Q&A: Jack Shafton, Paradigm Electronics

You can describe the collective atmosphere of Paradigm Electronics, including the attitude of its employees and the general philosophy of its staff, very simply, as self-motivated.

Unlike many manufacturers in the industry, Burlington, Ontario-based Paradigm designs and engineers everything in-house, including its drivers and other components. This level of control allows the company a degree of autonomy that enables it to react quickly to a constantly shifting market.

One of the leaders of the company's efforts within the industry is Jack R. Shafton, director of sales and marketing. Shafton, a 30-year veteran of the industry, served as general manager of Acoustat, was an owner of Custom Woodwork and Design (CWD) and was an owner of the turntable manufacturer SOTA Industries before joining Paradigm in 1995.

He spoke with CE Pro about several topics, including demo techniques, mounting techniques and the acoustical effects of back boxes.

Now that 2008 is upon us, what can dealers expect to see from Paradigm at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)?

The advances in our product line will continue to reflect the changing marketplace for home entertainment electronics.

More architectural products, new-look lifestyle products and on-wall products are offered by Paradigm in every price point and product category.

And, of course, the full Anthem product line -- the industry leader in digital audio/video processing and interconnectivity -- will be on display throughout our booth.

What are some of the most recent initiatives that Paradigm has come up with to demonstrate the performance capabilities of its products to its dealer base? How are dealers reacting to these programs?

Paradigm has always been a strong advocate for the great demo and we encourage our dealers [through discount and dating programs] to put the great sounding Paradigm products on display for demonstration as a way to set themselves apart from the big-box stores.

Our dealers have come to expect exceptional sound quality and value pricing from Paradigm speakers and, oftentimes, these 'demo deals' become the path to discovering how great a particular model sounds.

For many of our dealers that's why they got in the business in the first place.

Part of the company's recent message to its dealers involves education on the topic of open-back in-walls. Tell us more.

Unlike many speaker companies, we design and build everything ourselves. We design for fidelity, and the speaker type does not change the goal of the design process.

There is no reason an in-wall can't share the fidelity of a freestanding speaker. As just one example, many custom installation speaker companies have argued that an in-wall speaker design requires enclosures.

Our research, at the most advanced R&D facility in the world for loudspeaker design, has proven that, for most designs, back boxes degrade the sound and actually do not have the benefits that are claimed.