Well, Jim, …You have already saved me a lot of money. Prior to receiving your 31 Secrets I was prepared to buy (name withheld)… …What your 31 Secrets did for my music listening, nobody ever did before. Implementing your suggestions one by one has been my hobby for the last six months. Thanks to your advice I'm now enjoying more and more my old records and also profiting from my CDs (which I really thought was impossible)… M. Tulio, Portugal
To music lovers everywhere, It's a great pleasure to recommend Jim Smith's new book, Get Better Sound, about how to get great results from your music system. There is an art, as well as a science, in getting the most from your hi-fi, and I don't know anyone with more experience and better ideas on how to do that than Jim Smith. My history with Jim goes all the way back to 1977 when Jim, then sales manager of Magnepan, visited one of our specialty audio/video stores in Champaign, IL. I had been bugging him about becoming a Magnepan dealer, but because our store was in such a small market, it had taken time to get Magnepan's attention. Jim finally visited our main store, we became a dealer, and he and I became friends. Jim was extremely demanding of us as representatives of his products, but was very generous with his advice and knowledge. I learned more from Jim than any other individual in my thirty-plus years in this business, which now includes having been a retailer, loudspeaker manufacturer (Dunlavy Audio Labs, 1992-1995), and, now, one of the three partners of Balanced Audio Technology (1995-the present). I can honestly say that knowing Jim Smith has been one of the primary forces in my love of the art form that can be hi-end audio. I say "can be," rather than "is" because so often systems are far worse sounding than the sum of their parts! Frankly, the opposite should be true, but unfortunately it's not, because most people (some dealers included) don't fully understand the many ways to maximize the performance of a system.
Here's a real-life story that illustrates this point… A few years ago, at CES 1999, my wife directed me to look at a loudspeaker company that she thought had beautiful products. I went with her to the room to find an interesting industrial design, but a sound that was, in a word, unlistenable! I wrote off the company and its products. Almost a year later, I saw an ad in Stereophile claiming that these very same products were simply amazing, and redefined what was possible in the elusive quest to bring "live" music to the home. I thought, "what a great ad - if I didn't already know how sub-par these speakers sounded, I'd be interested in auditioning them." But then I noticed the signature of the person responsible for the ad, Jim Smith. I wondered if this could be the same guy I used to know at Magnepan and later as a retailer of some of the same fine products my family's stores were selling, but with whom I'd lost touch over the past ten-or-so years. I was curious enough to call the number, and, ironically, it turned out that my old friend, Jim, was indeed the new distributor of Avantgarde loudspeakers for North America. He even convinced me to "try" a pair to see if I liked them. He assured me that I would - despite my telling him of the lousy impression I'd gotten at CES from the manufacturer's demo. He sent me a pair of Duos, coached me on the set-up, and I bought them after only a few days listening! I became so enthusiastic, as did my two partners at BAT, that we worked with Jim at a number of shows, and were judged "Best Sound" by several prominent editors of the world's most prestigious magazines.
A lot of credit for those glowing comments has to be credited to Jim's special knowledge of acoustics, electricity "gremlins," as well as component compatibility and synergy. Jim and I spent many extra hours, actually sleepless nights, tweaking, adjusting, and tuning various systems to try to make what we judged to be "listenable" sound under very difficult show conditions. It was worth the effort because the results always made us proud of our demos. The shows were also more fun because we actually enjoyed listening to the various systems despite being in rooms that most professionals judged to be very difficult environments. If fact, after being in the demo room all day, we’d go out to eat dinner, and more often that not, we’d come back to listen to music that night! Jim Smith is a professional who has the experience, knowledge, and intellect to make anyone's system sound its best. At last, he's put his knowledge into the form of a book that can be read and understood by anyone. You don't have to be a seasoned audiophile to appreciate this book. Indeed, it can help beginners and professionals alike. Enjoy the read! Sincerely, Geoffrey Poor Hello Jim, …I’m writing to request a copy of your 31 Secrets "audio bible". I have read and heard much about it, and am very much interested in optimizing my current system through tuning and tweaking, rather than draining my wallet for the latest in-vogue component or cable… Kind regards G. Leys, Australia
Dear Jim, One should hammer (like Martin Luther) your 31 Secrets on the porches of those who keep on trying to influence the market…, without even getting close to the real issue of the business… … The subject of your secret No. 4 has played dreadful havoc with many of the "ultimate all stars" of the audio industry in my living room. Shattering experiences for many an "audio expert" that set foot in my home. In my case this is/was the killing factor (standing waves and room reflections)…. With kind regards, J. Gunther, Switzerland
Wow! Just the tip on speaker placement made a big difference in my system. Thanks K. Cline, USA
Hello Jim, Thank you very much for forwarding the 31 Secrets. The speaker positioning tips were EXCELLENT & the best I have come across so far. I don't mean any disrespect, but certainly (name withheld) could learn a thing or two from these tips. Thanks again & they have certainly helped me to position my speakers MUCH better. Best regards, Dilhan, Turkey
Eric Braun, CA "At the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I was fortunate enough to assist two friends who were sharing a demonstration room with Jim Smith of Avantgarde USA. Jim was in charge of setting up and voicing the HiFi sound system that thousands of people would hear. The hotel demonstration room was a somewhat small, odd shaped room that suffered from several acoustical anomalies. Jim methodically and meticulously measured the room with his endless string of James Bond gadget measuring devices and along with his expert listening skills, he ultimately overcame the hotel room’s acoustical issues. Jim’s attention to detail, experience and knowledge on what to listen for was extraordinary. The sound system for the show sounded fantastic - receiving several Best Sound of Show awards from the press. Those eight hours I spent slaving away - moving speakers, crates, and boxes - was well worth it because I received an education that was priceless. Jim’s book will be an invaluable resource for any audiophile. Put me down for one!"
