9-5-2017, Mobile Electronics -- People are motivated by many things in life. Money, family and career ambition are among them. A chief ideal among many is to do the right thing. It's not always clear what that is, but for the most part, it's widely understood that doing the right thing usually requires doing something for others. Often, it's a favor. For those who believe in principles like honor, dignity and integrity, any favor given is one returned, to keep balance in the world. Joe Cassity, owner of Tunes-N-Tint in Lakeland, Fla., believes in these principles and uses them daily to cater to the needs of customers. Whether that entails going above and beyond to help a customer in a stressful situation or by adding window tinting or specialty lighting to his business, Cassity reaps the rewards of his ever-expanding offerings through his growing list of return customers. "We're in the customer service business, we just happen to sell X. Whether that be car audio, leather or window tint, at the end of the day customers come to us because of the experience, not the product," Cassity said. "The most important person who comes into the store is the customer."…

8-30-2017, Mobile Electronics -- I hope you enjoyed last month’s article looking at the manufacture and design of loudspeakers. I also hope you reviewed the previous article where Andy provided some basics on audio for us. This month we move forward with Andy showing us the basic necessities of tuning. Hold on, though, this ride might be a little shaky. Andy goes after things that I have heard said many times, and things that I have said before. What I suggest is keeping an open mind and be willing to learn from this industry veteran. Let’s see what Andy is sharing with us this month. Andy Explains I’m going to commit heresy right here at the beginning so we can get beyond it as quickly as possible. This is really easy. Understanding why it’s easy isn’t so easy and I’ve provided some of those explanations in a previous article and in countless Facebook and forum posts. System tuning isn’t really optimizing, it’s troubleshooting. If it was about optimizing, then we’d all be able to provide pretty good performance by just hooking stuff up. Anyone who’s serious about autosound knows this isn’t the case. This isn’t about taking what you have…

8-12-2017 -- The second day of KnowledgeFest 2017 marked its first full day of workshops and manufacturer trainings, which was capped by a keynote presentation by world-renowned speaker and podcast host, Brett Gajda. The keynote, titled "Accelerate Your Success," discussed how business owners can better identify and attain success in their business and personal lives: through strong, conscious leadership.    "If leadership is how you do your day-to-day, you need to show up as much as possible," Gajda said. "I started to think about how the man I want to be would eat a hamburger. It sounds silly but it worked. As I sat alone I thought about how I might eat that burger in front of a date I really liked. Leadership is about being conscious and present. Be the person you want to be. Slow down and enjoy the flavor."   The presentation included personal anecdotes along with inspirational quotes and concepts by well-known authors. One such concept was from the book, "The Compound Effect," by Darren Hardy, which discusses how the little things we do can make a huge impact over time. "The book explains that 3rd gear isn't sexy. 1st gear, when we take off, that's…

8-9-2017, Mobile Electronics -- People sure do love their toys. Hot tubs, Harley-Davidsons, and Hunt yachts are a few on that list of disposable income pleasures. For Aquatic AV, outfitting those products with the best sound possible is its specialty. The San Jose, Calif. -based company, founded in 2005, focuses on three categories—spa, marine, and Harley-Davidson motorcycle stereos and speakers. While the spa lineup is still the core of the company’s business—it supplies spa stereos, speakers, power supplies, and wiring harnesses—Aquatic AV is currently focusing on strengthening its marine business and Harley-Davidson line. “The majority of our business is definitely with the spa industry,” said Kyle Aeschliman, vice president/national sales manager for Aquatic AV. “But marine and Harley are right behind that. We have been trying to build up the marine part of the business for the last eight years.” Aquatic AV marine stereos are not only fully featured like many premium traditional car stereos, but come with marine grade environmental protection which is essential considering the exposure to salt, sand, and sea. Each is designed and built to withstand the harsh conditions associated with use in marine and boat applications. For instance, the newest marine stereo, the AQ-MP-5UBT-S, is not…