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“You Really Got Me” . . . Stereoland! By Dave Halliday
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et’s think back to our younger years and try to recall what was involved in home entertainment. Certainly, there was always the television strategically positioned in the family room and then a sound system of some variety to provide the music we love. Over time the options broadened and the manner in which we accessed our home entertainment evolved as well. One of the initial items purchased when we moved into our new pad was often a music system. Who doesn’t recall cashing that first pay cheque and heading to the local audio store to find a system that could blow your hair back when you cranked the volume to 11? OK . . . maybe that was just me. So I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my neighbours of the past! Mercifully for those that live near us, years went by and we matured and changed with the times that we encountered. The same can be said for the beloved audio stores that provided the platform upon which we blasted Van Halen’s debut album (hence the reference to the column title LOL!). Technological advancements in the manner in which we entertain ourselves at home have been constantly changing. In order to keep pace, businesses such as Stereoland (Stereoland.ca) located at 1251 Ottawa Street in Windsor have adapted as well. They provide a broad range of services and products for either home or office from televisions, lighting control systems, networking, security systems, and of course audio systems, just to name a few. Owned by James Ferry, Stereoland originated as a traditional audio only retailer in 1967 and has now evolved into a custom integration specialist company serving the
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Inside the Stereoland showroom a sampling of speakers shown are: Focal Kanta No. 2 (black shortest on inside); centre speaker Focal Electra 1038 BE; Focal Sopra No. 3 (red); Bryston amp on short stand in the centre and Bryston Electronics in stand back left, and Anthem back right. Photo courtesy of Clark Wiggins.
needs of Windsor and Essex County residents. We at Biz X were recently afforded the opportunity of discussing the scope of the services Stereoland offers with Manager Clark Wiggins who has 44 years of expertise in the audio/home security field. As we have discussed, audio stores such as Stereoland used to be associated with towering speaker systems and components. Do you still offer these types of systems? “We still offer full range speakers, but there has also been a shift towards in-wall and inceiling style speakers where you hear, but don’t see,” replies Wiggins noting, “The quality and performance level has really excelled here.” Recent events have driven the entertainment habits of many back into our homes. One increasingly relevant area is that of home theatre. How can you assist a client in achieving the ultimate home theatre experience? “We offer world class highly regarded brands such as Anthem, Paradigm and Focal that have stellar reputations in this field,” states Wiggins. “Also our installation team has a wealth of knowledge to help guide our clients through a seamless process.” What is whole house audio and video
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distribution and how can it enhance one’s home? “Whole house distributed audio is a category where the end user can have audio in every room controlled generally by an app on your phone,” he informs us. “So if you are in the attic and want to change the song in the basement you can do that with your device.” What would the video distribution be? “The video portion would be more along the lines of all your video sources in a central location and then going out from there to the different rooms in the home and even out to the TV by the bar on the patio,” explains Wiggins. Home automation is certainly something that is experiencing growth. What can you tell us about it? “Certainly home automation is the wave of the future and one can automate practically anything these days,” says Wiggins pointing out, “Systems such as your blinds, lighting, doorbells, audio, and security can all be automated.” Are there other services that you would like to make our readers aware of? “When it comes to the home office our installers can offer network integration to expand your home network,” he says. “Feeling secure is part of the comfort of home and we offer security cameras and alarm systems to assist in achieving that.” Lastly, do you still offer the REALLY loud home stereo systems? “Yes,” chuckles Wiggins, concluding, “We can certainly offer equipment that can achieve that concert level of performance.” Well, thanks to the advice and expertise of the Stereoland staff you were really able to upgrade and automate many of the systems in your home. One of the upgrades you are most excited about is your new sound system. All we can say is that we hope the neighbours like Whitesnake! Rock on Biz X readers!
