Week Thirty – Three: In Which I Have Been On The Mic

You know, I’ve been involved in car audio since I was young enough to pass as a Max Power reader! In that time, I have seen dealers come and go and businesses rise and fall and expand and collapse. One such was the lovely emergence of ‘Sound Offs’. A shop in Coulsdon, Surrey, started up by an ex employee of Advanced Car Alarms of Deptford. The owner, one Clive Pluckrose, was one of those über-enthusiasts who simply couldn’t stay working for anyone else and had to start up on his own, like Jez Owen of Highdown Car Audio who started at Huets.
Clive once showed up at a sound off and won the SPL contest with midband music Acker Bilk playing Stranger on the Shore! The clarinet at 150dB was ear splittingly dangerous and was the result of a bunch of pro audio compression drivers with bendy tubes on the throat threads, all hanging like limp willies into the driver’s compartment through a whole-car MDF build! Very like the new Earthquake compression drivers (seen here: link).
Then the Coulsdon bypass came through and Clive lost his passing trade and closed up. However, another business, a father-and-son second generation powerhouse of high-end excellence, one that had been in an industrial unit so folks had to beat a path to their door anyway, took over the premises and have been cooking ever since. Yesterday was their second open day on the site and I was there to chip in, help with the raffle (in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital) and make a video for the BCSS website. (Which of course I will use on TA TV as well!)
It’s lovely to see just how vigorous their business is and how true excellence will result in folks finding you. Another off-the-beaten track star is Paul Richardson, whose A1 Audio Designs outfit is a centre of true fabulousness in fabrication. I can tell you that Paul’s work, although of legendarily high quality, is more affordable than you think. With full boot builds beginning at £300 and door pods for better sound and brilliant looks and top quality beginning at only £200, now is definitely the time to get at some bargain quality workmanship. Surrey-ites with strong urges should call BCSS on 0208 645 0655 and if you are North of the Thames and have impeccable taste, call A1’s Paul on 01462 681118.
Lastly, apologies for getting behind, it’s summer holiday time and while I did get some stuff up, (like this item) last week, I spent some time with MeJulieBut expect a real attack on the reviewing front soon. It’s finally sinking in that you’d rather the opinion on lots of kit than really want a thousand words on each item! You know, I used to get about a hundred words to do The Judgement in Fast Car magazine and yet 1,200 for Home Cinema Choice.
I think I better go run a poll on the boards.I’ll call it ‘Review Length’.
Adam Rayner Online Editor