BADA welcomes Focal to its membership

The British Audio-Visual Dealers Association is pleased to announce the addition of Focal JM Lab UK Ltd. as the latest manufacturer to join to the growing list of Associate members of the UK’s leading hi-fi and home cinema trade association.

Focal has been expanding its presence in the UK market over the past few years, at the same time as BADA has been strengthening its position as the most progressive of the UK trade associations. At a recent meeting of Fraser Robertson, UK sales director for Focal, and Simon Byles, BADA chairman, the joint responsibility of BADA and the manufacturers in the setting and upholding of standards in retail was discussed and agreed. Focal's indicated support for BADA's Demcraft, Salescraft and soon to be launched Visioncraft courses is very much welcomed by the association and therefore the application for membership was approved unanimously by the board of directors.

Speaking shortly after the application was approved, Simon Byles said "We are delighted to welcome a company of Focal's calibre to BADA and it is fitting that their growth in the UK has mirrored that of BADA's. I look forward to working with Fraser and his team for the benefit of the wider industry."

Fraser Robertson said “We have been steadily increasing the market penetration of the Focal brand in the UK over the past few years and it has been impossible to miss the growing influence and importance of BADA and its standards focussed efforts during that time. We felt that the time was now right for Focal to take a seat at the table with other like minded manufacturers who, as BADA Associate members, want to help the work being done by the association to drive up standards in the UK industry for the benefit of consumers.”

www.bada.co.uk

The public's view of mp3 'v' CD

I've just had this video link pointed out to me:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/8351921.stm

It's really encouraging to see something like this on the BBC - it kind of vindicates everything that BADA dealers have been saying for years about mp3 quality. There's no denying that it's a superbly versatile and useful format for transporting music and opening up the ears of millions of people to music, but we've all known for a long time that it really is the poor relation when it comes to sound quality. And sound quality really does matter - that's why the best recording studios exist and why the best engineers are worth their weight in gold. So watch this and then dig out yor CDs and enjoy!

BADA really screwed it up in Room 101

At the National Audio Show , in a presentation entitled “How to really screw up your hi-fi system and what to do about it”, the UK hi-fi industry’s trade association shared elements of the multi-award winning Demcraft course, normally used to train dealers in the art of system setup, with hi-fi consumers. Demcraft trainer, Roger Batchelor, along with BADA chairman Simon Byles and operations manager, Phil Hansen, demonstrated the importance of correct system setup to scores of people who visited BADA in the ironically selected Room 101.

Using two separate hi-fi systems, a £1,800 system well set up and a £7,000 system very badly set up, the trainers were able to show that the carefully prepared system sounded better than the significantly more expensive system that had been badly prepared. After putting right the 10 faults that had been deliberately introduced into the system it was demonstrated again, clearly showing how much its performance had improved. The attendees were shown the faults and given explanations of what their effect on the sound was and how they were rectified, so they could check their own systems and make simple, free, improvements to them.

BADA succeeded in training all customer facing staff in all BADA members’ shops earlier in 2009, creating the UK’s first ever network of hi-fi dealers trained to the same standard.

Find your nearest BADA dealer at www.bada.co.uk

Ads like this don't help

There's so much more to buying technology than just getting the lowest
price. Will dixons.co.uk install, setup and calibrate your new plasma,
nevermind advise you on the right product for your needs? I doubt it.
This advert I've just spotted on the tube network is indicative of the
obsession with getting the lowest price and the increasingly blatant
advice from, amongst others, some of the media, who seem to think it's
perfectly reasonable to use the expert retailers for advice, wasting
their time and then to go buy from a discounter.
OK, so the shop this ad is hinting at (notice the use of yellow) isn't
a specialist independent, but the principle is just the same. Support
your local specialist - they won't be the cheapest, but they will give
you the best advice, service and back up.
Check out www.bada.co.uk for your nearest.

How to get the best from your hi-fi system.

Advice from BADA on how to get the best from your system.
BADA will be at the National Audio Show, 26-27 September, Whittlebury Hall, nr Silverstone; where we will be giving practical demonstrations on how to get the best out of your hi-fi system.

"How to screw up your hi-fi system. And what to do about it" is a 30 minute workshop that will be running at intervals throughout the show. Learn how to maximise the enjoyment of your system and hence your music, from the hi-fi industry's trade association - the people who teach the hi-fi dealers how to do setup and demonstrate equipment.

Visit www.chestergroup.org for information about the show.

How to really screw up your hi-fi system.

How to really screw up your hi-fi system. And what to do about it.
The British Audio-Visual Dealers Association, the UK industry’s trade body, will be showing you how to get the best out of your hi-fi system with a cut down version of its award winning Demcraft course at the National Audio Show, 26-27 September, Whittlebury Hall, nr Silverstone.

Every member of staff in every BADA dealer has completed the Demcraft course and so, for the first time ever in the UK, there is a network of hi-fi retailers all trained to the same industry agreed standard, who can present you with the best possible product demonstrations. When you sit down and listen to a selection of equipment in a BADA member’s shop, you can be sure that the dealer knows it inside out, has set it up correctly, has matched it correctly and knows how to show you its capabilities, so you can make an informed decision.

BADA winning more awards!

We've been winning awards again for our acclaimed Demcraft training course. This time the leading UK trade magazine, SVI, has conferred on Demcraft the Training Course of the Year award in recognition of the work BADA has done with Demcraft to raise the standards throughout the UK hi-fi retail sector.

You can see a video of BADA's operations and marketing manager, Phil Hansen, collecting the award by following this link:

http://uk.cinenow.com/videos/2162

Petition to save FM broadcasting

You may be aware that the UK government is keen to push through proposals to turn off FM radio by 2015, and to force everyone to buy new DAB radios.

This means, if you ever listen to the radio, either at home or in your car, you will have to throw away your existing radio and replace it with a new, more expensive substitute.

DAB has a lower sound quality than FM broadcasting, and it's reception in cars can be very erratic. With the exception of the BBC (who have a vested interest in DAB), most broadcasters do not want and do not support DAB. A number of broadcasters who undertook experimental DAB programming have since withdrawn from the service. The UK does not yet have 100% coverage for Digital Broadcasting, and in some areas there is no commitment to ever provide a service. For TV and at home you have the option of using a satellite service, but that is impractical for a portable or car radio.

Do you want to be forced into adopting a broadcasting system which offers lower performance, poorer sound quality and less coverage than the FM system we have at present?

If you feel strongly about this please add your name to the Downing Street Petition against switching off FM radio:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/AM-FM-Radio/

Of course, if this goes ahead, the government will then sell off the existing FM radio band to the highest bidders, raising another small one-off amount of money to help repay the crippling debt they have committed us all to.

Please forward this to anyone you know who will be affected by the FM shutddown.

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Welcome to the BADA blog. Here we will post any interesting news stories about hi-fi, home cinema and all things BADA related.