Customer Testimonials

Over the years I’ve listened to a number of high-end speakers. Although I heard a few that I thought were just as good, I never found speakers that were dramatically better. Then, on a visit to Nuts About Hi Fi, I heard the Sopra 3’s and I was blown away! They are significantly better than my beloved KEFs! They have an amazing presence, clarity and naturalness, combined with a precise soundstage that allows you to hear the interactions between the dozens of different instruments in a symphony orchestra in impressive detail! They also do a wonderful job with jazz, folk, rock, world music and the other genres that I’ve sampled. After auditioning the Sopras, I had to have them even though they were over the budget I had set. I’m quite happy that I did because the SOPRAs have taken me a major step closer to the elusive goal of faithfully reproducing the experience of a live performances at home. Although I doubt that recorded music will ever totally capture the experience of attending concerts in person, with these speakers, high quality electronics, 4K video and DTS-HD audio I am finding that it’s possible to come pretty damn close!

I couldn’t be happier with my purchase!! The whole experience from my showroom visit all the way through the installation, follow up and install was amazing. The products installed sounds absolutely perfect and everyone that has come over to hear my new sound system can’t believe how good it is. Thank you Nuts About Hi-Fi!!

We have known Jim Lee and Nuts About Hi-Fi for many years. So, recently when our Home Theater receiver of 10 years began acting strangely, particularly with respect to dialogue (the center channel would go out) and our TV of the same vintage started showing signs of a rapidly deteriorating picture, we called Matt at Nuts for a consult. Ultimately, we wound up ordering a new Anthem 5.2 channel Home Theater receiver and a Samsung 49” TV, both exactly what we needed and both reasonable cost components. Matt didn’t push us to purchase more than we needed. The components were ordered and arrived when he said they would. As an aside to working with Matt, it’s important to note that he has spent a fair amount of time on the phone with me sorting out technical problems, mostly with my old two channel system. He’s done this with a great spirit and a lot of expertise.

Part Two of the saga is the delivery and installation of the new components, something we have always done ourselves. Right as scheduled, Adam from Nuts arrived with the new components and proceeded to remove the old stuff and install the new. He ran the setup programs and proprietary room correction software and sorted everything out. I am sure I could have eventually done what Adam did in about two hours, but in a couple of weeks. Audio/video gear has gotten very complicated now, initial set up is very important and Adam was more than up to the task. Nuts was also willing to recycle the old components.

So, what can we say, but wow! The new TV is so clear, bright, colorful and with stunning resolution, it’s like nothing we’ve seen. The receiver is equally amazing with the most notable improvement being in two channel music reproduction. The sound is so much better detailed using the room correction software with the same speakers that we had before, it’s hard to believe.

A great experience with Nuts About HiFi.

Hello Jim,

We used your company to perform a television installation for us above our fireplace in a wall to ceiling tile wall. We were very happy your team was willing to evaluate this installation and perform it for us as we couldn’t find anyone and the one company we tried (Best Buy) told us they could and after 3 weeks didn’t even call us back and when David called they told him they couldn’t find anyone.

Gavin at Sunset Electric referred us to you and we are so thrilled we did and that your professional team did such a great job. They treated us with respect, asked me questions to ensure we had it mounted as we wanted and they brought the television in from the garage, unboxed it, installed and even took the packaging to recycle it for us. By far the best service we’ve had in a while and definitely sets the bar very high.

We will definitely recommend your company to friend and family and we’ve written a Yelp review about a wonderful experience. To top it off you sent us a letter signed by you! Most impressive and definitely made us feel valued as customers.

Who knows what projects we’ll take on next but for any audio/video, television you will be our first call.

Thank You,

Jim,

Thank you for coming out to our house and helping us visualize what we could install in our house while turning an unfinished basement into a Media Room. You helped us pick out a great system that worked perfectly for our house. Once I got everything installed, your team came over and hooked up all the cables and programmed the system with the universal remote. It all works great and sounds absolutely awesome. The Sooloos system has given us many hours of enjoyment listening to a wide variety of high quality music. I like being able to search through our library and find what I am looking for quickly. No more flipping through a lot of CDs to find the right one.

