Dallas Home Theater Installation Services - The Audio Guy

Now Carrying Pioneer Elite

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Audio Guy is proud to annouce that is we have just added Pioneer Elite to our list of manufacturers. If you have a request for a Pioneer Elite product please feel free to contact us with your questions or requests.

To learn more about the Pioneer products please click here:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment

New Showroom

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:26:00 GMT

The Audio Guy is proud to announce the grand opening of a “by appointment only” showroom in Flower Mound.

The address is:
3201 Crosstimbers, Suite 200.
Flower Mound, TX 75022

The showroom is located inside the offices of Keller Williams realtors, The Buehlers and Associates.

The showroom will contain one of our theater packages that will be on display (we are currently deciding which one.)

Here are some new photos of the outside of the showroom. More pictures to come.

A look into the future.

admin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:30:00 GMT

We can probably all agree that 2008 was full of challenges and that 2009 will probably bring a lot more. So, with that in mind, I’d like to let you know what we have in store to help you answer the challenges that lay ahead.

With the tough economic conditions that we are in right now, businesses will compete even more fiercely for your hard earned dollars. With the competition for consumers’ discretionary income heating up, it is even more important that consumers be informed in their decision making.

When is a deal not a good deal?

We’ve all seen retail pricing drop and some pretty incredible sales over the last few months. I would expect that probably won’t change much for 2009. However, lowest price does not always mean the best deal. Some businesses have already gone under and some are barely hanging on right now so they may or may not survive this challenge. Some contractors will promise anything to get your business and some will even falsely malign the competition to get the job. We have seen this already. If someone is willing to do that, you should run away immediately or at the very least give the other contractors an opportunity to respond! Any contractor with integrity would never use that kind of tactic. Remember, this is a time to be cautious. If lowest price is the only thing that matters, be prepared for possible disappointments.

So the question that I see as the compass for 2009 is - what did we do right that got us here, and what should we change to make us better?

First, the good stuff.

Our customers matter. We’re not a big box retail store and we’ve stayed relatively small in order to keep our dedication to a high level of service our top priority.
We will continue to stay on top of technology. Even if the economy proves challenging, technology will continue to advance and forge ahead and we will continue to stay on top of the latest advances so that the system we design for you will be the best value for the money you spend.
We will remain competitive. Although we still won’t try to match pricing on non-authorized internet retailers, we will stay competitive with any authorized, legitimate businesses. We will keep our pricing fair, and deliver value for the service that we’re known for.
We will continue to do business with integrity. We know that we won’t win every job, but we won’t compromise our integrity to win business.

So, what can we change?

We are currently evaluating all of our manufacturers to make sure we have the best products that deliver the best performance and reliability.
We are evaluating the way we do everything to see where we can improve efficiency.
Over the next few months, we’ll be developing a section on our website devoted to a/v companies that make green products or help out the environment through charitable contributions.
We will be looking at devoting some of our resources to give back to our community and local charities with some pro bono work. We believe now is the time to pull together.
This year, more than ever, we will work on strengthening our relationships with the contractors, manufacturers and suppliers we work with in various projects. Just having us do our part isn’t always enough. We want the project to go as seamlessly as possible for you, so we’re narrowing down who we work with so that we can deliver what we promise.

As we swing into 2009, we look forward to the exciting ride that awaits us. No matter what challenges the economy throws at us, we will rise to meet them and continue to deliver the service you’ve come to expect from us.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

Audio Guys asked to be Technical Expert.

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:20:00 GMT

Audio Guy founder and CEO Clay Hankins has been asked to be on a panel of technical experts for a major electronics website that is undergoing a complete redesign.

Clay is honored to be asked to contribute and looks forward to writing for the site. He said ”it's great to contribute to the electronics field in any way possible, and I look forward to writing blogs for the site.“

The site relaunch is currently planned for January but details have not yet been released. Look for more info to come as more details are released.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

A Time for Giving Thanks.

