Music, Family and a Beautiful New Home

For this family, home is a place to bring everyone together—and music is part of that welcome. Customers of Nuts About Hi Fi for more than 20 years, they recently purchased this beautiful waterfront home and invited us to help make music part of life there, inside and out.

In the listening room, we installed Focal Sopra No. 3 speakers, an Aesthetix Atlas amplifier, a Marantz AV preamplifier, and a JL Audio Fathom f113v2 subwoofer. A Clearaudio Concept turntable and Roon Nucleus offer the enjoyment of favorite records alongside the ease of exploring a digital music collection. Nordost cabling, AC distribution, and Sort Kone isolation complete the system.

While our team, Eli and Paul, finished installing eight pairs of Focal outdoor speakers and an in-ground subwoofer, Greg and I fine-tuned the placement of the Sopras.

The system wasn’t even broken in yet, but the soundstage was already spectacular. During a Dizzy Gillespie track, the trumpet sounded so lifelike that Greg laughed and said, “I think Dizzy might have just spit on me!”

Those are the moments we love, when the equipment fades away and the music feels present in the room.

Just off the kitchen, a Marantz Horizon carries the music into the adjoining listening area.

Outside, the Focal system creates a seamless musical transition to the waterfront entertainment space, ready for family gatherings, time with friends, and quiet evenings together.

It’s a pleasure to help longtime customers settle into a new home, and especially rewarding to create a system their family can enjoy for years to come.

Have a space you’d love to fill with music? Come in and have a listen.

Jim Lee
Nuts About Hi Fi
Silverdale, Washington
360.698.1348 · nutsabouthifi.com

Stunned and amazed in Seattle

I wanted to share some feedback from our customer, Rich, whom I have been helping upgrade his listening system over the past year. Yesterday I visited his home to have a listen. Absolutely Amazing sound. I couldn’t be happier for him. I asked him to describe his experiences with his upgrades. Here is what he had to say:

“It all started innocently enough. I was seduced by a Mola Mola Tambaqui, and when I was taking it home, I decided to add three Sort Cones. I eventually figured out where to place them under the DAC, and when I did, I noticed the music had a natural flow to it—it grooved! I was completely surprised, as I didn’t really believe in such things.

Next, through a strange turn of events, I ended up with a pair of Focal Sopra 3s in my living room. Knowing the room had bass issues, I ordered some Nordost Sort Füt for them. I had the speakers for a couple of weeks before the Sort Füt was installed, and I was amazed at how much better the focus became and how precise the image was afterward.

At the time, Jim suggested a Nordost QB8 would be a significant upgrade over my 25-year-old Audio Prism, so I decided to make the leap. While I was at it, I figured I should upgrade the power cable too. Previously, in a leap of faith, I had bought four Nordost Red Dawn power cables. As an electrician, I didn’t really believe in them either, but even electricians can be wrong. This time, I ordered a Nordost Tyr. I’ve seen the light! Listening to the QBASE with the Red Dawn and some loaner QRT plug-ins, the difference was apparent from the beginning. Not only did the music groove, but it had drive and a wonderfully palpable sound.

When the Tyr and the QRT plug-ins arrived, Jim asked me to listen to just the Tyr first to hear what changed. Quite a lot, in fact. The presentation was clear, well-defined, and flat-out enjoyable. The QRT plug-ins were the icing on the cake, bringing everything to life just a bit more. At this point, I figured why not add a QKore?

The system is now light years away from where it was when it was just the Focals. I’ve been a skeptic my whole life, and for the most part, it has served me well. However, these Nordost products are slapping me silly for ever doubting!

Stunned and amazed in Seattle.”

Being There with Mick: What Hi-Fi Is All About

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping a client fine-tune this incredible listening system. I really wish everyone could have the opportunity to hear this one.

The system features a pair of Focal Sopra 3 speakers paired with the awesome JL Audio Gotham subwoofer. The electronics include a Mola Mola Tambaqui Roon-ready streaming DAC, an Aesthetix Calypso preamp, and Atlas monoblock amplifiers.

For noise and vibration control, we used Nordost cabling throughout, the QB 10 primary earth AC grounding technology, and their Q Kore system to catch and eliminate any spurious noise between the components themselves. Their Qnet Ethernet cabling and a dedicated Qnet switch reduce any noise from the network system. We also used Sort Kones and Sort Füt components to reduce vibration for all the gear and main speakers. Additionally, handmade quilts created by the customer’s wife were strategically placed throughout to capture unwanted room reflections.

After listening to several recordings, the results were so impressive that I didn’t want to leave. As we listened to Mick Jagger belt out how he’s still unsatisfied even after all these years, I thought to myself, this is what Nuts About Hi-Fi is all about: helping our customers create a space that musically takes you away, allowing you to understand what the recording artists were feeling themselves and inviting you to be with them in that space and time.

Good Food, Great Sound: Char Kitchen Opens on the Waterfront

This past Saturday, the team from Nuts About Hi-Fi attended the soft opening of Char Kitchen Restaurant and Bar. Over the past year, we had the pleasure of installing 16 large flat-screen monitors, dozens of Focal speakers and subwoofers, 16 amplifiers, and a robust network system, all managed by a Control4 system.

This new waterfront venue offers an incredible view and is truly a local jewel. The food and drinks were delicious, and the service was excellent. Owners Chuck and Cassie Huck are wonderful people, and I highly recommend visiting their new space. The food was outstanding, and be sure to save room for dessert.