<![CDATA[Alphavox Audio Systems - Blog]]>Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:02:23 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[The importance of being prepared, well equipped and professional]]>Tue, 18 Feb 2020 17:16:27 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/the-importance-of-being-prepared-well-equipped-and-professionalThe importance of being prepared, well equipped and professional-
Forgot to mention that last week did a show with some comedy friends on the west coast of Florida. This community, like most had a clubhouse with stage, ok lighting and a sound board in a booth. In most cases, I plug my ipad into the board and control my music with a remote. If possible, I like to have the ipad on a little easel at the front of the stage so I can see the tracks. For some reason, the audio-in jacks built into the stage did not work (maybe had never been hooked up??). The mics were wireless and worked fine but no way to hook up the ipad at the stage and as the gentlemen volunteers from the community didn't seem too experienced, I opted not to plug into the board in the sound booth. Now, I don't have to have music for my act but it does make it better.
To the rescue was my little PA system (the one I designed, sell and do use!) that something had told me to put in the car (I wasn't going to as most places I can use the house system) and so glad I did! I brought it in, set it up in a minute and had my music! The audience was about 200 and had no problem hearing. An extra bonus, Gene needed to plug in his guitar that he uses in his act, so he plugged into the 1/4" jack on my PA and all was good.
Show went well and my little AlphaVox PAS-8500 PA helped to make it better!
]]><![CDATA[we're here to help, now..and years from now...]]>Wed, 16 Oct 2019 00:15:45 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/were-here-to-help-nowand-years-from-nowJust received this email:
I’ve used your portable wireless PA system for many years for teaching seminars all around the USA. The microphone never failed me, and worked extremely well in both large and small rooms until very recently. I thought I needed a new lavaliere and emailed Dan to see if I could get a replacement. He responded to my email within minutes, and spent time helping me to trouble shoot the problem. He seemed to know exactly what was wrong and his suggestions were spot on! Very impressive customer service in a day and age of pathetic customer service. Quality product and quality service. Refreshing!
Cydney from Rhode Island

...and here's the story  the same customer - received this immediately after helping her:
Received an email from a customer who purchased one of our (older model) portable PA systems 10+years ago. She said the mic wasn't working anymore and wanted to know how much replacement parts cost to fix. IMO, was probably not worth putting the $$$ into a unit that old (and as she's now retired didn't really need to buy a new unit, just wanted to give this one to her daughter for yoga classes,,,). So I offered a few suggestions to try, perhaps getting the unit working again. Just received this email:
"Dan
You are BRILLIANT! One of the connectors was bent ever so slightly. I gave it a little adjustment, and now it works fine. Thank you so much!
Cydney"
Thanks for the Brilliant remark...nice to be finally recognized..I'll be putting that on my business cards now....
#feelsgoodtohelppeople #brilliant #iknowmystuff #niceguy

]]><![CDATA[The BEST small amp for strolling!]]>Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:24:31 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/the-best-small-amp-for-strolling
The Waist Amps are in stock!
Many of you attended the Strolling Ventriloquism workshop given by my friend, Mr.A at the Ventriloquist conVention. In that workshop, Richard recommended a small personal PA system with headset that he hangs around his neck (also clips on your belt) to save your voice in a noisy room – very important! The system he uses he got from me and considers it to be the best one he’s ever had (I agree…)- you can see it in the pic. Unlike the many others on the market, this one has a rechargeable lithium ion battery, an mp3 player and the best sound quality. After his recommendation, I sold out all I had very quickly and many, many people wanted one but they were gone...well now they're ready to ship!
The NEW ones are even more powerful and still come with all the accessories. We believe these truly are the Best on the market!
Those of you that reserved one, check your messages..anyone else want one, here's the link:
https://www.alphavoxaudio.com/store/p9/Waist_Amp_-_Best_Quality.html
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]]><![CDATA[LAPEL/LAVALIER MICS - A Mini Rant...]]>Thu, 06 Jun 2019 01:12:34 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/lapellavalier-mics-a-mini-rantPicture
So you want to use a lapel (sometimes called Lavalier or Lav) microphone because you don’t want to wear a headset mic and look like a Madonna impersonator. (actually headsets are quite accepted today)..You just want to clip the little mic on your shirt and everyone will hear you, right? WRONG!


Please listen to me – I’ve been in this business (Sound equipment and musical instruments) and worked as a a professional performer for a long time – this isn’t my first rodeo! No lav mic is good - none of them! Clip it on your shirt or lapel...you turn your head and the sound drops out. Because it is further from your mouth, you have to turn the volume on the PA higher to get it to work which greatly increases the odds of getting annoying feedback. I know, I know - everyone loves the idea of just clipping on the little mic but in the real world they just don't work well! The ONLY time they are used is for TV production where they are used (for fill-ins) TOGETHER WITH an overhead boom mic (unseen by camera) that is doing most of the work… Maybe your boss uses one clipped onto his lapel when addressing the employees at the sales meeting. Now really, how many are truly listening to him drone on about this month’s numbers??...you’re probably thinking of where you’ll be going on your vacation or how much longer till lunch...and who’s gonna tell the boss that he sounds like crap?


If they’re so bad, then why do I include one with your PA, you may ask? Because nobody listens to me or believes me when I tell them the truth as they are still living the “fantasy of the cute little mic clipped onto their shirt”. So I simply tell them, “both a headset and lapel mic are included. Try them both out and use the one that works best”....(that's called....psychology!).


