What’s Groovin’ this Month

So tongue in cheek to start with this month, please use other door…

Door

What door you ask?? Yes, it’s been a whirlwind start to the month. Go figure, our front retail area was broken into this month… to steal a total of $150.00 cash. The damage to the building was staggering, but with the efforts of all those involved in getting things back in the groove we managed to get the store in some semblance of order in a very short time – one day to be exact!  All that damage, all the clean up, all the efforts combined to rectify an incident that netted a mere $150.00. Go figure…

We wanted to thank everyone who has emailed, phoned and facebooked their well wishes. We just wanted to let everyone know we are up running as per usual.

Be sure to stop by soon. We promise there isn’t too much dust!

Gordon & Susan

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Fall 2014 – What’s Groovin’ this Month

Whathalloween a roller coaster ride this month has been for us – namely with our website.

Firstly we want to apologize to our faithful customers that have been so patient with us as we try to get our website back up and operational.  We unfortunately were hacked – this meant our website was down for most of October.  We know there is still a ways to go to get it back to where it was, so please have just a bit more patience.

Our equipment for sale pages are back up and running with inventory updated weekly, as per usual, and pictures added too.

We will keep you in the loop as everything is brought up to speed.  If you find something that is not working, please just let us know and we’ll get it updated as soon as possible.

Until next month,
Susan

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September 2014 – What’s Groovin’ This Month

september

Can you feel it?  A touch of fall is in the air.  Seems like we just turn around and summer is over.

But it’s also a great time to try out some new music!  With so many options available nowadays getting great deals is not a problem. It’s like going into a used book store, not so hard paying $5.00 used vs $25.00 for a new book in order to check out a new author – it’s the same way with music. How can you go wrong with a $0.99 album? We have an amazing record room where something new is always coming in. Be sure to stop in and go upstairs and see what we have available. So many specials and hard to find items are being brought in.

Estate sales and moving to smaller digs and garage sale items are coming in fast and furious. We’re processing as fast as we can and items that are available for sale are put up on our website with pictures and prices almost weekly. Be sure to check out the revamped website. Let us know if you are having any issues with it, but we’re almost done and we think it’s an improvement.

As always, if you need more information, please stop into our store. We try to spend as much time as we can with you to answer all your concerns thoroughly. If not, or you’re not local, send us an email. We’ll help as soon as possible, but again, general inquiries are handled as we have time.

We look forward to an Indian summer (okay, we’re hoping for one) and inviting old and new customers to stop in sometime, we’d be happy to see you.

Until next month,
Susan

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June 2014 – What’s Groovin’ This Month

June 2014

UPDATE:  I’ve added lots of pictures to our 2014 Garage Sale page – check it out!

This month the big highlight for us is our Annual Garage Sale…..it’s our 7th ONE!  Where does the time go!

It’s going to be our biggest event EVER!! I know we say that every year, but it’s true – it keeps growing and growing because the love of music is growing! The weather is looking to cooperate. We have some amazing guests that will be onsite for signing and picture taking and we have people arriving from Hawaii, Los Angeles and Washington State coming to see what all the hoopla is about. This is the one event in North America every music enthusiast wishes they had in their neck of the woods. We will have lots of photos throughout the day on Facebook and afterwards on our website for those who can’t make it. We know this is going to be a fun day to chat about the industry – where it was and where it’s going. Vancouver is THE hot spot for vintage audio!

Gord & I always look forward to this event (okay…. The DAY of the event we enjoy – the prep work is daunting) as we get to chat with so many of our customers that can’t come in during business hours as often as they’d like and we can be really busy in the shop and not able to catch up as much as we’d like, but it’s always fun to hear what they’ve been up to when they come in on this day. Be sure to say hi to us!

Our business is always changing and this time we’ve spruced up our turntable section with an improved display area. This is part and parcel because we now have available a talented gentleman – Geoffrey Deering, who has refinished a lot of our speakers we have/had for sale in the past few months; built the “soon” to open record room display cabinets and the Altec 19s you might have seen on Facebook. Please call us if you need any woodworking or wood refinishing work! He is simply amazing.