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

Last week, during the usual pre-holiday scramble we go through to meet deadlines to finish work so families can gather and enjoy their new media room equipment; I sat down late one evening after a long day, put on the new bluray dvd of the latest concert of my favorite band, Rush, and enjoyed a fine glass of wine and incredible sound and video and thought, “man, it don’t get no better than this!”

So, that got me thinking of Thanksgiving and all that I have to be thankful for. So, that’s what I decided this blog should reflect.

First, I am thankful that I live in such a great country with the freedom to vote.

I am thankful for my wonderful supporting wife and my two fantastic kids.

I am thankful for our dogs, and sometimes even our cats.

I am thankful for my business, and that I am fortunate enough to live in an area where the housing market is affordable enough for many homes to have theaters.

I am thankful for the guys I work with, and their dedication to professionalism.

Finally, I am genuinely thankful for our clients, without which, I wouldn’t be able to do the job that I love the most.

I have met some great people, and made some great friends along the journey and look forward to having another year of serving the Dallas home theater community and making new friends and spending time with old ones.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Clay

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

The business of Goose Bumps

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:20:00 GMT

In my last blog, If you must go digital, I quoted Snell Vice President Bob Graffy saying, “We’re not in the audio business; we’re in the goose bump business.”

Assuming he didn’t mean that his job is to turn down the air-conditioning, he was referring to taking the act of listening to audio and transcending it to an experience.

Before I started The Audio Guy, I remember the first time I heard an “audiophile” system. I was auditioning speakers at a Hi-Fi store in San Antonio and their top line speakers were the Mirage Speakers and I heard the M1’s for the first time.

The sales associate put on Mary Chapin-Carpenter’s song, “I am a town” and my life changed right there. I had never heard music presented in that way and have since never listened to music the same way.

I still get a great deal of enjoyment out of seeing a client experience this for the first time after we’ve set up their sound/home theater system. It also happens to be the reason I enjoy this business so much.

It’s truly a business about passion. Not that everyone in the business is passionate about it because for some it’s just a business, but for me, there isn’t much else I’d rather be doing. It’s why we pick the manufacturers we represent, put together the combinations we do, and devote ourselves to delivering what we promise so that the end user can hopefully experience the same passion that we have for what we do.

Earning trust and building a relationship is a part of any small business and as challenging economic times lay ahead, relationships become more important than ever.

Again, the recurring theme here seems to be trust. You can buy just about any electronic gadget on line (though there are pitfalls inherent in that) or from most any a/v dealer. But when you find someone that you trust, someone that researches the answers to your questions, someone that you can tell is truly passionate about what they do; then you’ve found someone that you will be able to work with for a long time.

That’s the beauty of working with any small business owner that’s passionate and hopefully turn out for you, the end user, will produce a system and experience that will bring that goose bump experience to your home.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

If you must go digital

admin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:20:00 GMT

There is no question that the digital world has completely changed the face of music.

Us old school guys can still remember “back in the day” when setting up our stereos meant plugging the turntable wires into the receiver, hooking up two speakers, putting the album (that’s a large round black disc with grooves, kids) on the turntable and then sitting down with the album cover and liner notes and listening, really listening to the entire album while reading the liner notes as well.

There was an entire ritual that went on as we took the album out of the jacket, put a few drops of disc cleaner on the soft velvet brush and gently cleaned the platter before setting in on the turntable. It was a time when you spent time with music to listen to it without distractions.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of digital music and everything it’s done.

I can only imagine that the TSA folks wouldn’t appreciate the size of carry-on luggage necessary to haul all that stuff around and my iPod does fit nicely in to any carry-on bag.

And while there is much debate on whether downloading has helped or hurt the music industry, it has helped the consumer by making it extremely accessible to have music with you at all times.

That I love.

But I must admit, that even in my own life, I don’t take as much time to listen to or explore music like I used to.

By serious collector standards, I have a fairly small collection of cd’s (maybe 1,000 or so) and of those, I have probably forgotten at least half of them since I don’t have easy access to them (my wife won’t allow me to have “milk crates” full of cd’s on our living room floor!)

