The Sound Room

The Denver Audiofest Experience

by Lorraine Janeway

Today was the start of the 2nd annual Rocky Mountain Audiofest in Denver, Colorado.  Last year was its inaugural year, and Aperion was thrilled to be one of a small handful of exhibitors. We had come  with our first audiophile level product, just in prototype stage, and the final product benefited tremendously from the input of many finely tuned ears.  The show turned out to be a kind of ad hoc customer advisory board, which then serendipitously led us to a closer look at how to collect the wisdom of those ears in the future.

It's great to see grass roots events like this grow from the 70 or so exhibitor rooms last year to 113 this year.  Registrations doubled from last year as well, with attendees from the Mexico Audio Society, from England and even from Taiwan.  It's being held at the Denver Tech Center Marriott, and is the result of a lot of donated hours by about 30 volunteers from Colorado Audio Society.  The show directors, Art Tedeschi and Al Stiefel decided to start the show last year because, while there were a lot of local audio manufacturers, there were no shows in the Mountain States which would reflect the high level of interest.

Our first day at the show has been a reflection of great organization, a super location (the Denver area is vibrant with business and recreation), and loads of fabulous music and good people.  We took the opportunity to go and meet a new customer in the area as well, and were richly rewarded by a tour of Cloud Veil, a manufacturer of ultimate-cool outdoor recreational clothing.  They have Aperion in the area where they show their new lines and do customer events, and it sounds great, paired with a huge Samsung flat screen. 

At the show itself, we've had the opportunity to meet fans, introduce ourselves to new people, and see what else is out there competetively.  As far as the competition goes, this is what I've concluded: there's room for everyone, even though the market is mature and seems already crowded.  There are speaker companies who only build in granite and fill the speaker base with sand, speaker companies that differentiate on unique sizes and shapes, and a company who prices a pair of  600 lb, admittedly gorgeous brushed aluminum speakers at $65,000. 

Wow, for that price, we can deliver great sound AND throw in the BMW!

While it's not yet finalized that the Audiofest will happen again next year, I'm putting my vote in for an enthusiastic "Yes!"

 

A Rave Review for the 632’s

by John Wanderscheid

A big part of what I do at Aperion is to handle media relations and reviews. Our PR agency, MacKenzie Marketing helps us manage our review process and does all the leg work setting up press meetings at trade shows. They also do the difficult job of finding editors to review our product. In our industry, this is a bit more challenging than it sounds. There are just a handful of audio and video publications and more than 450 speaker companies. Needless to say there is a lot of competition for editorial space. While nobody readily admits it, a good portion of that editorial space is allocated to advertisers. This leaves just a bit of space for the rest of us.

So, in order to get their attention, you need a product that is unique, in-demand and really speaks to a market. Many times, we get our foot in the door because of our unique business model and the high value of our product. As a result, we have been incredibly fortunate to garner many very positive reviews. This isn’t by accident. When we develop new products, the number one priority is sound quality, because at the end of the day if the speakers don’t sound great, it doesn’t matter if they look cool or have a really low price. The next priority is that the product must live up to our high fit and finish standards. You are going to put a lot of these things in your home so it is important that they look good in your living space. Finally, the speakers must be a tremendous value.

The new 632 bookshelf speakers are a great example of this philosophy. About 18 months ago, we started work on a new 6.5” tower & bookshelf speaker with the goal of providing the best performing speakers in their category. Over a period of about 4 months, we critically listened to all the best bookshelf speakers in the $500 - $2000 price category. After extensive listening, we selected two reference models priced in the $1,500 range. Neither was perfect but they gave us a good jumping off point where we could say, we like the bass response of “speaker A” but would like a bit more midrange. The result of this research culminated in two new speakers – the 632 bookshelf speaker and the 633 tower speaker.

