Colin Mackenzie's Soap Box
"Soapbox - a makeshift stand for a public speaker".
The author, Colin Mackenzie, is the Managing Director of Hi-Fi Corner. Colin has been in the hifi business since he was 'a wee boy'.
Colin hasn't grown up yet. He enjoys classical music, a spot of angling, and is still excited about hi-fi products and business. This was called a soapbox as the word Blog wasn't invented when it started!
April 2008
Edinburgh Trams, is it worth it? the disruption to the city, the introduction of ugly wires down Leith Walk and along Princes St and the amount of stour and inconvenience makes me wonder. It gets me mad that this and will satisfy a small number of people who want to turn us into San Fransico. I think someone should find out how many extra miles we now have to travel in Edinburgh to get simply from A to B due to so-called 'traffic calming'. The number of extra miles I have to travel is certainly not environmentally friendly. Those who live out of town with only an hourly train available don't really have much of a choice but to drive in town. What we need in Edinburgh is more car parks, not trams holding up the traffic. I ranted about the trams last month, however after speaking with a few traders I now find I'm not a lone voice!
March 2008
I was very impressed by the difference made by adding some Advanced Acoustic tiles to a room, in fact I reckon the changes are more noticeable than many other accessories It's always amazed me the difference rooms can make to the sound of a hifi system. I remember changing a carpet and then having to change the speakers. That turned out to be an expensive carpet.
I reckon I'm turning into a grumpy old man (what do you mean 'turning' I hear you say), however I can't say that I'm impressed with the traffic nonsense in Edinburgh's Shandwick place. The Council claims businesses approved of the new trams, nonsense, what next, horse and carts because it's environmentally friendly.
Feb 2008
Well the news from the Bristol hifi Show is the death of High Definition DVD (DVD-HD). Toshiba have withdrawn their support for the format and it seems that the few others will do likewise. This leaves Blu-ray as the winner in this format war. The Blu-ray pictures being shown in the Pioneer room were stunning, I've ordered a new telly! It appears there is a format war being developed in tv screens as well. The new buzz word is OLED Organic Light emitting Diode (alternatives include LEP , light emitting polymer, or OEL,Organic Electro-Luminescence) . This new method of bringing television alive is being hailed as the newest, slimmest, best contrast form of television. Hopefully we shall be showing prototypes soon. The idea of producing a picture on a series of individual lights was of course invented by my old pal John Logie Baird. (I use that term spiritually, I'm not really that old).
I attended a press conference held by Dolby and they successfully demonstrated why I shouldn't have an LED television. Their new software which they hope to licence, turns off the gray LED's giving a much better picture. If only it could so the same for my hair.
More news to follow in the show report. Note to self- Don't play on Bristol dodgems at 3.45 in the morning and expect to understand the niceties of open architecture remote infra-red inputs the next day.
Dec 2007 -Jan 2008
Wishing you the very best for the next year. I've some interesting projects lined up for 2008, more news to follow when all will be revealed- Oh er misses.
Nov 2007
As the days draw darker and the mood glooms further, thoughts of some nice music to lighten the soul come to mind. Also as a preview of the new Dr Who will appear at Children in Need night, maybe I need a new tv. It's not a question of keeping up with the Jones' but keeping up with my son, who has one of the fantastic new Pioneer Pure screens. Makes my second generation plasma look positively old fashioned. The photo (above) was taken with me a Dalek, one of us was wearing a kilt and has great legs- I'll leave it up to you to decide which...
July 2007
t is an interesting thought about how much knowledge is lost as each generation passes. I've recently been working on my family tree and the occupations of my ancestors no longer exist. When I started in the hifi industry I knew of people who could tell me what sounded the best, steel or real thorn needles. Fortunately I have a wide range of transferable skills, however some that I have will no longer be used in the future. I know not only how to set up a turntable and pick-up arm, but also the secrets of getting a floating suspension turntable to 'bounce' correctly in order to get the best sound. I know about binaural sound, one of the best kept audio secrets. I also know about reversing phase on cd's. This can potentially make a big difference to sound quality but if you don't know about how can you demand it on your cd player? I also know what crossover distortion sounds like on an amplifier, Ahhh, all this useless knowledge. The public don't want the knowledge, they want the solution. Quite right to.
