I just built my 222nd midrange horn!  I've sold about 175 of them, and that's in less than three years.  Not bad I say.  A big thank you goes out to all my customers.

Welcome new Subscribers!  I had quite a few new subscribers sign up for the newsletter in December, more than usual.  Actually, December was a busy month for Volti Audio.  A couple of weeks ago, during a six-day stretch, I sold six pairs of V-Trac horns!  I don't know if I sold six pairs of V-Trac horns in the previous six months!  I don't know what that was about, but I like it.  

After making those sales, I managed to wrestle enough funds from the Mrs. to buy a new compressor for the shop.  The old compressor, which is just a small portable unit, is on it's last legs, and actually should have died a long time ago when I ran it completely out of oil one day.   I took it apart and lubed everything up and got it working again, and it's hung in there for the last couple of years, but it is time for a new one.

I bought a three cylinder Rolair that makes 16cfm at 100psi with a 150psi max.   I was going to get a two-stage, but it was quite a bit more money, and the only advantage was a higher max psi, which I don't need.  I'll include a picture of the installation in the next newsletter.

Things are kind of quiet right now with new speaker sales.  I've got a long list of interested potential buyers, but none ready to pull the trigger right now.   I suppose the economic situation in general is making it hard for a lot of people to think about spending that much money on frivolities.  But I'm still going to gear up for 2012 as if I will sell a few pair anyway.  In January I will begin construction of four pairs of Vittora speakers.  Along with the actual building of the speakers, I will be making more elaborate and durable jigs to help me in the process.

A couple of people have asked me if the Lavera Horn could be used on the Vittora bass horn.

Speaking of shows, now is a good time to mention that I'm planning to have rooms at three different audio shows in 2012.

Obviously I'll have lots more information about these shows in future newsletters.  It's been a difficult thing, to decide where to best spend my limited marketing dollars for Volti Audio.  Print media seems to be on the decline, and it's very expensive.   A half-page ad in a major audio print magazine can be more than $2,000 for a single issue, and that's if I purchase a block of six ads in a year.  That's $12K for six ads in one year!  Online magazine advertising is a lot less expensive, but I still wonder how effective ads are going to be anyway.  In the end, I believe most people are going to want to hear the Vittora speakers before they purchase them.  Audio shows give me the opportunity to get my speakers in front of a lot of ears, and right now that just seems like a better place to spend my money.  When the dust settles after RMAF 2012, those three shows will end up costing Volti about $20,000.

That's a lot of money for sure, but it's also a lot of direct exposure to industry professionals as well as potential customers.  It's going to be necessary to promote the Volti speakers somehow, and doing a few shows a year is effective and fun too!

I've realized that I need to raise my shop labor rate a bit.  I've held the $50 per hour price for three years now, and it's worked out ok.  But it's time to raise it up to $60.

The shop rate is not what I personally make per hour.   The rate is being billed according to the actual work hours I put in at the shop for any given project, but the rate covers a lot more than just my labor.  There's the cost of the shop building (rent), maintenance on the shop, tools and maintenance on tools, shop supplies, and all other business expenses.  Also keep in mind that for every hour I work at the shop where I can charge $60, I do an hour's worth of work somewhere else that I don't get paid for, like cleaning the shop, maintaining tools, answering customer emails, ordering materials, etc...  So the shop rate is really being stretched to the point where it still doesn't cover all the expenses and provide me with enough to live on.  To those of you who understand the "squeeze" of all this, it may not seem worth it at all, and honestly sometimes I question what the heck I'm doing too!   But I'm a long-term thinker, and I'm also a very patient man, and I hope someday to build the business to the point where I can profit from my products, and not just rely on hourly wages to pay the bills.  This is the business-building part of Volti Audio.

So, what do you think of this?

On the Klipsch website, in the description of the Klipschorn loudspeaker, is the following:

Now I'm not trying to be a sore sport or anything, but c'mon, Klipsch knows darned well that the midrange driver used in the Khorn is not a 2" driver.  It may have a 2" diaphragm, but it is most certainly not a 2" driver.  In fact, the driver loads into a horn throat that measures about 11/16" in diameter.

The K-69 driver that Klipsch uses on the K402 horn is called a 2" driver.

