Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Krasen.
Hi Don, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Don Krasen and our company is Krystal Clear Audio-Video. We are located in Dallas Texas and have been in business for over 43 years as Dallas’s oldest company in this field and among the country’s most established. Music has been in my blood from my earliest days, listening to all the great music of the 50s, 60s and 70s. In junior high, my music passion drove me to learn to play guitar. It was strictly for fun though I’m no Eric Clapton. In high school, I was in the choir and in a rock band playing popular hits of the time. I performed from time to time at a coffee house and after college managed a progressive rock band An opportunity arose to be in the loudspeaker business as a co-designer and manufacturer of an very innovative design. Everything was made and built-in house . I remember I worked sixteen hours a day for a year with only one day off. After I left the company, I ventured out on my own and was ready to start a business from all I had learned. We started with combining high performance audio and great video for movie and tv watching, quickly morphing into selling the very best highest-end component brands. From there, it blossomed into a nationally recognized company-Krystal Clear Audio-Video. Nowadays, we have evolved into a consultancy where we are a fully authorized dealer for all the brands we represent. Our long-term experience, expertise, and service reputation enable us to specialize in acoustic consulting/design, turntable setup, video calibration, system tuning, and wireless networks for smart home integration.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our struggles early on involved moving when we upgraded to our next retail locations. Moved 5 times. During the second to last move, I had food poisoning and faced very limited help transporting an entire store’s inventory. That day, I was feeling extremely weak, miraculously able to get all the inventory moved by the end of the day without collapsing.
We encountered numerous economic challenges. When first starting the business, acquiring customers and sales to support it was exhilaratingly demanding. I was hardly able to make ends meet. 9/11 was another “pain point” as I discovered even people who could afford our equipment and services delayed their decision-making in an uncertain times. The last real struggle was when we decided to adopt a new business model which we dubbed “we bring the showroom to your room.” It was untested and a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, the gamble paid off, succeeding beyond our wildest dreams.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Krystal Clear Audio-Video?
We are the oldest high end audio-video company in DFW (43 years) and one of the longest established in the in the country. We are focused on the peak level of musical and cinematic performance by offering award-winning cutting edge home cinema, music, and smart home systems designed to enhance the busy high net worth individual’s lifestyle. Through our in-house installation department staffed with CEDIA-certified techs, we seamlessly integrate high end/ultra high end audio/video systems with lighting, shade, climate, networking, streaming, energy management, and security surveillance systems for full home control designed that are simple to use We are focused on the long-term satisfaction of our client, featuring top level best-in-class concierge service designed to satisfy even the most discerning. Besides our knowledge and expertise depth. our service is one of our most well-known signature features. Dealing with integrity when working with clients is very important to us and our guiding principle. I am a former loudspeaker designer, certified ISF Level III calibrator, turntable set-up specialist (over 40 years experience precision setting up thousand of turntables. I have won awards for our cinema designs, custom installation projects, and acoustically-designed rooms. We book private auditions and consultations in a beautiful residential showroom (or at the client’s location), whichever is preferable, by appointment.
I’m proud of all our brands since we have taken the time to carefully cultivate them all these years for their performance, value, and synergy with other audio/video components available in the market.
One saying I’m known for is, “Life is too short for mediocrity.” I think that sums up a lot of what our brand represents.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I always have been very active and curious. I really enjoyed the adventure of going to different places on my bike (we lived in numerous locales). I was a voracious reader and would go to the library and check out books, especially science fiction. In school, particularly junior high and high school, I was a bit of a nerd and studied the sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics. I loved to put together models, like balsa wood planes, plastic spacecraft, medieval knights. After school in the 5-7th grade, I would play war games with my friends. It was typical young boy stuff. There were many camp-outs I attended with my cub scout and boy scout troops. All the while, I had a tremendous passion for music.
Pricing:
- Entry level high end to the skies-the-limit
- $2500- 2 million
- depending upon clients interest and financial resources
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kcaudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalclearaudiovideo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krystalclearaudiovideo