So how do you combine the best of both worlds?

We all know and love our portable music systems, but for the person that wants to re-live the “glory days” of audiophile sound, time spent enjoying music, and time spent exploring music, what’s a guy (or gal) to do?

The answer is a high quality digital music server.

I know there are several brands of music servers out there, but I am going to focus on my personal favorite, the Sooloos music server.

What’s so special about it?

Glad you asked.

First, any music server has to store all the digital information on their hard drive and in order to fit all that info on to the drive, they have to use some kind of compression (taking the digital information and making it smaller to fit on a hard drive) so you can fit more music on your server.

Without getting overly technical, compression comes in two flavors, lossy and lossless.

The first reduces the quality of the music and is fine for most people for portable music. The second, lossless, stores the music in “CD quality” format.

The Sooloos system (reviewed here by Stereophile magazine) stores the music in a lossless format for audiophile quality sound.

But what I find so enjoyable about the system is the interface. The system allows the user to create and experience much like the days of listening to an album.

The expected features, like album artwork, playlist capabilities, etc. are there but the extended features give you information like credits. So, let’s say you’re listening Miles Davis, Kind of Blue decide you really like the drummer. You look up the credits and discover that Jimmy Cobb is the drummer on the album. So, you click his name and discover that he was the drummer for Dinah Washington on her greatest hits cd, which you also own.

Here, not only do you get the benefit of liner notes, you get the benefit of a computer database that can cross reference your collection!

You can do that in the credits with most anyone involved in the album including musicians, producer, engineer, etc. Practically speaking, what it really does is to bring up a list of CDs you probably haven’t thought about in years.

When we had a demo system in our house, it took about 10 minutes before my wife and kids were lined up at the touch screen selecting music.

The system is so intuitive, I only had to explain a few basic features and they were off and running. Other features like swim and “mood” allow you to cruise your collection based on any number of parameters. And while the Sooloos falls just a bit short of the album experience (no full liner notes or lyrics are available as of yet) it does what I feel is more important.

It allows the listener to rediscover their music collection in an easy to use and well thought out format. Every review of the product I’ve read so far has lauded the designers at Sooloos for that. Even an album crate full of records can’t do that. Check out my Soolos Page Here.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

Dallas Home Theater Projects.

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

Occasionally, I enjoy writing about some of the projects we’ve done in the Dallas home theater market.

In this blog, I’d like to write about a project that included one of my favorite new toys, the Sooloos music system.

I got a call from a general contractor that I work with often about doing a home remodel for an executive of a national chain store headquartered here in the Dallas area. Most of the client’s home was being stripped to the studs and we were called in to run some wiring for cable and possible whole house audio. The client had visited with another “Dallas Home Theater store” but ultimately decided they didn’t want a dedicated home theater, but more of a family room theater experience so the project was shelved.

While meeting with the client, we quickly discovered that we had a lot in common; we were both St. Louis Cardinal fans, love all things technology related, and big lovers of music.
During our discussions, we decided to come up with a plan for distributed audio. The client had a large collection of music cd’s (over 3,000) and wanted a system that would allow him to store everything and keep it in high quality format. He also wanted something that was easy to navigate. Enter the Sooloos music server.

We set up the Sooloos in his library, where he spends a lot of his time.

However, since we had the opportunity to run additional wiring, we distributed the system to his multi zone audio system that was upstairs, and his new family room home theater. The Sooloos can be run off of any computer in his home, including laptops tied into his wireless network, as well as on his iPod touch (or any flash enabled device.)

The system is also very easy to navigate and the client has found that he has rediscovered his music collection with the control at his fingertips.

If you would like more information on the Sooloos system, check my page on Sooloos or give us a call. It’s like going back to the days of sitting in front of the turntable with the album cover in hand and reading the liner notes. It’s an audiophile and music lover’s dream come true.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

The next wave of HDTV

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

So we’ve all heard the question plasma or lcd, right? That ‘s so yesterday. What about OLED, laser, LED DLP?????

