In-home Consultation & System Voicing Caution – unless you are considering having your system voiced, this section is long and perhaps more detailed than a casual reader would enjoy reading. In addition to serving his long-time personal clients, recently Jim has been able to help a significant number of new people – mostly readers of Get Better Sound - in their homes, working in their rooms, voicing their systems. The results have been consistently gratifying, not just for his clients, who can best be described as ecstatic over the improvements, but perhaps to his surprise, for Jim as well. He has especially appreciated the ongoing contact with these clients and especially the fact that they really love their sound now, that they spent far less than they would have spent to buy almost any component, and perhaps most gratifying – that since the voicing session, they haven’t spent a dime on any more components! Having received a large number of inquiries about in-home system voicing, Jim thought this description of a typical job would be useful. But he wouldn't exactly call this a program. Because he never knows what he may encounter. However, there are some generalities that are illustrative: “I've been doing these installations/voicings for years. In general, I like to arrive the evening before the day of the job - especially if I flew in, to give my hearing a break overnight. Depending on the time, it’s useful to check out the site and meet with the client that evening. The next day is open, meaning that it may take as few as 6-8 hours or it may take 12 or more. For what it's worth, in the past 30 years, I've never been able to complete a new system evaluation and voicing in less than about 8-10 hours. I don't stop working until I know the system would satisfy me (which will be after you are already pleased). I do this within the context of using what you have on hand. Also, we'll create what I call a 'roadmap' in the manual. So you'll have an idea of what you may want to do later, as well as what you shouldn't... I book a flight out the next morning. Often I will drive, if it’s a drive of perhaps six hours or less. I require my clients to commit the entire time to be with me when voicing a system. So if I came on a Wednesday, you'd have to be there all day. Often a weekend is best for my clients, and I'm willing to do that at the same price. If I fly, I ship in a kit of instruments/tools/recordings via FedEx Express or Ground that I'll use, and I ask you to ship it back. The shipping is not expensive, but you would have to cover transportation both ways. Having insured this kit for voicing trips, I know that it's worth (insured for) over $3,000. For you, it's like getting the use of it without paying to rent or buy it. Rarely, but once in a while, an unusually difficult situation might call for another day. Of course, I will share with you what I think needs doing if you don't want to incur more expense at that time. If you opt to have me stay over, most of the time, it's just a portion of the next day, and if I can still make my return trip later that same day, then the price for that second day is adjusted down accordingly. But first and most important, we would need to have a phone conversation. From there, I can generally decide if I think it would be worth your time and expense. Occasionally, I have to tell folks that it might not be worth it based on certain restrictions they have. I also recommend that folks get the Get Better Sound manual and go through it, both to get a feel for what I think is important, and - honestly speaking - for the feeling you get from reading how I write. If you are uncomfortable with what I say or how I say it, that should be a warning sign!” The Concept Virtually
every audiophile that Jim has ever visited (many hundreds, if not
thousands) has had a stereo system that was performing below
– usually well below – the potential for that
system in that room. This is true no matter how expensive the
components are, whether or not the listening area is a dedicated room,
or how knowledgeable the owner is reputed to be. After
30+ years of installing and voicing systems that perform at a high
level, Jim finally realized why this phenomenon was so depressingly
true. First, it had been apparent that he was working with many exceptionally bright people. People who were experts in their respective fields. But just as we wouldn’t recommend that you hire Jim to perform an intricate medical procedure, why would a cardiologist expect to be able to extract all of the performance from his/her music system? Reading magazines won’t impart the experience. Going to shows won’t either. It all comes down to having a reference. The one universal comment that Jim reports hearing is that the client simply had no idea that the resulting sound was possible. He/she hadn’t heard it before, didn’t know if the room would be good enough, thought they needed “better equipment”, etc. So not only do his voicing clients report vastly improved sound, now they have a reference for what is possible. It means that they can not only become far more involved in their music and the overall listening experience, they are now in a position to determine if a new component truly merits the expense. If you’re unsure of what is entailed in a voicing session, perhaps reading the accounts below will be of assistance. Plus you can always Contact Jim Smith for more info. Two additional points should be emphasized. (1) It’s Jim’s goal to move your music system to another level of performance and involvement without replacing one single component. (2) The
improvement in your system should be by far the biggest
you’ve ever experienced, well beyond that obtained by
replacing any electronics or cables at any price. The bottom line for clients “…thought to myself that what you did was the best investment I had made for my Hi-Fi ever.” “It
easily represented the best “bang for the buck”
that I’ve spent on my system over the years.” Client accounts of what happened in a voicing a session There have been some unsolicited posts on Internet Forums that describe Jim’s in-home voicing procedure. The following is excerpted from one such account: First
off, Jim Smith is a class act all the way and is a walking encyclopedia
of audio information. He was very professional and flexible from
planning, execution and follow up. He did not know me at all until I
gave him a phone call. If you have not bought his book yet then I would
seriously recommend buying it and if you have the ability to pay for
his on site services then I would highly recommend that as well. Jim
was able to take my system to the next level with components I already
had. ………… I
am very happy with the process and results of working with Jim. The
system sounds great and I learned a ton throughout the process. It is
good to know that I have the system sounding its best within its
current environment. ………… To read more detail, you should go to the original website. To save time, we suggest starting at Post #190. Here is the link: http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7730&page=13 Contact Jim Smith to schedule or to make any inquiries ________________________ The following is another excerpt. The first part is from the evaluation of the system: System Evaluation As
I promised in an earlier post, below are the results from Jim
Smith’s observations concerning my listening room and setup.