Have to get more work done, but we are looking forward to a great summer!

Until next month,
Susan

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May 2014 – What’s Groovin’ This Month

Yippee! Spring is in full bloom and yes, those ‘Garage Sale’ signs are starting to pop up on many a street corner in neighborhoods across Vancouver!

Recently, we purchased the assets of a repair shop in North Vancouver, and after boxing, packing and moving three truckloads of goods, we have many weeks ahead of us to unpack, sort and inventory literally hundreds of thousands of much needed (and very hard to find ) parts required for our repair department.

We are also very pleased to announce that we are now offering full wood restoration in our long list of services, and pictures / details will be available soon on our website.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be digging deep within the hidden (and some forgotten about) racks of audio gear in our back warehouse. We are trying to make as much room as possible by clearing out stock that has been there for years – yes, YEARS! – and not used for anything. In most cases, these were items that were purchased as bulk buys, and simply put away to be dealt with at a later date. Well, that ‘later date’ has come and gone so we need to clear house! Look for SKIDS of cool audio components being offered in our upcoming – and now nationally famous – Vintage Audio & Record Garage Sale.

Over the past month we have been running radio ads on the Red Robinson Show – called the ‘Red Rock Diner’ – on CISL AM 650 Sunday afternoons from noon to 4 pm. This station is found on the AM dial at – you guessed it – 650. We have had a great response from both customers and listeners and wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all those that heard these ads and came to our shop to see what the hoopla was all about. We hope that it was worth the visit!

May has traditionally been a quiet month for our shop but this year we are already seeing that this is not the case. With tons of new gear being put on the sales floors, our repair department running at full tilt, and even our speaker department is seeing a huge increase it looks like it’s going to be one busy month!

With that, I guess I need to get back to work putting those skids of goodies together!

Until next month,

Gord

 

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April 2014 – What’s Groovin’ This Month

Can you believe that we are already 4 months into the new year? Yikes!

Ok, so April is traditionally the start of ‘garage sale season’ so this is a great opportunity to  remind people that our 7th annual ‘Vintage Audio & Record Swap Meet’ is happening in a mere two months time – June 8th to be exact. Yup, already the 60 spots we have allocated are starting to fill so now is the time to bundle up all those cool items collected since last year, and book a space to sell them off for more great items! We will be advertising this awesome event heavily due to the rumoured guests we have slated so spots will go quick!  Details can be found here

A quick reminder for those that may not know: WE NO LONGER HAVE RECORDS FOR SALE IN OUR STORE. We struggled with this for quite a while and universally decided that its better to do what we do best which is audio equipment. There are quite a few awesome record stores around including Krazy Bobs Music Emporium (http://www.cyberspaceit.com/krazybob/), Apollo Music (http://www.audiophilerecords.ca/), Neptoon Records (http://neptoon.com/) and many, many others. When you want to buy your records, check out these great stores. When you need awesome gear to listen to those records, come see us 🙂

Over the past few months, we have had an amazing amount of people using our ‘layaway’ service. For others, they had no idea we even offered this so for those in the latter group, check out our layaway page (http://www.iavscanada.com/layaway/) for more info. If you want that really cool piece but short of bread then this is definitely for you!

More great news! Ever since we opened our speaker repair decision things have been absolutely incredible. In fact, we are now getting speaker drivers shipped to us from all over North America! How cool is that? In addition, we are proud to announce that we are now an authorized repair depot for Tannoy speakers! Yup, this just became ‘official’ three weeks ago and already the news went Canada wide.

You know, I have to include here all the awesome people that make Innovative Audio what it is. This was my dream, my “grand idea” to have a different kind of audio shop and yet its the people behind the scenes that truly make this place so special. So, to Brian, Susan, Edwin, James (J.R), Marc, Tim and the other Mark – thank you. You guys are without a doubt simply the best.

With that, I have to continue getting the back warehouse cleaned up. With the new forklift acquisition we now need to start getting things into their place – and off the floor so we can bring in more stuff!