We have beautiful music playing throughout the house and outside all the time. Watching movies at home never looked and sounded so good.

For those of you out there that are remodeling your house, or building a new one, visit Jim and his Nuts About Hi-Fi team early so they can help you setup your house for a beautiful sounding and great looking Audio/Video system.

You always make us feel welcome when we come into the store.

Jim,

The purpose of my writing is somewhat unusual in that I want to thank you for not only introducing me to the Sooloos product, but, more importantly, then “convincing” me to purchase it. It has truly changed my life in that I can now, with the touch of my finger, bring up any song from any of the artists I’ve collected over the years and enjoy it to the fullest. Absolutely amazing! I am now listening to music I enjoyed years ago but had forgotten about and it is bringing me so much pleasure that it is hard to put into words. I also want to thank you, Connie, Matt and Adam for your exceptional customer service. You really are the best.

Oh and by the way, Crystal is really enjoying it too!

I have been a customer of Nuts About Hi-FI since 2009, when Jim helped me select my basic system. Over the next couple of years, I made some additions and improvements, following Jim’s suggestions.

This year I decided to do a more substantial upgrade, including main speakers and a wall mount flat screen TV. Jim is very enthusiastic about the Sopra No. 1 speakers, and after several listening sessions I decided to purchase a pair. He also recommended a Sooloos Music Library system.

His installation team did a neat and professional job mounting the TV and running the associated cables for that and the Sooloos system, concealing most of the cables inside the wall or below the floor. Completing the upgrade, Matt installed a new phono cartridge and also loaded new Sooloos software. The new equipment is a marked improvement over what I had before. I continue to be impressed by the sound from the Sopra speakers.

Thanks also to Connie for coordinating the installations.

Following what is thought to be passion without experience can get expensive. Making choices based on ones input can get expensive. Finding the right people with experience and that care creates options and savings – this is what Jim and Nuts About Hi Fi does with no pressure and no BS!

Thank you!

On my way to a Doctor’s appointment I passed by a store in a small mall in Silverdale, WA. It is called Nuts About Hi-Fi. After the appointment, I stopped in to check it out. I’m pretty much “nuts about hi-fi”, and I couldn’t pass it by. What a wonderful surprise. It turned out to be a store full of amazing gear, and amazing people. I was in the market to upgrade my headphones and speakers. After spending a couple of hours with Jim Lee listening to some amazing Focal speakers, I headed home with a new set of amazing Focal headphones, and a promise from Jim to stop by my home, (about 30 miles away) to check out my listening environment to see what he thought would work best for me. Jim stopped by as promised and spent some time helping me to set up my existing speakers to maximize their potential. We talked about a set of Focal Sopra # 1 speakers that he though would really be perfect for my room. To keep this from getting too long, I’ll just say that I took Jim’s recommendation on the speakers and ordered a pair of them from him. A week later, Jim was back with the new Focals. He spent a couple of hours breaking down my old gear and setting up the new speakers. They are amazing, and are certainly a perfect match for my room. Now, I am enjoying my music more than I have in years. Focal Sopras are superb with a level of definition and clarity that I have never heard before, and I’m sure they will sound even better after they fully break in.

The kind of service and expertise that Jim and the staff at Nuts About Hifi provided throughout the process is a rare thing these days. It was greatly appreciated, and I am sure I will be a long term customer. They are the best.

My wife and I are new to the area and happened to find Nuts about hi-fi by accident. We went in to the the store not knowing what to expect as far as products and service go. We were greeted by Jim and he introduced us to his staff. He was very helpful and took great interest in finding a great home theater solution that was perfect for our home. Jim was amazing at caring for us as customers, to the point where he came to our home and expertly dialed in our Marantz receiver with our Focal speakers. I can’t say enough great things about this store and the amazing people who work there. We are defiantly customers for life!

The cables made a difference! I would not have believed that we would notice the difference. They say that perception is 99 percent of reality. If it’s all in our head and we just perceive it is sounding better, I’m ok with that. Just don’t wake me up haha. The sound seems more open and the stereo separation seems to be more defined as well as the bass. Plus it is quiet.Thanks again for your help.

