Testimonials


Focal Clear MG Headphones

A Nice Testimonial For Us and the Focal Clear MG Headphones

A very thoughtful note from one of our fellow music loving customers…

I am writing to share my experience with Nuts About Hi-Fi and express my sincere gratitude. For a while, my focus on acquiring the perfect audio equipment overshadowed my enjoyment of music, but my visits to your shop helped me rediscover the true essence of Hi-Fi.

I first visited Nuts About Hi-Fi as a college student about five years ago. I was immediately impressed by your store’s selection and your clear passion for Hi-Fi. You kindly allowed me to audition several headphones, and the Focal Clear MGs immediately stood out. Their soundstage, clarity, and rich bass were exceptional, allowing me to get lost in the music. I knew then that I wanted a pair.

My second visit a few years later reaffirmed my desire for the Focal Clear MGs. I appreciated how they allowed me to simply enjoy the music without overthinking technical perfection. Our conversations about music and Hi-Fi further enhanced the experience. My most recent visit this summer was to finally purchase them. This time, I brought my own headphones for comparison, which confirmed that the Focal Clear MGs were the right choice for me.

Beyond the excellent equipment, what I truly value is the experience you provide. During each visit, you engaged with me, shared your insights, and offered recommendations based on my preferences. You created an environment where I could genuinely explore and enjoy the equipment. It felt like chatting with a friend about a shared passion.

Your enthusiasm for Hi-Fi and your commitment to helping customers like me appreciate music have been truly inspiring. Thank you for guiding me back to the joy of high-fidelity music.

Customer Review – Mola Mola Tambaqui

I wanted to share a review from an another satisfied customer who recently purchased a Mola Mola Tambaqui.

Thank you, Rich, for taking the time to write this.

“Recently, my Roon server died, so I visited Jim on a Saturday morning to arrange a replacement. Jim invited me to listen to the Mola Mola Tambaqui, a product I had read about and seen in the showroom but never truly experienced.

I was amazed from the start. The soundstage was wide and deep, and the presentation was incredibly detailed. However, there was a quality I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Soon, other customers arrived, and we passed an iPad around, sharing tunes. Track after track produced many ‘oh my god’ moments. Jim finally had to close for the day, but in the car on the way home, I decided I had to have one. My wife even thought it was a good idea! I texted Jim to say, ‘I’m in!’

Listening at home, I finally figured out what the magic was that made the sound so compelling. The term “timbre” finally came into focus.”

– – Rich

Definition of Timbre
Timbre (pronounced “tam-ber”) refers to the specific tone quality or color of a sound produced by an instrument or voice. It allows listeners to differentiate between sounds based on their source, such as distinguishing between a flute and a piano playing the same note. Timbre is influenced by the frequency spectrum and the harmonic content of the sound, which includes the fundamental frequency and its overtones.
– – Wikipedia

Nordost Sort Kones (AC) – A Customer’s Review

I present to you, a brilliant blog post written by one of our customers. Big thanks to them for taking the time to write this, we couldn’t have said it better.

Customer Review – Nordost Sort Kones – AC

“I have always been a bit skeptical of system tweaks even though I’ve tried a few over the years. Some seemed to work, some not so much…

So, when I was introduced to a number of them at a recent Nordost presentation at Nuts About Hi-Fi, I was dubious.

In the end, in spite of my skepticism, I was impressed enough to buy into one of them – the Nordost Sort Kones (AC). Was it the wine? The presenter’s pretty smile and detailed explanations? Or my ears… As I waited for them to arrive from Nordost, I wondered, and worried, and wondered.

An explanation seems in order:
Sort Kones are cone shaped and made of various metals. System components: pre amp, amp, DAC, CD player are placed or balanced on several of them – three being the minimum I saw at Nuts. There is some logic in their placement under any
component, balance being one, of course. But they also need to be placed under the areas containing the majority of the unit’s circuitry.