It always brings a smile to my face when I see a product come full circle from concept to completion culminating in the first industry review. The 632’s have made this long journey and the most recent review is in a brand new Audiophile publication called Tone Audio. Tone is a new FREE magazine that is only available online as a PDF download. The book is beautiful and it features a complete range of audiophile products. Jeff Dorgay has been reviewing audio for over 25 years and has written for all the major audiophile magazines. He is well respected in the industry and here is what he has to say about the 632’s…“We are too new to hand out Editor’s Choice awards, but if we were, these would win hands down. I have heard a lot of inexpensive speakers over the last 25 years, but these are the best I’ve run across. I can’t recommend them highly enough if you are a beginning audiophile or want a second system somewhere. If you don’t like them, you can get your money back; there isn’t a better value than this!”

This week we will be taking our new products to the Rocky Mountain Audiofest in Denver. We are expecting a warm welcome along with some slack jaws when we share the prices. If you are in Denver, join us at the show September 30 th – October 2 nd. If not, schedule your own totally risk-free audition and give Aperion speakers the once over in your audio room or home theater. If they aren’t for you, you can always send them back and we will even pay the freight.

Mastering: The Final CD Frontier

by Ben Fowler

Does anyone know what Mastering is? I’ve asked 10 different people – musicians and otherwise – and got 10 different answers. The only person I really trust is the guy who’s been doing it for years, Bob Stark. He’s a local producer and recording engineer who works out of Kung-Fu Bakery in Portland, OR. He did an outstanding job, and allowed me to ask numerous questions about the whole process. He guided me through the process a couple weeks ago as I was completing my first CD. The process can be broken down into 7 basic steps. Here’s my take on it:

1. Listen and output. Dave Fleschner, my recording engineer dumped all the final mixes onto a DVD-R. The DVD was the only format that would hold all of the data, being that it was recorded in 24 bit, with a 48kHz sampling rate. Bob Stark, my mastering technician, loaded up the disc onto his Mac iBook and transferred the tracks to Pro-Tools for editing. But before the tracks go to Pro-Tools, they go through a magical step to make the whole thing sound warmer and more natural. First the tunes went through a Lavry “Blue” MDA824 Digital to Analog converter . Then they go through a Manley Electro-Optical Leveling Amplifier (or compressor). This is a cool device. It’s an amp that works in the opposite direction, so-to-speak. So when the signal gets too hot (loud), the leveling amp kicks in and pushes the signal down so it stays within a certain dynamic range. This warms up the sound quite a bit, and also helps keep the dynamics leveled to a certain degree, which makes the sound easier on the ears. After the signals pass through the compressor, they get dumped into Pro-Tools for editing.
2. EQ. Bob tinkers with the EQ on all tracks. Mostly bumping bass (around 60 – 200 Hz) and treble (above 12,000 Hz), or smoothing out the mids (3500 – 4000Hz). Bob’s ears are really good (he’s been doing this for about 25 years). He picked up on things that we hadn’t yet heard in mixing. It was great to get his fresh perception on everything.
3. Levels. The level (volume) of each song is cross-examined against every other song to ensure that there’s a consistent volume level between each track.
4. Maximize volume. Now that all tracks are fairly equal in volume, everything gets cranked up as loud as possible, so your final CD product sounds about as loud as everybody else’s CD.
5. Bounce (down-convert). Now the tunes are bounced down to 16- bit, 44.1 kHz. This is where the resolution of a standard CD lies, so there’s not much you can do here. I didn’t notice an audible difference, and I don’t think anyone else can either.
6. Space Tracks. Bob utilized some CD burning software, called Toast with Jam, that customized the space between each song. This helps with the flow of the whole CD. The right amount of space can make a huge difference in how the music flows throughout the CD.
7. Burn your Master. To obtain the highest quality master, no ordinary CD-R will do. In the mastering industry you use a brand like Taiyo Yuden. They have a much lower failure rate than standard discs. . They’re not super cheap, but they’re worth it.

Once the master was done I was instructed to listen to the whole album once without any interruptions to check for flaws in the recording. Once that was completed I was to keep the CD clean and safe. It’s currently at the duplicating plant being produced. I’ll have the final product in about 1-2 weeks.