Jim really is a class act and all of the critiques he offered were
professional and honest. My wife and I enjoyed his visit to our house
immensely and felt very comfortable talking with him. We
are confident in his ability to take our system to the next level and
to do so without buying anything new. While Jim has a lot of accolades
to his name along with a list of references from many professionals in
the business, he was very humble and patient with our questions. I’m
sure our setup does not even come close in cost to the systems he
normally works with, but he was extremely kind in his compliments and
treated my wife and me as if we were millionaires looking to spend a
fortune.(Which we are not!) The
intent for his coming out was by design to be an evaluation of
approximately 2 hrs.with some discussion of a future time to have him
back out if his services were needed. The only negative about this
approach was not being able to solve the issues immediately, but rather
me having to display some patience on my part and wait for our next
meeting. However
let me add that there would have been much more work to be done if I
had not read his book. It truly is a great value and a valuable
reference to getting better sound. Even if I could not afford
Jim’s services I would still enjoy a much more musical system
due to the advice in his manual. I’m sure others that are
more careful in their reading of his book, and follow his tips
thoroughly concerning speaker placement, can be confident they will
have a much more musical sounding system. So without further
ado…..
The next section is excerpted from the actual voicing process: Hifi setup On
August 20th Jim paid me a visit and spent nearly 6 hrs. voicing my
system to the room. He already had a good idea of what to expect from a
previous visit which entailed a brief listening session several weeks
prior. There were several areas of concern that he noted in which my
setup was deficient. He addressed these areas this past Thursday and
provided me with an excellent reference point when listening to music.
Anyway on to the good stuff: OBSERVATIONS
I
am not saying that the bass was louder, but there were now lower
registers being played in the music that I had never noticed before.
This added a new dimension to the music that was sorely missing. Jim
had mentioned on his previous visit that there were notes missing and
this contributed to the instruments sounding emasculated. I did not
disagree with him, but since I had no reference I was not entirely sure
what he meant by this at that time. Now I know!!! It's amazing that
when the bass is right how much this adds to ones listening pleasure. To read more detail, and there is a lot of it, you should go to the original website. To save time, we suggest starting at Post #79 and go to at least Post #97. Here is the link, beginning at Post #79: http://67.19.167.226/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=4868&page=6 Here is an example of unsolicited correspondence that Jim has received, this time from Glen – the poster above: Jim,
I can't tell you how much more involving my system is now.
(My wife) listened to one of her favorite records last night and she
was astonished with the changes. She even sent a text message
explaining to me how she now feels more part of the music.
Thanks again and keep up the good work. And another: Hey Jim, I
wanted to follow up with you since it's been about three
months when you last visited to voice my
system. This morning, like many other mornings, I
was enjoying some vinyl and thought to myself that
what you did was the best investment I had made for my Hi-Fi
ever. Thank you again for your help and providing me with
many wonderful listening sessions. Contact Jim Smith to schedule or to make any inquiries ________________________ Below is a report on another voicing session: My Experience with System Voicing by Jim Smith of Get Better Sound I
won’t dwell on the mechanics and logistics of the experience,
since those are well documented elsewhere, both online in various
forums and on Jim’s own site. And the overall structure stays
pretty consistent, as I understand it, even though each situation is
unique and may call for changes in one way or another. I
think it is fair to assume that the “general”
structure involves Jim arriving the day or evening before the primary
working day in order to spend some time getting familiar with the
existing setup—first impressions of how it sounds and lots of
questions about what the client’s goals and priorities are
with the system and why choices were made to arrive at the current
equipment and configuration and layout in the room (audio preferences,
financial restrictions, “bargain” purchases, etc.).