Well, we certainly know that electronics age in dog years, times 700 or so. And that makes your 3 year old TV, oh, about 150.

The good news is, that manufacturers are still pushing to get better and better. I remember one of the first 50” plasma televisions I installed. It had a contrast ratio of 750:1. The new LED driven LCD screen have contrast ratios of over 1,000,000:1. A million to one!

Recently, Mitsubishi unveiled its latest technology, laser driven DLP TV. That’s right, lasers.
http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/product/L65A90

Samsung is tackling the DLP and LCD market with LED driven light engines.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=dlptv&model_cd=HL61A750A1FXZA
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LN55A950D1FXZA

As is Sony, later this year with the introduction of the Bravia XBR8
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665532062

or in smaller formats, OLED
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644539854

No matter how you cut it, the industry isn’t slowing down and this is all good for consumers. What looks good now will only go down in price as newer technology continues to evolve.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

The Bail Out Home Theater Package

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

Bail out, stock plummet, economic woes….what does that have to do with home theater? Lower prices, that’s what.

The Audio Guy has decided try to help the Dallas area economy by lowering prices on some of our home theater packages.

We’re starting by lowering the price on our entry level 1080p projection theater package from $5499 to $4999.Click here to learn more.

We’re matching up with manufactures that are offering end user rebates for even greater savings.

Check our site often to see additional price drops and rebates. We’ll try to do our part to help the economy regain its footing by trying to help you do your part as well.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

Home theater universal language, or not so much.

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

by Clay Hankins

The lights are low, the volume is turned up and you’re right at the end of one of the most exciting games or season finales you’ve seen. Your adrenaline is flowing and you want to turn up the volume just a tad more so you pick up one of thirteen remotes on the coffee table, press a button, and …… the picture is gone! You fervishly start pressing buttons and now the sound and picture are gone. You throw the remote down, storm out of the room to another TV to see the end and, oh, no, it’s over and you missed it.

On the other side of Dallas, I’m reading up on the latest technology or designing home theater layout and my phone rings. The following conversation ensues.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

“Hi, I was watching the super bowl, I picked up my remote and pressed a wrong button and now I have no picture and sound. I don’t know what I’ve done.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be right over to straighten out the system, and might I suggest a good universal remote that will allow you to use just one remote and keep this from happening again?

“Oh, that would be awesome. Thanks!”

You’d be surprised at how often that happens. I generally don’t consider myself a salesman, but one product I do try to “sell” is a good universal remote. Programmed correctly, a good remote can save the end user and us a ton of future headaches like the one above.

There are several types of universal remotes out there and I’ll touch briefly on a few, and elaborate more on others.

First, lots of equipment manufacturers are including universal remotes with their equipment. For example, DirecTV, Dishnet, and the cable companies all include a universal remote with the box. These usually have about four buttons on top (Cable, TV, DVD, Aux – or something similar) and can be programmed to operate a pretty basic system.

These remotes have stored databases for multiple manufacturers and can be used to control the basic functions of a TV, cablebox, and maybe a DVD player. You select the device you want to program, follow the instructions to get the remote into programming mode and punch in the code for that brand and voila, you’re done.

Again, for very basic systems, they work pretty well.

The next group of remotes are called learning remotes. These remotes allow you to “teach” commands to the universal remote from the original remote that may not be in its database.

A lot of higher end a/v receivers come with this kind of remote. These are also generally pretty good for basic systems and some can even be programmed to run “macro” commands. A macro command is executed when a series of commands are programmed into one button.

For example, you press the “system on” and the remote then sends out the commands that turn on the TV, turn on the receiver, turn on the cable box and set the inputs to the appropriate settings. Again, the universal remotes that come with some equipment can be pretty good, but can still be limited in that you may have to still do a lot manually to get the system to respond the way you want it to.

