If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I was referred to Sound Waves from the company I bought my speakers from, and I’m glad I was.  James was knowledgeable, able to source exactly what I wanted at the right price, and went out of his way to make sure the order was fulfilled correctly.  I had just moved and the bank had not recorded my new address with my credit card, but Sound Waves went above and beyond to make the deal happen.

 

Thanks!

B.H.

For purchases and or Kirkland home theater wiring please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Tags: Testimonials by James
No Comments »

In the fall of 2007, I had the pleasure of working with James at Sound Waves Hifi.  James was very knowledgeable and I found it refreshing to work with someone who knew and appreciated higher end audio equipment.  After purchasing an amp, preamp and Logitech Squeezebox from James (all within a short time period), I can recommend Sound Waves Hifi without hesitation.  In fact, in the near future, I’ll be buying a new set of speakers, and I’ve already began corresponding with James to see what he has available.

JM – Federal Way, WA

  For purchases and or Puyallup home theater wiring please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729www.soundwaveshifi.cominfo@soundwaveshifi.com Services we offer: -In-wall wiring and on-wall mounting
-Plasma, projector,and screen installation
-Multi -zone audio configuration
-Networking and media streaming
-Complete system calibration (audio/video) Equipment we specialize in: -In-room and on In-wall speaker systems
-Subwoofers
-Source components
-Amplification
-Surge protection and line filtering
-Projector, Plasmas, and other displays
-Media furniture, stands, and mounts And much more!

Tags: Testimonials by James
No Comments »

So after researching several brands I narrowed it down to either a set of B&W 600 Series speakers and Aperion Audio. I was able to check out the B&W’s at a local high end audio store in Raleigh and I was pretty impressed, but was somewhat hesitant because of their high price. That’s why I was so interested in the Aperion’s. From the reviews I’ve read people are very impressed with them, and according to their website only 4% of people who order them ever return them for being unsatisfied.

After my post last week, I got in touch with James from Sound Waves Hifi, who happened to have a set of nearly new Aperion’s that he had been using as a demo unit in his showroom. I was originally looking at getting the (2) 533-T, (2) 422-LR and the 532-C for around $1230.

Instead I ended up getting:

(2) 633-T
(2) 532-LR
(1) 634-VAC

James from Sound Waves HiFi gave me a HECK of a deal on the demo set that look fantastic to say the least. They are in as new condition as they could be and I am very impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of Aperion. They arrived in great packaging for shipping. The speakers were in a plush velvet sack inside one box, which was then packed in another box to keep them protected. Plenty of Styrofoam to keep everything secure.

I love the piano black finish! It’s much more reflective than I imagined. It’s almost like a dark gloss black mirror when the light hits it.

As far as the sound quality goes, I am blown away to say the least! I’m running them through my new Onkyo 605 receiver and everything sounds so amazing I’m already enjoying watching movies I’ve seen 100 times over again. So far I’ve watched 300 (HD-DVD) with the TrueHD sound and WOW! I also watched Star Wars (HD from HBO) and felt as though it sounded better than when they released them in the theaters a few years ago. I’ve always watched some HD concerts on MOJO (Cable TV), including Dave Matthews Band and it sounded as if I were there.

Bottom line, for less than HALF what the B&W’s would have cost I got a sound that has completely redefined my home entertainment experience! Thanks again to James, your expertise and customer service is second to none!

For purchases and or Seattle home theater wiring please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Tags: Testimonials by James
No Comments »

“I have made several purchases from Sound Waves Hifi and it is always a pleasure to do business with them.  They are knowledgeable, honest and always help me find exactly what I need for my setup.” Larry H

For home audio purchases and or Puyallup home theater wiring please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Tags: Testimonials by James
No Comments »

I wanted to drop a line here concerning my purchase of the HSU-SF2 sub from James.  what a refreshing change of pace from listening and buying from other stereo/audio shops!  James spent plenty of time talking to me about what I needed, the scope of what I was going to use the sub for, and what kind of listening room the sub was going to be in. All in all a most pleasant experience, and I will be contacting him before the end of the year to purchase and install a plasma set.

Sincerely,

Alan Ingles

For purchases and or Seattle home audio installls, please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Tags: Testimonials by James
No Comments »

For Puyallup home audio sales and installs please contact James Vaughan.

Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

By popular demand we are bringing in a pair of Energy RC 10 book shelf speakers. We have had a few requests for this popular line, so have decided to have a set on hand for demo purposes. If interested in giving them a listen drop us a line to make an appointment to come by. This should be a fun listen as these are a highly regarded line of speakers.