Until next month,

Gord 

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March 2014 – What’s Groovin’ This Month

March is the month where spring usually starts showing her colours and green buds start peeking through the ground and the weather starts to get a bit warmer BUT it seems that Vancouver just didn’t get that memo! Yup, starting March 1st it started snowing – AGAIN! We had a good snowfall the week before so for those that love snow (that’s me!) this was a cool surprise!

So what better way to spend a snow day (or any day off for that matter) than to fire up the stereo, spin some vinyl, and maybe have a coffee or two.

Last month, we did not have the time to do all the updates that transpired and for that, we apologize. So here is our opportunity to catch you up on what has happened so that you are informed.

The first is that we are no longer selling records at our store – sorry. Over the past years we have had an incredible relationship with Apollo Music but due to time and efforts it has been decided that both companies should do what they do best. In Apollo’s case its records, and they are definitely the go-to place if you love vinyl.  You can check out their website here http://www.audiophilerecords.ca/

The second major news is that Innovative Audio is now the new home for the Red Robinson DJ Booth. This iconic piece was displayed for years at the Red Robinson Show Theater in Coquitlam until the recent name change. With the huge help from both Jamie Anesty and Red Robinson himself, we purchased this item with the full intention of keeping it original, open to the public and FULLY OPERATIONAL! The booth is housed in its own room that will be reminiscent of an actual broadcasting room. Over the next while, we will be adding memorabilia, sound dampening and other cool things so things may take a bit before they are finally completed. If you want to have your picture taken behind the mic of this incredible piece of history, drop on by and we will make it happen. A quick story can be read here: http://redrobinson.com/blog/?p=4064

Holiday closure:  March 23rd, reopening on April 1st (no fooling!).

Like a lot of businesses, we know the importance of online media and social sites like twitter, Facebook and others. While we do not have an active twitter account, we DO have a Facebook page that we use to promote cool items, great deals and other interesting articles, news and events.  Like us so you too can know all the specials we’re offering (*hint* we have one going on now until March 15th)   https://www.facebook.com/#!/143594795699332/photos/a.154498537942291.32538.143594795699332/667804666611673/?type=1&theater

Oh yeah, I thought that with the snow falling that this would be a great time to announce that we have set a date for our 7th Annual Vintage Audio & Record Swap Meet – June 8th so mark your calendars! We have confirmed that renowned journalist Brent Butterworth will be attending all the way from the deepest bowels of California so this is your opportunity to meet one of the best audio writers in the industry! We will also be having a few more surprises as this event draws near so stay tuned! Any persons wishing to book a spot (or spots) just give us a call.

As always, we are more than happy to answer or address any questions, qualms or concerns that you may have so please feel free to call us during normal store hours, or fire us an email at info@iavscanada.com.

Until next month,

Gordon

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Happy New Year!

As we go into our 9th year (has it been that long already?) we decided to make a few changes on our main sales floor to accommodate our growing clientele. We worked a few days over the Christmas holidays and have revamped the front entrance area and have more sales/repair/service counters.  We still have a little ways to go with signage and cleanup, but we’re well on our way.  So far the response has been positive as we now have 2 tills, a complete turntable servicing area and a new buy section which should make things go smoother for our clients.

We also have one more BIG change to announce.  We are moving away from home theatre repairs.  As of January 2nd, 2014 we are NO LONGER accepting home theatre repairs or home theatre warranty repairs.  The main reason for this is fairly basic; the amount of time needed to do full diagnostics, software/firmware upgrades, and of course the cost of parts has become overly excessive to our customers. In many cases the repairs themselves are more than buying a brand new unit. As a result, we felt that since we do not sell any type of home theater equipment its best just to stick with what we know best, and what has given us the great reputation we have built in this market – vintage audio.  We regret this change but it was needed and we hope our clients understand.

In the second week of January, I’m going to the CES show in Las Vegas.  I’ll be away from January 7-10th.  All prospective buys and trades transactions will be on hold until I return.  Susan & JR will be in the store while I’m away and they will help you as needed.