We recently did an upgrade to our sound system with Jim and the Nuts About Hi Fi staff, not only adding the beautiful Sopra N2s but also a Sooloos system. My experience has been that many speakers which provide as much clarity and detail as the Sopra N2s can be laboratory like… not having much warmth and musicality… certainly not as much as I would like to have. The Sopras absolutely have all that and more… approaching speakers that cost multiples of their price tag. We’ve been lucky to have some very good speakers in our system and the Sopras performance beats all of them by far. In particular, the beautiful liquid midrange can keep us captivated for hours. Now my wife, who has a much better ear than I do (no comments Jim!), can’t wait to listen to music rather than watch Food Network.

We’re also excited to have the Sooloos system. Having fingertip access to thousands of CDs via downloads and with amazing sonic fidelity, without doubt it adds great enjoyment to our listening experience. If you have a great DAC, this is for you.

Having said all of this, what really sets Jim and the Nuts About Hi Fi staff apart is the customer focus that they exhibit, ensuring that they understand your system and doing everything they can to meet needs and exceed expectations. We recently located to Washington State. Previously I’ve worked with dealers from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio and Denver. Not only was Jim more than happy to make time for us to A/B the Sopras against our former speakers… in our system… but never has anyone ever followed up with me after a purchase to ensure that the new component was working properly in the system and meeting expectations… until Jim. The customer relations shown by the entire staff truly provides for an outstanding experience.

Thanks to all at Nuts About Hi Fi.

I watched Gravity in 3D last night. I was BLOWN AWAY!! The color was great, no contrast issues, no black level problems. I must admit with this JVC Projector the picture with Blu-ray was better than my old CRT in every way.

I cannot believe I just typed that.

Long story short, I am glad I purchased all three pieces of gear. I am glad I got them all through you guys.

Once again, Nuts About Hi Fi scores an 11 out of 10!

I cannot say enough great things about Jim Lee and Nuts About Hi-Fi.

I went in about twelve years ago looking for a high end Amp. I drove from Woodinville because of Nuts About’s reputation. I first met Jim at that time.

Man, was I ever impressed! Jim educated me on everything from Amps, Speakers, Cables, C.D players and video projectors. I ended up buying my whole system from Jim. Not only did I buy the right equipment for my wife and I, but Jim came all the way out to our home and spent the day setting up our system. Unheard of in any market. Twelve years later I am still completely impressed with our set up! Friends cannot believe the true to life music and video that they experience.

There is nowhere I would go to shop for any accessory or new equipment that I may want to add to my system. See Jim and crew. It will be worth the drive. Like George Zimmer used to say, I guarantee it!

Let me start out by saying that I have never been in a store that has such an absolute commitment to customer satisfaction than Nuts about HiFi. The owner, Jim, and his staff (which includes his family) make every effort to ensure that every time someone enters the store they have an awesome experience. You can tell how much everyone who works there has a deep love and interest in all things sound related. If they don’t know something (exceedingly rare), they will find the information and follow up with you promptly.

The products they carry are the elite top-of-the-line within the audiophile world, but they have an incredible price range meaning that someone just starting out, like myself, can find a reasonable home theater set up (about $2k). On my first visit, my husband and I were treated to an in-depth tour of the place despite our relatively young age and shallow pockets. We wanted to buy one of their display TV stands, which they dissembled immediately, wrapped carefully and assisted us with placing in our car. They remember us even over the phone.

We had to return an item due to a manufacturing defect and they are taking care of everything (getting a return authorization, shipping and updating us about timing). The level of service provided at this store should be the model to which all other local mom-and-pop stores aspire. I can now call myself a beginner audiophile and I love my Focal Sibs and Cub and my Integra receiver.

Grace J. – from Yelp.com

Very good selection of quality audio equipment. Everyone there is extremely personable and helpful. Although they care some high end stuff, they are still very approachable and down to earth.

We had them install a few things at our house and we couldn’t be happier. I agree with the other reviewer “Skip Best Buy”. Support a local and far better business.

Greg C. – from Yelp.com

This is a music buff’s paradise! The equipment is high-end and therefore a bit pricey, but the customer service here is AMAZING! Quite possibly the best customer service I have ever received. If you’re in the market for home theater electronics, do yourself a favor, skip the Best Buy idiots and go to Nuts About HiFi.

