The Sound Source & Lightrix Evolution
The company’s humble beginnings were in 1970 as small music shop located in the Oak Bay Village, until then, a quiet section of Victoria. The blossoming music scene created a need for innovative solutions, as there were very few affordable choices available to up and coming musicians and rock bands.
Sound Source, rather than waiting for the appropriate system to become commercially available, designed and manufactured amplifiers and speaker enclosures to meet that need and became the premier suppler for professional custom audio systems and accessories for the areas musical artists.
In 1975 the store relocated to downtown Victoria. There they continued to build custom sound systems, gave music lessons, maintained and repaired electronics and guitars and generally raised the bar of quality that kept other stores struggling to keep up. As pioneers in live sound reproduction, they were the first local company to provide stadium size systems and worked with many touring acts as well as the Victoria Symphony doing experimental free outdoor concerts. Those concerts were the roots to what has evolved into the annual Symphony Splash that draws tens of thousands.
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The changing face of music brought in the disco era and Sound Source designed and built some of the biggest and best in Western Canada. The eighties saw the phasing out of the musical instrument component and a shift into commercial, residential and consulting projects.
Lightrix was born around this time as a result of previous specialty lighting experiences and began manufacturing and installing low voltage decorative tublighting in custom homes, shopping malls, hotels and theatres. The opportunity of adding more sophisticated audio to those custom homes along with the lighting brought about the merge of the names and Sound Source Lightrix become one of the first home integration providers in the province.
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Shortly after the move to the current location in 1992, Sound Source approached JBL Professional with some radical sound system design concepts for the new aquatic centre that was to be the centrepiece and main legacy project for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. As a result, JBL Professional entered into an agreement with Sound Source & Lightrix to partner with them as their local liaison and representative for JBL’s corporate sponsorship of the 1994 games. Sound Source also provided temporary systems for the major events including gymnastics, boxing, badminton, wrestling and cycling. As part of the pre-games events, crews from Sound Source also supplied sound systems for outdoor concerts, air shows and conferences. The final legacy system was installed at UVic Stadium after the conclusion of the games.
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The Sound Source is the most experienced pro audio/video/specialty lighting contractor on Vancouver Island and has literally hundreds of installations to their credit. There have been articles about their systems in Pro Sound News, Sound and Video Contractor and Professional Sound magazine. In a brochure of Crown Audio sound installations around the world, it features the unique sound installation at the Duke Point Ferry Terminal – Nanaimo, B.C.
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For over three decades, The Sound Source & Lightrix has designed and installed superior quality audio, video, lighting and control systems for night-clubs, theatres, places of worship, recreation centres, education and government facilities, hospitals, restaurants, arenas, yachts, stadiums and fine residences.
Use this experience to ensure that your project is a success.
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