KICKER Performance Audio announces that Q-Class interactive displays featuring KICKER L7 Subwoofers, QS-Series Components and IQ-Series Amplifiers are shipping nationwide, and Authorized Q-Class Dealers are already receiving them. These displays are built to educate and entertain consumers across the country.
KICKER has engineered an experience as entertaining as it is informative – a display not only active, but interactive. KICKER Q-Class amplifiers, subwoofers and separates are included in the towering seven-foot display which boasts 1,500 watts of RMS power. It also features a large LCD screen with interactive videos directly linked to buttons on the board.
Kip Litsey is the Associate Marketing Director of Business-to-Business for KICKER and the primary architect of the interactive displays.
“It’s hard to give an accurate, presentable demo because you don’t always know what source you’re starting with,” Litsey said. “We use an uncompressed ‘.wav’ file, and with no head unit in the system, so you know you’re always getting the same experience every single time. If someone wants to use their own music in the display, we include the (KICKER) IQI™ module (a Bluetooth® accessory to KICKER IQ-Series Amplifiers) to pair a phone or tablet and stream their own music.”
Through market research and retailer feedback, KICKER recognized that salesmen and consumers alike often found themselves a victim of inconsistent displays. Whether it’s from altered audio settings, inconsistent volume levels or a lack of relevant on-hand information, the negative experience seemed as undesirable as it was avoidable.
The display’s system prompts the user to select from several different styles of high-resolution music stored within. The user’s selection and the next available song is then displayed on-screen. While videos are playing, a side window on the LCD screen shows relevant “factoids” about the product being displayed, all in high definition. A button press changes the show completely, allowing the viewer to experience several consumer-friendly training videos.
The display is equipped with an IQ1000.1 Mono Amplifier powering a pair of 12-inch L7 Subwoofers for bass. It also includes an IQ500.4 Four-Channel Amplifier, powering two sets of QS-Series 6-3/4-inch component speakers.
To adjust the sound quality, the display also includes the KICKER IQRC Remote, which comes standard with Q-Class mono amplifiers. The remote allows the user to adjust both amplifier levels and equalizer settings.
When not in active use, the display also acts as a “silent salesman” running Q-Class demo videos non-stop and inviting the customer to press the “Demo” button. The entire production is fully interactive with KICKER TWEEQ software, a standard feature of IQ-Series Amplifiers. It can be accessed via USB or Bluetooth, making for an easy demonstration of the system’s full potential.
Craig McGinnis of Metro Audio Dynamics in Omaha, Neb., was one of the first to receive the selling tool.
“Our sales guys think it’s great,” McGinnis stated. “What they love the most are the actual informational videos on it. Instead of wondering about the difference between the old (Solo-Baric®) L7 and the new Q-Class L7, we just pull up that video and boom – there it is. They watch that video and know why the new one is a way better woofer.
“That display is the statement piece for that section of the store. We’re selling more KICKER than anything else right now. We have it right in the front as you walk in, so customers immediately see this huge blue display. People go over there and start playing with it, so it works perfectly for us.”
The Q-Class display is currently in 100 dealers’ stores nationwide, and is available for order from KICKER Sales Representatives or Regional Coordinators at the factory. A sister display for KICKER’s Marine line is also available.
