AudioCircle SP Tech Gang :I gassed up and drove 300 miles to the manufacturing facility known as
SP Technolgy, to visit Bob Smith and "cabinet-extraordinaire" Tim Shelton.
Describing the location as being in the middle of no-where-ville would be an understatement !
It was like entering an abandoned "Area 51", the roads went-on forever, long and dark.
One wrong turn, an empty gas tank and a dead cell phone, you're parked !!
Anyway, I reached destination point R-5-4, knocked on the door and Bob's voice yelled "COME ON IN" !
The place is HUGE, my best guess is 200' long x 50' wide x 20' + high.
This and the other dozen or so identical warehouse facilities in the same fenced area, were used for manufacturing bombs in the earlier days of World War 2.
Bob, Tim and I talked about EVERYTHING from instruments, pro-audio, recording, sound mixing to hi-fi two channel reproduction in the home and their interactive relationships to one another.
Standing off to the side, Tim and I carefully watched and listened as Bob explained and performed tweaking procedures on a pair of Timepiece Minis to match frequency responses on a graph with a carefully positioned microphone, this was way cool !
A short while later, Tim and I hooked up my NuForce amps to a fresh pair of Revelations in the "auditioning area" fired up the rest of the rig and cued up a CD, while leaving Bob un-disturbed to attend his finishing chores on the Timepiece Minis.
My reaction was the same as I heard over Teds house, WOW (Tim concured)
As things warmed up and an hour or so later, Bob carried the last Timepiece Mini over to the "auditioning area" where Tim and I proceded to wire them up, position them (per Bob's instruction) and listen for the very first time.
Important note, Tim Sheltons cabinet finishing is as beautiful as a polished No.1 showcar rolling down the Barrett Jackson auction line.
Fresh outta the bag, not even near to being broken in, and yet within the first few notes, Tim and I both looked at each other at the very same moment and busted out laughing.
We could not believe how huge and awesome the Timepiece Minis sounded, they nearly equaled the damn Revelations, and flat-out disappeared !!
Tim and I were both stunned, Bob just stood behind, quietly smiling as I witnessed a moment of audio history.
Mind you, this was taking place in a huge, wide-open, free-air space warehouse, with a bare concrete floor, no special acoustical treatment (except for some panels) and an MP-3 player for a front end ! aa
Bob then proceeded to give me a grand tour of the warehouse facility, showing me all the cross over components and the various stages of cabinet construction from start to finish.
At this time, we were all the way at the other end of the warehouse, approx. 150 feet or so AWAY from the Timepiece Minis (still playing) standing and talking, when I REALIZED at how room filling and spectacular the Timepiece Minis SOUNDED ............. THIS FAR AWAY !!
Tim said "yeah, it sounds like a band playing down there"
No matter where you sit, stand or how far away, the SP Tech speakers will remind you how speakers can and should sound, no head-in-a-vice sweetspot anymore, the sweetspot is EVERYWHERE.
How many speakers have that ability ? I can't remember in all my experience.
I wanted to stay longer, but it was getting late, the weather was turning bad and I had to pack up and leave, so I shook hands with Bob and Tim, wishing them both the greatest of sucess.
SP Technology is a company with the "true promise" to deliver the sound like a gigantic tidal wave of unfettered sound, no matter which model you choose.
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