Griffinator Posted February 3, 2004 Author Share Posted February 3, 2004 Update: So far, I've e-mailed several companies (as I mentioned, Bluejean and Signal are both out, no TosLink) and gotten no responses back - except for XLO/Ultralink - who contacted me twice (!) First reply I got was some guy named "Peder" who told me to contact some distributor in Alexandria, VA (on the other side of the state from us). I ignored this one. Shortly thereafter, a guy named J David Mann III responded as well - asked me about the company, what we were doing, what we planned to do, etc. I replied, explaining what I explained here. He quickly responded asking for an address to which he could send out a "care package" So far, they're definitely winning points for promptness and friendliness! I can't wait to finally be able to walk into a customer's house with a brand I know they've never heard of and go "Monster?! SHEEEEEIIIT!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFinco Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 I just noticed that no one ever talks about BETTERCABLES.com, even though their reviews and such are spectacular. their silver serpent line is quite nice for the price. feel free to blast me at this point--I went with bettercables and they were very nice to me, and I'm very pleased with their products thus far. way nicer than monster... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 I sure won't blast you...I said the same thing a few posts above. I think Griff wants speaker cables as well (?), though, and that is a costly proposition for typical HT runs from bettercables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 3, 2004 Author Share Posted February 3, 2004 ---------------- On 2/3/2004 8:39:48 PM kev313 wrote: I sure won't blast you...I said the same thing a few posts above. I think Griff wants speaker cables as well (?), though, and that is a costly proposition for typical HT runs from bettercables. ---------------- Actually, Griff is dealing with a completely different problem: 1) All our contract installs come from Best Buy and Sears. This means that, in order to effectively sell cabling to the customers, we've got to come in at comparable prices to the cabling they stock (read: low end Monster) - therefore 2) MIT, BetterCables, AudioQuest, and several other companies mentioned are priced WAY out of our range. None of the customers we typically deal with are going to pay those kinds of prices for cables. Not that they aren't worth it - just that I'm dealing with, at best, wannabe audiophiles who think Monster Interlink is the best **** out there (kinda like the ones who think Bose is the best speaker maker out there) 3) We definitely need to fit into a company that does the whole run - every type of cable we typically run into - both video and audio - so basically, if a manufacturer doesn't sell Toslink, for example, it's too much headache for us to work with them. We need a solid, reasonably priced, one-stop manufacturer from which to order our cabling. I know, that really limits our options, but my hope is that XLO is going to work out for us (or that someone else will actually respond to my e-mail?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunsen Burner Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Tributaries is a good line. They pretty much carry it all and from every price point. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pborsh Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 You cannot go wrong with signal Cable . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 ---------------- On 2/3/2004 6:58:36 PM Griffinator wrote: Update: So far, I've e-mailed several companies (as I mentioned, Bluejean and Signal are both out, no TosLink) and gotten no responses back - except for XLO/Ultralink - who contacted me twice (!) ---------------- Well, I guess there is something to be said about being hungry. Do I win anything? I guess XLO is more than two guys in a garage with a website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 I was going to mention AQ, as I have been very happy with their products, but sounds like they are outside your price point. Hope you can get a deal worked with XLO then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 4, 2004 Author Share Posted February 4, 2004 ---------------- On 2/3/2004 11:00:56 PM pborsh wrote: You cannot go wrong with signal Cable . ---------------- You can if you need Toslink. They don't sell it. (of course, I said this three times in this thread, but I guess you didn't notice ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 4, 2004 Author Share Posted February 4, 2004 ---------------- On 2/3/2004 11:26:16 PM Klipschfoot wrote: Well, I guess there is something to be said about being hungry. Do I win anything? I guess XLO is more than two guys in a garage with a website. ---------------- Indeed, they are. Just got off the phone with David Mann again. Really cool guy - gave me a bunch of other ideas to throw at the bossman when I go to work tomorrow. Anyway, here's the dirt on XLO: 1) XLO is a daughter company of Ultralink, out of Toronto. The founder of XLO is still onboard, as a designer. 2) I'm actually much more impressed with Ultralink than I am with XLO cabling. XLO focuses totally on the quality of the dielectric (which really doesn't mean much unless you're running cables from here to the next town) where Ultralink really puts stock in the quality of the copper and the construction. They have 3 factories in Toronto, they own their own entire raw material production, from mining companies to ore processing, they do all their cable production in the US and Canada (as opposed to Monster and Acoustic Research, who take their plans to Chinese contract shops), and they've got a massive line of products, from the very basic all the way to the very esoteric, depending on the customers needs. Here's another kicker that I really dug: Other than their entry-level cable line, every copper cable they produce is twisted-pair - SPDIF, composite, component, analog audio, all of them. There's a feature I can sink my teeth into - maximum RF rejection. 3) Their primary East Coast distributor is 1 day UPS ground from us, and they keep most of the cabling in stock. 