News

Loudspeaker designer and manufacturer Richard Vandersteen has heard enough: He is embarking on a crusade to right an egregious wrong he sees being perpetuated by the marketing scribes and salesfolk working in the consumer electronics business. Though he was miles away, at his company headquarters in Hanford, CA, his passion for spreading the audiophile word came through the telephone loud and clear.

"There is a common misconception today," Vandersteen states, "one that has been aided and abetted by a strong marketing effort from certain Hollywood firms, that the requirements for a home-theater system and the requirements for a hi-fi music system are completely different and somehow mutually exclusive. I can demonstrate that this is not the case."

Vandersteen says he is continually bombarded with questions from audiophiles who feel trapped because they can't set up a second room for their home-theater systems. "Lots of serious music listeners have expressed to me their desire to add multichannel capability to their home audio systems, and have been disappointed after hearing a typical home-theater demonstration in a dealer's showroom. They may want surround sound for movies, but they don't want to sacrifice the fidelity of their music systems to get it. Some have even come to see home theater as a threat to a quality music listening experience. I want to dispel that myth."

To get the word out, Vandersteen is taking his message on the road for a series of seminars around the country during the month of May. He says that he'll provide a simple step-by-step approach to maximize both the audio performance and the home-theater experience in a single system. According to Vandersteen, the thrust of his presentation will be to show that "a high-quality music system can be expanded to provide multichannel capability with no sacrifice in stereo fidelity at all."

Those interested in the seminars can contact the following dealers to make reservations:

May 5, Richardson, TX, John Fort Audio 972 644-1199
May 7, Kensington, MD, Soundworks 301 929-8600
May 8, Baltimore, MD, Soundscape 410 889-1134
May 9, Fairless Hills, PA, Audiolab Stereo Center 215 295-8795
May 14, Pittsfield, MA, Audio/Video Design Group 413 443-3434
May 15, Brookfield, CT, Sounds Incredible 203 775-1122
May 16, Verona, NJ, Audio Connection 973 239-1799
May 21, Wauwatosa, WI, Ultra Fidelis 414 774-0234
May 23, Denver, CO, Cherry Creek Audio 303 758-4434