Alicia N. – from Yelp.com

A great great hifi store. I absolutely love dealing with Jim Lee at Nuts About Hifi. He’s expert, he’s got the best gear, and he’s one of nicest people I’ve ever met. Best of all, Big Jim makes big dog Hifi the fun that it should be! You can’t go wrong with these guys!

John L. – from Yelp.com

Your service is hard to match anywhere. And I have lived around the world and gone to many stereo shops that is for sure. Your shop compares to some I have visited in Frankfurt, Tokyo, Paris and Chicago just to name a few. Your old shop with the large speakers was a Kitsap icon for many years, found out the hard way that the speakers actually worked. A sheriff pulled me over out front about 15 years ago and the folks started playing ” Bad Boys, Bad Boys, needless to say the sheriff wasn’t pleased especially since I started to laugh. Anyway since picking up a Sound Advice magazine almost 35 years ago I’ve been hooked on stereophonics. With out question you and your staff are a stereo lovers breath of fresh air in these neck of the woods and I feel lucky to have your company here. Thank you for your sound advice, I’m finally able to achieve the stereo I’ve always wanted.

I have successfully completed two purchases from Nuts About Hi-Fi in my recent past. On each occasion, I was elated for the sense of value that I gathered and then ultimately realized. Excellent product demonstration and technical guidance, superb customer service and care. I wouldn’t be so fortunate to have the superior products that I enjoy daily in my home, had it not been for the assistance of Aaron, Aubrey, Connie and most of all, Jim Lee. Much thanks to each of you!

When building our new home 8-9 years ago, we used Nuts About Hi-Fi for the recommended equipment and installation of our entertainment system. However, technology and equipment has changed a good deal in that period so we went back to Jim Lee and his staff recently for ideas about upgrading our system. Again, their recommendations were right on the mark and the installation by Matt was completed in a timely fashion with a minimum of fuss. As a repeat customer we feel that Nuts About Hi-Fi is an experienced and professional shop that we can recommend.

Last fall I decided it was time to upgrade my home theater/music system. Knowing the folks at Nuts About HiFi have been around a long time, I stopped in to see what was being offered to get what I call that warm, fuzzy feeling. After talking with Jim, he made some suggestions allowing for my budget and tastes. I now have a system that knocks my socks off. All of the recommendations he made have been spot on and his pricing has been as good or better than others. There is no reason to settle for mediocre or over rated systems with these guys around.

I have been an satisfied client of Nuts About Hi Fi for over 15 years.

After 50 years of enjoying classical music, I decided to build as close to a world- class Listening Room/Home Theater as I could accommodate in my Dallas hi-rise condominium. It took about a year to select the designers, 15 months to design, and another 15 months to build.

There was no budget limitation. As there are less than a handful of truly high end Audio dealers in the US I found it difficult to Audition the components I desired.

I was finally introduced to Jim Lee by Dan D’Agostino of Krell. Jim helped me with my project in selecting my audio video equipment, communicating my needs with manufactures, installation and fine tuning of what I am proud to say is one of the best listening systems I could have hoped for.

Our solid relationship continues as we together from time to time upgrade and tweak my room as technology advances. I now consider Jim a trusted friend. A nicer guy you could not hope to find!

I strongly recommend his team to anyone who desires a dealer who truly cares about their customers total satisfaction.

My husband and I instantly fell in love with Jim and the gang at Nuts About Hi-Fi. We originally went to Jim because we needed some help streamlining our various media equipment in our new home. They helped us find exactly what fit our needs within our price point. A few years later, we decided to change the layout of our living room. They came in and did everything for us down to the fine details. Matt, Patrick, and Adam are extremely professional and great at what they do. It doesn’t matter how big or how small your project is. They don’t just treat you like their best customer, they treat you like a friend. Nuts about Hi-Fi will definitely be our first call the next time we decide to update our current setup.

Approximately 15 years ago, I was considering a significant upgrade to my sound system and called an audiophile friend who lives in Alaska to discuss various options. My friend stopped me in mid sentence and told me to get in touch with Jim Lee immediately, as Jim had done an extraordinary job in setting up my friend’s system. It was terrific advice.