Finally, the last group of remotes is the learning remotes that are completely customizable and have some sort of LCD screen for custom buttons.

These are clearly my favorite and yes, more expensive. However, it will be the best money you spend on your home theater. This type of remote allows us to program it in such a way that the use of the remote is truly one button operation. For example, you pick up the remote, press “watch TV” on the LCD screen and that’s it; projector comes on, electric hidden screen drops, receiver on, cablebox on, inputs set, lights dim. Enjoy. “Watch DVD”, same thing. What this type of remote allows us to do that I like the best is to put buttons on the screen that don’t exist on the universal remote.

Look your cable or satellite remote and see if you have any buttons that cover surround setting for your receiver. They won’t be there. What about a “list” button for your recorded DVR programs on the surround receiver? Not there either. With the customizable universal remote, we can put any button from any remote and this eliminates the need for any other remotes. Period.

The other advantage a remote like this offers us is the ability to eliminate or hide buttons and commands that can mess up your system. Most complex systems now run the video and audio on all components through the surround receiver. Therefore, if all of your video signals go into your TV through a component or HDMI cable and you change the channel of the TV (I’m talking the actual TV, not the cablebox), you’ve lost the picture.

You probably still have sound but again, no picture. With the universal remote, we program it to put the TV on the correct input every time you press “watch TV” so even if it gets messed up (a child goes and presses buttons on the TV itself), the remote corrects the problem.

So, ask your home theater expert what remote they like best and take the frustration out of operating your system. Also, clean up that coffee table.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

If I want to hire a custom home theater expert, what should my expectations be? - (Part 2)

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

In part 1, I addressed what your expectations should be when you hire your custom home theater expert. Here, I will address what your expectations should be once you’ve hired your expert.

First, your home theater expert should be able to listen to you. Imagine going to your doctor and telling them your ankle hurts only to get a full on examination of your elbow.

Even if you live in a multi-million dollar home and you’ve told your home theater expert you want your theater to be a place to hang out to watch a few football games and a place for the kids to watch some Disney films, you shouldn’t expect to see a $50,000 estimate and if you did, your home theater expert wasn’t listening.

Sometimes it is true that spending a little more can bring a lot more results, but your home theater expert should explain why (like spending another $200 will keep you from replacing your receiver in 3 months, for example.)

Second, you’ve approved the estimate and hired your home theater expert and now the process begins. Most often, some equipment will need to be ordered.

Your home theater expert should give you some kind of timeline for when everything will take place. There can be a few things that need to happen and all of it will happen quickly, or sometimes multiple phases will need to take place. Either way, a good home theater expert will try to take into account contingencies and inform you along the way if they happen. Anyone that’s been involved in a construction project knows there will be contingencies.

Most companies have different ways to collect fees/deposits. It is common to have to pay for equipment up front and then installation when the job is complete. Both parties assume some risk but your home theater expert should be able to provide references if you have any questions before turning over your hard earned money.

As the process goes along, be sure to let your home theater expert know if there is anything that needs to change. Often, the installers are going along and the client will make changes to the plan. This can create confusion and also wreck a well laid out plan. You should have a contract or work order so you know what you’re getting and what you will be billed. Most companies are happy to make changes along the way, but they often lead to additional costs and that should be spelled out in advance.

Hopefully, if all has gone well, your new home theater or media room will be up and running and you can enjoy it at its fullest potential. Your home theater expert should make sure you are comfortable operating any remote controls and provide you with an itemized invoice. Don’t hesitate to ask if there are variances from the original estimate. The labor bid should be close to the estimate amount (unless there have been a lot of approved changes) and the same with the equipment.

Now, dim the lights, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

If I want to hire a custom home theater expert, what should my expectations be? - (Part 1)

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

You’ve decided to take the plunge and call your local custom home theater expert because it’s time to change that spare room into your new media room. Today I’m going to write about the process that should take place, and what you should expect through the bidding process.

Here is basically how the process should work.

During the initial phone conversation, your home theater guru should try to get a general idea of what it is you’re looking for.

