Week Nine Of Snowdrops, Crocii and Daffodils

Yeah, yeah, it’s crocuses But I have seen them all this year and even heard the drumming of a woodpecker on a tree in Hertfordshire on a fisheries trip. Spring has sprung. I confess to allowing a week to flow by without there being more than this column published but part of the absurd Behind The Scenes stuff has involved a new printer shopped for, a massive full year backlog of admin sorted on said fishy title and a major clear up in the Loft Of Dreams. I am Spring Cleaned as well as upgraded in all departments, including enthusiasm.
In the world of ICE, there have been some epic developments with major brands’ managements merging and there are some bonkers new brands appearing on what we must call the Backroom Boy Brand phenomenon. We have seen some important but ‘˜commercially unviable’ brands on sale before from one man band operations. Sold from this UK importer-bod, direct to end users. We even have some brands of SPL subs and amps that are dominant on the scene, yet never had what you word call a Big Corporate importing and distributing them. It has worked for ages, with just enough room to be doable for one person.
This allows the likes of Sundown to flourish and as long as the One Man remains righteous, all is good. And mostly, they have been. One in particular does very well these days I reckon. But the ‘˜proper dealers’ requirement to move enough kit to pay business rates, means they need to sell more ‘˜mainstream’ brands and this keeps a lot of these smaller and specialist SQ and SPL brands in their niche locations. And the precarious nature of the smaller business is always a worry regarding aftercare for the end buyer. No matter how righteous, being shafted by an international banking company’s sudden insolvency, taking five figures of your stock money with it, can be – and was, terminal.

I will support and check out more of these new guys and brands as each becomes established by reputation and tested, by their response to customer care issues, as I care like hell about that. But I hear good things about the berserker Taramp’s kit and Shok Industries’ stuff reads impressive
Right, having cleared up the test bench rig, I think it is time to make some more car audio telly.

I can video hypercars. I can video babes. I can video babes IN hypercars. But NOTHING gets a clip cranking the views on my Presenterbloke channel on YouTube like the part number of a big brand headunit. (Apart from my ‘˜viral’, which is at 630,000 and rising and over a million minutes watched. Go figure)
Adam Rayner On Line Editor