Sounds & Motion is a locally owned business that specializes in the sales and installation of audio equipment in both the home and automotive environment. We strive to offer exceptional value to our customers by utilizing our years of experience to engineer a system that will not only meet but exceed their expectations.
The early years
Sounds & Motion opened at 705 Lincoln street in Rhinelander, WI on August 25th of 2002. Bryan Scott, owner of the Sounds & Motion in Houghton, MI was the owner, with Nate Scholten being the manager. At our first location our sales floor was very limited (roughly 300 square feet) and we started out with a single installation bay. Nate did the day to day duties of selling and installing, with Bryan visiting to help on occasion, and always playing the role of "tech support" when Nate had questions.
The shops volume of business consistently grew and a 2nd garage door was soon added, creating another install bay. At that time there were not funds available for advertising, with word-of-mouth being the only thing that brought in new customers. It was these early stages of the business that one of the fundamental goals of the business was created - To ensure that every customer was treated fairly, and given a good value. Every time. The rest would take care of itself.
Relying upon our customer service model, experience, and passion for audio, Sounds & Motion continued to grow, with new employees being added as the workload increased.
Competition success
In early 2004, Sounds & Motion began working on a competition vehicle that would represent the shop in dB Drag Racing, an autosound competition format where competitors used advanced testing equipment to determine who's vehicle is loudest.
The vehicle selected was a Chevy Astrovan, and would be competing in the Superstreet 1-2 class. Nearly 1000 man hours were spent designing, building, and testing the stereo in the van. A majority of the work was focused on the subwoofer enclosure, which dwarfed your average speaker box. The enclosure was constructed of over 1500 pounds of steel, and with a port so large that multiple grown men could crawl inside the box with room to spare. The stereo itself consisted of two 18" subwoofers, four amplifiers that were roughly 2000 watts each (later upgraded to 4000 watts) and twelve 16 volt batteries.
The vehicle was completed just in time to enter its first event, which was held in Toronto, Canada. To the amazement and joy of everyone who had worked on the vehicle, the Team Sounds & Motion Astrovan won its class, and set a new world record, recording a score of 158.2 Decibels. Later on in that same year the Team Sounds & Motion Astrovan competed at the 2004 dB Drag Racing world finals held in Nashville, TN. After many months of testing and hard work, the Astrovan's score had improved to 162.0 Decibels, which was good enough for 3rd place finish at World Finals. For the group of employees that worked on the vehicle, many of them still consider it a defining period of their life, taking great pride in the teamwork, ambition, and hard work that was put into the vehicle.
Business Growth
After proving themselves on the competition circuit, attentions soon shifted to making improvements at the shop. The building at 705 Lincoln street was quickly outgrown, and space was very much at a premium. The showroom was stacked high with shelving in attempts to hold the ever growing quantities of inventory stocked. A small home theater room was added, marking the beginning of Sounds & Motion offering home audio and home theater equipment.
A new owner
In February of 2005, owner Bryan Scott sold the business to Nate Scholten, who had been the manager since the beginning. Although Bryan realized the business potential of the Rhinelander location, the long travel distances and family obligations made it unrealistic for him to fully invest himself. Nate took over ownership with similar business goals: to make customer service and value a number one priority.
A new location
With the shop at 705 Lincoln street, the building had been completely outgrown. It was very apparent that more space was needed and that the business would not be able to grow much further until a new location was found. Because of this, owner Nate Scholten began exploring a suitable location to move to beginning in June of 2008. There was a property for sale nearly right across the road that seemed like a good fit. After a commercial loan was approved, the new property was purchased on August 1st, 2008. The building was substantially larger and in much better shape. The garage area would be roughly the same size, but the sales floor would be nearly four times bigger and allow for separate car audio and home theater rooms. After a complete ground-up renovation of the interior, Sounds & Motion officially moved locations on September 30th, 2008.
The benefits of the new building were immediately apparent. With the added room, customers felt much more comfortable, and the new interior provided a more pleasant atmosphere. The inventory that felt completely crammed at the old location now seemed sparse with all of the extra space. This problem did not last long though, with inventory soon expanding significantly in both the car audio and Home theater sides.
The home theater room also began to provide customers with a relaxed area to wait in while their vehicle was being worked on. Watching TV and movies on the 92" projection system helped pass the time quickly.
Continued and future growth
Settling into the new building happened quicly, and it wasn't long before we found ourselves asking "how did we ever conduct business in that tiny shop before?" The new level of professionalism that our new building provided helped spur consistent business growth, especially in the home audio and home theater fields. Before we knew it, our questions soon turned from "How are we going to fill up all this space?" to "How are we going to find room for all this stuff?"
Looking forward, it is our desire to continue to expand the business, providing the city of Rhinelander and the surrounding communities with excellent service in our fields of expertise. From the beginning our core values have not changed. We desire to provide our customers with exceptional value and top-notch installation services. If these things are accomplished, the rest will take care of itself.
We invite you to stop by and check out our new building. We take pride in the work we do, and it is apparent from the moment you walk through the door. So what are you waiting for? Come on down!