Archive - Nuts About Hi-Fi Blog


Incredible Remodel

We recently wrapped up an extensive audio/video system for one of our best customer’s newly remodeled home. Making all of the equipment hidden was an important requirement for this house. This is achieved by hiding all of electronics in the downstairs Media Room cabinets. Including the Marantz receivers, Kaleidescape Movie Server, Roku Ultras, Sooloos, and Pakedge networking. All of the speakers are in-wall mounted, including the JL Audio subwoofer in the living room.

The video for the living room and master bedroom are done with Samsung’s The Frame TVs with custom dark wood matching bezels, allowing the TVs to look like art pieces when not in use.

URC’s Total Control keypads and remotes are installed throughout, but you can always control the system with your phone or tablet.

Focal 300 Series in-wall speakers are throughout the whole house adding to the fun factor.

For the Media Room, a pairing of JVC and Screen Innovations bring the movie off the wall. The full Dolby Atmos system is running through a Marantz AV8805, AnthemAV A Series amplifiers, Focal IW1002BE speakers, and two JL Audio Fathom F113 subwoofers. Let’s just say, this room rocks! We are really happy with how this house came together, hope you are too.

What can we say, but WOW!

“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.”

PB and MJH

Outdoor Media Center

This has definitely been one of my all time favorite projects. Good friends and clients decided to add to their beautiful home some outdoor entertainment. It was a bit of a challenge as we didn’t want the screen and speaker system to distract from their beautiful view or their custom built fireplace.

So we brainstormed and came up with the idea to install a motorized swing hinge for a 65″ Samsung flat screen TV. We also installed 5 of the new Focal in-ceiling 300ICW8 speakers. For the Bass, we used an Episode outdoor subwoofer which was hidden inside the firebox.

All the other electronics are housed in the adjacent living room entertainment cabinet. The new Marantz’s New SR 7013  was used along with Kaleidescape’s Strato ULTRA HD movie and concert digital library system. To automate the system we installed URC’s new MX-990 universal remote.

This system sounds so good and certainly has that “James Bond” affect when you see the TV magically come out of the ceiling.

Thanks to you two again for allowing us to work with you all these years. It just keeps getting better.

Jim Lee

Seattle’s brightest new original music star – Whitney Mongé

Whitney Mongé just released this beautiful recording, “Carry On”. Everyone we have shared this with feels it is possibly her best work to date. The intelligent heart felt lyrics and overall feel of this album is one you most likely play over and over again.

If you don’t know who Whitney is, The Seattle Times recently said this about her.. “Seattle artist Whitney Mongé might just be our city’s next big star”.

This was an unusually special “all analog” project recorded at Robert Lang Studios along with Studio Litho. It has a rich natural musicality that
showcases Whitney’s beautiful voice but also allows the the instruments to
seem suspended in their own space and time.

This is truly one of my favorite albums of all time.

Please stop in our showroom for a demo. Donate to her future as an artist and receive a free copy.

Jim Lee

And here is one of her previous video productions: