Britrock Distribution

Hello Australia:

My name is Rav and I am the proprietor of Britrock Distribution, in fact I am the entirety of Britrock Distribution!  I am AVi's official Australian importer / distributor, and any equipment purchased through Britrock comes together with my full support, and a comprehensive warranty that is backed up by the AVi factory.

I have been importing AVi gear into Australia since early 2007 (so that makes nearly 4 years now), although this meagre web presence that I currently have is a relatively new thing (yes I know –no jokes from the peanut gallery, please! I know my web-site building skills are not yet at the level where they need to be!!!).

(If you have any constructive thoughts about this somewhat rudimentary web-site, please let me know, by leaving a comment below or by using the contact form.)

I am a passionate music lover (although I have no musical talent whatsoever), and like most human beings music is important to me as a form of entertainment, as a way to relax, and food for the soul I guess. Thus, being captivated by music it was a natural thing for me that I developed an interest in hifi, as a way to achieve a more realistic musical experience, and to get closer to the music. Over the years hifi has become both an obsession and an addiction for me, but I must stress that it is just a means to an end not an end in itself. I like the idea of the technology being an obedient slave to the music. With this degree of obsession I guess it was just a matter of time, before I decided that I would aim to turn my hobby into my work and hopefully earn a good living, and have some fun along the way !!!  (This is a fairly lofty goal, which so far I have not yet fully achieved.)

In essence, what I am trying to convey here is that I am passionate about audio and I sincerely hope that this level of passion comes across in the dealings I have with folks in regard to AVi equipment. I am a strong believer in good old fashioned customer service (something that we do not have enough of these days), and I really HATE the hard sell type of approach.

I would hope that if folks are interested in any AVi gear, they can take a look at this site, and if they have any questions please get in touch by phone or by email. I would be only too happy to help and advise, if the products I sell fit your needs then great, otherwise I will do my best to point you in the right direction. I would rather be remembered as the guy who was helpful and gave the right advice, as opposed to someone who sold you something that did not meet your needs. I figure that in the big picture, what goes around comes around....

Why AVi ?

My first experience of AVi equipment was when I purchased a Lab Series Integrated amplifier (back in 2006 whilst on a trip to visit my folks in the UK), and at the time I was just an ordinary member of the public, not the big-time gangsta hifi-mogul that I am today.  I bought the amp based primarily on reviews in the UK hifi mags, and only had time for a quick audition with unfamiliar speakers, since I was on holiday at the time. When I got the amp home to Melbourne, I plugged it in, hooked it up to the rest of my system, then very expectantly played a CD, it sounded good, damn good in fact. Over the next few weeks the performance of the amplifier (as it bedded in) went from very-good, to "OMG, that's amazing"-good. When hifi equipment really does its job, you have these moments where it seems that the musical communication is complete, and in those moments the listener is totally immersed in the music. All AVi equipment (past and present) delivers many such moments. For me this is what hifi equipment should do for us, i.e. get the heck out of the way, and allow the listener to get fully in touch with the music.

As I have stated, my first experience with AVi kit was as a consumer, but the impressions I was left with were pretty profound. Later on through a bit of luck, and what I feel was a bit of serendipity, I made an approach to Ashley (the MD of AVi) to be their Australian importer. Now this is where the luck bit came in, Ashley (the man from Gloucestershire), he said "yes". He gave this little hifi-nut a break, and got me started in the "hifi business".  I do not yet think I have made good on some of the promises I made in my initial proposal to Ash, but its been a bumpy road to-date, but I have learned a lot, and I wouldn't change a thing. I am here for the long-haul.

Looking at the opposite side of the business equation the folks at AVi have been just fabulous and always extremely kind and patient towards me. Ashley is a true gentleman, he is someone that always under-promises and over-delivers. Ash is a man of strong opinions, and for that reason alone you really do need to get to know him, to get the measure of the man, but like I say above all he is a real gentleman.  Ash has a strong background in professional audio (it is a well known fact that he worked for ATC), and has probably heard more speakers in more recording studios than I have had hot dinners. So I have the necessary context to understand that his opinions are based upon many years of real-world experience at the highest levels of pro-audio (they are not the random musings of an anonymous hifi anorak on an internet forum).

Martin is the designer at AVi, and he is also a truly extra-ordinary individual. Martin is a person who has had lifelong passion for audio, and has designed amplifiers since he was a child! Prior to forming AVi, Martin was involved in the advanced Avionics industry, so he knows a lot more about the broader sphere of electronics than your average hifi designer. All AVi equipment is based on sound engineering principles and use of smart circuit topologies, to achieve the best possible realisation at a given price point.

So what does AVi gear sound like ?

AVi equipment is essentially neutral, it is true to the source recording, it reproduces the music as it was captured on the tape or other storage medium. I think the level of fidelity or "truth" provided by AVi gear reflects the solid engineering approach. The equipment is designed without bias or prejudice using an engineering focused approach,  and the finished product reproduces music in a similarly un-biased way. The performance of AVi gear doesn't stand or fall based on the latest flavour of shiny paper-in-oil boutique capacitor, unlike some high end stuff that is out there (which is fine if that is what floats your boat). What I am saying is that AVi equipment is applicable to a wider audience -phew!

