I had the pleasure of meeting Jim last Tuesday. As luck would have it, I had to be in the Detroit area last week for business and had asked Jim if I could stop by his facility. And Jim graciously agreed. So I played hooky from work for a few hours and drove up to Pontiac.
Upon arrival, Jim apologized for not having a fancier facility. I didn't care since I was just excited to meet him, talk with him, and get a behind-the-scenes look. Jim took me on a tour and introduced me to John, Sam, and his wife Mary. I got to see a number of speakers in process including a nice pair of tineo HT3's with a hand-rubbed gloss finish that were nearing completion. I also got to see my HT3's in process! My bamboo cabinets were put together but weren't finished yet. Still exciting though.
I asked Jim if I could see the HT4. Jim said they were at his house. Without hesitation, he asked me if I had time to go to his house. Who was I to pass up such an opportunity. Work would have to wait. So we drove over to his house and went straight to his listening room. The HT4's in person looked magnificent (although not the color I would choose). We then proceeded to listen to a variety of music for about 30-40 minutes. I'm not near as good as some of you at describing how speakers sound. But here's my impression. The HT4's sounded amazing. The highs were crisp. The lows were deep, clean, and impactful. But really struck me was the dispersion of the mids, due to the open back design. For example, vocals were real but did not seem to be coming from speakers as I could not locate the sound that way. Yet, vocals did not seem to be coming from 10-foot mouths, as Jim has described the effect of some open baffle designs. I kiddingly said to Jim that, after hearing the HT4 (or whatever it will be called), I might be disappointed in hearing my HT3's. Of course, Jim said and I know I won't be.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear any other speakers. He sold his HT3's and a recent pair of HT2-TL's he had in his house. He did have the original pair of Archos with the dome tweeters. But they weren't hooked up.
I'd like to thank Jim again for taking time from his busy day to spend a couple of hours with me. It was certainly an honor and pleasure for me as I certainly enjoyed talking with him. I had to work late that night to catch up on work. But it was well worth the visit.
--Doug
