Presenters: Ernie Hartman, Corporate Trainer for AAMP of America, Jeff Smith, Corporate Trainer for AAMP of America Category: High Performance Car Audio Product: Phoenix Gold car audio products along with Stinger interconnects, wire and batteries. Why you should attend: Become part of an elite class of pro- fessionals educated in high performance car audio. What to expect: Dealers will leave KnowledgeFest with a better understanding of how to apply their products in real world applications successfully. Bottom line: Smith’s overarching goal is to “give back to the 12-volt community at large, to make a positive impact and perhaps make a difference.”
stressed. “What I’ll do differently this year than I’ve done before is give as much information as possible so retailers can be as effective as possible. In the past I’ve questioned how much I wanted to give for free. I was guarded the first year I went. I didn’t know I was going to be doing this many years later. I do more free webinars and free stuff now. The bottom line is if I help somebody succeed, they’re gonna help me succeed. These guys need to not only learn how to sell, they need to learn how to make money.” With his years of experience, Ellis has learned many les- sons he hopes to share with this year’s attendees. Among them, and perhaps most important, is his willingness to always learn and maintain a respect for his craft through continuous improvement.
“I did a seminar with Benchmark Pros and most of them came up to me and said my seminar changed their lives. Now I’m more determined to help these guys than ever before. I’m reading books on anthropology and continuing to train. I’m always thinking how I can help them make themselves better.” Returning to the installation track this year is Bryan Schmitt
of Mobile Solutions, who will be presenting his Master Tech 3D class, which has seen recent success globally. The sem- inar is designed to improve an installer’s skill set with live demonstrations.
Presenters: Andy Wehmeyer, President of Audiofrog, Gary Biggs, VP of Audiofrog Category: High-end car audio Product: Audiofrog speakers and subs Why you should attend: Learn what to expect when choosing an install location and how to optimize design and installation for best performance. Attendees will learn the pros and cons of the three most popular front speaker system locations; door panels and A-pillars. There will also be a follow-up on Floyd Toole’s seminar on acoustics. What to expect: Andy will explain specific design of Audiof- rog speakers related to installation in these locations, and Gary will provide real world tips and tricks to make providing great performance predictable and profitable. Bottom line: Audiofrog, as a new company, is expected to release its first products at MERA.
“One of the cool things we’re doing is creating speaker grills by taking a press to shape the grill,” he said. “We’ll show all techniques on how to make it look OEM, using methods to match the car. We’ll also touch on some vinyl and plastics so it looks OEM, not just a flat piece.” Although Schmitt will only be presenting one class this year, he will also be presenting the Installer Olympics at the trade show. The competition is returning after being a success from last year and will feature four to six different events, including the Woofer Relay, and several new, yet-to-be-determined events, according to Schmitt. Another popular installation instructor, Mark Eldridge of
Mobile Soundstage Engineering, will be returning with his class, “Music: It’s the Reason We Have High-end Car Audio”. Last year, the popularity of the class preceded itself and was packed to the brim, resulting in standing room only. This year, the class will be in a larger room and feature a cocktail hour and live jazz band, complete with a grand piano for added effect.
Manufacturer Trainings Add Variety to Educational Opportunities To kick things off, this year’s event will begin with a Town Hall panel discussion and State of the Industry presentation by Chris Cook. The panel is yet to be determined as of printing but if it’s anything like last year, it will prove to be a must-attend event. Considering the overall focus of KnowledgeFest is to teach, aside from the seminars, manufacturers will be presenting a host of trainings for retailers to attend. Companies presenting will include Kicker, Sony, Kenwood, AAMP of America, Alpine Electronics, Metra Electronics, Directed, Compustar, Elettrome- dia and AudioMobile, among others.
22 Mobile Electronics August 2014
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