Octasound

Celebrating Over 45 Years in Business

KDM was registered as a proprietorship in 1974 and incorporated in 1976. After being located at 705 Progress Ave for 18 years, the company has moved twice to gain much needed additional manufacturing space.

Ron Bull founded KDM Electronics Incorporated to design and manufacture central speaker clusters and electronic modules. These products would provide custom configurable sound systems for Recreational Facilities (Hockey and Figure Skating Arenas, Gymnasiums, Community Halls, Swimming Pools, etc.).

The business model and goal was to make products that are flexible, easy to operate, and capable of producing voice and music quality not normally found in these types of facilities. A criteria that is still the foundation for KDM’s success today.

Ron’s son Martin Bull, began working at KDM in 1990. “Early in my career we would design the system, manufacture and assemble all the components in house and then drive to the site to install. I learned, start to finish, all the nuances involved with sound systems and incorporate this into our new product designs. “My design criteria is longevity, tough for the environment, easy to install, and simple to operate. We never get a phone call asking “How do I operate”. So we’ve done something right.

In 2010 Martin Bull took over the operations at KDM and has this to say about his sound system and component design process.

Years ago when the industry began to lean heavily into the digital realm. KDM/Octasound had a big decisions to make. We were exploring several design ideas to move the product line into the new programming / software environment.

I couldn’t get past the idea that turning a computer or tablet it into a volume control and switch was actually going to make the product more complicated for everyone. I kept thinking about how many times I’ve changed operating systems and how many computers I’ve thrown away in my life. Do we really want our customers to eventually have a product that we, the manufacuturer, determine it’s end of life? Throw it away like we do computers? And do we want it to be so complex that customer training is ongoing and the need for specialized audio contractors become the new requirements? Sonus, as an example, just discontinued support for their older products. Who should own your sound system? You or the manufacture?

It really hit home that I was proceeding in the right direction when I was hired to design a system for the Jay Peak Stateside hotel. A component failure in the original Hotel made them realize the entire system is obsolete and without support. The costs to repair would be the cost of replacing and reprogramming the entire system.