Across the industry is it understood what a 2" driver is.  They fit on a horn with a 2" throat.

The BMS 4592 driver that I use on the V-Trac horn has a 3-1/2" diaphragm.   Does that mean that I should advertise that the Vittora speakers have 3-1/2" midrange compression drivers?

I've had more than one customer contact me about this innaccuracy on the Klipsch website, confused about it and thinking that Klipsch is now using a 2" driver on the "new" Klipschorn.  I have to explain to them that Klipsch is using the same midrange horn design (albeit with a plastic horn rather than metal) that they've used for decades, with the same long constricted throat and K55 driver, with essentially the same performance as they've had all those years.

Do you think Klipsch knows about and condones this innaccuracy, or is this just a simple oversight?

Just an interesting little tidbit that I wanted to vent about.

Soon I will have webpages up on the Klipsch Upgrades site for the North Reading Engineering crossover networks for stock Klipsch Klipschorn speakers, as well as for V-Trac upgraded Klipsch Klipschorn speakers.  These two new models will be built by John Warren of North Reading Engineering, and will be available for purchase through Volti Audio.  Each network design has been extensively tested with the components they are built to work with, and John has documented some impressive results with these networks.  I'm looking forward to offering another choice in crossover networks for my customers, so look for them within the next couple of months.

This is the KV1 network, built for Khorns that are fully upgraded with the V-Trac midrange horns, BMS 4692ND-MID midrange drivers, and Beyma CP25 tweeters.

I'm always interested to learn about good music, music from before my time, great quality recordings, etc..., and I've received some great tips on music to buy over the years.  I'd like to share a few with you here, and welcome you to send your suggestions to me for inclusion in future issues of this newsletter.

The first title is Bug Music: Music Of The Raymond Scott Quintette, John Kirby & His Orchestra, And The Duke Ellington Orchestra - CD from 1996

I enjoy listening to a few songs on this CD every once in a while.  It's well recorded, the music is not something you hear every day, and I love the overall mix of instruments.

From Amazon:   "When Duke Ellington began to slip classical motifs and structures into his jazz compositions in the '30s, two fellow composers took his example as a challenge to do the same.   Raymond Scott played movie music, led the house band on the popular radio show, 'Your Hit Parade,' and supplied much of the music for Carl Stalling's famous cartoon scores;   John Kirby led a jazz combo that included Ben Webster, Russell Procope and Charlie Shavers.   All three bandleaders are saluted on Bug Music.   The music inside is playful and joyful, with Byron's clarinet skipping and jumping through the catchy melodies and quirky rhythms.   In fact, what's most striking about the recording is not the mix of jazz and classical music, but the mix of jazz and humor, an all too rare combination these days."   --Geoffrey Himes

Next is one of my favorite demo CD's; Ben Webster, Soulville (remastered) - CD from 2003

Ben Webster has such a smooth playing style on the saxaphone, and the quality of this 1959 recording is amazing.  The first track opens with a very laid back trio of bass, drums and guitar for a minute or so, and then all of a sudden this big smooth saxaphone comes out of nowhere and makes you say "Wow, what a sound".  Imaging and soundstage are suberb, and you'll swear Ben Webster is playing right in front of you.

Next is Bucky Pizzarelli, Swing Live - SACD (or CD) from 2001

This is a live recording, and on my system I can draw you a map of exactly where each musician is on stage.  You get the feeling you're sitting in the audience listening to this great jazz music.  Just gotta love a Vibraphone once in a while.

Stay tuned, more great selections coming in the next newsletter.

In the next newsletter I will update you on what's going on with the new batch of Vittora speakers I'll be building.  I also still have the Feastrex project I'm working on, and hopefully I can make some headway with that in the next few weeks.  I should also know more about the New York Audio Show coming up in April, and will provide details so you can come listen to the Vittoras there.  

2011 was a great year for Volti Audio, and I owe it all to the great customers I have, as well as the wonderful people who have been so supportive of me in this business.   Thank you so much!  I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.

Please tell others about Volti Audio, about our email newsletter, and about the Volti Facebook page.  We're really trying to spread the word about Volti through the Audio community.

Thank you for your support, and until next time, I hope it all sounds good!