Engineering Consulting
Kansas State University introduced me to more than just technical writing. It was there that I also first heard real, high-fidelity music. My music experience, prior to that, was listening to the Grand Ol’ Opry and the Longines Wittnauer Hour broadcasts of classical music on our old Zenith vacuum tube radio on our farm, as I grew up. But the K-State Student Union had a music lounge, with real hi-fi albums. I did much of my homework in that lounge, listening to music too grand to describe.
Perhaps that experience is what was behind my willingness, in 1985, to leave my EE career and go into the ultra-high end audio business with my son Curt. The photo to the left, taken in our store, shows the contrast of music that evolved over my lifetime. On the left is the old Victrola formerly owned by my uncle. My cousins and I would listen to scratchy 78s on rainy days on that old player. On the right is one of the most esoteric speakers ever developed, the Apogee Acoustics planar magnetic ribbon Duetta. The contrast is as great as between the hand-cranked telephone that used to hang on our farm house wall and the picture-phone cell phone of today.
That store led us into the custom installation business, a business we have been involved in since we had to create our own in-wall speakers, as no manufacturer made ones specifically for that purpose when we did our first installation. Much has changed since then. Audio throughout the house and outdoors, video distribution to all rooms, computer-based remote control. Home A/V systems are now more technically advanced and sophisticated than the radars I used to help design and build.
But some things haven’t changed. One of those is that attics in Texas are very hot in the summertime, and Curt and I have long since lost our enthusiasm for crawling around in them to string cable. Another thing that hasn’t changed is the need for detailed, accurate documentation to install and program those sophisticated systems. That being the case, we decided to leave the sales and installation side of the business, and concentrate on the design and documentation aspects of it.
Something else that hasn’t changed are the costs and headaches of either creating that documentation, or the consequences of not doing so. Tired of 941 payments, of worrying about medical benefits, vacation policy, and employees that leave just about the time they have become well trained and qualified to do the job? Tired of call-backs and upset customers because a system was installed, or programmed, incorrectly and doesn’t do what your sales guy promised? Then out-sourcing your design and documentation problems is the way you can spell relief.
That’s where we come in. Curt formed Audio Design Incorporated to provide one-stop design and documentation support for system integrators. I support that with engineering consulting, from detailed, professional proposals—
(click images to enlarge)
—to system design—
—to final schematics.
And all the rest of the documentation your business needs. Rack designs, purchase orders, wire pull drawings—we do it all. Whether you just need some design and engineering assistance on a temporary basis, or want to rid yourself of employee costs and hassles and turn over all your documentation needs, we can provide the assistance you need. Contact me, or visit Curt at audiodesigninc.com for more information.