When they finally arrived, I was more than ready to see how they performed…

In my system, I placed them under my Aesthetic Janus pre amp and my Wadia 301 CD player in places that seemed appropriate. Then, I put on a very familiar CD and waited expectantly…

I was amazed. They made a tremendous difference in my system. Notes had more clarity, separation, presence, pace. The soundstage seemed bigger, cleaner, deeper. Everything just seems more right. How was this possible???? I have no idea. I just know that with CD after CD, and LP after LP, I just heard more, and it was not subtle. Give em a listen, I think you will be impressed.”

The Gateway Drug (or, Why is this jazz band in my room?)

A Special Guest Post from a Happy Customer

It all began with a letter from owner Jim Lee in Spring of 2013.

I had made my first purchase on my maiden visit to Nuts About HiFi… a pair of Grado RS1i headphones meticulously selected from a grand total of two pairs that they had in stock, while I was visiting Silverdale from Ann Arbor, MI. This was my second pair of audiophile headphones: one of anything might be good, but two of them represent the start of a collection. That Grado headphone started me on a journey into the land of headphones, and I have acquired at least 50 pairs and written about many of them on the online forum head-fi.com.

I was amazed, a few weeks after my purchase, to receive a letter (remember those?) from Nuts About HiFi. It was from Jim Lee, thanking me for my purchase and hoping I was happy with the headphones. I called him in amazement to express my appreciation for his follow-up. Eight years later I moved to Poulsbo, WA.

Two weeks ago, in September of 2021, 8-1/2 years later, Matt and Adam of Nuts About HiFi completed the installation in my home of a Samsung QN82Q900RB 82 inch TV with wall mount, two Focal Sopra 3 floor-standing speakers, Focal Aria CC900 center speaker, two Focal Surround BE speakers, a JL Audio F113v2 subwoofer, Anthem AVM 70 audio-visual processor, Aesthetix Atlas stereo amp, Anthem MCA 325 3 channel amp for the surround and center speakers, a Sony UBP-X-1100ES 4K BluRay with SACD capability, a Meridian 218 zone controller, a TS-451+ NAS drive, a Clearaudio Concept turntable with moving magnet, Salamander cabinet, $4,500 worth of cables (6% of system cost), a power module, and MX990 universal remote with MRF350 RF module to control it. Whew!

System design was by Matt, who began with a Meridian Sooloos system as music source, but then changed that to Roon when Meridian froze its development of Sooloos. Nuts About HiFi bought me a lifetime subscription to Roon to compensate for the loss of Sooloos.

The upgrade from Sooloos to a Roon subscription is just one example of a whole series of customer amenities that Nuts has offered me. System design began prior to COVID, and the TV, power supply, and cabinet were installed in early 2020. We could not resume installation until May of 2021, and some manufacturers had updated their items, so Nuts updated the diagram. Adam provided excellent installation, particularly in the art of running the ARC Anthem Room Correction, wrestling with a shortage of wall height in placing the center speaker, and programming the remote so that it truly does replace the 4 remotes that we had been using.

Yesterday, I received my first SACD disk (Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue). In listening with eyes closed, I just knew that his jazz band was right in front of me… yes, right there… don’t you see it!?

Thank you, Adam, Connie, Jim, and Matt!!!

John G. Ackenhusen

Nordost Cables – A Customer Review

“I could not resist the rare opportunity to try Nordost cables in my system. I figured I would start with a Blue Heaven Power Cable for this amplifier, and it did not disappoint. I have used that same amp with cables costing 10x to 60x more, and they did not have nearly the impact as this Blue Heaven cable did. In fact, the performance immediately drove me to purchase more Nordost Blue Heaven cables. I now have speaker, HDMI, digital and multiple power cables. My streaming system has Purple Flare Power Cables and Blue Heaven Digital Cables. How is it possible that cables in these price points can outshine reference products from another company I asked myself?”

– James –