thursday 21 august 2008
Unbelievable. Do you remember back to the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics (08.08.08)...we rembember, cause we were burgled. Anyway, funny thing happened later that morning.
Some dude was casually driving his car home (back seat full of gear that he'd stolen from our showroom), and he was pulled over by police for something-or-other. They quizzed him for a while about what was on his back seat, and he gave them the already classic line: "oh, I'm a DJ"
Anyway, later that day our local (and very attentive) police recieved an email with pretty pics of all the gear that was stolen. It jogged the memory of the police officer that had earlier pulled over our culprit. Eventually a warrant was granted, and today we got nearly all the gear back. There's a couple of items still on the shelf of a 'second hand' store, but we'll get those back soon.
AND THE MESSAGE OF OUR STORY:
Whatever gear you've got, make sure you record the serial numbers, and store them in a safe (and readily accessible) place. After a lengthy chat with our Senior Constable today, we learned that there is virtually no chance of recovering goods without (a) a good description, preferably pictures, and (ii) serial numbers for positive identification.
Do it now! And stay safe out there...
Update:
Sorry for the confusion...the above is not a picture from the actual apprehension. But the 4 customers waiting to come in to Factory Sound when we staged this re-enactment were rather bemused. And Dean looks pretty mean, too.
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wednesday 20 august 2008
As you would no doubt already know, we love it when friends drop in...especially with a killer spread of food, accompanied with a few bottles of Italian wine and beer. And that's exactly what happened last night...the 'RCF staff training' roadshow was in town.
So, after a red-hot go at finishing the fare, we headed into our speaker demo room for a bit of a chat. We had our camera rolling, but due to the highly confidential nature of our talk (or maybe just the crappy quality of our filming), the footage has been embargoed until further notice.
We learned about the rich history of RCF for Europe, around the world, and also specifically in Australia. And we also learned much about the future of RCF.
Talking about learning...we also had a look through the RCF ART Series Custom Shop, which has been designed to help corral the rudderless decision maker into the right direction. In our opinion, looking at any
powered RCF ART series box is already a long jump in the right direction.
The night ended with a demonstration of the power-to-weight efficiency of the
ART525A speaker, but you can imagine that when Tone & Ollie started going for gold in both the ART 'clean & jerk' (lifting onto a speaker stand) and 'snatch' (load into the back of the van) exhibition events, the night was all but over.
Just in time for a group hug in our new shirts.
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friday 15 august 2008
We had a visit yesterday from our mate Wyn Morro. For anyone who sits in their special place through the days and cold winter nights (the studio), you'll have no doubt used Wyn's pure Class A devices, or at least wanted to. In fact, we have a friend who, when it was time to start a family, would have his wife whisper seductively in his ear..."Avalon"... it's true.
So, Wyn brought his own latest baby for us to have a look at. It's heavy...Tone's not trying to use it as a violin.
And it's just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Actually, the 'guts' are exactly the same as the
VT-737SP, it's only the face that has changed. But for a limited time, you can get it black if that's what turns you on. There are only two (2) in the world at the moment, and a small production run is currently underway. You may pre-order as soon as you want, we'll get back to you with an ETA. But you know what they say with black...there will be no going back.
We also had an off-the-record discussion with Wyn about what is coming up from Avalon. Seems he's got the bug, and his lab is cranking up. Unfortunately the 'only' thing we can reveal currently (it's still a ripper!) is that there is an exciting Avalon product coming up for studio monitoring, and it's not speakers.
Would you like to see something in particular from Avalon?
Let us know and we'll pass it on. Wyn's 'all ears' at the moment. For anyone who's had a go at the range, we know that he's always been 'all ears'.
thursday 14 august 2008
As the sun sets on
AMAC 2008, we stop and trawl through the
hours upon hours 50 mins or so of video footage we took, and have turned it into a short clip for all to see. You'll see what we saw: quite a few new products, a bunch of exhibitors trying to show their goods to as many dealers as possible, and a few familiar faces.
AMAC 2008 was organised by the
AMA (
Australian Music Association). The show was predominantly staged as a way of showing musical instrument retailers the latest in guitars, drums, valve trombones, pianos and expensive ukuleles, plus a few seminars and informal discussion. There was also a bit of pro audio gear there, not as much as you'd see at an
Entech or
SMPTE exhibition, or perhaps even next year's
Integrate show. For us, it was a bit like wandering through a music store that has a PA section in the corner to compliment their instruments. But we still had fun, and there was plenty to look at.
Anyway...the AMA do a great job of pulling the industry together like some kind of go-go-gadget-spiderweb, so good on them for coming to Melbourne for the first time this year.
Here's our take on the show: We took a stroll down there on the Monday (the last day of the show), to find the exhibitors a bit worn out...possibly following a little more sauce than they're used to consuming over the weekend. Perfect time for us to pull the camera out and start rolling. This is Factory Sound TV.
We've put model numbers for the new gear into this clip. Watch for them hitting our website over the next couple of days.
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sunday 10 august 2008
Usually you'll find us in good (often great) spirits both in and out of the shop, but Olympic Friday 08.08.08, we woke up in a foul mood. The burglary alarm went off at about 4.44am Friday...we've been invaded by a thief.
We got some great video footage on our CCTV, so once we've got clearance, it will be posted here. In the meantime, please keep an eye out for us if you can. We'd love to make sure some justice is served.
The burglar had a rummage through our computer music room, but the 2 macs were well secured. He did a little damage trying unsuccessfully to detach them from the security lock.
Here's the one that will hopefully unstick the unfortunate individual...he took a
TL Audio VP-1 preamp. We don't imagine there are many of them in Australia. We've still got the box, including
serial number 160291 and spec sheet signed by Tony Larking.
