New Clarion Multimedia Centre VZ409E

2009-10-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

The new Clarion VZ409E is aimed at those seeking a mobile cinematic experience without a need for a small morgage! The VZ409E is a new entry level multimedia centre that stands tall amongst those sporting much larger price tags.

This DivX certified multimedia centre is ready for anything: DVD + R/DVD + CD-R/RW + CD Text, MP3, WMA or USB; and the list goes on...

eBay Clearance items

2009-08-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

Check out our eBay Clearance Sale bargains...

Cyber Clean NEW PRODUCT

2009-08-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

The HIGH-TECH Automotive Cleaning Compound

Deep Cleans and Removes the dirt you see and the nasty and harmfull stuff you can't see! Great for Car Dashboards etc.

Cyber Clean is a revolutionary cleaning compound! When it comes to cleaning action in cavities and where convention cleaning products have physical limits. Cyber Clean gets into cavities because of its perfect combination of viscosity elasticity and its patented formula, it absorbs dirt and any other residues and provides deep cleaning action in the cavities and on the surface!

Cyber Clean Sachet £3.99

Cyber Clean Tub £5.99

Ways To Clean Your car Dash surfaces

1. Cyber Clean - the number one solution. The Patented High Tech Cleaning Compound does it all and is simple to use.
2. Air Cans - They just spray the dirt everywhere and don't really clean
3. Wipes - do not reach cracks and crevasses and leave streaks
4. Cloths - do not reach cracks and crevasses and leave streaks
5. Sprays - can damage electronics and you need an additional cloth to remove the residue
6. Cotton Buds - extremely inefficient and time consuming. You also need an additional cleaner to apply with the Buds

Car Audio In Edinburgh and the Lothian's

2009-08-10T03:04:00.000-07:00

Ray Smith In Car Solutions brings you the best Car Hi-Fi and In Car electronics in Edinburgh.

Over 35 years of providing expert car audio services in Edinburgh sets Ray Smith Car Audio aside from the average In car entertainment supplier. We are main dealers for Alpine, Clarion, Pioneer and JVC also as "Four Master" specialits we can supply quaility brands like "Rainbow Speakers" "Herts" & "Audison" amplifiers and Subwoofers and iPaul hi fidelity car amplifiers.

Our websites provide excellent value, service and fast delivery on all car audio and electronics related products.
See: raysmith.co.uk - My-Tracker - Also our Demo Car Sites - Audio:- "Joy" - "Heaven" & "Expert" .

We have fantastic clearance bargains on ex demo or brand new but open boxed goods at: caraudiostuff. with savings up to 70+% off TSP.

Parrot and Nokia mobile phone hands free car kits supplied and fitted in our Edinburgh workshop at the keenest prices.

Car reverse parking sensors and rear view cameras can be fitted and colour coded to match the paintwork on your car. All round (front & back) sensors and invisible strip type sensors can be installed at our Edinburgh workshops or supplied for DIY fit on our websites.

