Hi all Audio Circle members.
In response to the request of JTWrace an Audio Circle member, I will tell JTWrace and all Audio circle members more about my dream project and that is: AUDIO 13.
(( Quote: JTWrace
Tell us more about it (Of course in the industry ads section.)
Re: X-LS Encore and a break from the horn. ))
I’ve started to be interested with audio equipment when I was 12 years old when my parents bought a two pieces RCA Victor stereo set, it had an automatic turntable with a tube amplifier and bass and treble controls, in each cabinet one 6,5” woofer and two 3-1/2” tweeter mounted at an angle on each side of the woofer.
It had some bass, but the tweeter had nice sound and that’s
what made me like the music and the audio equipment. My mother bought an album of classical LP music from the Readers Digest, of course my brother and I had a few pop music 45rpm.
Since the age of 18 I always owned some kind of audio equipment. I built my own amplifier after I had graduated from the Teccart electronic institute when I was 20 years old and since that time, I don’t remember how many systems I have owned. Tube and solid state, cheap and quite expensive.
It’s only recently that I had the idea of starting an audio business, mainly because I saw so many pieces of audio equipment at prices that I could not afford and at prices that I think were way too much for what it’s worth.
I’ve also decided to go the tube and Open Baffle way, because that’s what I like and I am sure, that I am not the only one that wants to take that road.
Why tube and OB, well it’s like: Why Ford and not GM? Some times, you can really tell.
Maybe it’s because tubes reminds me of the good old days when I was 20 years old. The golden age of tubes, the other thing is that amplifiers with tubes and point to point wiring can be repaired easily even 50 years after they were built, can’t say the same with solid state equipment.
Open Baffle speakers are easy to build; no box coloration and you can use fairly inexpensive drivers.
At first I wanted to import and sell known brands to the audiophiles, but with the Internet and the online shopping and the manufacturers selling direct, that’s not good for my business. My customer can buy direct from the manufacturer at the same price as me.
In addition, I always dreamed of having my own brand of products that would be built according to my specifications.
That’s why I am working on the set up of my future business that will be called Audio 13. (The 13 stands for Friday the 13, the date I was born in 1948.)
I will buy from OEM suppliers (Original Equipment Manufacturer) the raw material and put all the parts together with my Audio 13 name on them. For the amplifiers, I will get them built by Blair Lamphear from Niteshade Audio and as for the speakers; I will get my parts from Danny Ritchie from GR Research. I will also offer some reasonably priced interconnects and speaker cables.
My goal is to offer audiophiles audio products with the best quality-price ratio, I am not looking for the best sounding products, because if you want that, there are no end at how much you will spend to meet that goal.
At the beginning, I will only offer those items, later… Well, I will see how it goes. Here in Vietnam there is a market for medium end audio equipment, however, the Vietnamese in general and the Vietnamese audiophiles are mostly interested with well know brand names such as McIntosh, Marrantz, Classe Audio, Wilson, Jamo, Tannoy, etc…
Therefore, it won’t be easy to popularize my own brand name Audio 13. I have an advantage over other store retailers; I don’t need to sell much, because I have with my wife business that generates enough money to live comfortably.
I will operate my future business from my house and I will have an acoustically treated listening room in the house that we will build next year.
In a few years from now, when I move back to my home country Canada (Montreal, Quebec) I will continue my Audio 13 business, even if I will be semi-retired at that time.
Any questions?
Please ask.
I am ready to answer any questions that you will throw at me.
Guy 13 from (Future) Audio 13.