Good to Great

by Lorraine Janeway

Jim Collin's Good to Great, and his other fabulous Built To Last are quoted all the time here at Aperion.  One of the ideas that I like the best is that all of the companies that have made the journey from good to great began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality.  That means, of course, creating a culture where it is safe for people to speak the truth, no matter how unpopular it may be.  I especially loved the quote from Fred Purdue, of Pitney Bowes:  When you turn over rocks and look at all the squiggly things underneath, you can either put the rock down, or you can say "My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things", even if what you see can scare the hell out of you."

At Aperion, we have a library.  It's in the kitchen area, where people can have easy access for a noon "read", or can check the books out.  We encourage people to take the books home, read them, underline, dog-ear, absorb--and then come back with a book report that will enrich our Wednesday company lunch and give everyone else the benefit of increased wisdom.  We are so committed to a path of constant learning that we even offer a gift-certificate reward for each book read and reported on.

And, we have favorites. 

After a diet of Jim Collins, our team gathered at the beach for a stimulating weekend of discourse, some disagreement, and finally--decision.  We had come together to develop a statement reflecting Aperion's core purpose and values.  Not just something we'd hang on the wall and show to visitors to impress them.  Not something we hoped to be someday but didn't really believe in our hearts that we could become.  No--it needed to feel true now, cellular, bone-deep.  It needed to reflect our DNA.

By the time we finished, with discarded poster paper everywhere, little sleep and lots of food, we felt richly rewarded by the process.  And, one of our values reflected a lot of Jim Collins in the statement that "We courageously seek truth".  How does this pulse of Aperion play out?  It plays internally in meetings where we disagree without attacking.  It plays out in never settling for good enough, even if we're tired.  It plays out in telling the truth to potential customers about painful backorders. 

And the result is magnificent.  It's called trust, and it is the backbone of Aperion.  I always love reading the posts about our products on CNET and on the Forums.  Sure, we put out a great product.  But what really warms my heart are the consistent comments about customer service, even if there's been a backorder or an delivery error.  Customers feel respected because the truth is told, apologies made, and satisfaction assured through extra mile efforts.

We're committed to a path of constant improvement, of good to great.  And I feel great about that!

A Better Way?

by Win Jeanfreau

I could give you a multitude of reasons for taking the opportunities we have to serve our fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast region. It’s good for the soul to serve, it facilitates our own healing from the trauma we vicariously suffer watching these tragedies unfold, it’s necessary if we truly expect the region to recover. I could go on and on. Many of my reasons are selfishly motivated since I have close family relatives living on the gulf in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The impact of these two hurricanes has directly affected the lives of my remaining grandparent, as well as most my aunts, uncles and cousins.

We are joining the tens of millions of you who have decided that good intentions, like crying babies in a movie, are best only if they are carried out. Toward that end, our president, Lorraine Janeway, outlined some of the things Aperion is doing to contribute to the collective effort.

In addition to our prayers, money, resources and time, we might do well to consider one lesson these two events are screaming for us to learn: we depend WAY too much on oil as our primary source of energy.

Just for the sake of conversation, I want to limit my focus on one aspect of our dependence on oil. So let’s ignore for a moment the facts that the region containing the vast majority of the worlds oil supply seems generally hostile to our fundamental beliefs, that its use is a major contributor to global warming,  that it is a limited, non-renewable resource, that the world geopolitical environment bends to support its use despite its serious environmental affects. All these things aside for a moment. What is glaringly apparent is that it is too delicate a supply chain upon which to build a stable economy.

Since this blog is my own personal soap box, I will be taking the opportunity to provide some of the information I’ve gathered. The tangential relationship to Aperion is that our purpose is to enrich lives and connect people to sources of joy, and it’s joyful to believe that there is a different way of living our lives, growing our economy, and creating our children’s futures that is better than the way we do it now. There’s a ton to discuss. I love alternate views, insights and opinions. I invite rigorous debate. More to come.

One Relationship At A Time

by Win Jeanfreau

You know, I often feel like a fish out of water when I attend our industry leadership events, and read our monthly trade publications. The emphasis always seems to be on what’s new, and how to maximize its profit potential. There are constant reports of who owns what market share of each industry segment, and who stole the most from the other guy. Like most of our popular press, ours is often smattered with overtones of pending retail gloom and doom.

