A Special Thanks to Jim Smith

kevinkwann said:
You're just plain wrong. And consistently annoying. More so than even myself, and that takes some doing.

Jim is a master. Period.
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I love self-depreciating humor! That was good Kevin!
 
Jim Smith said:
2 - I agree 100% with Jap's comment that dealers should be providing full service.
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Mr.Smith, thank you for taking the time to read my posts in this thread, and unlike others, understand my reason for posting.

I'd love to hear your system and would gladly pay to do so, but please excuse me if I don't want to travel 5K miles to GA.

BTW, I still think Mike and others on this forum never got a WASP done by a trained WA dealer.

If I bought a $50K speaker and it didn't sound good in my room, I'd be on the phone with the manufacture in a heartbeat.
 
jap said:
BTW, I still think Mike and others on this forum never got a WASP done by a trained WA dealer.

If I bought a $50K speaker and it didn't sound good in my room, I'd be on the phone with the manufacture in a heartbeat.
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I doubt anyone that works at Ferrari in any capacity can drive a Ferrari formula 1 car as well as Michael Schumacher, or that any Zeiss engineer can take better photos than Ansel Adams. My point here is that the manufacturer may not always be the best entity to consult when you want to your speakers to sound their best in your room. Sure, they made the speakers. But that does not mean they know how to make the speakers sound their best in every single room they encounter.

IMO, that job of making any system sound its best in any room is the work of a specialist like Jim who carries with him decades of experience.
 
kkfan said:
IMO, that job of making any system sound its best in any room is the work of a specialist like Jim who carries with him decades of experience.
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Exactly! I'm a recipient of that work and these days I just sit in my room and marvel at the sound.

Eric
 
kkfan said:
I doubt anyone that works at Ferrari in any capacity can drive a Ferrari formula 1 car as well as Michael Schumacher, or that any Zeiss engineer can take better photos than Ansel Adams. My point here is that the manufacturer may not always be the best entity to consult when you want to your speakers to sound their best in your room. Sure, they made the speakers. But that does not mean they know how to make the speakers sound their best in every single room they encounter.

IMO, that job of making any system sound its best in any room is the work of a specialist like Jim who carries with him decades of experience.
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Seriously? How much do you think Michael Schumacher knows about the technical workings of his F1 car such that he could mechanically set it up for best performance himself. I'm sure his input determines(ed) that set up, but the actual knowledge to adjust and modify the car? And BTW, who does(did) Michael Schumacher work for if not the manufacturer?

While you believe a manufacturer may not be the best entity to consult for you, he should certainly be the first for anyone else if the results are not favorable. If nothing else, you can confirm that the speaker is properly installed - at least according to the basics. Further, if the manufacturer's process isn't voodoo (few are), if it doesn't work in a room, one may have chosen the wrong speaker or more likely, has room issues not being addressed. Often times that conversation uncovers a miscalculation that can be corrected. That still doesn't mean you might not want to engage Jim or Stirling or someone similar (to be fair, there are far fewer others like them than you realize). You pay your money and take your choice.

There are also many who have read a description of a process only to believe they have now mastered it and can do it as well as the manufacturer. It's as if a weekend track enthusiast read an F1 driving book by Michael Schumacher, and instantly believes he now has the ability to drive like him. It's possible but not likely. Yet those weekend warriors make a lot of noise. This is seen with audio in forums all over the internet.

Jim has always been extraordinary. I learned of his abilities many years ago. Jim was certainly a "specialist" then - but he worked for a manufacturer. He is well more experienced now, but there is no one on earth I would have rather had set up a pair of Maggies, even back then as a lowly manufacturer, than Jim Smith.
 
a.wayne said:
Err ,


He was actually pulling for Jim Smith but since he said Schumacher not Senna, you can hit him again ..



:)
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After Senna was killed, I stopped watching F1 for a few years. Always wondered how Schumacher would have fared in direct competition, both in similar level cars - except in rain, where Senna was untouchable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No comparison between the two IMO, I have seen Both and the sport became completely different after Senna.

Schumacher's career ushered in the full electronic/Software era, telemetry. Electronic drivers aids and the coming of the setup/Software engineer , made the driver less important than the car and setup simulations became everything....

Schumacher is arguably the best of this era , Obviously he is the most successful ...


it's the WWF1 for me today .... :)
 
Would have loved to see Schumacher, Senna and Gilles Villeneuve on the same track without the electronics.

Back to the subject. Although I haven't seen Jim's work I had my system optimized by Stirling Trayle, who did an amazing job and greatly recommend , and I know Stirling has a lot of respect for Jim. That says it all to me!



Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
 
I want to add a big “THANK YOU” to JIM SMITH...

Recently, I was in Atlanta and spent a few hours with Jim for a “Room Play Reference Session.” Other posts on Audioshark describe what he does in these, so I won’t get into details except to say that I’ve never heard a system sound this good.

What made it stand out was the emotional attachment to the music… I’m talking about the emotion, energy and feeling of listening to live music, regardless of the type of music (jazz/rock/classical/etc.) or size of the venue (small/medium/large). Jim’s set-up just nailed it!

One thing that surprised me was how far out into the room (away from the back wall) Jim placed his speakers. At Jim’s, the perception of distance from the listening position to the “stage” felt much closer than I am used to. I really liked it. This experience was an eye-opener and extremely helpful because I have a better idea of what to listen for when setting-up and voicing my system.

Thanks again,

Duke97
 
Duke97 said:
I want to add a big “THANK YOU” to JIM SMITH...

Recently, I was in Atlanta and spent a few hours with Jim for a “Room Play Reference Session.” Other posts on Audioshark describe what he does in these, so I won’t get into details except to say that I’ve never heard a system sound this good.

What made it stand out was the emotional attachment to the music… I’m talking about the emotion, energy and feeling of listening to live music, regardless of the type of music (jazz/rock/classical/etc.) or size of the venue (small/medium/large). Jim’s set-up just nailed it!

One thing that surprised me was how far out into the room (away from the back wall) Jim placed his speakers. At Jim’s, the perception of distance from the listening position to the “stage” felt much closer than I am used to. I really liked it. This experience was an eye-opener and extremely helpful because I have a better idea of what to listen for when setting-up and voicing my system.

Thanks again,

Duke97
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Thanks for your kind comments, Duke.

From my perspective, you also nailed it as you were obviously affected emotionally by the musical experience - IMO, the ultimate test of any system.

Best,

Jim
 
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