Jim came to my home to get a sense of the type of music I liked, the acoustics of the room in which the sound system would reside, and to learn what I liked and did not like about my old system. He then put together various options, brought them to my home and did a lot of A/B testing. After his fourth visit, we had a system that I thought I would never replace.

Well, 15 years later, I was talking with my Alaskan audiophile friend, who had just had Jim upgrade his system, and he suggested that I get in touch with Jim to discuss upgrades for my own system. Once again, Jim made several trips until I had another system that I believe I will never replace.

Jim is always accessible and, if my system needs fine tuning or servicing, he or one of his very knowledgeable employees make the trip from Silverdale to Seattle to help me out.

My only concern in working with Jim is the terrible possibility that he may retire before my next 15 year tune-up.

The service your company provides is off-the-charts excellent. You do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it and more. In the midst of our remodel in Port Ludlow we went to the Nuts showroom to look around, intending to install our entertainment center and sound system ourselves; however, that all changed after talking with Jim Lee. He knows his stuff. He came to our home to understand our installation requirements and the acoustics in order to recommend a system (within our budget). Not only was he extremely proactive with us, he went so far as to contact our cabinet maker to ensure they were in synch relative to dimensions, ventilation, etc. The installation team was also very conscientious, competent and professional. The follow up has been amazing as well. The end result is a entertainment system that we could not be happier with and a very pleased Nuts customer!

This Krell 300i really makes my Focals sing. Everything is like listening to it for the first time. The separation and clarity are astounding. Closest I’ve every come to a live sound at home.

I’ve been a fan and a customer of Nuts About Hi-Fi since 2007. They did such a phenomenal job at my house. My wife and I are loving our movie room. Every chance we get, we have a date in the movie room. The great sound, the great picture, the great service from Nuts About Hi-Fi. Now we’re looking to do a sound system in my machine shop. I have an aerospace machine shop and we’re a supplier for Boeing and other aerospace companies, and my thought is, you get more eggs with your chickens when you put music in. And by gosh, I’m going to do it with my machine shop. Amen.

I’ve been a customer of Nuts About Hi-Fi for in excess of 15 years. I have always been satisfied with the products that I have bought and with the service that they have furnished me. I have yet, YET to have any complaints about either the equipment or the service I have received from Nuts About Hi-Fi. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.

I have loved music for as long as I can remember. It probably stems not only from genetic predisposition (I’m a biologist) but also from the time I remember sitting next to my father while he played the piano (I am also spiritual…I don’t think science and spirituality conflict…but that’s another conversation I’d love to have with you…let Jim know and he’d get you in touch with me); classical, boogie woogie, current folk at the time (Simon and Garfunkel), he is quite a musician. For me, that memory is solid and music is spiritual. To this day my Pop plays his baby grand piano with his grand children sitting next to him, banging on the keys…but I am indulging myself given this format.

Because of the influence from my father I too love music and play piano, tuba, and bass guitar.

So, how does this relate to Jim and the fine folks at Nuts About Hi-Fi (Nuts)?

Well while I like the “squishy stuff” as a biologist, and know what real, natural produced music sounds like; my father is an Electrical Engineer. So, being a musician, loving music, AND being an Electrical Engineer, he always had KICK ASS STEREO EQUIPMENT.

From when I can remember, I’ve always loved listening to his stereo equipment, going to stereo stores with him (i.e. Flips in St. Louis, MO), and enjoying electronic music reproduction in the home.

Fast forward to when my family moved to Washington State (2003); I needed to establish a relationship with a local “Hi Fi” shop as this has been a hobby of mine for a long time. (Again, give me a call if you want the in between, we went from Missouri to California to Colorado to Washington). I “knew” Nuts from their Industry reputation and advertising so I was pleased that they we local to where I ended up.

Well, this has turned into a 10 year plus relationship where my “System” needs have been met, evolved, and improved based upon my desires and capabilities. I want to emphasize this; working with Nuts, they’ve always presented realistic solutions and made adjustments to their evaluations based upon what fits you (me) best. In addition they’ve provided access to what I’ve considered the industry leading manufacturers.