Quite predictably, this kind of focus breeds an environment of fierce competition, and some really well established industry feuds. Although I like competing as much as the next guy, I just can’t seem to relax into the scarcity, and winner takes all mind set.

By contrast, I find solace in the focus of serving our customers. I believe that Aperion’s past and future success is predicated on our ability to create meaningful relationships with our customers; to meet you wherever you are in the buying process, from nibbling on technical tidbits, to full blown passionate purchasing, and everything in between.

We really do measure our success by the number of customers we’ve helped create their own music or movie sanctum. To date, you measure in the thousands, soon to be tens of thousands. I have come to know some of you personally. I appreciate your support. I appreciate your patience as we endure the pains of rapid growth (particularly those of you who have been affected by my inability to accurately forecast the rate of our growth which has caused our back order issues). I am constantly humbled and honored by the faith you put in our company.

If it is our destiny to become a dominant player in this industry, let it occur by keeping our eye on the ball that really matters, enriching lives and connecting our customers to their sources of joy. In the end, what matters most is not the percentage of market share we have garnered, the awards we have received, or the accolades laid at our feet. What we value most is the privilege of serving you and selling really kick-ass speakers. Thank you for making that possible.

Home at Last

by Lorraine Janeway

I'm writing this on approach to Portland, just returning from 4 days at a conference in Indianapolis.  There's always a lot to absorb at the CEDIA event, and it's great to visit friends and view trends in the speaker industry.  We were impressed by the in-ceiling design of Conextions and of course, the big boys like SpeakerCraft and Niles Audio always make a major splash. 

Nevertheless, there's no place like home.  I always have a reaction to flying into Portland while it's still daylight.  The approach from the west brings the plane right down the Columbia Gorge and past Mount Hood.  Depending on which side of the plane you're sitting on, you can see Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams to the north, or Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson and 3 Sisters on the south. 

Directly under the airplane is the Columbia River, at 1,243 miles, North America's largest flow into the Pacific Ocean.  The last 300 miles are a gorgeous natural state line between Washington and Oregon and the Columbia Gorge is a vivid invitation to hike and explore a never-ending variety of waterfalls and trails.

What would you give for this kind of beauty?  Or rather, what are Oregonians willing to give up for it?  We give up the sun!...and tolerate jokes about being web-footed.  We deal with moss and mold and frizzy hair, grow gargantuan-sized slugs and suffer occasional infestations of carpenter ants. For those of us who stay in the area, the visual and verdant feast is a more-than-adequate payback for the 9 months of rain.

I had a similar glad-to-be-back experience walking into Aperion the day after returning from the Conference.  We're a small company, unlike Bose or Samsung or Sony .  It'd be really cool to have that level of name recognition and revenue but instead, we are the best little speaker company that no one's heard of...and we're having a great time.  I walked into my office and sat down and it was great to be home.

Enjoying the Big New Picture

Last Friday, I picked my new TV. On Friday evening after my son’s baseball game, I headed out to Home Depot for supplies to build a new shelf in the TV Niche. The old one was way too small and not strong enough to support the new Toshiba.

Saturday was a crazy day so I didn’t even attempt to start the project. On Sunday afternoon, I disassembled my entire entertainment system and rewired it. Then, I built a new more robust shelving system for the TV, Receiver, DVD Player and DVR. I was ready to lift the TV into place but alas, it was time for another baseball game so it would have to wait until later.

After the game, I was itching to have a look at the picture so I called a neighbor to see if he could help me lift it into place. We managed to get the TV from the garage to the family room but since the thing weighs 150+ lbs., we decided it would be best to get reinforcements to lift it up and into the TV Niche. Two more neighbors joined us and together we hulked the TV up and into place. Due to tight proximity, the guys had to hold the TV in place while I made all the video & audio connections. Before too long we were up and running and enjoying the much larger picture. I think the builder had this model in mind when they built the house as it fits just perfectly in the space.