4) They do not demand non-compete pricing from their distributors, unlike Monster. We can sell their cable at whatever price we want. Great for BB and CC customers that are accustomed to seeing Monster and AR pricing, and don't want to pay more. So it looks to me like we're heading that direction. Obviously, I gotta hash it all out with the bosses, but Ultralink/XLO definitely looks like a winner to me. I'm so friggin' excited - hell, if nothing else, this gives me a whole other cable company to explore and report on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 4, 2004 Author Share Posted February 4, 2004 ---------------- On 2/3/2004 9:50:06 PM Bunsen Burner wrote: Tributaries is a good line. They pretty much carry it all and from every price point. BB ---------------- Actually, Ultralink makes Tributaries. Found that out tonight too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTMAN21 Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 RCA has a mid line of cables. They are available in every type of inter connet. I use their optical and component cables. I have used many other brands that were more costly and the RCA is as good as any brand that I tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Terrific! Now THAT is the power of the FORUM! Maybe Klipsch will catch on and make XLO a recommended component if they are watching and taking notes. XLO has been around a long time challenging consumers to find a better product. I remember ads for a trade up credit to XLO cables years ago. I don't remember the details, only it was very agressive marketing. Go Griff! KF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 ---------------- On 2/5/2004 12:00:26 AM Klipschfoot wrote: Terrific! Now THAT is the power of the FORUM! Maybe Klipsch will catch on and make XLO a recommended component if they are watching and taking notes. XLO has been around a long time challenging consumers to find a better product. I remember ads for a trade up credit to XLO cables years ago. I don't remember the details, only it was very agressive marketing. Go Griff! KF ---------------- Tell ya what, bro. If my boss gives me the green light and we put in some orders, I'll make sure and give you a holler - I'm sure he'll let me make you a sweet deal on some cable upgrades/replacements! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Update: WOOOHOOO! Had the meeting with the boss today - he's even more excited than I am, especially when he found out that our East Coast rep for Ultralink/XLO also reps for a couple dozen other companies which, between the lot of them, can supply us with everything we need to start going out and doing full blown custom high-end theater rooms (projectors, plasmas, seating, acoustic treatments...), whole-house audio (amps, control centers, media servers, in-wall speakers and subs...), and a host of other (good paying) jobs. Contracting for the big retailers may soon become a thing of the past for this crew! Except, of course, we have to change the name of the company now - from *** Sattelite to *** Satellite and Custom Audio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Congratulations. Now ask him for a partnership. "Total Home Electronics" is not taken according to Google. THE Store. Total Home Electronics. Did I tell you I am also marketing genius? Go Griff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 ---------------- On 2/5/2004 3:01:40 PM Griffinator wrote: Had the meeting with the boss today - he's even more excited than I am, especially when he found out that our East Coast rep for Ultralink/XLO also reps for a couple dozen other companies which, between the lot of them, can supply us with everything we need to start going out and doing full blown custom high-end theater rooms (projectors, plasmas, seating, acoustic treatments...), whole-house audio (amps, control centers, media servers, in-wall speakers and subs...), and a host of other (good paying) jobs. Contracting for the big retailers may soon become a thing of the past for this crew! ---------------- Cool, I hope it all works out in the end. I wish I knew about this XLO/Ultralink stuff instead of all that Monster cable that I am using in my setup. Ah well, the Monster cable works and I did manage to get a pretty decent deal on it at the time, so I am not complaining. To be honost, doing that custom installation work does sound like a lot of fun. Maybe I ought to consider a career change . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 ---------------- On 2/5/2004 5:06:33 PM skonopa wrote: Cool, I hope it all works out in the end. I wish I knew about this XLO/Ultralink stuff instead of all that Monster cable that I am using in my setup. Ah well, the Monster cable works and I did manage to get a pretty decent deal on it at the time, so I am not complaining. To be honost, doing that custom installation work does sound like a lot of fun. Maybe I ought to consider a career change . ---------------- I'll tell ya, bro. There is one very fun part of my job - watching people's reactions when I do my first "sound check". I've made it standard practice now to carry a copy of Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring for this specific purpose. The first Mordor sequence is fabulous on damned near any well-set-up surround system. The only problem is, there's a lot of really tedious, boring work that comes before that - stripping, stapling, and/or wall-fishing wire, programming remotes, receivers, TV's, satellite receivers, troubleshooting non-compliant components, battling with "universal speaker brackets/stands" that are anything but universal, running test tones upon test tones while checking and rechecking SPL meter readings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Griff- I've had very good experiences with a distributor called DBL. They stock a very broad selection, and are willing to sell onesie-twosies. Email me if you'd like more info. Also, if you guys are going to get into retailing product, joining a buying group of some kind is usually very beneficial. Again, email me if you like. Congrats and best of luck in your biz, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 ---------------- On 2/5/2004 7:35:10 PM bclarke421 wrote: Griff- I've had very good experiences with a distributor called DBL. They stock a very broad selection, and are willing to sell onesie-twosies. Email me if you'd like more info. Also, if you guys are going to get into retailing product, joining a buying group of some kind is usually very beneficial. Again, email me if you like. Congrats and best of luck in your biz, Ben ---------------- You've got mail. Meanwhile, as we're still an installation shop, we're definitely a very, very long way from even thinking about a showroom - especially in our current (4 rooms and a garage where we keep most of our equipment and cabling) location. So no, retailing isn't a real priority right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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