The NEW "OFFICIAL" Website is now up and running! Visit www.hiltonaudio.com today!
Paul Cote is the incredibly proud new owner of:
Check Out Our Current Status and FAQ's.
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August 15, 2014 - And It Begins...
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The first shipment of parts and equipment have arrived from California! 23 Boxes of inventory arrived today with another 25 expected on Monday. There will be nearly 100 more soon after. This is finally getting "real" for us! My office is converted, I've added extra circuits for power. I've given my Amazon-Prime membership a workout and I'm ready to go! We're slightly behind schedule, but I have built in a little "wiggle room" in my dates below. Christmas deliveries of MA-220's are still on schedule!
Please continue to check back regularly for updates. I hope to have a re-launch of the Hilton website by September 1st. Paul |
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August 5, 2014 - ALMOST THERE...
Hello All. The final revisions are being made to our contract in the next couple days. It is my sincere desire to have everything signed and started to ship by the end of the week. Perhaps I'm being too hopeful, but my fingers are crossed! Paul
July 18, 2014 - Status As Of Today (We're one month in...)
A couple days before the National Convention in Little Rock, my wife, Mary Ellen, and I came to an "agreement in principal" with Dick and Vicky Henschel to purchase Hilton Audio Products, Inc.
Several weeks before that, Dick announced that Hilton was going out of business. In a nutshell, the building that they have leased for decades was sold. The new owners wanted the building for themselves, and gave short notice to the Henschels that they would have to move out. Faced with the daunting task of packing, finding a new location, and starting over again, this late in their career, Dick and Vicky instead elected to close the doors.
Mary Ellen and I believed that Hilton Audio, after generations of service to the activity, deserved a better way to say good-bye than an eviction notice. In fact, we believe that there is still a need for good, quality, durable, "standard" square dance equipment for years to come. This is why we bought the business.
The process will not be quick, but the alternative was that there would be nothing. Here is where we stand at this point.
Mary Ellen and I have an "agreement in principal" to purchase Hilton Audio Products from Dick and Vicky Henschel. In all of our eyes, the deal is done. We are just awaiting the "legal-eeze" from the lawyers. We know what we want. We just have to complicate our hand-shake with dozens of pages of paper saying we shook hands.
How certain are we that the deal is done? Well, Dick and Vicky have packed a large portion of their inventory, and have it sitting in boxes, waiting to ship out to us. I personally have ordered more than ten thousand dollars in parts. The deal is THAT done.
Let me try to answer some of the most Frequently Asked Questions...
When will you be "back in business"?
What about repairs?
What are your plans going forward?
What about prices?
What can I promise?
If you would like to be kept informed as to our progress and when products become available, please complete the contact form at the top of the page.
Thank you for your time.
Paul Cote
A couple days before the National Convention in Little Rock, my wife, Mary Ellen, and I came to an "agreement in principal" with Dick and Vicky Henschel to purchase Hilton Audio Products, Inc.
Several weeks before that, Dick announced that Hilton was going out of business. In a nutshell, the building that they have leased for decades was sold. The new owners wanted the building for themselves, and gave short notice to the Henschels that they would have to move out. Faced with the daunting task of packing, finding a new location, and starting over again, this late in their career, Dick and Vicky instead elected to close the doors.
Mary Ellen and I believed that Hilton Audio, after generations of service to the activity, deserved a better way to say good-bye than an eviction notice. In fact, we believe that there is still a need for good, quality, durable, "standard" square dance equipment for years to come. This is why we bought the business.
The process will not be quick, but the alternative was that there would be nothing. Here is where we stand at this point.
Mary Ellen and I have an "agreement in principal" to purchase Hilton Audio Products from Dick and Vicky Henschel. In all of our eyes, the deal is done. We are just awaiting the "legal-eeze" from the lawyers. We know what we want. We just have to complicate our hand-shake with dozens of pages of paper saying we shook hands.
How certain are we that the deal is done? Well, Dick and Vicky have packed a large portion of their inventory, and have it sitting in boxes, waiting to ship out to us. I personally have ordered more than ten thousand dollars in parts. The deal is THAT done.
Let me try to answer some of the most Frequently Asked Questions...
When will you be "back in business"?
- It is all of our sincere desire (Mary Ellen, Paul, Dick and Vicky) to have the sale complete this month.
- We will take the month of August to ship inventory and set up shop in Houston.