Once the kids were in bed, we decided to give it the first test. We popped in the movie “A lot Like Love” with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. My wife picked it up while I was shopping at Home Depot. It might have been a pay back for taking a kid-free trip to the home improvement store or more likely it’s that she is a sucker for romantic comedies. Unfortunately, the Harry met Sally’s only come around occasionally so I have to suffer though the rest. It’s not on my “A” list but there were a couple of scenes worth a chuckle. Ashton Kutcher is actually pretty funny. I was very happy with the picture quality and the screen size improved the movie viewing experience immensely.

This weekend will feature another (better) DVD along with a steady diet of college football on Saturday. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and will put it to good use when the rain returns to the Northwest.

Organic Evangelism?

by Ben Fowler

As relatively unknown speaker company who sells their wares on the internet, Aperion relies heavily on referrals. In other words, since we can’t do the face-to-face selling of our speakers, we rely solely on customers and reviewers or editors to help sell the product by their word of mouth. In the world of the web, this equates to user reviews (check out www.amazon.com), customer testimonials, forum threads and posts, and the occasional blog. Because of the ubiquity of the internet, one bad review can really hurt. So we try to make sure everything from our company – products and services – are well above the customer’s expectation. If we do that, then we prevent any nasty or negative product reviews, gain some kudos, and more importantly gain a customer for life.

So far, Aperion has incredible feedback from our customers, both at our website and abroad. Places like Cnet, Audioreview.com, avsforum.com, hometheaterforum.com all have great feedback from customers. Unfortunately for me, I want more. I envision Aperion being mentioned in all the AV forums. And I want to see more positive posts about our products than any of our competitor’s. Potential shoppers are often very interested in what the hottest product is, i.e. what is the most popular. If they see a lot of posts about Aperion then they’ll see the popularity of Aperion and go there to see what’s so hot. My intention isn’t one of greedy salesmanship here. I honestly believe we offer an incredible product, better service, and overall better value (hey, I work here, so I get to be biased).

To that end, I’d like to discover a way to generate “organic evangelism”. I’m not interested in suspicious guerilla marketing tactics that aren’t honest (some companies have been known to start threads on their own, or hire people to do it). I want it to be honest and real and inspired. I’m just curious if it’s possible to foster organically-grown evangelism. If we generate this kind of enthusiasm with every single person that we have contact with (could be a shopper or a buyer), then we’re onto something big. So the reason for bringing this topic to you is to see what you think about all this. Tell me how you think we ought to do it.

The Difference a Day Makes

by Win Jeanfreau

Life teaches us valuable lessons if we’re willing to listen. One of them is: Before you make a major decision, like on the new name of your company, sleep on it first. As I mentioned in my previous blog, our very best efforts to find a replacement name for Edge Audio, the name we began business with, had led us to the Latin name Aperio. It’s pronounced “Appear • ē • ō”, and it means “to reveal, make clear or become apparent.” Pretty cool meaning for a speaker company name. So before me made it a permanent decision, we slept on it.

I don’t know if it was wisdom, personal insight, or if I was unduly influenced by breakfast with my kids, but as fate would have it, the next morning, Aperio just wasn’t our name. It sounded way too much like Cheerio… and we weren’t in the cereal business.

Then I had another moment. That little voice said, “Add an “n” to the end of it.” Again with the heavenly chorus. The meaning was preserved, and Aperion sounded GREAT! The name is pronounced “Appear • ē • on,” and we couldn’t be happier. Oh what a difference a little sleep makes!

So what if the name’s unusual, difficult to spell, and not so easy to remember, that’s a challenge for marketing. We had our name and we’re sticking to it.

At some point in the not too distant future, our name will be as ubiquitous as Ford, Microsoft, and, well… Bose. The fun part is, until then, you have the wonderful opportunity to help spread the word about our little company, to help others discover what you already know, that Aperion offers world-class speakers at an amazing value, and you get supported by astonishing customer service.

By letting your circles of influence know about us, you end up looking like a genius, your friends get the great products they deserve, and the money we make allows us to continue to do what we love. It’s a “win-win” all around.