In other words, to what extent is the current configuration the result
of a conscious, strategic series of selective purchases and articulated
audio (or aesthetic or practical) decisions, as opposed to a discrete
set of haphazard or fairly random purchases over a period of time. The
goal of the initial discussion is not to pass judgment or encourage
changes in equipment—Jim just wants to understand the
client’s goals and how the current setup seems to reflect
those audio objectives. One
of Jim’s great strengths as an independent consultant is that
he is NOT pushing equipment changes or additional purchases on the
client. The task he sets for himself is to understand the audio
priorities of the client and then, within the scope of the current
equipment and practical considerations of room (size, acoustical
environment, etc.) and aesthetics (e.g. SAF), voice the system to best
effect. The
second fairly unique characteristic and strength of Jim’s
approach lies in his own superb ability to listen to known recordings,
know what they should sound like, and then translate that knowledge
into practical suggestions regarding setup. While that sounds fairly
straight forward, I know from experience that it is FAR from as easy as
it sounds. Otherwise we could all attend a few stereo shows, listen to
a few great-sounding rooms listening to our own favorite test tracks,
and return home knowing what it should sound like and tweak till we
achieved that sound. Wish it were so. Part
of Jim’s magic lies no doubt in his year’s of
experience as a recording engineer, dealer, and audiophile, of course.
Developing a core set of source materials with which one is intimately
familiar is part of the experience; knowing what it actually should
sound like is a step beyond just being “familiar,”
and I think that’s where Jim surpasses many others in the
field. So
I’d say that’s the first big step in system
voicing—getting the lay of the land, as it were, using KNOWN
source materials—much of which might be accomplished on the
day or evening before the hands-on day of active voicing. Of
course it is an iterative process, but knowing what one is hearing and
what one should be hearing is the essential prerequisite to everything
else. Having the extensive experience with a wide variety of equipment
and environments and configurations is a prerequisite to the next step:
deciding where to begin making changes in layout or positioning or
environment or any one of many other factors (in my case, we spent much
of our time on adjusting crossover parameters on my tri-amped,
multi-speaker configuration). There’s
an efficiency of approach that’s really critical and usually
undervalued, I believe, to making improvements in a reasonably logical,
systematic, and therefore productive manner—as opposed to the
more usual process of making individual changes, often seemingly
random, over long periods of time, as I suspect most of us do on our
own, with no time constraints. I
actually think there’s a qualitative benefit to
systematically tackling the overall voicing process in a compressed
time period. Try this, move that, listen, evaluate. Get this right
first—or at least moving in the right direction—so
that a) we confirm that we’re thinking correctly about cause
and effect and b) we’ve corrected enough in one area to begin
judging a dependent area meaningfully. Adjust the upper bass spike so
we can *hear* the lower mid-range and know what it’s doing
right or wrong. This is a system voicing PROCESS. Never
fear, I’m confident that it won’t replace the
inevitable long-term tweaking and equipment changes to which
we’re all willing slaves. I consider it a substantially
different process, to be honest. So
the process is not just iterative but iterative with a plan, a
strategy, and a known (to Jim, at least, since it’s his
source material being used) result—so you know when you get there!
Perhaps more than any other single feature, this is what separates
Jim’s approach from the pretenders: he goes in with a game
plan, determines a baseline (current sound) and a goal (what it should
sound like, referenced to a client’s priorities), and then
systematically works through an iterative process to get there in as
efficient a manner as possible. In
my case, we spent maybe 4 or 5 hours in preliminary work (without
changing anything) the evening before, and then another 5 or so hours
actually voicing the following day. Your mileage may vary—I
know Jim has spent longer and I suspect shorter time on other systems.
But I also suspect that my experience was fairly typical. It
easily represented the best “bang for the buck”
that I’ve spent on my system over the years. That’s
as glowing an endorsement as I could make and I make it willingly. Jerry P., Wimington, DE, Dec. 5, 2009 __________________ Jim’s custom voicing service includes, but isn’t limited to, the following tools: 1/3 Octave Real Time Analyzer This voicing kit is worth well over $3,000. You get the full benefits of it, but you don’t have to buy it, nor do you have to learn how to use these items (unless it interests you to so). Contact Jim Smith to schedule or to make any inquiries
|
|---|