Because of this, I’ve proudly recommended Nuts to many friends and can say that those who have decided to work with Nuts are very happy with where they ended up. I even went on a road trip down to a friend’s house in San Fran to help with an install just because I’m such a stereo geek! (Funny story with this one too if you care…even better he’s moving to Trinidad…Jim I can help!!!).

I have a “music” stereo system and also a “home theatre” surround system that are both 100% Nuts design and gear. I’m now in the process of making room acoustic treatments to help take full advantage of the gear that Nuts set me up with. I’m actually listening to the “music” system right now, on “11” (Jim, you need to listen to some Uncle Tupelo).

I cannot recommend Nuts more; I recommend them to my family and friends. That’s my highest recommendation.

My system with the Focal speakers keeps delivering , getting better all the time . I have to say it matches the NAIM system that brought me so much satisfaction when I lived in Minneapolis . Grateful to have found Nuts About Hi-Fi.

Two years ago, we were looking to upgrade our home entertainment system. I had recently met Jim Lee and decided to check out Nuts about Hi-fi. It was the best decision I could have made. He helped me determine the proper equipment for my home, and his team provided professional and courteous installation. The service, after the sale, has been exceptional. We love our system and would not hesitate to highly recommend Nuts About Hi-Fi to anyone looking for a quality experience in home entertainment.

I’ve been letting an old CD player run for the last 20 hours trying to get some break in time on the new 1028Be’s. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to listen to something for real.

I don’t have much furniture in the room yet, no drapes, not much for acoustic treatments, speakers aren’t spiked and tweaked for location lots of things wrong but what the heck. I turned on the tube gear, let it all warm up, powered up the F113, put in the Nordost Frey’s and pushed play. I almost fell out of my chair- Wow! This is so good it’ll make you cry. This is the best system by far that I’ve ever put together in my home. These 1028’s love tubes! Unbelievable! Just wait for another 100 hours — it’s hard to believe it’ll get that much better.

Trials and tribulations of my 7.1 surround sound system. Thanks to Jim and his staff at Nuts About Hi-Fi, my sound system is coming to life. Their easy laid back style, non-pressure sales, and knowledge has granted me a system that I am proud of. Fortunately for all of us Nuts About Hi-Fi has a system for every budget. Even if you have to save a tad-bit longer it’s worth the wait. Please read on if you have the time; and if not, rest assured you are in good hands.

My 7.1 Surround System

I built my new home just last year, 07. I love movies and music and with that in mind I set out to pre-wire my home. With very little knowledge of where to begin, I started at Nuts About Hi-Fi where I got the basics. I also surfed the net extensively, using Crutchfield.com for my basic system layout.

Once the house was framed up and a lengthy discussion with my electrician, I got started. The only request that I had for my electrician was a need for power in the entertainment wall, thusly I ended up with two dedicated 20 amp circuits with 4-110 volt outlets. Next was a Low Voltage Permit and the wiring.

Now I had to figure out the layout of the room and speaker positioning. This took absolutely the most time. I used a five gallon bucket as a seat, and began just sitting in different areas of the room. How peculiar this must have looked to my neighbors. I started with my center channel position and moved out from there. In the end I ran almost 500 feet of wire. My home is pre-wired for a 7.1 surround system,

Zone 2, and 3.

Now I’m moved in, and the real fun has started. I originally owned the Sony HTD-DW 830, one of those out of the box 5.1 systems. While it worked, it just wasn’t the sound and depth of stage I wanted. I started by upgrading my receiver to a Sony 7.1 DE-698. It helped.

Truly the next progression of sound started for me at Nuts About Hi-Fi. I don’t want to say that I’m economical, but I am. I will spend months researching an item before I make the purchase. That did not happen recently though. I dropped in a couple of months ago, and got to listen to the Focal Sibs. A sales associate hooked up two of them, and I was blown away. Those two speakers gave me just what I wanted crisp clean sound, depth of stage and imaging. I left half an hour later with the Focal Sib and Cub 5.1 speaker system.

Jittery with anticipation, I restrained myself and did a proper installation. Taking my time, I figured out my mounting options. I found the studs and properly secured these babies to the walls and ceiling. Firing up the system for the first time just blew me away. I selected Pink Floyd’s The Wall and I got what I wanted, tight lows and crisp highs. Still not satisfied though, I mean it played movies, and music but it lacked something crucial, POWER.