For those who don't like clicking...here's a pic:
The Denon DNS3500 might be another clue if you're looking....he smashed off the spinning platter on his way out, so the unit is basically
rooted for stunt use (though it will still play CDs).
He left us with some damaged goods: Apple MacBookPro 15", Apple iMac20", Pioneer CDJ400 and Joe Meek OneQ.
Really, at the low prices we normally sell this stuff for, he should have just walked in the front door during business hours and asked for a deal. What a prick.
Hopefully, with a bunch of audio-minded people packing it into South Melbourne for the
AMAC show at
Jeff's Shed, we can listen out for anything out of the ordinary.
Please keep an eye out if you can.
Thanks. More to follow!
here's the VP-1 document we have (pdf)
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monday 04 august 2008
First of all, let's not let the title of this musing get in the way of a great story. Tone, Dean and I went to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada last week. We were taken over there by the good people at Event Electronics (now owned by Peter Freedman, who is already famous the world over for his Rode microphones), to witness the launch of their brand new studio monitor - Opal.
We understand they'll be built right here in Australia (at the Rode factory), and the demo we saw was nothing short of gobsmacking. If you want to catch part of the presentation we saw (not the demo), then
have a peek here.
No doubt we'll be publishing heaps on this event over the next weeks and months, because it was a trip that has left indelible memories on all of us.
But this post is about beer & bulls**t in Las Vegas. It can happen anywhere. Try clothes shopping in Vegas "oh honey, that looks great on you" etc... Tone and I decided to sit and grab a pitcher of beer each while Dean was playing the slots at the airport.
So, we're faced with a small selection of tapped beers at the little 'bar and grill' at
McCarran International. Budweiser, Bud Light, and a couple of beers we'd not yet had a go at. One was a stout, and we thought 40+ degrees Celsius was simply too hot for a stout. So we asked about the fourth beer on tap. "We've never had a #$%^ before, what's it like?"
"Oh, sure...have you ever had Stella Artois? It's just like that"
"Great...2 big ones please, and don't hold back on the froth"
What a crock. It tasted very similar to (yes, we've had many beers in this life) Carlton Draught served out of the dreg-i-est pipes imaginable, with a couple of tabs of artificial sweetner chucked in each pitcher for good measure.
So what's the point?
We simply can't imagine saying it with a straight face. What happened to "I don't know man, I haven't tried it." How about cutting out the bulls**t and giving it to us straight. If you know about it, then talk about it...if you don't know, then say so. That's what we do, so it's what we expect. At least I suffered no ill effects from the hotdog he served up.
And while we're at it, hats off to Peter Freedman. He took us 3 simple blokes from Factory Sound all the way to deep in the heart of bulls**t-ville Nevada, and through all the smoke and mirrors allowed his new Event Opal monitors speak for themselves. Sure his presentation was snappy, and the surrounds intoxicating (very intoxicating). But the fact remains that when we finally heard the speakers we'd flown halfway around the world to hear, we were all smiles after hearing sounds in songs we'd never heard before.
No Bulls**t.
Onya Opal, and congratulations to Peter and your team. We look forward to getting some Opal love in store before we kiss 2008 goodnight.
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monday 04 august 2008
It's not often that we get a chance to satisfy three cravings at once...but today was one of those days. First of all, we opened the shop this morning to find the elves had created a stack of sE Reflexion* filters up to the ceiling. To cut a long (and boring) story into a manageable chunk...the distribution of sE has recently changed in Australia, and we won't be dealing with the new distributor. Nevertheless, Reflexion Filter was a great product when it was first released, and it' still a very simple and effective way to deal with the sound of your recording environment. So, we've purchased ALL of the remaining stock from the old importer, and we're going to slash the price until they're gone. $249 is all you'll pay. Bear in mind the RRP is $565, so this really is a great deal. Very strictly no rainchecks.
Now, other than the craving to move all our Reflexion Filters to better homes asap, Ollie was keen for someone to get a photo of his shiny red Vespa before he sold it. Seems the time has come for him to travel with four wheels again. Know anyone who wants a candy apple red chick-pulling machine?
The third craving? Dean wanted to cut up a beer carton and wear it as a helmet. I don't believe we'll ever know how his mind works.
*this link will cease to show the Reflexion Filter once we've depleted our stock
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AND THE MESSAGE OF OUR STORY:
And it's just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Actually, the 'guts' are exactly the same as the VT-737SP, it's only the face that has changed. But for a limited time, you can get it black if that's what turns you on. There are only two (2) in the world at the moment, and a small production run is currently underway. You may pre-order as soon as you want, we'll get back to you with an ETA. But you know what they say with black...there will be no going back.
We also had an off-the-record discussion with Wyn about what is coming up from Avalon. Seems he's got the bug, and his lab is cranking up. Unfortunately the 'only' thing we can reveal currently (it's still a ripper!) is that there is an exciting Avalon product coming up for studio monitoring, and it's not speakers.
AMAC 2008 was organised by the AMA (Australian Music Association). The show was predominantly staged as a way of showing musical instrument retailers the latest in guitars, drums, valve trombones, pianos and expensive ukuleles, plus a few seminars and informal discussion. There was also a bit of pro audio gear there, not as much as you'd see at an Entech or SMPTE exhibition, or perhaps even next year's Integrate show. For us, it was a bit like wandering through a music store that has a PA section in the corner to compliment their instruments. But we still had fun, and there was plenty to look at.
Anyway...the AMA do a great job of pulling the industry together like some kind of go-go-gadget-spiderweb, so good on them for coming to Melbourne for the first time this year.
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