If you still hate the idea of the black headset, a great alternative is this small tan colored “Earset” microphone that goes on quickly over one ear and is almost invisible. These have become the preferred mic used everywhere from Broadway to Vegas. We sell a very good earsest mic for our PAS-8000/8500 PA Systems for only $99. - These are very popular - I use this one personally and can tell you it works great. Compare to the other earsets that cost over $400. (for the mic alone).
https://www.alphavoxaudio.com/store/p11/Earset_Mic_for_PAS-8500%2F8000.html
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]]><![CDATA[June 04th, 2019]]>Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:02:22 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/june-04th-2019Picture

I received an email from a customer who had purchased one of our (older model) PAS-8000 units. He was having problems charging - the internal 12V battery just needed to be changed. I sent him instructions on how to do himself and he replied the next day with this message:

"That was almost easier done than said!
Got a battery, got it replaced and we’re back to green flag racing :)
Thanks for amazing customer service and a phenomenal product!
Matthew" 

Here is the email I sent to him. If you are having charging issues, it is most probably the battery and can be easily replaced by you. Please read below:

Most likely the internal battery is bad and will not charge. Just like a car battery, it needs to be replaced every few years. If you like, you can send the unit to me (along with $45. for the battery and return shipping..) and I'll replace the battery for you, or you can do it yourself - its not hard. The battery is commonly available and I can walk you through the process.
Here's the type battery you need for the PAS-8000(12V 5ah with F1 terminals): (you can usually find on Amazon for under $20. delivered...)
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Your local Home Depot may also carry (they are used as back up batteries for alarm systems..).

​To replace, looking at the back of the unit, first remove the 4 chrome metal corners (2 screws each). Next, the 10 allen screws around the perimeter of the back panel. Now turn the unit over into your lap and give it a shake to dislodge the back panel (its a tight fit so you may have to give a little twist to pull it out...just be careful you don't disconnect any wires...) You will see the battery on the bottom, held in by a bracket with 4 screws. Remove screws, bracket and wire connectors from terminals. Replace with new battery and put back together in reverse....Done.
If you are apprehensive to doing it yourself (or screw it up...) , send to me. Otherwise, you should be able to do the switch in about 20 minutes and be back in business....



]]><![CDATA[A few "on location" pics showing satisfied customers using our portable PA systems]]>Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:38:54 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/a-few-on-location-pics-showing-satisfied-customers-using-our-portable-pa-systems
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]]><![CDATA[Nice note from a happy customer!]]>Fri, 31 May 2019 22:52:16 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/nice-note-from-a-happy-customerReceived a nice note about our little PA System:
"Dan......We had a room of 150 people. I used your sound system and it worked fantastically doing music for slide show and for me and speakers. Best investment I’ve made. Being wireless and cordless it offers such freedom setting up. Thank you for your input and assistance.
Gary"
How about you? Can your audience hear you? Ready for those summer library and camp gigs? Need something small, lightweight, sets up in less than a minute, 2 wireless mics, battery powered so no cords to run, looks and sounds Professional ( not like a plastic toy)etc..etc..? Want something designed by and for a Variety Arts Performer - not a musician!? Got ya covered right here- check out the PAS-8500:
www.AlphaVoxAudio.com]]><![CDATA[Free Shipping?...but Amazon?...a small business owners rant:]]>Fri, 31 May 2019 22:36:01 GMThttps://www.alphavoxaudio.com/blog1/free-shippingbut-amazona-small-business-owners-rant(long but important!)
(similar sentiments are being shared by my friends in business...)
We just received a reminder that as of June 23, 2019 postal rates at the US Post Office will be going UP(AGAIN!) on all domestic parcels. :-(
All parcels measuring over ONE CUBIC FOOT - or 1728 inches when multiplying the height, width and length. will be calculated by DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT to ALL zones. Also the divisor will go down from 194 to 166.
DIM weight used to only be used on AIR shipments for overnight packages as cargo space on planes is limited (although they've got a lot more now that you must now pay extra to check your bags...separate rant...), but is now applied to ALL shipments by all the carriers as a sneaky way to increase profit.
For instance, if you order something that weighs 3 lbs (a pillow, for instance), and it fits in a 15" x 15" x 15" box. You don't pay for 3 lbs of weight. You pay for 15" cubed divided by 166 = 20.33 lbs. This amount is rounded to the HIGHER weight and you pay for a 21 lb parcel.
Also, by changing the divisor from 194 to 166 you add three more pounds to the total.
This mostly affects small businesses, which are unable to ship in substantial volumes to have preferential contracts with the Post Office.
What small business owners know is that USPS has been raising package rates almost constantly - only the price of a first class stamp (which they only raise maybe once a year..) gets in the news., UPS and FedEx raise prices about 15% every year plus are still tacking on fuel surcharges, originally when gas prices were high but now that they are lower, just extra profit. Other charges like delivery surcharges (for outlying areas) or address correction charges have been added and/or increased greatly, just as profit generators.
I used to be able to ship my little PA systems almost anywhere in the CONUS for about $8.-$11. Now, same size box costs $26-$38 with my UPS account "discount". USPS rates are over $44.
The biggest issue small business owners face is that customers are so used to Amazon's free shipping. What they don't understand is that in order for carriers to give Amazon such incredibly low rates, they have to make it up by raising rates for us little guys, which has to get passed on to the customers, either by charging for shipping in addition to your merchandise, or raising the price of the mdse to include the cost of shipping. So, ya see, nothing is "free"...someone else is paying for it (not Amazon, USPS, UPS or FedEx..), either a struggling small business owner, their customers, or YOU, next time you have to ship something.....Now Amazon has switched to their own local delivery trucks, causing the big carriers to lose that part of their income and again make up their loss by charging the small businesses more....]]>