It¹s All About The Music.

If your goal is simply a big, boomy stereo, enormous components, or the audio gimmick du jour, you've probably clicked into the wrong site. If you're looking for or simply curious about a refined way to enjoy music in the home, read on.

That Was Then.

(A brief history of Concert Sound.)

It was the 1950s and Creston Funk was just a kid when he put his first hi-fi together. He promptly fell in love with music. And almost as quickly, he became critical of the way it was reproduced by equipment of the day. He also became determined to find a better way. Kits, wires, incessant fiddling, a job at San Antonio's earliest hi-fi shop it all would become part of a lifelong quest for truly musical audio production. Sure, he pursued other careers, and not without success. But music always beckoned.

So in 1981, he and partner Mark Heaston started Concert Sound, a shop dedicated to the audio quest. For the next 20 years, they did a remarkable job of
introducing people in south Texas to musically satisfying hi-fi. While Mark
specialized in putting together systems,Creston developed skills for putting
together people who actually made the equipment. Of course, the point was never the equipment itself, but the way it played music.

Truth be told, Creston was always the ultimate audio bird dog, digging into
theories about sound reproduction, sniffing out musical potential in this amp, that speaker. But by the mid 1990s, he found himself in the role of matchmaker between ideas and engineers, between designers and manufacturers.

So when a personal situation forced Mark to leave San Antonio in 2001, Creston
did some serious re-evaluation. Eventually he decided to close the brick-and-mortar shop and take Concert Sound in a totally new direction.

This website is part of the result.

This Is Now.

(Reproducing music in the 21st century.)

Today, Creston Funk focuses on audio system-building through Importing Crimson Electronics, Reson DNM Electronics and Tocaro Loudspeakers. He resides in Austin, Texas where he just opened the offical Concert Sound Showroom. Currently, the featured system consists of a Reson Rota, Crimson electronics and Tocaro Loudspeakers.

Of course, if you really want Creston to talk your ear off about this gear, chances
are you can get him to do so. But even he recommends simply listening to the music, and keeps plenty of options on hand, but you're encouraged to bring your favorites, as well.

Either way, you can get things started by
calling 512-236-9100.

What to expect and what not to.

(The Concert Sound Experience.)

So exactly what's in store for you when you visit Creston's digs?

First, don't expect to be "blown away" by sheer volume. Or shaken by subwoofers. Or wowed by bits of unrelated sounds thrown into all parts of the room by half a dozen speakers.

Instead, expect to be quietly, gradually yet unavoidably impressed by the simple
beauty of the music. By the tonal and rhythmic accuracy. By the coherent presentation of musical lines, whether played alone or in harmony with each
other. By the reproduction of the musician's skills, often within an eerily accurate portrayal of the original recording venue. Most important of all, prepare to be astounded by your ability to listen with absolute pleasure, either casually or critically, at any volume level, for hour after hour. Without boredom. Without listener fatigue.

What's more, these should be your experiences whether you prefer Mozart
or David Bowie, Hank Williams or John Coltrane.

If this happens, we'll be quite satisfied. We think you will be, too.

For more information about Concert Sound's thoughts on hifi, check out our HiFi history page, it contains not only history of the actual shop, but historic documents such as Weber Rehdes "When Music Becomes Art", a must read for anyone getting into hifi.