Are you calling because you want to hang a flat screen TV?

Do you have a media room and want to hang a projector and screen?

Do you want music outside by your pool or throughout your home?

Do you want multi-zone audio and video with LCD keypads?

Do you want a video surveillance system?

Are you overwhelmed?

Once it’s determined what you want, the next step is usually an onsite visit. If your media room has been pre-wired, it’s always helpful for the audio/video company to take a look and make sure all the necessary wires are there.

Also, they’ll need to look at things like how high the ceiling is, what kind of mount and drop will the projector need, will you want in wall speakers, or free standing?

That visit gives them the chance to survey the room or project to see what kind of installation challenges there are as well as what kind of acoustical characteristics the room has so the right recommendations can be made.

Somewhere along the way, it will probably also be necessary to discuss a general budget, not so much as a "how much can you spend?" conversation but because there is such a wide range of pricing it helps to eliminate what is unrealistic.

The best example I could relate that to is going to a car dealer that carried everything from Chevrolet to Ferrari and telling them, "I want a car." It helps to narrow down what the price range of the car you are looking for costs. You aren’t going to get a Ferrari on a Chevy budget and believe me, you can easily spend what a Ferrari costs on a home theater. So, if $20,000 speakers are out of the question, it’s helpful to know that.

I often hear people say they want the best, until I tell them what the best costs.

In order to determine what equipment is right for the job, there are several questions that should be addressed during the initial consultation. For example, if you have decided to build a home theater, we would like to know, "where do you sit at the theater?"

Do you find the experience to be too loud, or do you have trouble hearing?

Do you want some kind of lighting?

Will this be a dedicated theater, or more of an all purpose room?

Will you want theater seating…. You need to make sure your audio/video company is listening to you. Hopefully, they’ll try to cover as many areas as possible so that they can deliver the experience you want.

Once those issues are determined, you should receive an estimate within a reasonable amount of time and then a follow up phone call or email to see if you have any further questions.

In part 2, I’ll address what expectations you should have for the process once you’ve hired your custom home theater expert.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

How custom audio video retailers pick the manufacturers they represent.

admin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

We often get asked if we have a preference on the products we recommend.

Well, the short answer to that is no.

If we represent a product, we already like it. However, unlike traditional retail stores that can only carry so many brands, custom home theater stores can offer a larger variety of products to choose from.

Generally, we try to recommend the right equipment for a specific budget or need. Some speakers are better suited for the home theater experience while others are better suited for stereo music listening.

Some surround sound receivers are better equipped for certain applications as well. So, based on the clients’ listening preferences, the room acoustics, and the overall budget, we make our recommendations.

Also, given the pace at which technology changes, we work very hard to recommend equipment that won’t be outdated in a few months. We want our clients to be informed so we try to offer a few choices based on the answers to some of our questions.

The second element of how we pick a manufacturer is reliability. We choose the manufacturers because of the durability of their product, and also because they stand behind their product if something doesn’t work properly.

You don’t want a product that doesn’t work right, and we don’t want to have to come back several times to get a product to work right that should have worked right in the first place. However, sometimes things do break so we pick manufacturers that stand behind their product.

Third, we pick manufacturers that offer up to date training on their products. We want to be sure that we are informed so that we pick right piece of equipment for the job and that we are knowledgeable in setting it up to get the most out of the product.

Finally, we try to pick manufacturers that make products that easily integrate with other products. What does that mean to you? Ease of use. You won’t use your home theater if it’s too difficult to operate so we try to utilize equipment that "plays well in the sandbox", so to speak. We want your home theater experience to be a relaxing, enjoyable one, not a source of frustration.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

How to pick an Audio Video Company

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:20:00 GMT

By Clay Hankins

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and either upgrade your existing system, or maybe the entire electronics world is new to you and now you have to decide whom to hire to do the work.

The first question you should ask is "what do I want the most out of my experience?

Is it the lowest price?

Value?

Professionalism?

