’s and 90’s is well in the background if you just spend a little more money. I think you can get a more liquid sound for less money in vinyl, but you can get a lot of that same liquidity in digital, it just tends to cost a little bit more. I think that one of the things people are starting to realize is that high resolution streaming is much closer to vinyl than a lot of people actually want to admit. I love vinyl and have 6,500 records at home! So, I’m a vinyl person with turntables all over the house. We tend to be a lazy species… so even though I have 6,500 records, 80+ percent of the time I’m playing digital because it’s convenient, and now that it’s good enough with Naim, Chord, and Linn streaming at home, I’m listening to more and more digital even though I’m a vinyl lover. I think that the whole ritual of vinyl is part of it. I love the fact that you tend to sit down and listen for 20+ uninterrupted minutes. When you’re doing digital, a lot of times you flip the track before the song is over. Patience is hard.
Q: What other changes are you noticing in the industry that have had an influence on your business?
A: I think “whole-house audio” and streaming has been a godsend. Not only do they allow you to spread music everywhere in the house, but it has created a category that didn’t exist years and years ago. We sell a lot of products like Bluesound; sometimes 7 or 8 units per house to have music everywhere. It allows music to be more integrated into people’s lives when it’s everywhere.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you at AV
Therapy?
A: I see customers in-person, and I spend hours on the phone with customers. I average 40-50 phone calls a day. Recently, especially since the start of COVID, a lot of our sales have started over the phone, in order to narrow things down for customers before they come in for a listening session. We have thousands of customers now and a lot of them will call up and say, “You know my system and I’m thinking of doing this, this, and this. Which of these would you recommend?”. That resulted in a lot more home trials. Before the pandemic, people would just wander in and sit down, and we’d audition one thing after another. I think our focus has increased on getting things right quickly when they get here, because a lot of people don’t want to spend a lot of time in a store, where before they wouldn’t mind spending 4 or 5 hours auditioning. In the last month or two, I am seeing a trend where people are starting to spend more hours here again.
Q: You are one the nicest, most genuine, and trusted
people in the industry. What do you
attribute to that and to your success?
We put the customer first. We try to give them the best stuff we can give them, while being fair and reasonable, and always…their needs come first, yours second. In the end, this benefits us. I think you have to have a long-term vision. I understood when I came into this industry from corporate life, what I had wanted as a customer forever. What did I want? I wanted someone who looked out for what I was doing…and I didn’t see a lot of that. I was a kid who had been thrown out of audio stores because I had no money. We don’t do that to anybody. Whether your 12 years old or 80, you’re going to be treated the same. This business is about enjoyment and fun. If you’re buying toys, it should be about fun—it’s that simple.
There’s a new shop in Vancouver, B.C., but the owner is far from being new to our industry. The shop is called AudioFi and the owner is none other than industry veteran Philip Meyburgh, who I’ve known for many years. I first met Philip about 20 years ago when he worked at a well-known specialty shop in downtown Vancouver. We share a passion for music, and have always been able to engage in interesting audio conversations. Philip worked at a number of different specialty shops over the past 50 years and it all started in his birth country of South Africa, where he had his own store that he handed over to his sister when he left for Canada in 1994.
Philip attributes his life-long passion for hi-fi and music to his father’s influence. As a kid he watched him build Vacuum Tube amplifiers, starting with bending the sheet metal, punching holes for the tube sockets, and sourcing parts — it wasn’t so easy in those days! Face plates were made by spraying a layer of black on clear acrylic, and then using a reverse stencil to scratch out the lettering, which were then sprayed white from behind. Speakers were Klipsch Horns, on which his dad upgraded the crossovers with paper capacitors — a suitcase full were needed! In the evenings when the Earth’s ionosphere was just right, his dad would use the opportunity to connect with radio amateurs in far away places. Philip learned about antennas, wire, cable tuning, and grounding. That was the sixties, the birth of rock and the beginning of the album era. As Philip told me:
“My seven-transistor radio made me love the music, but I needed better fidelity, so I started a lifelong program of upgrading. My motto? – With music reproduction, nothing is good enough! The magic of science and physics was a beautiful thing and I kept studying Physics through University, trying to understand the physics of the reproduction chain. Hey, why not just read the product brochures, right? The features and benefits are right there, right? I quickly learned who the ‘White Hat’ companies were that are truthful, as opposed to the ‘Black Hat’ companies that exaggerate things a bit.”
For him, it’s all about the music, which is great because that’s what it’s all about for us too 😊.