In Car Entertainment in Scotland for over 35 years and counting.
“ICE” or Incar Entertainment encompasses many things and Ray Smith has been at the forefront of Car Audio, radio, stereo, wireless or whatever you want to call it for longer than he cares to remember. Ray Smith In car Solutions as it is now called covers nearly all things electronic that can be aftermarket fitted to motor vehicles of all types. From reversing sensors, front and rear, with or without cameras, through all kinds of iPod and auxiliary audio add-on’s to mobile telephone car kits and of course all kinds of car audio upgrade whether it be a simple head unit replacement to a full blown multi amplifier and speaker/Subwoofer competition winning sound system.
Ray over the years has trained most of the east of Scotland’s fitters and sales people, many of whom have moved on and started their own businesses as they do. You would be surprised by just how many, some have been successful finding jobs with Halfarts etc some have internet sites and some have gone bust but over the years they gained their stripes at Ray Smith car Audio, next time you are talking to another Car Audio company in Edinburgh, Stirling or Kirkcaldy ask where they learned their trade ;)
Ray Smith has tons of experience and the numerically astute reader might have worked out that Ray is no spring chicken and now at Sixty two years old he is successfully mastered the mysterious interweb thingy that most people his age shun or fear, his eyes are not what they used to be but his enthusiasm for the World Wide Web and all of its intricacies don’t dampen his want for knowledge on the subject. With the help of a very close friend who is in IT, Ray does all of his website and ecommerce work in house.
Ray has seen many changes over the years from his small basement car radio repair workshop in Union Street Edinburgh where he would burn the candle at both ends, repairing and refurbishing Radiomobile Radios or Cassette decks and eight Track players, he then moved to his first retail shop in Montrose terrace where his first employees Tommy and Colin later started their own Edinburgh Car Audio business and the repairing of car audio gave way to replacing units when the costs fell to the point where repairing them was uneconomic . The business grew to the point when a move to larger premises was called for and the shop next to a small maternity Hospital called Elsie Ingles and Ray’s advertising slogan was “Ray’s moved in with Elsie” started a few more successful years at Spring Gardens and brought customers in with a chuckle.
Ben Buchanan, Ray’s old boss at “Eastern Car Radio” joined the company as manager and helped build the company up to its most successful years in the mid nineties when by that time there were branches in Edinburgh (Leith Walk), Stirling, Aberdeen and Kirkcaldy. Ben a loyal and good friend of Ray’s eventually retired having taught Ray many good practices in business which he uses to this day. After Ben, Andrew Adamson managed the Edinburgh branch admirably until for reasons best known to himself, notice was given that he was changing career and going into insurance. This turned out to be a lie and the day after his golden handshake & pint in the local was given, my customers were phoning me with his business cards and two of my so called loyal fitting staff left to go and work for him. This particular exercise also showed how loyal or otherwise some trade customers can be and whilst it dented Rays faith in people, he just brushed it off, and since Edinburgh City council was also doing its best at that time to ruin traders in Leith walk with greenways and parking wardens etc Ray moved to a new unit at Abbeyhill with plenty of parking and a huge amount of space.
Full Circle:
Once when asked by a newspaper journalist, the secret of his success, Ray commented that his ability to make changes quickly, flexibility was the formula that had served him well. This has been tested many times over the years. We haven’t always backed the right horses, “Four Track v Eight Track”, “Betamax v VHS” etc and we got our fingers burnt a little with Car Navigation. When a new cutting edge product comes to market we have about a one year maximum time to make hay before the car manufacturers fit it as standard or as happened with navigation, the market completely changes and we are left with lots of In Dash expensive products when everybody now uses cheap portable stick on glass types. DAB “Digital Audio Broadcast” has not taken off as it should, when the government make it happen I guess the car suppliers with have it mopped up by then. Keeping staff trained to the highest level in this volatile market is not easy and now that cars are fitted with CANbus and MOST computerised wiring systems it is imperative that customers should choose very carefully who they trust to work on their cars. Many years ago Ray was one of the founder members of CRISP Car Radio Industry Specialists a body of independent aftermarket Car Audio Dealers who all wanted to train their staff to the highest standards and be a regulatory body for the industry. Over the years Ray travelled up and down the country at his own expense in the belief he was making a difference. Through time CRISP became MESF “Mobile Electronics Security Federation” which was basically the same but it became clear that vested interests and greed was taking over with the introduction of the VSIB and the SCA (look them up if you are interested) and Ray walked away. Interestingly the VSIB is now bust as predicted by Ray when this so called non profit making organisation was overpaying its officers with huge bonuses and luxury company cars etc (sound familiar? Banks!)
This brings us to the recession.
Ray is now back to one branch in Edinburgh and in an attempt to reduce fixed overheads and to remain competitive and profitable Ray has trimmed all the unnecessary fat but really needs to increase business drastically or downsize again. How do you increase business? The motor trade is a good barometer, when new cars are selling our loyal trade garages will need reversing sensors and Bluetooth car kits fitted or iPod integration and for some of the more prestigious Marques maybe a TV screen or three. Unfortunately the barometer is low. The internet is a double edged sword. All of the hours that ray and his staff put into a nice website with lots of easy to find information means nothing if you are not the cheapest on the web. So the candle is still burning both ends for Ray but now it’s making web pages instead of radio repairs that keeps him up all night. So if the future is to be in hyperspace why do we need a showroom? If new cars are to be fitted with all the toys at the factory, why do we need a workshop? These are the questions that Mr flexible is asking himself right now.
So what does the future hold for Ray Smith Car Hi-Fi
One option would be for the recession to go away, Banks give all the millions back to the people and customers to beat a path to Abbeyhill for their car toys, shunning the internet tin shed eBay shaggers and really value the hard work and specialist knowledge we give... OK so let’s get real.
We are moving to Dunbar.
Dunbar is a small town in East Lothian 30 minutes from Edinburgh with a growing population and also happens to be where Ray lives. Business as usual, we will service the trade garages in Edinburgh as before but with a mobile service so no change there then.
From the new unit in Dunbar the internet business will be conducted with specialist staff, the quality of products and our specialist knowledge will remain the same. We may not be the cheapest on the net, you may contact us and use our specialist knowledge and friendly staff to point you at exactly what you need, if you then shop around and manage to save a few pennies, then good luck with after sales service if anything goes wrong. We will still be here for you, so no changes there then.
Ray Smith Car Audio Stuff Dunbar will offer showroom facilities and are happy to offer a fitting service at the new sales/workshop unit so no changes there then.
The only change is the geography and cost of overheads, business as usual.
When?
Ray has obtained the new premises Dunbar and will be preparing for a grand opening in the spring of 2010 meantime its business as usual in Abbeyhill and further information will be forthcoming, watch this space...