Expertise?

Of course all of those are important, but determining the most important elements can mean the difference in what kind of experience you have.

For example, if you’ve been shopping on the internet for that new 50" flat screen and call to ask a local retailer to beat the price, the answer is probably going to be no. However, if you want to be certain you’re getting what you paid for, from an authorized dealer, who researches the products (see upcoming blog "how to pick a manufacturer") and knows how to choose the right TV for your room, that’s where expertise comes in.

So why buy from a local retailer?

Service.

Many consumers don’t know that most electronics manufacturers invalidate the warranty on their products if they’ve been sold by unauthorized dealers. If you’re determined to buy over the net, check the manufacturer website or call them directly to see if the dealer is authorized to sell the product. When you buy from an authorized dealer, you know the product you get is the one that you ordered and has not been tampered with. That protects the manufacturer who doesn’t have to repair "altered" equipment, but most importantly, it protects you.

Shopping on the internet can and often is a rewarding experience. Again, make sure you check with the manufacturer to verify the e-tailer is authorized to sell those products. Often, local retailers can match the price of authorized e-tailers and then you get the value of a face to face relationship and the best price.

The other not so obvious element is that a local home theater store usually has trained people to pick the right equipment. We have saved clients lots of money and heartache by picking the right component for the job. You might not need a screen that large for your viewing area, or an amp that powerful. You may be better off to invest a little more money to get something that you won’t have to replace in six months.

We do the research so you don’t waste your money. Shop wisely and everyone wins.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.

Who is the Audio Guy?

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:20:00 GMT

Welcome to my first blog. So the question is, "what do I write about?" Good question.

What indeed?

Well, I guess I should probably start with a little bio about me, a subject I am an expert on. First, my name is Clay. I am in my late 30's, 46 to be exact, but who's counting?

Certainly not me.

That's probably enough personal stuff so what about me as The Audio Guy. I started the business in 1999 and next year we'll celebrate our 10th anniversary. Gosh, it seems like just yesterday.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

Anyway, I have always loved music from as far back as I can remember. When I was 13 years old, I got a summer job with many other kids my age de-tasseling corn. With my very first paycheck, I went to Radio Shack and bought one of the "some assembly required" stereo kits and speakers and my love affair with electronics began.

Over the years, I have mostly been a two channel (stereo music) kind of guy. I remember with great fondness the days when listening to an album involved the ritual of getting out the vinyl, cleaning it off, placing it on the platter, and sitting down with the album cover and lyrics in hand to devote 45 minutes or so of undivided attention to the artist of the moment.

Over the last 10 years, I have grown to love surround sound as well. With a well set up system and a good movie, surround sound can really draw you into the theater experience.

That tells you a little about me. This is a passion and as the saying goes, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Now, a little history on The Audio Guy.
You already know we’re about 10 years old. The first year was mostly word of mouth referral business. It started slowly, but by the end of the first year, things were starting to pick up.

I ran some yellow pages ads and was really busy the second and third year. I got so busy that I dropped the ads and went back to word of mouth referrals to keep business at a manageable level. Since then, business has grown steadily each year but at a good pace.

I’ve stayed relatively small in order to meet the needs of new clients, and maintain a good relationship with past clients as well. It has always been important to me to deliver what I promise.

One of the best questions someone asked me early on was, “what do you want to do?” That question seems simple enough but I hadn’t really given it a lot of thought.

Did I want to be the next Best Buy?

That was easy, no.

So what did I really enjoy?

After a lot of thought, I decided that I enjoyed being with my clients and helping them choose a system to fit their budget and desires. Finally, when everything was installed, I enjoyed standing there when the system was turned on for the first time and seeing the Cheshire Cat grin sweep across their faces as they get blown away by the experience.

At this stage, The Audio Guy has grown some and is more than just me but the commitment to taking care of our clients is still the first priority. Whether you want a flat screen TV hung on a wall, or to bring the theater to your home, we won’t make promises we can’t deliver.

-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.