Press Release: Radial Engineering Has Been Sold!

Aloha!

I cannot say that I am super happy to hear about this:

"Anaheim CA, NAMM, January 25 2018- Mike Belitz, President and CEO of Ultimate Support Systems, has acquired Radial Engineering Ltd.

Established in 1991, Radial Engineering Ltd. was originally developed as a range of cable products by outgoing President and CEO, Peter Janis. The release of their first direct box in 1996, the Radial JDI, was just the beginning in a long line of innovations that saw Radial become the leading name in premium direct boxes and audio solutions. In the intervening years, the Radial brand family and distribution network has grown to include a diverse catalog of brands, including: Primacoustic, Tonebone, Reamp, Hafler, Dynaco, Iso-Max and Jensen Transformers Inc. Ultimate Support and Radial Engineering Ltd. will enjoy shared strategic and logistical advantages under leadership of Mike Belitz; with the end result of wider availability to retailers, distributors, and end-users all over the world.

"I have always been passionate about premium accessories in the music industry. Instruments come in and out of fashion, but musicians and audio professionals will always need well designed, high quality solutions. Ownership of Ultimate Support Systems and Radial Engineering Ltd. will offer incredible possibilities for the future." - Mike Belitz, President and CEO of Ultimate Support Systems and Radial Engineering Ltd."

Mahalo!

Ultimate Support TS-100B PA Speaker Stand Review

Howdy!

A lot of products sound too good to be true, and when I first heard about the Ultimate Support TS-100B speaker stands that is exactly what I thought. These stands are hyped that they will actually lift your PA speakers up to magical heights with little to no effort. After trying them out, I can say that these things actually work!

I have used and owned Ultimate Support stands before and they have always worked well for me, so I should not be surprised. On first glance, these are fairly typical tripod speaker stands, with 1.5-inch aluminum tubing and a durable black anodized finish. This model adjusts from 40-inches to 79-inches, and the base ends up being about 4 feet across, with a load handling rating of 150 pounds.

If you look a little bit closer, you will find that the clamps are unusual as they are not the usual crummy plastic that most stands use. These are made of metal, which is really handy as these are the parts I have broken most on my speaker stands.

But the real magic is the “Air-powered” unit inside which actually lifts the speaker up for you. It is really quite simple: set the stand up as you normally would at its lowest setting, horse your speaker onto the stand, and turn the release knob (also metal, by the way). If your speaker is under 50 pounds, it will rise all the way up to 6 feet 7 inches all by itself. If your speaker weighs more you will have to give it a little help, but it will be nothing like the good old days when it was your muscles doing all the work. Then crank down the knob and you are good to go. Take down is exactly the opposite: just turn the knob and the speaker will come back down, though if it is under 50 pounds you might have to pull a little bit – again, no big deal, and much safer.

These things are awesome, and I am never buying a cheap speaker stand again!

The Ultimate Support TS-100B is sold in a 2-pack from discerning online suppliers for $150, and this includes the Ultimate Support Limited Lifetime Warranty. Should you need to go higher, there is also the TS-110B (which goes up to a bit over 9 feet), and there is also the TS-110BL with the super innovative leveling leg – I will be writing more about that one later. Check these things out if you get the chance!

Mahalo!