About us Part1:

Audio Tweak, why Audio Tweak you ask?

We don’t care for commercial products because we’re not in it for the money, we only outsource products that think outside of the box. Ah! Outside of the box? Yep, that also!

Magic, the forgotten word in Hi-Fi. There’s hi-fi out there and lots of it, but magic, no no no no no, very little of it, magic is something that happens when synergy in a particular system creates what I like to call “a 3D event with goose-bumps”.

This event is the result of a combination of various elements, which I am going to place in the correct order for you.

1. Beauty of tone

2. Liquidity

3. Cleanness

4. Transparency

Beauty of tone is the ability for a system to sound gorgeously balanced from the bottom up without the aid of tone controls or even without a subwoofer if one can help it.

This sonic balance is only achieved by careful system matching.

You can’t put a bright sounding CD player in a system consisting of bright amplification or cables and lean sounding speakers, the secret regardless of whether that system is high-end or not lies in the delicate “balancing act” in which all the components blend perfectly together. For instance a warm sounding front end with a clean sounding amp and sweet yet accurate cables and speakers. The system’s magic outcome depends on the sum of that system, or the combination of carefully selected components.

Have you ever bought an portable media player such as an iPod or even a Blackberry, Samsung touch phone, etc and found out that the earphones that comes with your new product actually sound too bright when combined together? Isn’t one of the most obvious thing to do, to buy something with a bit more meat and a warmer tone? Well that my friends, is what Hi-Fi is all about.

Liquidity is achieved by having a system that sounds more like analog and less digital or artificial, I also call that “a sense of organic’ness”.

Cleanness is achieved by a system which is able to evade noise from the mains and interference caused by bad mains and poor choice of cables as well as overcoming poor room acoustic.

Transparency is achieved by careful selection of the most accurate and least colored choice of equipment while also taking extra care of cables, system positioning and room acoustic.

Don’t just walk in a store and let the staff force some “award winning” products down your throat with the promise that the end-result will be awesome, this is the first lie amongst many retailers.

Whatever you buy on a dealer's recommendation will in most cases be a bad match with your system “tonally” because they fail to care about your system's synergy.

How should you buy? At least how we believe you should buy…

Once of the first thing you need to do is assess your system and give it a fair critic.

If you’re not sure, get some golden ears for dinner and let them give your system a shot.

Is it too bright, could it do with more bass, is it a bit loose in the bass, what type of tweeters does my speakers use, metal dome, fabric dome? What sort of drivers? Polypropylene, paper, metal? Understanding your system will help you make a good decision as to where you need to go with your next purchase.

A few days ago a client of mine bought some B&W Nautilus speakers from another dealer, I told him that his 40W tube amp was no longer suitable for his new speakers because his Nautilus demanded much more power, he trusted me on my assumption and confirmed my judgment after finding out the truth for himself on the internet. As a result I managed to sell him a beefy amp with oodles of current and power way beyond his requirements so that his amp would never reach its output limit and break up during dynamic crescendos and peaks.

This is one example. They are many ways to skin a cat.

For instance, if your speakers are 92DB /8 Ohms sensitivity, in most cases you will be able to get away with only 10Watts or 20Watts amp. Chances are, you’ll be one of the lucky few that will probably enjoy the luxury of Single-Ended triode amplification such as this JoLida or this Tafomatic amps.

Another thing you must consider:

Money. Your budget. What you can afford?

You may only have a certain budget and then when the time comes, you’ll buy something based on your budget, all good and well, but often this approach results in poor decisions. My advice is save up if you must, be patient, do some research and don’t be hasty.        Toys are not going anywhere, on the contrary they are getting better for the money, and the competition is getting fiercer. Patience results in wise decision making, especially in Hi-Fi. Believe me, if your budget was R10.000,00 and that product you eye-balled was as good as some machines costing R30.000,00 those days and instead waited for the right time for something that costs R15.000,00 but now outperforms machines costing R80.000,00 today, this would put a bigger smile on your face now than a few months ago when you nearly bought that R10.000,00 unit! Jackass? Your choice.

So the key is:

1.      Research

2.      Don’t rush

You can be sure that if you want to buy from me, I will give you the option not to buy from me as a top option if I think that your choice is not suitable in relation to your system's synergy.

Honesty in this game comes from personal experience, I got burnt a few times, I got ripped off and I’ve also gone through the recycling torture machine of endless upgrades until I found out that the key to a good system is synergy and patience.

You will not make a bad decision with us because we have your best interest at heart.

About us (me) Part2

Yes, that’s the one part that lets you know that we’re not amateurs.

I personally take part in all decision making regarding what I import or represent, not to mention sales, and I also hand pick the best aftersale staff country-wide.

How about a little bit of background on me? Ramsey…

I’m almost 50, I’ve been tweaking gear and dismantling things with one sole purpose optimize OPTIMIZE SOME MORE!!! This I've been doing it for years, in fact as far as 1989.

Frequency needs to be ruler flat, put a bump on the bass and you get a midband suckout, put a peak in the treble for a more aggressive top-end and you get a thin midband and a thinner bass, this was the first thing I grasped.

I have little knowledge of electronic and can hardly read a circuit diagram, but I’m a bit like a musician who can’t read music yet plays like Jimmy Hendrix.

I’ve tested many resistors in multiple permutations, played with many cables internally inside amps, speakers, preamps, CD players, clocks, I’ve tried many caps inside equipment, and know the sound of almost any brands out there.

I’ve tried different pots, step attenuators, isolation devices and have rebuilt my mains from scratch from the DB board right up to the main system.

I love to take something apart and improve upon it.

Basically, I’m a very playful chap.

When you buy from me, you’re buying from a genuine nut. That’s comforting in itself. I surround myself with nut cases, and the people I normally associate myself with are not your usual flat-earth society type, they are thinkers, philosophers and love a challenge when presented with one.

I’m also one of those who believe that you reap what you sow.

I don’t comply to the norm, I don’t follow trends, and frankly I think that this game is doing this industry a big disfavor.

Free thinkers is what the world need.

By the way, that's my wife and I below, we're both free-thinkers, she's a professional photographer, Love Of Light Photography.

Ramsey Raad