Talk Audio – Better than KFC

We didn’t get the CASPER thing up last week but did manage to get the Celsus Top Gun shin dig write up published and also an extra review to those I promised in this column last week in the shape of the new Vibe Black Air component speakers in five inch. I have a set of the Vibe Lite Air component speakers in six inch as well. These are all but finished, so will be with you this week as well as my getting on with the amp I tested them with, a Lite Box Stereo 4.
Waiting in the wings is a very phat DB3000 monoblock amp from Massive and I know that the distributor is also keen to get me to give their DLS subwoofer reviewed an extra audition on a Class A/B rather than class D amp, so we’ll see what he wants me to use once the monoblock’s done.
This week is a biggie in the industry social calendar as it is the Mobile Electronics News Awards evening on Thursday night. The products to be favoured are already here with me on a finalised list as yours truly gets the honour of writing up the trade mag’s pages for the folks who don’t get to come to the dinner itself. I think they’d need the room for an Indian High Society Wedding if everyone who could, wanted to come! (I once went to one at a Heathrow Hotel with 700 guests), I have to get down to Mr. Fat Bastard Formal Wear Hire and rent enough tuxedo fabric to house a couple of families of refugees.
I just called Chris Woods and discovered that we have a collection of hugely successful EMMA sound off competitors and that Ian Iceman Pinder made it to the contest, despite lack of support issues. His was the loudest but he got bashed back to fourth due to the other vehicle’s emphasis on pretty install. Ian was always beset by those who could trim like Paul Richardson (that’s very few though!) even if he truly is the Lord of the Lows and thinks on a higher bass plane to the rest.
And lastly, I have to offer up a huge and deeply personal wet snoggy kiss to one Russell Shipton. A stalwart of the Fusion operation, he’s been with them since rep-days when they still had a Maff Robins on their case. (He who created Fusion’s UK profile) and was a champion supporter of Son of BoomZilla – a hard project to get off the ground at the best of times, let alone when it gets tough. In my video of the Guinness Book of RecordsTM certificate, I read out all the names of those who came and made the event so fab. Russell was one of the very few who got an extra word or two. At 1m 22secs in, I say “Russell Shipton, didn’t forget about him” as he stayed well in the background, simply bringing a bloody ground shaking Fusion demo car and letting it do the talking. Some viewers couldn’t cope with the speed of my gabble and actually imagined I was dissing the man saying we should forget about him! Which is bizarre and the effect of internet use while not really paying rapt attention to the screen and mostly my getting all over excited. What me? Sorry Russ!
Incidentally, I have some long term insider stuff about next year’s Fusion kit already, which should be interesting….
Adam Rayner – Online Editor
This week’s strap line by Gunswick