January/February 2007
Recently Struan Mackenzie has become Ops Director for Hi-Fi Corner. This will be an interesting task for him; to maintain the high quality of training and customer service we offer. However I'm sure will enjoy the challenge.
I hope you like the new look of our site. I think it offers a modern feel and leaps any competition we may have in its presentation. We've spent considerable effort in updating the design and we've not finished! Later we will be giving customer facing staff the ability to update product pages with easy access. This should speed up the delivery of updates and maintain our position as the premier source of information and advice of quality hifi in Scotland. Recently I was honoured by a special presentation for my services to a particular part of the audio industry. This made me smile a lot, I hope I continue to smile for the rest of the year and I hope you do as well.
I recently signed the e-petition on Her Majesty's Government website; not the one everyone is talking about (against pay per mile car travel) but one requesting HDTV on freeview. I object to having to buy a dish in order to watch HDTV. I also think that I would rather sacrifice a number of channels in order to get some quality. I can think of a large number of programmes which I would care not to watch on any number of lines. I can think of some that would be great to watch in high definition. The trouble with the digital revolution is that is veers to 'never mind the quality feel the width'. Gosh, I'm turning into a real grumpy old man....
October 2006
So pleased to see Carol Smillie in Strictly Come Dancing. When I had the pleasure of meeting her I had an opportunity to see at first hand her great sense of humour. She is a real charmer and will get my vote! Carol, I hope you do well and wish you all the best.
August 2006
Those of you who know my son may be missing him from the stores these days, he broken his collar-bone. From a skirmish on Edinburgh Meadows with his pals, this story has now taken wings. It appears that he was playing in the Rugby finals. That would be the Edinburgh Imagination Team League. All Get Well cards with a fiver in them should be sent c/o his dad. The good news is that he will be taking the time to update this website over the coming weeks including information on the new mini-Quad valve amps and Quad 909 mono-block amplifiers. This is something to get excited about this summer. Save moaning about how hot, wet or cold it is.
June 2006
I've bought my Trinidad and Tobago flag, seriously can't wait to avoid the World Cup.The launch of the new Quad electrostatics should make music much more enjoyable than watching England be beaten (well almost). Visit our Haddington Place store and enjoy.
APRIL 2006
Saw a TV ad this evening, which is a copy of a very old Maxell Tape advertisement. The Maxell Ad was in colour but the people who copied it obviously thought it was so old that they had to cover it in B&W. I remember being invited by Maxell to look at the ads before broadcast and thought they were great. After all, you had to buy Maxell tapes; I had seen a demonstration of them baking in an oven, so they must have been the best audio tapes! (The theory was you could leave them in a very hot car without damage) found a copy of one of their excellent ads here. Why not watch it and smile?
March 2006
Things move so quickly these days, or maybe it's all relative. I spent some recently with a friend of mine who also runs a chain of hi-fi stores. Things have changed over the years (I'm glad to say) however we share a concern over quality. More for less seems to be the driving force. There is an old expression 'a quart out of a pint pot' which comes to mind. I would advise anyone buying anything, including hi-fi, to remember that, even if you are not metric, that you don't get ought for naught.
December 2005
Not surprisingly there is a lot of confusion by the public on HDTV. This isn't helped by unclear standards about what really constitutes 'high definition'. Trying to explain in lay terms to customers the difference between 720p and 1080i must be for the public as much fun as dusting ornaments. Many models of television are called HD compatibles, which isn't the same thing as High Definition. In a recent conversation with a broadcaster I find that they are telling consumers to ensure their tv's have DVI AND HDMI sockets to receive hi-def. Unfortunately we are aware of many televisions which have these sockets but are not genuine hi-def sets. Why does this matter. Well Colin predicts that before the end of next year HD will be in the non-anorak general domain. At this stage I cannot give reasons publicly, however watch this space for surprises in the middle of next year.