- We hope that by the end of August we will be able to start putting together some of the smaller items like microphone cables and connectors.
- We hope to have an "office" available by mid-September. "Office" is in quotes, because we WILL NOT be ready for full time operations by that point. We'll only be better equipped to answer questions, etc.
- Our goal is to start production on the MA-220's in October, and have them available by December.
- Our target date for a "Grand Re-Opening" will be December 1st, 2014.
What about repairs?
- While I have teamed with an electrical engineer to work on the MA line going forward, neither of us has ANY experience with the mechanics of turntables. My team will be handling products still under warranty, and repair work going forward on MA series equipment. We will not offer any type of repair on turntables. (Sorry folks...it was all I could do to save the brand...I could not save 50 years worth of technology as well.)
- We WILL, however, provide a list of technicians who have serviced and will continue to service Hilton equipment. For years, technicians from around the world have serviced Hilton products. Dick Bull, the lead technician at Hilton, will offer his services as well. (In fact, Dick Bull is open for business right now if you are in need of a repair. Please contact me for contact information.)
- Hilton Audio Products WILL make parts available for sale from inventory, and as long as reasonable financially to provide them.
- AGAIN...Hilton Audio WILL NOT be servicing units prior to the MA-150 and MA-220 directly at this time. We will provide a list of vendor/technicians that we have had good reports from, but we will not be involved in the process in any other way. We assume NO responsibility or liability for service and repairs that we have not provided ourselves.
What are your plans going forward?
- Short term. "Stay the course". It is NOT my intention to start introducing new products in the next year. While we may make some very minor adjustments to the MA-220, it will remain our core product throughout the remainder of 2014 and 2015.
- We are going to have less of an "office" presence, and more of an "online" presence. I intend to drastically improve the web-presence of Hilton Audio Products, including an updated web-site and an online store. I also intend to maintain enough inventory so that long waits for your equipment will be the exception rather than the rule. That said, with repairs being handled by third parties, we won't have the same kind of technical help available instantly. We're going to need a little extra time with that, and email will be the standard.
- Longer term. We hope to add features to the MA line over time, however, the MA concept will still be our core. We are looking into digital options as well. We are not prepared to discuss too much regarding these plans just yet.
- I fully understand that Hilton does not fit the needs of some of the true audiophiles out there. Satisfying the sound engineer who is looking for studio quality sound, who doesn't mind 57 knobs and 25 wires, is NOT something we will be working towards. It is our continued goal, going forward, to provide a quality, durable system, that is extremely user-friendly, and conforms to a standard interface that "Joe Caller" is familiar with. We want anyone to be able to walk in to any hall, and just start calling as simply as possible.
What about prices?
- I can tell you, with confidence, that prices will remain the same through the rest of 2014. We WILL make the MA-220 available again, to whoever wants it, at the price you are paying right now.
- I can also tell you, with confidence, that prices will go up in 2015. My wife and I just spent a huge chunk of change on a business folks. We're going to run things as lean as possible, but we are NOT willing to sacrifice quality, and we've got to pay for the business.
What can I promise?
- I can promise that along with my wife, and my team (who I will introduce down the line), we will make every effort to make Hilton Audio Products to the standard they have been held to for generations of callers and cuers. We will not sacrifice quality. We will continue to be of service to the activity.
- If, down the line, there has to be another "end" for Hilton Audio Products, I will promise you now, that there won't be a last minute board across the door saying, "Out of Business". I will make certain that you'll have notice, and opportunity to "stock up". The Hilton name deserves to go out with a "bang" not a whimper.
- High quality and durability aside, if callers continue to hold on to their Hilton products longer than they hold on to their cars, their mattresses, heck, longer even than some mortgages, Hilton can not survive. The brand has solely been dedicated to the activity for longer than I have been alive. NOBODY is getting rich in the square dance world anymore, and in fact, I'll consider this venture a success if I can earn HALF of what I'm earning at my "real job"...working twice as hard. I say it as a caller. I say it as a music producer. Now I'm saying it as the voice of Hilton...you've got to be willing to invest in yourself and invest in the activity if you want it to survive. They recommend replacing your mattress every 8 years...I'd be happy if you did that with your Hilton too! ("Crunch all you want...we'll make more!" "A can a week is all we ask!")
If you would like to be kept informed as to our progress and when products become available, please complete the contact form at the top of the page.
Thank you for your time.
Paul Cote