I purchase an Onkyo TX-SR 805 receiver from Crutchfield. I thought I was getting a good deal at $800 bucks. I had that for 3 days.

During some point in my transition I melted a voice coil in one of my Sibs, and needed a replacement. That was a no hassle deal with Jim Lee from Nuts About Hi-Fi. Just like a problem-matic car on the way to the repair man, my Sib did the same thing, sounded great. After warming up for a few it finally crashed, and Jim explained to me what had occurred. My loudspeakers were suffering from a power deficit. Jim asked me what I was running, and I told him about the two Sony’s, and my brand new Onkyo. Jim just grinned. Once again, half an hour later I was leaving with the Integra 6.8.

I barely got the Onkyo back in the box, and got started hooking up my 6.8. In my rush I failed to hook up one line. Disgusted, I called Jim and told him, I really don’t like this, it sounds like crap, Jim replied in amazement “What?” Jim asked me I had hooked everything up correctly, and of course I said ‘Yes.’ I thanked him for his time and we hung up. Seconds later I noticed one line hanging there, embarrassed of this discovery, I plugged it in, and the seven Sibs and Cub came alive. With my tail between my legs, I called Jim back and changed my tune. Jim and laughed about it, and once again I thanked him for his patience.

For the next while I played music of all types, Rock, Hard Rock, Classics Vinyl, R&B, 80’s hits, so forth and so on. I was in heaven; I finally got the sound that I wanted. The only problem, the 6.8 supports only 2 zones. I decided that this was going to be unacceptable,

I didn’t do all of that work for that. Calling Jim back once again, I told him of my predicament. Jim, being the professional that he is, worked something out with me. The next morning, I got the Integra 7.8. My extra zone was covered, and I got even more power.

My system rocks!!!

Our association/knowledge of Nuts About Hi-Fi (Nuts) started very differently than most. I first heard about Nuts when I worked for a small cellular carrier. The local telephone company and our Network Engineering leased closet space in the same building. I had to periodically go over and inventory or do interconnect work on our POI (Point of Interface). All I knew about Nuts for about a year was they appeared to be a fairly large, conscientious car stereo dealer. It wasn’t until about my fourth or fifth visit that I noticed several people carrying out boxes of home stereo equipment. Asking one of the front counter guys, I found out Nuts was also a fairly high end audio dealer.

Over the past nine or so years, we’ve gotten to know Jim Lee first as a salesperson and now the owner of Nuts quite well. At one time, they were one of about four dealers in North America that carried both Wilson Audio and Krell Reference lines. For a cool quarter million you could get a pair of speakers and a pair of mono blocks. Of course, they also carried more down to earth items that many more of us could afford. Equipment at that level, however, does allow one to accurately judge various types of equipment and helps develop a viable upgrade path for a customer. Over the years, I have purchased several different brands of electronics from Jim. The majority were paired to go with Magnepan speakers. As you may know, Maggies do not interface very well with most electronics. When you get a pairing, components may not be suitable for other speaker types. Fortunately, Jim’s knowledge proved excellent and I haven’t had to re-purchase different electronics when I went to dynamic speakers last year. One of the main points I like about Nuts is that they are knowledgeable in both two channel stereo and home theater. This is one of the few shops in the Pacific NW I can say that about. The big box stores and one high-end want-a-be, certainly cannot boast that. I will continue to send friends that are interested in audio and/or home theater to Jim. While an educated consumer is always better off, Jim’s honesty will help ensure everyone buying from him will have a pleasant experience and become a repeat customer as we have.

Jim and crew at Nuts about Hi-fi are first class professionals. They provide great service that augments their superior knowledge! The amazing sound our media room delivers speaks for itself!

I walked in to Jim’s store looking for replacement or repair of a blown speaker. I left with about 20 grand less of the garage fund in the bank and I’ve been smiling ever since (still no garage). It was not the last time he cajoled me into some great gear. Nuts About Hi-Fi has a very passionate and knowledgeable staff with an excellent service experience. It’s good to know they have my back!