Philip opened Audiofi in October 2020, much to a lot of frowns, because of the uncertainty of the moment, but he didn’t want to miss out on a rare opportunity to get a cool space in a vibrant and developing area of Vancouver, near the Olympic Village. The space is Zen-like, where you step through a small inner courtyard into an oasis of calm, where clients can sit down and hear top quality audio. The shop is one large open space of approximately 1,500 sq/ft where many quality brands are on display and ready for demonstration on a by-appointment basis. Philip is very proud of the brands he sells, which were carefully selected by him on the basis of performance, value, aesthetics, honesty, and most importantly, musicality, about which he knows a thing or two. According to Philip, Nordost checked all the boxes when it comes to his rigorous selection process. In his own words, this is what Philip had to say about Nordost:
“These are the only guys that do things right from both a physics standpoint and also a proof-in-listening standpoint. This is why I recommend Nordost. I’m also looking forward to getting back to a post Covid era and hosting in-store Nordost events. Bruno, of Nordost, would come along and simply do comparisons, not push or influence the audience, letting them come to their own conclusions – this is the best type of selling, because when a customer hears the magic for themselves, it is internalized — It becomes a belief. I like being in this space.”
Audio Connection was founded by Josef Riediger in 1987, born out of his passion for high-end music reproduction. When he first started, Josef had a tiny shop in a the Sydney suburb, Bankstown, and sold only a handful of products (like the legendary Gryphon, to mention one brand). After seven very successful years, he had amassed enough funds and experience to move into a much larger facility in Leichhardt, where he continued to build on his earlier success. There, Josef expanded deeper and deeper into high-end HiFi and Home Cinema. Along the way, he met some amazing people from all walks of life, and built a solid reputation throughout the industry and among customers as a real stalwart of the Australian HiFi community.
Nordost’s journey with Audio Connection started in the early 2000’s, when then-distributor Warren Stolmack brought in some earlier Nordost products for Josef to audition. Josef was so intrigued by the results he heard with Nordost in his system that he instantly signed on as a dealer and continued to spread the word about Nordost’s performance for many years to come.
Not long after Mr. Stolmack introduced Nordost to Audio Connection, ‘yours truly’ had the opportunity to meet with the charismatic Josef, or Joe Riediger as most people referred to him. In that meeting I remember that Joe said, in his unmistakable accent, “I don’t need to hear them again, Warren already showed me. Valhalla is the best.” This is a statement he never would have to amend.
From then on, there have been several Nordost demonstrations made in the Leichardt facility. I have had the privilege of spending several enjoyable and memorable evenings with the ever-present customer base of engaged Australian HiFi enthusiasts. One example of such a night to remember at Audio Connection you can even read about here, thanks to Soundstage Australia’s reporting.
Sadly, Josef passed away in September 2020, one week shy of his 71st birthday. His passion for hifi is upheld by the team he left behind, comprised of Janson, Jojo, Michael, Phil, Ken, and lead by his nephew, Nigel. Between this team, there’s almost 200 years of hifi experience, most of which was spent by Josef’s side, and all sharing his passion for audio. Audio Connection has recently gone through an extensive ‘face lift’ with new, superb sounding demo rooms, filled with a full range of some of the world’s most highly regarded high-end brands, as always. Including, of course, Nordost’s entire collection, all the way up to Odin 2.
Audio Connection
Address:
137 Victoria Road Drummoyne NSW New south Wales NSW 2025
When we last looked in on Liquid Hi-Fi, down on the edge of the Charlotte NC market, Ron was humming right along. He had some of the best brands on the market— brands like Hegel, KEF, NAD, Dynaudio, Rogue Audio, Moon, and of course, Nordost cabling to connect it all. In the past few years the owner, Ron Buffington, has followed a path similar to a few other top dealers in the country by upping the game.
When Covid-19 hit and we were all semi-forced into home quarantine, we all got bit by the audio bug again too. The more everyone sat at home and listened, the more they wanted to make some system improvements! Ron started getting calls from his clients asking for even more performance and advice on products which could make that possible.
Fast forward to today and when you walk into Ron’s place to see what treasures reside there, you will still see all the well-known and trusted brands he had before, but also some new stuff that reaches the very top end of the market. These products are game changers in performance (and honestly price) — brands like YG Acoustics, Wadax, CH Precision, Boulder, and even more.
A new location for Ron also brought even more listening space, as well as improved acoustics for his clients to hear this new level of performance. Of course, there is also plenty of Nordost Valhalla 2 and Odin 2 being used to pull those fantastic systems together!
I am very pleased to introduce you to one of Nordost’s top North American Dealers: Absolute Audio/Video.
After realizing that there was a lack of quality stereo
shops in Calgary, the founder Ross Sisson, who’s an avid music lover, opened
the original store back in 2005. They now operate out of a newer, larger, and
more sophisticated location.
The first store, which was slightly more modest than the newer more luxurious shop, was situated just a block down the same road in the Bowness Area in Calgary. Ross, who’s a very handy guy, actually built all of the original showrooms pretty much by himself and did an amazing job. It didn’t take long for local clients to start pouring in and be amazed by the line-up of quality brands and products on display. What impressed clients even more was Ross’s technical expertise and, furthermore, his diverse musical knowledge. I have always believed that the main reason Ross and Absolute AV are so successful is because of his contagious passion for music. I have come to meet many of his patrons over the years and if there is one thing they all have in common, it’s their love of music and trust for Ross’s recommendations and advice.
