Wicked Hi-Fi
Dedicated to changing the way we think about music, theater, and sound in our lives
Go straight to my inventory of pre-owned vintage audio gear
Learn about my philosophy of music, theater, acoustics, and equipment & design
hi-fi acoustic control and high-concept design
for homes, restaurants, venues, and retail environments
What is Wicked Hi-Fi?
My name is Isaac D. Van Wesep. Wicked Hi-Fi is the online manifestation of my hobbies of building fine furniture, design & architecture, collecting vintage audio gear, and music. My creative passions extend to writing and the Web, which is why I made this site, and why I publish articles in my blogs and on Hub Pages.
Wicked Hi-Fi has evolved quickly, from a place for me to sell refurbished and repaired stereo and home theater equipment, to a central clearinghouse for my writings on stereos and home theaters. I have now begun adding pictures and video of repair and refurbish projects on the Wicked Hi-Fi blog. This site will also serve as a place to talk about my newest project: hand-built, beautifully custom-designed, acoustic panels and sound traps.
Wicked Acoustic Panels and Traps
I’ve been a stereo and home theater enthusiast since I was a tween. I also mixed thousands of live concerts and recorded hundreds of studio sessions as a sound engineer after college. Through this experience, and having built home theaters a dozen different rooms, I have noticed some things about the realities of how we experience music and theater in our homes and in larger venues.
That experience has led me to the conclusion that for most people, it is sound damping, not more or better or more powerful gear, that will make the greatest acoustic improvement in most people’s listening environments. I give a more detailed explanation of why I believe this on the sound panels page.
Restaurant and nightclub owners already know the value of sound damping, but home listeners don’t, for the most part. From my conversations with regular people, most are put off by the appearance of sound panels: they’re typically designed for function, with scant attention paid to aesthetics. Wicked Acoustic Panels and Traps bring hand-made (and for now, custom), high-concept design aesthetics to sound panelling. 100% hardwood construction, LEED-compliant green designs, LED/acoustic designs, are all on tap.
Building acoustic panels is my way to learn about cabinetry, and is my first step toward building loudspeaker cabinets. I am currently finishing my first panel: a 2‘ x 4‘ panel of compressed fiberglass, enclosed in a 5-sided cabinet of elegant 1/4” and 3/4” walnut board. Stay tuned here and at the Wicked Hi-Fi Blog for pictures and commentary. :)
Thanks!
-isaac
