Free in most cases… So we use to have a $10 flat rate shipping right across the site… now we have introduced Free shipping except on some of our lower margin items (this is mainly items on clearance and things like speaker stands) where we charge a fee from $5-$100 depending on the item. To find out how much shipping will be, just add the item to your cart and select ‘Get Quote’. The shipping cost is for anywhere in NZ for web orders.
So go ahead, order something with free shipping today!
Hope this makes shopping with us even better. Oh, and you can always pickup, we are in Torbay on Auckland’s North Shore, just select that option when you check out online.
York St recording studio in Auckland’s parnell opened their doors to the public yesterday. Tiens and I went along to see what goes into making a record and were keen to see this impressive facility. The thing that stood out for me the most was how friendly and genuine the crew are, these guys obviously love what they’re doing. The work that goes into the acoustics of each space was impressive, different spaces to achieve different sounds, room shape and diffusing the sound rather than killing it seemed to be the key to perfect acoustic reverberation.
It was interesting talking to Hook – one of the studio engineers – about compression in recordings. They don’t like it as just as much as us Hifi guys, but they have to please their customer. A band who is trying to ‘make it’ wants their recording to stand out, and some bands want compression so their track sounds louder, not just on the radio but also when those record company bosses are flicking through tracks of new artists looking for a group to sign, they want to stand out. It was good though, to hear that bands tend to cater for their audience, so for bands who target younger people who the majority of which are only going to listen in mp3 on their iPod headphones, the compression is cranked. Other bands who’s audience is a little more refined shall we say, use less compression because they know people will be listening at home or want the record to sound good on their own higher quality systems.
What is also nice about York St is the history behind it and the history behind the mighty Neve desk. Here’s a little description from wikipedia:
The heart of the control room is the vintage 1974 EMI Neve. There were 7 of these consoles made by the legends at Neve specifically for EMI studios around the world, one of which was in Wellington, New Zealand. One is at U2′s studio in Dublin, one is at ICP studios in Brussels, Belgium, two have been put together as one large console and is in Steakhouse studios in Hollywood CA, two are currently being put together at the Great Linford Manor in England and number 7 is here at York Street in New Zealand, which is the only one left in original condition and retains the same warmth and clarity as the day it was built…… Kept in immaculate condition, the console is a lovely sounding beast.
There’s some nice photos on both the York St site and Wikipedia so take a look if you want more, but here’s my shots from the day taken on my phone.
Mesa or Marshall? Whatever your preference, they've got plenty of options
One very nice Gretsch drum kit mic'd up ready to go
A Yamaha NS10 driver, used to record sub bass off a kick drum
The Vocal booth, with coloured mood lighting to boot!
Note the zig-zag wall behind the Grand Piano
View of the main room from the mezzanine
Wooden ceiling panels to diffuse the sound
The famous Yamaha NS10 Monitors in the mixing booth
The mighty Neve mixer, analog magic
They still record a tape master, then feed off to the computer
Hook showing Tiens the power of Pro Tools
The nostalgia wall of past recordings
Also, here’s the latest Nathan King song filmed at York St:
Thanks again to the York St crew, especially Hook who spent a lot of time showing us around, we had a great time!
Here’s a snippet from the newsletter regarding HDMI 1.4:
It’s a very interesting time in the Hifi market at the moment, on the one hand we have struggling retailers closing their doors, and on the other we have an AV market flooded with out of date TVs and AV receivers being sold at very low prices. With the onslaught of 3D and HDMI 1.4 enabled TVs, Blu ray players and AV Receivers, it makes the world of Home Theatre a daunting place for customers!
HDMI 1.4 adds the capability of sending two high definition (1080p) signals simultaneously – for 3D – as well as enabling and internet connection over the HDMI cable, its easy to see where AV products are heading. If you want the latest and are trying to future proof your purchase, you may want to wait until the HDMI 1.4 spec AV products hit the market here in NZ. If you just want a high quality receiver that has the latest high definition surround formats and aren’t bothered with 3D, then the Cambridge Audio 650R Receiver is for you.
We were always fans of the 640 Series from Cambridge Audio, and it seems Cambridge Audio has created another range which is sure to gain 5 Star reviews across the world. The 650 series have already been awarded 5 Stars by What Hifi and we are sure there will be many more to come.
The new 550 and 650 series feature a new style for Cambridge Audio, Brushed Alumium rather than the previous anodised coatings. The new range looks stunning and takes the famous Cambridge sound to another level while maintaining a competitive price point. The new range is made up of the following:
Well, we got there! Stereotype is open for business! We still have to load a few products and over the next little while keep an eye out for some system specials. There is some great deals on Marantz gear at the moment, the two award winning Ken Ishiwata models SA7001KI CD player and PM7001KI Amp are super deals right now, check them out!
If you have any suggestions or questions, drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you!
Welcome to the Stereotype blog. We haven’t officially launched Stereotype yet, but feel free to browse around and you can place an order if you would like too!
We hope over the next month or so to post lots of news and important information to help you find what you need to get your system closer to audio nirvana.
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