November 2005
It appears one of the Hobbits (as well as two stars of Scotland's most famous comedy programme, Still Game) were in our Glasgow store. It would not be professional to discuss the system in which he was interested, however we would deliver free of charge to anywhere within Scotland but excluding the Land of Mordor.
OCTOBER 2005
For me the best room at the Scottish Hifi Exhibition, and most wonderful sight, was the reintroduction of Audiolab. Basically the new equipment has many of the upgrades done to it during its brief period under the TAG brand, but now at reasonable prices, and under reasonable management! It's simply fantastic value for money and I'm sure old fans will be enthusiastic at its reemergence. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to hear any of the new equipment.
September 2005
Been very busy recently so apologies to those who have noticed the website has got a bit behind. I find it strange that I have spent years trying to get some publicity but recently I did a press release with some guide dogs and six PURE digital radios and what happens? The press release gets a mention in the front page of the Dundee Courier (circulation 400,000), The Sun, The Times, The Electrical Trade Magazine, The British Audio Journal, the news on Classic FM and BBC. The secret of publicity is to work with something cuddly. I knew something had been eluding me for all these years! I also predict that DRM, basically Digital Radio via medium or shortwave, will suddenly find its feet. This will get round having to supply enough DAB coverage for the Scottish glens. Unfortunately whilst there is an argument about the comparison between DAB and FM in quality terms, DRM isn't as good as DAB or FM. So the poor northerners will have to do with second best. Least now most of them have colour television....
June 2005
Life moves on so they say. I suppose I shouldn't get too hung up in the past, but sometimes I can't help feeling a little nostalgic. For example one of the first brands I remember selling way back in the last century, was (well I won't mention the name here) anyway we've been selling them what seems like forever. However in this modern age it appears they have decided to be streamlined and efficient. This means stock comes from Germany and the service department is so streamlined that it takes three months before anything is looked at- I suppose they reckon either the products are so reliable, or why would you want to repair anything nowadays. Sadly this famous hifi brand doesn't list on our shelves any more. With my stint at the Beeb coming to an end and Emap taking over the biggest independent radio stations in Scotland it looks like I'll have to find otherways of being heard. Maybe talking to myself is the best option!
I've just been reading some fascinating literature about hidden speakers (you plaster over them). Well what happens when you come home 'plastered' (a Glasgow expression for being stoshious) and turn up the volume a wee bit too much. Oops, you'll need to dig out the speakers from the wall. Maybe not such a bright idea after all. At least then sun's out! PS Apologies for those of you who may see me on BBC2 next week - it's the clever editing that makes me look a plonker- honest!
May 2005
It appears my last update, for some reason didn't update! Which is probably just as well as I appear to be ranting more than usual these days. My most recent rant was in the superbly trendy BBC studios at the Mailboxes in Birmingham. I thought I was only to be talking for a few moments but as the time lingered on, even I, the person who can talk for Scotland, slowed down. There was a danger I might be stuck for words. Those of you who know me will feel sure that there is rarely a moment of Colin without speech; but it has been known. At present realising how good Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are for the soul. Those tortured people left an enduring legacy for reflective times, just as well I have decent speakers to hear them all the more clearly!
February 2005
Valentines month- "Ma love is like a red red rose" - (aye a bit thorny)
As mentioned in January, this month I'm looking forward to trade time at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show co-organised by my friend Jerry Lewin of Audio T. Been invited by another friend to visit the Cotswolds, a wonderful part of Bonnie England. In the same month I'll be in Leeds, and Cardiff. Maybe a should live in a camper van? One of the hot products we are stocking at present are the Spendor range of speakers. I used to sell them as a wee boy now my own wee boy is selling them in our Rose St store! This month I was interviewed for a BBC documentary! I'll should know soon whether it will happen and if so it will be shown in the Autumn. It's a BBC 2 documentary and, well,,,,, I think I'll reveal more if it happens. Latest- heading off on my sledge for the airport today for the Bristol Hifi Show, no doubt there will be sunshine and heat a plenty south of Newcastle. Apparently I passed the screen test. So the TV cameras will be turning up next week. My fifteen minutes of fame is coming soon...
