Audio Magic Managing Director, Aleksandar Maksimovic

BACKGROUND

Prior to Managing Director Aleksandar Maksimovic’s relatively recent arrival to Australia, his business existed for more than ten years in Serbia. As a passionate music lover he started his company, One-HiFi which was dedicated completely to the sales of Hi-Fi, LPs and CDs. After early success Maksimovic was appointed the Serbian distributor for brands including Sonus Faber, Accuphase, Naim, Linn, Rega, Chord, and record labels including ECM, ACT, Harmonia Mundi, Enja Records and many more. His approach to business was simple but clearly defined; creating a place for music lovers with very high standards.

After a visit down under several years ago, Maksimovic fell in love with Australia and decided to relocate his family and expand his business.

We knew it would be a challenge to expand a distribution company into another territory, given the long established distributors that already existed in Australia. However in just the short six months of operation, we have already secured several distribution agreements and already appointed a number of dealers.

THE TEAM

The small but efficient team is headed up by Aleksandar Maksimovic, along with graphic designer Jasna Maksimovic, and Nikola Markovic who handles media relations, online and social media marketing. The team were also responsible for Maksimovic’s One-HiFi business so are well versed with the HiFi landscape and marketing.

When asked about the direction and focus of Audio Magic, Maksimovic commented:

There’s really no special type of equipment we are focused on, but the quality and diversity are important for us. Just as importantly, the compatibility of different sorts of audio components. For example, if you are looking for quality loudspeakers, we can offer great speaker stands and cables as well, to complete the package.

THE BRANDS

Audio Magic’s first distribution appointment was the 40 year old British company Harbeth, which Maksimovic thinks “their loudspeakers are the best for listener involvement, best for accuracy and best for clarity. Harbeth already had an established reputation in Australia, and we are proud and happy to evolve it further.”

Following soon after, Hi Fi Racks Ltd, a family-run business also located in UK was selected as a good match for Harbeth. Their racks are designed and individually handmade, using the finest quality hardwoods. This was a great fit for Audio Magic as they also manufacture speaker stands for Harbeth, but also a complete rack range.

Speaking with Maksimovic, it’s very easy to see and hear his passion when talking about one particular brand:

The amplifiers of French designer and manufacturer Lavardin Technologies are the finest amplifiers ever made. To hear them is a great experience. The music sounds natural, clear, fast and smooth.

Rounding up the electronics is Lindemann Audio, designed and manufactured exclusively in Germany. The range includes USB DACs, power amplifiers, and network players with versatile connectivity with iOS and Android apps.

Not forgetting the analogue enthusiasts, Audio Magic also represent Bauer Audio, another German manufacturer based in Munich.  The owner and designer Willi Bauer produces outstanding turntables, tone arms and phono stages.

Making all the connections, and the most recent appointment for Audio Magic was British company, Tellurium Q. In 2014, their cables won six Product of the Year in awards, and have won Hi Fi World 5 Globes in the last six years.

We are dedicated to only several manufacturers, which we believe offers a comprehensive and balanced product range. As business owner, this allows you to focus and best represent the brands in your portfolio.

Too many distributors are spread across so many brands, and in my opinion, this is often a mistake. You can be more dedicated to just 5 suppliers, instead of 25.

THE FUTURE

When asked about the future for Audio Magic, Maksimovic is certainly eager and confident. Plans are now to focus on the existing brands and expanding the dealer network.

The dealer network will be carefully delegated and not necessarily large, but it will be definitely big enough to supply the entire country.

Australia's market is much bigger then Balkans' (South Eastern Europe) market and has great potential and broad product offering. There are a lot of good existing distributors and retailers already in Australia and the business is very well regulated here. In Balkans, distributors are also the retailers.

Maksimovic foresees that the Hi Fi business will be mostly geared towards digital storage and vinyl in the future. With this in mind, Audio Magic is keeping their eye on the growing streaming services such as iTunes, Tidal, Deezer and Spotify, and understands that the future customer is a younger, computer literate audience. 

In a short time all systems at home including heating, cooling, security, audio and video will be controlled by smartphones. This future is very near, and we as leaders of the industry need to ensure we area abreast with this technology and continue to bring relevant products to the marketplace.

Maksimovic is a passionate music lover. He believes there is just one major goal of an audio system, “to bring the most natural sound of the studio or concert recording”. In some ways he feels that “high-end” needs to be redefined. High-end should not necessarily mean “expensive”, but an audio system should reveal as much of the recording as possible, and in perspective with the listener’s own expectations and standards.

Our goal is to show customers that the performance of these products doesn't depend of the genre or the artist they are playing. We avoid famous audiophile albums that can sound great even on the worst audio systems.

Aleksandar Maksimovic is on a mission to show more consumers true “high-end” high fidelity stereo sound.

It would be great if the wider audience could experience the enjoyment of a well-designed audio system with compatible components and overall synergy. There are a lot of consumers out there and the market potential is massive, it’s our job to work with dealers to best promote HiFi and great sound.  

There is no doubt Maksimovic and Audio Magic have their finger on the pulse, a commitment to their distributed brands and their growing dealer network.

This approach will surely lead to their ongoing success in Australia.

For more information visit Audio Magic.