When people think of McIntosh they either get really happy or really frightened. Happy because they love the quality and the sound, but frightened sometimes by the price, but let’s get real here. You have to pay to play. The McIntosh MX121 A/V Control Center is like having the best of both worlds though. For the price of about $6000.00 you can have one of the industry’s leading A/V Processor with a plethora of performance features, which is relatively inexpensive.

The MX121 comes with HDMI 1.4a with 3D pass-thru switching, which also incorporates six HDMI 1.4a inputs, two HDMI outputs, one with the new Digital Audio Return Channel (ARC), for TV’s that have ARC compatibility. This eliminates the need for an extra cable and, and also simplifies operation. HDMI inputs are compatible with Deep Color, x.v.Color, Auto Lipsync, and HDMI Component Control.

Built-In Dolby True HD decoders are also included, which delivers 100 percent lossless audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the original studio master, it can also support up to 24-bit/192 kHz audio from Blu-ray Discs, and brings stunning high-definition sound to the home theater experience, unlocking the full potential of Blu-ray Disc.

You now also have an option to stream audio via Internet radio. You can also stream photos. One of the interesting additions to the McIntosh line is Airplay from Apple. This allows you to play your ITunes library wirelessly. Basic controls work via your I-pad, or other Airplay device, for a unique spin on your listening and viewing experience. After you have had your fill of ITunes you can access Pandora for a spontaneous selection of music within a given parameter.

Another feature that can be useful is the Audyssey MultEQ XT and Audyssey DSX. Both of which can optimize your room, because as we know most rooms could use some acoustical improvements. With MultEQ, voice and dialog become focused and intelligible, musical balance is restored, musical instruments and sound effects become precisely localized, and surround soundstage is made seamless and enveloping. DSX is scalable and can take a 5.1 system up to 7.1, among other features.

The back panel on the MX121 has been sorted out and incorporates balanced outputs, a 7.2 channel layout. As far as balanced go there is also a set of auxiliary balanced inputs. The panel also has an array of single ended inputs/outputs. Including eight analog audio inputs, a 7.1 channel input, unbalanced pre outputs that allow for high placement of front channels, which can be incidentally adjusted via the Audyssey. Last but not least in the row, are the analog audio outputs for VCR, CDR, Zone 2 and Zone 3. The second row from the top has an input for I-pod, RS-232, the setup mic, optical input, eight selections for video in and the component video section has 4 inputs and 2 outputs. The top row incorporates two data ports, in and out, IR in, a network connection port, two coaxial inputs, two optical ins, an optical out, six HDMI ins, two HDMI outs. The HDMI outputs for anyone who needs it by the way can only be toggled and cannot be run simultaneously.

The MX121 really is true to the McIntosh sound. It is deep, rich and incorporates the traditional full McIntosh feeling. The bells and whistles are really a bonus when considering McIntosh. Once you audition one I’m sure you’ll know exactly what I mean.

So I was sitting at my computer the other day listening to Spotify on the multi-media speakers that are attached to it, when I suddenly realized something…something terrifying.

I was not listening to the music at all. I was using music as background noise while I worked. How awful!

In fact, I felt so bad about this that I immediately got up and walked over to my system and turned it on. I shut down the mediocre multi-media system that was attached to my computer. I put on a vinyl record. Yes that’s right, a record…and I sat down and was instantly transported!

This is what music is for, this is what I was missing. Music is not meant to be the noise you hear over the clicking of your keyboard. It is not just the noise in your ears when you are working out, or when you are on a plane trying to drown out the noise of the engines. Music is the magic that transports you to wherever your mind wishes to be.

When was the last time you just sat down and closed your eyes for 15 or 20 minutes and really listened to some of your favorite music? I realized it had been weeks for me and that is not OK. By the time the first side of the record was over I was completely calm and fully immersed. By the time the second side had neared the end I was already thinking about what I would play next. It turned out that I spent about two hours just sitting and listening and truly enjoying my music.

Think about this, the next time you have 15 or 20 minutes that is not scheduled…and you do have that kind of time some place in your life…sit down, close your eyes and listen to something. Listen to whatever it is that you like. We all have favorite albums. Dig deep in your library, grab a record or CD that you have not played in a long time and let yourself go. Re-discover the joy that music brings you and the relaxation that comes from not thinking about anything specific for just a few minutes.

You know what will happen? You will love it and you will do it again and again. With any luck you might even schedule yourself a little “me time” every week just for your musical interlude. We can all use the break from time to time. Re-discover Music, you will be glad you took the time.

Monday – Friday: 9am – 6pm

Saturday: By Appointment Only

Sunday: Closed

These hours will be effective beginning the week of Monday, May 7th, 2012.

Call for an appointment today!

