ABOUT
TRU HI-FI
OUR MISSION
Tru Hifi is locally owned for the benefit of the regional market, based in Albury-Wodonga and covering the NSW Riverina and North East Victoria. We ship into those areas.
We are different from chain and franchise stores; we can make decisions on the spot, and we focus on the client before the shareholder.
Independent retailers frequently provide the competitive price leadership, in Tru Hifi’s case, we buy direct from the importer or manufacturer. The offer is the same or better than most online businesses. By being one on one, we often save the customer from unsuitable products, or by providing greater alternatives to the project.
Over 55 years of selling quality audio, a lot has changed, and yet very little has changed. We have a lot more budget label products available, and the best built brands are usually the quieter type. The brands are working on how to improve the next model to provide best value.
We have evolved to provide the products and service that has diminished through the auto checkout world we live in. You pay no more and end up with better piece of mind. “And you kept it local”.
We invite you to visit Tru HiFi, for a different home entertainment experience.
Geoff Haberecht.
OUR LOCATION
Tru Hi-Fi provides the best of both worlds to the home AV and Hifi market. So why not set up in Melbourne or Sydney for the larger markets? The Tru Hi-Fi advantage is we are the focus for Regional Victoria and Southern NSW, while also able to serve customers Australia wise with phone based sales of selected ranges.
In addition to servicing the Albury-Wodonga area, we regularly have customers make a day trip to visit us from Wagga Wagga, Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Bright, Mt Beauty, Beechworth, Yackandandah and many other surrounding towns.
For customers further afield who are willing to make an overnight trip to view quality Hi-Fi equipment, a visit to Albury Wodonga can be a lot less stressful than combing the length and breadth of the capital cities. Not only is our parking free but you will always be able to park within 100 meters from the store and yet still be only a couple of kms to the district’s main shopping region. With both well priced and luxury hotels close by our store is conveniently situated.
Our store is able to ship many of our products Australia-wide. Rather than being a self-serve online store, a phone or in-person consultation will be conducted prior to purchase.
GEOFF HABERECHT
Retail Consultant for Tru Hi-FI
My first recollection of a true HiFi sale was in 1969 and selling a set of KEF Concerto speakers for $440 a pair. When we set them up with his home made valve amplifier and Thorens turntable I immediately became addicted to a HiFi sound. It is this experience I have carried through the forty plus years of involvement in the Hifi and Home Theatre industry.
Haberecht’s in Albury was quite progressive at the time. We opened one of the first Hi Fi showrooms in regional Australia in 1973, incorporating unusual sounding brands like Sonab, Bose, Pioneer, Sony, Wharfdale, KEF, AKAI, Kenwood and Sansui. Haberecht’s remained one of Australia’s leading HiFi retailers until 2009.
During my time as Haberecht’s we worked with almost all of the industry brands including Yamaha, Denon, Marantz and Onkyo providing a AV hub for the Albury and Wodonga District.
When the Haberecht’s business retired I was offered a role to become the retail coordinator of the Australian Audio and Visual Industry Association (Star AV). This experience allowed me to travel to over 100 specialist retailers around Australia and liase with almost all of the AV wholesale industry.
Instead of returning to retirement after my contract concluded, the opportunity arose to provide hifi and home theatre goods and services specifically for the regional markets of NSW, ACT and Victoria arose based centrally based in Albury – Wodonga. This allows me to impart the latest audio trends personally to the customer, plus my audio connections provide outcomes more beneficial to the regional market.
Today I am developing a web site to provide as many tools for our customers as possible, (a long work in progress) plus a retail location which includes demonstration rooms of specifically handpicked products that represent the best value for money our industry has to give.
I look forward to meeting the new customers and reacquainting with past customers please sign on for our newsletters and be first to receive the latest offers.
TRU HI-FI : THE STORY
Tru Hifi has its beginnings in 1969, although the Haberecht dynasty began back in 1956. A much younger version of myself convinced my father to put in a record bar in 1969. At the time our core business was repairs, and Television rentals. At the same time European audio products were entering along with some US made equipment. In 1970 we were showcasing $1000 reel to reel recorders = $13,000 in 2023 currency, $500 turntables and $400 speakers at the local trade fair. Little did we know that the next 20 years, home music entertainment would evolve like it did. A short time later Japanese brands entered Australia and home reel to reel recorders were $300 to $500.
40 years on, reverting back to the original roots as Tru Hifi in 2009 I have focused back on providing the quality products lacking in the regional markets while sharing the knowledge and experience of the journey.
One of the most significant changes has been, 80% in the past focused on build quality, serviceability and lifespan. Today 80% is more a consumable 5-year product. The expectation is the change in technology creates obsolescence. In certain instances that is correct. In quality audio, the equipment is modular so a 1970s amplifier can be replaced by a 2023 amplifier. The major change has been the medium we consume our music not the delivery products like amplification and speakers, the units today are significantly better however connectivity is usually similar.
Quality audio has also evolved to suit our lifestyle and fashion whereby we can provide studio grade performances in almost any environment. Tru Hifi provides more of the options than a regular mass store, being 100% independent, and purchasing most stock directly from the manufacturer or his agent provides us the ability to ensure the most competitive pricing.
The quality audio market is a very competitive arena with around 100 independent specialist stores available at a touch of a button. Vs very few mass merchants.
Our journey brought us back to vinyl, now 17 years into the revival and seven years since we began selling recorded music again, it is gratifying to see the change back to hearing music with the warmth and depth of sound that standard digital products take away. With better turntables, new and better-quality digital formats, music listening the way it was meant to be heard is here to stay for some time to come.
Enjoy the journey.
Talk to us
We genuinely enjoy speaking with our customers, and we are always happy to assist with your hi-fi and home audio related questions and enquiries.