Above all, AVi equipment is extremely even-handed, but not in any way boring. What I am trying to say in my rather clumsy and inept way, is that AVi gear gives you a lot of everything, it offers the balanced set of virtues of a true all-rounder. In the past, I have heard much hifi equipment from respected manufacturers, which is essentially an assortment of one trick ponies. Each piece of gear will be strong in one aspect of performance, to the detriment of others.

With AVi gear, if you seek the truth, you can rest easy.  Again due to my neurosis, and years of brain-washing from hifi mags I feel the need to qualify this statement. So many times in the past I have read about equipment where your typical hifi reviewer will say something like "very truthful amplifier, reveals what's on your CD/records warts-and-all, so cover your ears when your listening to your typical pop-production....".  This is not going to happen with AVi gear, yes it is highly neutral and will allow the listener to hear the technical/physical qualities of the recording and production values, but never will it stop the music from communicating. As I said from the outset, AVi gear gets out of the way, it helps the music communicate, it does not sever the link between the artist and the audience!

Direct sales model:

Okay kids, strap on your seat-belts its time for a HEAVY dose of reality from your uncle-Rav. When I first started Britrock Distribution, I went for the big-bang approach. Oftentimes as a consumer I felt many products were under-represented in Australia, so I wanted to do better. I wanted to be a wholesaler who would have good dealer representation for AVi gear in each state of the country, so that the good people of Aus could get to listen to AVi kit, and hopefully realise like me that its awesome, buy it go home and enjoy the music for a long long time.

I was extremely confident in the equipment, and knew full well having spent time evaluating the full range of AVi gear (with the only exception being the Brio, which I have only ever heard at Ash's place), that AVi gear punches well above its weight class. I knew damn well that there was nothing coming out of the UK, that could hold a candle to AVi gear in performance terms on a dollar for dollar basis. Also I knew that the gear was essentially neutral (as previously discussed), so it was applicable to a wide audience, unless you had a particular fetish for a certain brand of PIO capacitor or a certain batch of valves from a certain place at a certain time in the 1950s (nothing wrong with that of course).

So I thought it was going to be hard work but pretty straight-forward, all I had to do was venture boldly out, demonstrate the product to dealers, who would become similarly enthusiastic like me about the product. Since surely there are good people like me who care about achieving good outcomes for the customer. Nope !!!! (stop the music now, with that abrupt sound of the stylus being dragged very harshly across the record.)

I must say that for the most part, its all about the margins, dealers felt almost unanimously that there was not enough profit margin in AVi gear for them to get truly excited about it. This is because AVi are fiercely independent, and do not want to subscribe to the current set of margins that are the de-facto status quo for the hifi-separates industry. Also, add to this (at the time) a new AVi product range, which was focused on digital streaming audio, based around active speakers delivering a very high performance quotient. When dealers looked at the original ADM9, what they saw for the most part was, .....lack of an upgrade path or upsell potential. When it comes to active speakers, your typical hifi dealer just wants to see some rinky-dink iPod speakers that can be sold as a start-up proposition, so that later they can sell you what they consider to be a real hifi system.

I think that AVi as a company came to the realisation, that they want to be future focused, deliver great audio performance, and address a growing market opportunity, which is active speakers for digital computer or streaming based audio systems. Also AVi gear represents the best value proposition to the end user, who actually gets to own and use the equipment.

Now please do not get me wrong here, this is not meant as a tirade against the dealers on a personal level, they are mostly good people. It is just a hefty dose of reality that I had to come to grips with, as my dream of earning a living from hifi was encountering some serious wake-turbulence from the B-747 of the established hifi industry. My eyes were being opened, and my idealism was taking a serious bashing. Nonetheless I am determined not to let it make me similarly jaded or to stop caring, I still want to offer a compelling value proposition to the public. A high performance product, fair prices (being aware we are in the internet age and of the aussie dollar) and service and support to the end user.

(At this point, thinking back, I did realise why some dealers, and I say some, would recommend equipment to me (when I was a consumer) which would give me a serious migraine during the demo. It was about margins!)

So this is why I have adopted a direct sales approach, it may not be what I had originally planned for, but I have had to adapt to the reality of the situation. I am trying to tread a middle path, I wish to offer good value in terms of pricing, and at the same time offer good service advice and support. I am based in Melbourne, and what I would say to anyone reading this from inter-state is that I still hope that I can be of service to you. I believe in the products I represent and stand behind them, as do the factory in the UK.  This is why for customers outside Victoria I offer a 30-day money back guarantee, and if you are based in metropolitan Melbourne a home demo is more than possible -give me a call or drop me a line.

Okay kids end, of the tough stuff, we can all relax now.

I really hope I have not offended anyone in the industry, people who actually know me, will know that I am an honest broker, but I don't pull my punches, and diplomacy is not what I am best known for. But I will leave this page as it is for now, because I believe it to be the truth, if some moderation is needed I will consider the case as I get some feedback.

Peace out

Rav

Britrock Distribution, December 2010