Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 3, 1993 TAG: 9304030051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLYNE H. McWILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE POPCORN
HOME THEATERS used to be just for the six-figure earners. But electronics buff Dwayne Martin decided to risk his livelihood with the technology, anyway. He called his shop Sound Decision and, in retrospect, it was . . .
When Dwayne Martin started in the electronics business in 1978, he was installing eight-track tapes and CB radios in cars at $150 a pop.
Now the owner of Sound Decision is selling home theaters, installations that cost about $20,000 each.
Sound Decision is a specialty video and audio dealer. The shop, in the Grand Pavilion shopping center on Electric Road, specializes in home theater and custom installation.
"Home theaters are for people who like movies and don't want to go to the movies," Martin said.
Last weekend he and 12 other dealers showed their merchandise to the public at the annual Home Show sponsored by the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association. Sound Decision won best-in-show among dealers of appliances, communications and sound systems.
About 12,000 people checked out the 134 exhibits at the Salem Civic Center. Melody Williams, the association's director, said it easily was the best show yet.
Sound Decision's display was a living-room-like environment, couch included, intended to give consumers the sights and sounds of the equipment as if it were in their own homes. Martin said his display, valued at $1,000, drew at least 500 lookers and about 10 guaranteed orders.
Because of advances in home theater technology, it has become more accessible to average consumers. Martin said he can install a system for $1,650, which includes a 20-inch TV, a stereo VCR, a receiver and five speakers.
Martin worked for eight years for Audiotronics, a Roanoke County consumer electronics dealer that's now his competitor. He was vice president and sales manager there and headed the custom installation department. He also has training in electronics from the Professional AudioVideo Retailers Association.
Martin met his business partner, Philip Groggins, as a customer. They decided to take their love for electronics to another level and opened their store in August.
Lawrence Ullman, editor of Audio/Video Interiors, a trade journal, attributes the growth in home theater's popularity to changing demographics.
"Baby boomers grew up with television and now they own their own homes," he said. "And they are willing to spend money to experience theater at home."
Software such as laser disc and the availability of satellites also have increased interest in home theaters, Ullman said. And their popularity is going to continue to grow, he said, with more educational interactive programs in the works and the development of electronic yellow pages.
Martin said he's working on 18 in-home projects that include some kind of audio or video enhancement.
"A lot of companies are trying to give high quality at good prices," he said.