Our good customer Sheri stopped in Saturday and joined an impromptu listening session I was having with another longtime client, Rich. Suddenly I got busy with a few other clients, so I handed my iPad to Rich and Sheri and they spent about an hour listening and sharing some of their favorite tunes.
By the time I got back to them, they had both decided that “life is too short not to own one.”
Rich is picking his up today. Sheri’s sounds amazing in her room, and we were both thrilled with the upgrade.
One of the greatest joys of high-end audio is hearing music exactly as the artist intended. That’s the magic we chase at Nuts About Hi-Fi, and one of our favorite tools to achieve this is through the precision-engineered products from Nordost. These guys are serious about their craft, and the result? Equipment that transforms the way you experience sound.
As audiophiles, we often focus on big-ticket items like speakers, amps, or DACs to level up our systems. But here’s where the magic happens—sometimes, the smallest adjustments can have the biggest impact. Nordost’s AC power cords, grounding solutions, and Sort Kones are prime examples of this. These aren’t just accessories, they’re innovations in resonance control and signal optimization. When implemented, they refine every detail, unlocking sonic clarity and making your music feel more alive than ever.
When you upgrade your system with Nordost power cables and properly ground your equipment, the difference is nothing short of breathtaking. You’ll hear nuances tucked away in your favorite songs—the subtle brush of a drumstick on a cymbal or an intimate breath between vocal phrases. It’s like removing a veil. Suddenly, music feels alive, and you’re transported into the performance as if the artist is right in the room with you. It’s hard to explain until you hear it for yourself, but trust me, it’s a game-changer.
The good news? You don’t have to take my word for it. Stop by our showroom, and we’ll set up a demo so you can experience this transformation firsthand. Once you hear what Nordost can do, you’ll understand why I call it one of the most remarkable improvements you can make to your system.
At Nuts About Hi-Fi, it’s not just about gear, it’s about creating an experience where music truly comes to life. Let us help you make that happen. Don’t settle for less when you can hear more.
Swing by to chat, we love talking audio! And while your’e here you can listen to some amazing audio in our demo room.
Yesterday Michael and Eli installed this beautiful home theater system for one of our favorite customers in Snohomish County. This was actually a retrofit installation upgrading a system that was originally installed, using contractor grade speakers, when the home was built.
The original system design presented an immediate challenge as unfortunately the center speaker had been located several feet above where it should have been. To solve this problem we eliminated the center speaker all together and installed an amazing pair of Focal Utopia 1000 series in-wall speakers. The originally installed center speaker will be removed and patched as our customer has been planing to repaint the room. When this is done, the new speaker grills will also be removed and painted to match.
There are several unique aspects to Focal’s Utopia in-wall speakers. They come complete with acoustically tuned enclosures, magnetic removable, paintable grills and use their finest speaker components, which of course incorporates their exclusive beryllium inverted dome tweeter. These babies sing! We often use them even for precise audiophile level 2 channel stereo installations when floor standing speakers are not an option.
We replaced the original in wall subwoofer with the 1000 IWSUB Utopia and in-ceiling surround speakers with the matching Focal 1000 series speakers. The speakers had been wired to a closet area in another part of the home and the components were to placed on wire racks, which are subject to extreme unwanted vibrations. We modified these racks using high density fiber board and several Nordost Sort Kones to dissipate any vibrations both external and internal from the components themselves.
Over the past few years, Marantz has been hard at work elevating their already excellent home theater components to a whole new level with their top-of-the-line A/V processor and multi-channel amplifier. These units are hand-built and tested at their factory in Japan and have quickly become a go-to choice for high-end home theater enthusiasts looking for something that stands out from the typical mass-produced options.
The amplifier is designed to power up to 10 channels, or 10 individual speaker connections. However, you can combine two channels into one, which effectively doubles the power output for those connections. Since we only needed this amplifier to drive five speakers, including the subwoofer, we took advantage of this feature and “bridged” all 10 channels down to five. This doubled the power and gave us excellent headroom, delivering effortless control over the stunning Focal speakers with exceptionally low distortion. To further enhance performance, we used five Nordost balanced XLR cables, which helped lower the overall noise floor even more.
Now because the components live in a separate area of the home, Eli programed an RF Universal Remote Control to easily access every function of the system including calibration of all video and audio functions.
I spoke with my customer over the phone and he tells me he could not be happier and wanted me to give big Kudos to our team.
We need to give these components a few days to break in and acclimate to the room as well as each other. Once this happens, I have the extremely difficult job of dialing the system in and listening to music. I know some of you are feeling sorry for me but please don’t start a go-fund-me account or anything. I’m sure I’ll get through this.
"I have been an satisfied client of Nuts About Hi Fi for over 15 years..." -
-Alan M.
"The service your company provides is off-the-charts excellent. You do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it and more..." -
-Doug and Teri P.
"I've been a fan and a customer of Nuts About Hi-Fi since 2007. They did such a phenomenal job at my house..." -
-Peter B.
"I've been a customer of Nuts About Hi-Fi for in excess of 15 years. I have always been satisfied with the products that I have bought..." -
-Bob H.
My system with the Focal speakers keeps delivering , getting better all the time..." -
-Jefferson B.
"It was the best decision I could have made. He helped me determine the proper equipment for my home, and his team provided professional and courteous installation..." -
-Glen C.
"This is so good it'll make you cry. This is the best system by far that I've ever put together in my home..." -
-David
"Fortunately for all of us Nuts About Hi-Fi has a system for every budget." -
-James
"Firing up the system for the first time just blew me away. I selected Pink Floyd's The Wall and I got what I wanted, tight lows and crisp highs... " -
-James A.
"I will continue to send friends that are interested in audio and/or home theater to Jim..." -
-Ron & Dee
"Jim and crew at Nuts about Hi-fi are first class professionals..." -