With his lifelong knowledge of music and what good sound is,
Ross helps others by providing knowledgeable information on topics like room
acoustical improvements and electrical upgrades for audio and video
improvements. His advice scans many topics from whole house audio and video to
lighting and security.
Ross was raised on good music that he was introduced to by
his mom and his older brothers. Ever since he was a kid, strong audio and
musical versatility was extremely important to him. He’s an LP and CD collector
who spends much of his time finding rare gems in record shops around Canada.
In 2015, Ross spotted a nicer and larger location just down the road, which he envisioned as the perfect space to turn into his dream store. In May of 2016, his dream came true and the new shop was inaugurated. Clients and suppliers alike were delighted with the new store’s look and functionality. In my humble opinion, the new location is truly one of the nicest stores in Canada.
Here are some of the brands you can currently find at Absolute AV: Nordost, Bowers & Wilkins, ATC loudspeakers, Monitor Audio, Odeon Audio, Vivid Audio, Bryston, Muraudio, Neat Acoustics, Transrotor, Acoustic Solid, Oracle Audio, MOFI, NAD, VPI Industries, Dynavector, HANA, Nagoaka, Kiseki, Grado, Sorane, Jadis, MOON by Simaudio, Ayre, Rotel, Atoll, Rogue Fezz, Zesto, Dan D’Agostino, Merging Technologies, Lumin, Antipodes Audio, Roon Labs, Lindemann, etc … What a line-up! It’s also worth mentioning that Absolute AV was the very first Supreme Reference Dealer in Canada in 2007.
The other thing Absolute AV is really good at is organizing very popular and sought-after special events, many of which are held off-premises in glamorous settings like art galleries and famous restaurants. Attended and hosted by famous people as well as industry specialists, these events have surely contributed to building a strong and loyal customer base which consistently continues to grow.
Then, in 2008, came along James Davies who is now the Sales Manager and Product Specialist at the shop. James is a contemporary and avant-garde Jazz music lover of the late ’60s and early ’70s, as well as lots of other music spanning across generations.
“For as long as I can remember, I have listened to music: from the calming effect of listening to The Moody Blues’ “Night in White Satin”, as a child, on the radio, to rhythmic complexity of electronic beat gurus Autechre and Avant-garde Jazz pioneers The Art Ensemble of Chicago – I crave music. I consume music. I believe, if there is one secret to the success of any one Hi-Fi dealer, it’s in their ability to help customers explore and consume music. And, existentially, where do we expect the music industry to be tomorrow if we aren’t supporting our favourite artists of today?
Before getting into the Hi-Fi industry (and probably the main reason I ended up in this industry), I sort of flew where the wind took me. I don’t have a background in any one thing. I’ve been in manufacturing and construction, and am a trained painter and illustrator (and I look forward to pursuing this again if I ever get to retire!). The parallel between painting and music is a fascinating one for me, as colour theory and musical harmony are really one and the same. The same is true of the technologies used to record and produce modern music. If you understand the behavior of one frequency band, the rest starts to make a lot of sense. Much of all art is simply problem solving…we just use different techniques and methodology.”
James’s primary tasks are searching for reliable brands and creating bonds with people in the community. James loves products and brands that don’t make excuses for themselves and that have an interest in not only modern relevance but progressive techniques and ideas as well, which is why he likes Nordost so much.
“I don’t think there’s a terribly sophisticated reason for our success with Nordost. In the beginning, before my time with Absolute, I believe we chose to represent Nordost not because of its marketability or brand cache, but because of its performance and the company that stands behind the product. In my time with Absolute, I have never experienced a company more dedicated to training its dealers and willing to disclose as much of the technical aspects of their products. As you can imagine, a cable brand with no technical background is easy to label as nothing more than snake oil. So the knowledge base that Nordost brings to the table is really paramount in our success.
Secondly, Absolute AV made the investment. We do not wait around for customers to inquire about and order products on a whim; we demonstrate them in all of our systems, keep a generous amount in stock for quick turnaround, and take the time to recommend the correct Nordost cable systems to meet our customers’ needs and budgets.
Absolute AV is a performance oriented retailer. That’s not to say our focus is purely on esoteric high end. Rather, we do our best to present Hi-Fi equipment as more than an appliance simply meant as a means to an end. Working with Nordost products helps to remove some of the mysticism surrounding high end audio by being firmly rooted in science and engineering; Nordost products take the guesswork out of Hi-Fi, allowing for predictable and repeatable results.”
The entire staff at Nordost is extremely proud to count Absolute AV as part of our team, and I am personally honored to count Ross and James as personal friends of mine.