Bud Ross, AL, Former Employee "I met Jim Smith in 1980 while working as a manufacturers rep. He was in the process of opening a high end audio store in Birmingham, AL. I quickly recognized this was not the typical stereo shop owner. This man was on a quest. He was searching for the Holy Grail of audio reproduction. He made it very clear to me that it’s not about the gear but what you can extract from it and the emotional experience it brings to a listener. I had the good fortune to get a job with Jim with the hope that I could learn more of his craft. I would spend countless hours at the store as well as clients homes watching and helping Jim extract the last musical details from every system. He was relentless. Over many years of working with Jim, I learned a lot. The man has a gift for delivering more than the sum of its parts in any music reproduction system available. If anyone could put together a comprehensive 'how to' for any music lover... this is your guy."
Dave Holmes, Owner, Audio Emporium, Brown Deer, WI I met Jim Smith in 1977, when I opened Audio Emporium. Jim was at Audio Research Corporation (ARC). Within a few months he moved to Magnepan where he was the National Sales Manager. He visited my store in Milwaukee and was unique in his interest to help me provide the best sound possible, not just for Magnepans, but for other speakers (B&W and Dahlquist) too! With Jim’s help I was able to dial in pretty respectable sound for a hifi shop dealing with multiple products. Jim knows how to setup an audio system beyond anyone I’ve ever met. To be able to tap into Jim’s TALENT would do your system well. I am happy to endorse any publication Jim produces. If you love music, your system will perform better for following Jim’s advice!
Srajan Ebaen, Publisher, 6moons.com My acquaintance with Jim Smith goes back to when he sold me a pair of Avantgarde Duos I'd reviewed for him as their then US importer. Later on, I heard the Duos at trade and consumer hifi events. Even in Jim's own home. The point is, I loved the sound Jim made and even wrote about it in my magazine. On the other hand, I did not love the sound the Avantgarde men made in their own exhibits. Therein lies the tale. You can take the same bits of audio hardware and give 'em to different people. The results will differ wildly. The secret is in the setup; how the system is made to play the room (or fight it). How the system is voiced. And whether your setup man can voice it to your liking or just his. As the gentleman responsible for making Avantgarde a household word when public perception in our small audio world loved to hate hornspeakers; and as a man who previously had run a high-end store whose success was directly proportionate to replicating the quality sound he made in the controlled store environment in the arbitrary environments of customer homes; Jim has developed a rare knack. This knack isn't just about voicing hifi systems. It's grown into an entire 'secret' system of setup tricks which help him get the best from whatever components are at hand in any given space. The necessary ingredients are knowing what constitutes good sound; how to make it within the constraints that real-world rooms always impose; and how to adjust the voicing to the user's liking. As Customer Service Manager for Audio Research and National Sales Manager for Magnepan in the olden days; as proprietor of Audition, an upscale hifi shop in Alabama; as "Mr. Avantgarde" in the US; Jim, like a Bela Bartok collecting Roma tunes in the villages where they were played, has collected setup know-how in the field by personally installing countless systems over many decades. Lucky for us, he's now decided to formalize this experience into a how-to book. A "Windows for Dummies" if you will. Based on my exposure to Jim Smith results, I suspect that even the most hard-boiled audio fiend who has "been there, done that and seen it all" will come across secrets to better sound he or she did not know before finding them explained in Jim's book. If it's true that experience comes only with time and opportunity -- how much time you've put in, how many opportunities you took advantage of or missed -- then Jim's book is one monster shortcut for the rest of us. Rather than spending our own audiophile future on making many more stupid mistakes; pissing away more unnecessary funds; and waiting in vain for real learning opportunities which just do not present themselves to the average hifi hobbyist... instead we get to pick the brain of a true expert. Someone who clearly made it his business to deliver satisfaction to countless customers over the years. Who has the track record, the reputation and nothing left to prove except share his knowledge. But now we don't have to be a personal Jim Smith customer. We need not spend the long green on one of his Avantgarde speakers, Audiopax amps or Goldmund turntables before benefiting from his experience. Now we just buy his book. To my mind, that's one priceless opportunity we shouldn't dare miss. If we're serious about this business of better sound that is (and not just paying lip service to a cozy notion whose time just never happens to come for us).
Thanks for reading the Testimonials. Although he has many more, Jim hopes that these are enough to illustrate his point about the value of set-up expertise. And what it can mean for your system. If you would like to avail yourself of the acclaimed techniques that Jim has developed over the years, please click here… |
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