The store will be closed on Friday, January 10th though as there is a scheduling conflict and we will not have any staff available to handle the front shop.  We apologize in advance for this inconvenience.  We will reopen on Saturday, January 11th, 10 a.m.

I hope to bring back with me a bunch of new contacts and opportunity for new products to fill our shelves!  I will post pictures of my wanderings around all the booths through Facebook.  Be sure to follow me there.

As you may have seen, the new website has been getting a huge amount of accolades. We had hoped that by making our site a bit more ‘mobile friendly’ that it would solve some browsing issues and apparently it worked out great. The feedback has been awesome – thank you – and we hope that if there are other areas that need addressing please let us know.

Also, we have been building up relationships over the past 6 months with new suppliers such as Shure, Grado, Dynavector and others so we can offer our customers a better choice when buying cartridges. My main focus at CES this year is to meet with other manufacturers as well, and hopefully build relationships to bring in some really cool products like tube amps and headphones. As always, we love to hear from you and if there any ideas, suggestions or comments you want to pass along please feel free.  As we continue to build our business we know that there will some things that may be overlooked, so if you are looking for a particular line, we will see about making that happen for you.  Not everything is available to smaller companies like ours, but we love to work our magic when we can!

Cheers,
Gord

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December 2013

Wow, Christmas season already! I simply cannot believe how fast this year went by.

So before we go any further you may have noticed that our web site is a wee bit different. Yup, we decided that it was time to stop the screaming and bitching and adopt the software to ease into the new mobile device market. So what really does this mean? Well, the biggest advantage is that we now use WordPress, and as such our site is completely compatible to be viewed on any and all mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Android etc.) as this was a cause of concern for out of town shoppers.

In addition, the site is now easier to navigate! As this is still kinda new, we hope that you take a look around and if you see something that looks odd, or out of place or have an idea or suggestion, just let us know, and we will do our best to implement those suggestions.  Also let us know if you have any links that are not working!  We’ve tested a lot of them but when you take a whole site, flip it inside out, and try to make things fit, there is bound to be an issue or two somewhere.

Every year we close our shop during the holidays to allow our staff and family some ‘down time’ to really enjoy the season. As a family based shop, we do not believe in grasping every last dollar with mad sales and shopping blitzes like the ‘big box’ stores do, but feel that Christmas is a season best spent with family and friends, some good food and music, and to enjoy the things that make our lives special.

With that, I want to take the time to thank all of our great customers for a truly awesome year.  Some of the many changes and additions we have implemented over the past year are due only because of the loyalty and support of our clientele.  Also, I personally want to tip my hat to those that make this place run as well as it does because of their dedication to doing the best they can.

So to Brian, Marc, Edwin, Susan, James, John, Mark and Tim – thank you! You guys ROCK!

CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS VACATION:
From:  December 22 (Sunday) and reopen: January 2nd (Thursday)

From all of us here at Innovative Audio we want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Until 2014,
Gordon

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November 2013

Well, the big scary season is passed and now the big festive season is just around the corner…

November is that month in the year where the weather has turned, and although most of the leaves are racked up and yard stuff stored November is also one of the most perfect months for setting aside some quality ‘audio time’. For myself, hearing the rain and wind against the window while listening to my favorite music is simple relaxing to the ‘nth’ degree. Add a glass of wine, dim the lights a bit and your imagination can drift to all sorts of possibilities.

In some cases, just setting aside a half an hour for listening is actually therapeutic, and highly recommended. Obviously, having the right gear also makes a difference, and that is where we can hopefully help out.

Like you, we are audio enthusiasts. It’s not about simply buying the most expensive, but buying what is right for YOU. With the largest selection of vintage audio equipment on display anywhere we probably have just what you need, and more importantly within your budget. Regardless of what you buy, you can rest assured that ALL of our gear has been thoroughly tested and checked out by our incredible technicians, equipped with our own in house warranty, and any item can be fully tested – by you – before it leaves our store.

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