If you’re not familiar with what airplay is, I’m here to educate you on the really cool features it brings to the table. You can stream your music from your iPhone, iPad, iTouch or PC and MAC from anywhere in the house. But what really makes this unique is the fact you can control what you are listening to right from your iPhone, iTouch, iPad without being in the same room as you’re equipment. Example of the control you’ll have is fast forward, rewind, play, pause, next track. You’ll also be able to see cover art right on the TV. In order make this all happen however, you’ll need a network cable connected to your receiver and your devices have to be logged in on the same network as receiver some homes have more than one network.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate, feel free to give us a call or come by our showroom for a demonstration!

In the 23-plus years I’ve been selling Home and Car Audio, I’ve always taken pride in making sure my customers were taken care of. From the initial qualification questions to advising on which products to buy, it’s been imperative to me that the customer’s experience was a great one from start to finish. I’ve always heard the phrase “service after the sale” and frankly saw many instances where the ball had been dropped partially or altogether after the money made its way into the cash drawer. Why is it that some salespeople get it and some just don’t?

Selling something involves many aspects. It actually takes talent and ability, because you’re not just selling a piece of equipment or a service, but yourself and the company you work for. Things like reliability, reputation, trust, support and knowledge all come into play here. In the end, you’re creating and nurturing a relationship between you and your customer- whereby they’re relying on you to provide them with great products and services which will be backed by your ability to support them should they need you for future purchases, upgrades and repairs. Often, I’ve some across customers that have had a bad experience elsewhere, and they are more than happy to discuss this with me. (And I’m more than happy to listen!) It’s this exchange of information that enables me to understand what their individual needs actually are and why they weren’t met. In many cases, it comes down to the salesperson either not listening at all or only being concerned with the sale itself. It’s this approach that loses customers!

I look at my personal involvement with any potential/ current customer as a vital step for myself and this company. Every customer leaves here with a full understanding of what we do, why we’re the best at doing it, what I’ve learned from my time with them and what I recommend for them based on their individual needs. It’s this experience that keeps many of my customers (and those of Ask the Advisors) coming back again and again. I make sure my customers have a full understanding of what they’ve purchased and the assurance that they can discuss any questions they might have whenever they need to, because the sale isn’t over just because the transaction has been completed. – Far from it!

In fact, the great experience my customers and every customer of Ask the Advisors has just begun!

Here’s a short list of what we have available:

Some of the models on display include:

• B&W: P5
• Klipsch: Mode M40
• Klipsch: Image One
• Sennheiser: HD650
• Sennheiser: HD598
• Sennheiser: HD558
• Sennheiser: HDR 170

And more…

Stop by today and give these incredible headphones a listen! You won’t be disappointed!

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So now that you’ve got all this super security, you’re pretty much invincible right? Uh…

And this brings me to a neat philosophical conclusion; security is all about risk mitigation -you never actually become “secure”, you merely decrease your risk. On balance, the risk of your account details sitting out there in even a very secure website is significantly higher than having them sit there in your 1Password file.

But beyond just security, the password manager route is a very handy solution. Having all your accounts handy on all your devices and being able to simply logon with the once strong password is a very convenient route indeed.

And finally, when the time comes that you realize one of your accounts has been breached (and trust me, it will come), it’s no good thinking about password security then – it’s too late. So put aside a few hours one afternoon, spend just a few dollars and get yourself organized. Either that or start developing a taste for acai berries!

I wanted to thank Ron for his impeccable service.

Our 72 inch DLP television took at dump the other day (for the third time) and we were fed up. I called Ron and 30 minutes later we were driving home with our new 70 inch LED.

It was a top notch experience. The customer service and knowledge base of all the staff at Ask The Advisors was impressive.

They even managed to squeeze the TV in the Rover without taking it out of the box.

If your in the market for home theater equipment check them out first! – Thanks again Ron the TV is stunning!

RR – WPB

Of course the chances are your passwords aren’t real secure to begin with and all this process is doing is keeping a secure record of bad passwords. This is a great time to do some housekeeping and 1Password makes it very easy.

When I went through and added all my accounts, each time I came across one with a weak password I went into the 1Password application, opened up the account I just created and generated a new one. There’s a really neat little tool built right in which makes this a breeze:

This is what a secure password looks like (highlighted in blue above). If it’s not something you need to be a savant to memorize, it’s not secure enough. But of course with the process described above it doesn’t matter that the password is entirely unintelligible, all you need to remember is your master password.

Now, this process won’t actually change your password on the website, only the one you have recorded in 1Password. You’ll need to copy this one into your clipboard then go onto the individual website and change it accordingly. Yes, it’s a bit of mucking around but for the sake of a few minutes you’ve just created a very secure, very unique password which can’t be used against you on any of your other online accounts.

There’s one gotcha in all of this; some websites don’t let you create secure passwords. Earlier this year I wrote about the Who’s who of bad password practices – banks, airlines and more where I found that some websites – especially banks, oddly enough – simply won’t let you construct long, random passwords. Either they limit the length to a very low number, they disallow many character types or in extreme examples, they insist on a short PIN containing only numbers. Unfortunately you’re entirely at the mercy of the controls these sites place on passwords so when you hit a limitation like this all you can do is maximize what you can within a ridiculous constraint.