January 2005
January is a month of surprises. Some good and some maybe not so good. New products coming at the Bristol hifi show in February. If you see me there and say 'hello' then I'll buy you a drink! It was forecfully illustrated this offer could cost me a wee fortune but obviously this only applies to customers, not members of the trade! This month I was interviewed by BBC Scotland on the catastrophic events of the Asian tsunami and why we felt the need to donate. On my birthday I found myself again in the tiny BBC studio in Edinburgh chatting about my occasional worms. Before you wonder what sort of medical problems I have, I'm talking about computer worms and viruses! On a different subject we've recently employed a business development manager and we are instigating new and exciting changes for 2005.
December 2004
On a recent BBC radio interview I was called a 'progressive thinking manager' by a leading trade unionist .I thought this was an interesting description of me! The interview was about the gradual erosion of public holidays as far as shops and shop staff were concerned. We hope to open some of our stores on Boxing Day (Edinburgh- Rose St is confirmed) but will remain closed on Christmas Day and January 1st and 2nd. Many stores will start opening on January 1st from this year. I'm personally opposed to all extended openings, however we need to meet the demands of our customers. If you want to shop we need to be open. I doubt that we'll ever have the level playing field again of an enforced closure by law, as nice as that may be for all of our employees. I wish you all the very best for the festive season; have a great Hogmanay and keep listening to the music.
November 2004
Och! I should be more careful about what I write. Even my sister in Sweden has been correcting my English in this column and my best pal told me I was being "too techy". More like tetchy, with everything that has been happening I'm looking to a marginally quieter, reflecting time. I will resist temptation to turn this into a personal Blog. My thanks to Steve who helped me reconfigured my new toy, a dinky Sony VGNS2XP laptop. A lighter model so that I can update you on a more regular basis. This evening he also reminded me of how bad MP3 sound files sound through a half decent hifi system! Yes, they sound better than the poor computer speakers;but compressed sound still sounds yeuk! (Is that too techy?) This month I've been contributing to a new hifi magazine for the visually handicapped, the ABC Hifi magazine. It has resurfaced after a couple of years absence; I wish them every success. This month I'm being a media whore; the Beeb were in my house this morning and I've been told that my pic has made page three of the British Audio Journal. Fortunately I'm fully dressed!
October 2004
This month has been one of the busiest I can remember. The What Hi-Fi? Awards were the usual mix of drink, variable winners, and kilt swirling. The London Hi-Fi Show had a few interesting pieces of equipment, when I have a moment I'll write a show review. Over the next ten days we are busy exhibiting at the Scottish Ideal Homes Show in Glasgow until the 24th October. I'll be there on the odd day.If you see me, be sure to say 'hello'. We are showing the new Pioneer HD televisions, the newly released Bose equipment and the Philips Miravision television. It's amazing how much confusion there is over High Definition. I've discovered that some manufacturers claim to have 1024 lines (i.e. claiming to be HDTV) but this is using some clever electronics;in reality their sets only have 512 lines.In fact there is no guarantee that they will play HD broadcasts when they arrive! No plasma at present can really produce 1080 lines of interlaced picture, but Pioneer's can produce 720 lines of progressive picture. If this sounds like a foreign language to you, don't worry it is to many members of the trade! I have spoken to some reviewers who don't understand it either! I've persuaded one of Britain's most prestigious trade magazines to do a FAQ on High Definition and will ask them to reproduce it on this web-site. Be sure to add your name to our mailing list to be kept informed when this appears.Well known technical commentator Barry Fox recently wrote in one of the main hi-fi trade magazines that the public are unlikely to want HDTV. I disagree, especially as I've seen at first hand the number of advertisments in the States for tv shows in HDTV. Sorry Barry, but I think you are wrong. Now that the Beeb are expecting to broadcast HDTV and are experimenting with it I think it is the next big thing since the advent of letterbox shape television. I've been doing some pieces for BBC Radio this month but won't bore you about how I can talk for Scotland, I'll just bore those people who listen to their radio instead!
This is just for the seach engines, Colin Mackenzie is the correct spelling not Colin Mckenzie but Colin, mackenzie. Just having a wee bit fun with this paragraph to see where Mackenzie gets me.