Rodney J. Cowden, Owner

Born and raised in the Lafayette, Indiana area, Cowden has strong ties to Lafayette and surrounding cities. His formal education took place at Vincennes University, where he majored in art and design, a degree that has served him well when planning all the intricacies involved in not only making a system sound great, but look aesthetically pleasing too. His audio experience started in the early to mid-1970’s when he suggested to his father and other partners of CWY Electronics that the Lafayette area needed an audio store. The Crossover at CWY was born and Cowden managed and oversaw all aspects of the audio business, back when “custom audio”, “surround sound” and “home theater” weren’t the catch phrases of the day…but an idea for the future was born in that era of “high fidelity, quadraphonic” stereo.

In 1991 Cowden saw the opportunity to fill a niche in the Lafayette market-place with a new kind of audio/video store, that wasn’t retail, but rather specialized in designing a client’s every desire for custom automated audio/video systems. With the recent expansion into providing computer services, a natural progression for the business, Cowden is excited about what the future holds for Sound Advice.

Chris Cowden, Co-Owner

Chris is Co-Owner, along with her husband Rodney, and Office Manager at Sound Advice. She was born in Fowler, Indiana and has lived in the Lafayette area since 1978. She has been at Sound Advice since the beginning and has seen and experienced the rapidly changing technologies in which Sound Advice specializes. Keeping one step ahead of the curve is always a challenge, but Chris finds it exciting to be working in an ever changing, cutting edge industry. Chris loves the interaction and relationships built with their many Clients over the years. She believes working with her husband has been very beneficial in providing great customer service and continuity, while managing project costs. Her favorite gadget is her iPhone™.

Kevin Manning, Project Manager

Kevin Manning has been the Project Manager at Sound Advice for the past 11 years. He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho and attended Purdue University majoring in Telecommunications with minors in Supervision and Management. His favorite part about working at Sound Advice is the passion that lies inside the company. He likes the relationships he builds with his Clients and that they do so much more than solely selling “black boxes”. He loves his gadgets and he doesn’t think he could live without his gaming consoles, iPad™ and his Kindle™.

Mike Howe

Mike grew up in the greater Lafayette area. He assists with Professional Products Management at Sound Advice and has thirty years of hands on technical experience designing and installing for homes, schools and the commercial market. Mike appreciates Sound Advice’s dedication to outstanding customer service and enjoys listening to Clients and guiding them throughout the entire project. His favorite gadgets are his computer and his Audio Engine AW-1 USB high-definition wireless audio transmitter coupled
with a laptop.