Tags: Speakers by James
No Comments »

We have had such a popular demand for the KEF IQ speakers that we decided to keep stock on hand. We usually turn over product fairly regularly trying different things out, combinations of components and speakers. But with a regular out go of KEF the turn around will be slower.  In our opinion KEF is one of the better mid priced made speakers out there. Though there Reference line could send you to the poor house, they are worth every penny and must be heard to understand what I am talking about.  Below are some shots of the KEF reference 204/2c center channel. Its the biggest center channel to date in my room. It is also not mine:) I cant afford one or it would not have left the house. We had to use two different stands to hold the giant up, at over 70 lbs its no light weight.  

MODEL 204/2c - SPECIFICATIONS   Specification   Model Model 204/2c  Design 3 way bass reflex  Drive Units  LF: 4 x 165 mm (6.5in.)   MF: 1 x 165 mm (6.5in.)    HF: 1 x 25 mm (1in.)  Frequency response at 15° horizontally off axis  ±3 dB  53 Hz - 60 kHz  Bass Extension -6 dB 40 Hz  Crossover frequencies 400 Hz, 2.3 kHz  Amplifier requirements 50 - 300 W  Sensitivity (2.83V/1m)  90 dB  Maximum output 115 dB  Impedance 8 ? (3.2 ? min)  Magnetic shielding Yes  Weight 34.6 Kg (76 lbs)  Dimensions (H x W x D)  200 x 1100 x 425 mm7.9 x 43.3 x 16.7 in.  Finishes Piano Black, High Gloss Cherry, High Gloss American Walnut,

Satin Sycamore 

For purchases and or Seattle home audio installations please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Services we offer:

-In-wall wiring and on-wall mounting
-Plasma, projector,and screen installation
-Multi -zone audio configuration
-Networking and media streaming
-Complete system calibration (audio/video)

Equipment we specialize in:

-In-room and on In-wall speaker systems
-Subwoofers
-Source components
-Amplification
-Surge protection and line filtering
-Projector, Plasmas, and other displays
-Media furniture, stands, and mounts

And much more!

Tags: Speakers by James
No Comments »

The last set of speakers we had in, came in as a demo that were able to play around with for a couple of weeks. The Snell LCR7 is a compact sealed enclosure with dual 5 1/4 mid drivers and a 1″ tweeter.

I only had two of these so could not try out in a 5.1 setup. The imaging was very impressive and they had a very wide sound stage. A few times during movies I almost forgot there was no center channel running. The top end was very detailed and I could see these being an issue in reflective rooms, not bad, but you would want to take note when choosing your electronics or consider some form of room treatments.

As far as output for a relatively small speaker I had no issue with lack of loudness in my room. In fact they played as loud as I would want any speaker to and blended well with my SVS Ultra, no gaps between lows and mids. Powering them with a Marantz 7002 was not an issue either though I would have liked to have had a separate more powerful amp on hand to see the difference between the two with this set.

As these were not mine, I didn’t want to take the grills off. I took a couple of revealing shots of the drivers behind the grill seen below.

LCR7

Design Acoustic Suspension D’Appolito Array
Frequency Response 75Hz-22kHz +3dB
Sensitivity 90dB
Nominal Impedance 4 Ohms
Crossover Frequency 2.0kHz
Recommended Amplier Power 50-300Watts
Maximum Output (per pair) 110dB
Placement Stand, Wall, or Shelf
Dispersion Angle (+1dB of on axis response) Horizontal: +15 degrees
Vertical: +15 degrees
Drive Units Tweeter: 1-inch SEAS Silk Dome
Woofer: Two 5.25-inch SEAS Treated Paper, 5mm Excursion
Video Shielding Standard
Dimensions Height: 19 -inches
Width: 7-inches
Depth: 8.75-inches
Finishes Cabinet: Real Cherry Veneer
Hand Rubbed Satin Black
Most Wood and Paint Finishes Available
Grille: Silver or Black Perforated Metal 47 % Open
End Caps: Solid Aluminum Plate, Anodized Silver or Black

For purchases and or Bonney Lake home audio installations please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com
Services we offer:

-In-wall wiring and on-wall mounting
-Plasma, projector,and screen installation
-Multi -zone audio configuration
-Networking and media streaming
-Complete system calibration (audio/video)

Equipment we specialize in:

-In-room and on In-wall speaker systems
-Subwoofers
-Source components
-Amplification
-Surge protection and line filtering
-Projector, Plasmas, and other displays
-Media furniture, stands, and mounts

And much more!

Tags: Speakers by James
No Comments »

Heat can be the number one enemy of components especially for receivers and amps. I am sure everyone has had  an amp or receiver go into protect mode from inadequate ventilation and or driving the unit very hard and over heating the unit. Most receivers need 6″ to 9″ of top clearance for proper ventilation. In some cases this may not be possible. Beings these units are convection cooled they sometimes could use a little help.

Rack mount cooling kits can run as much as $400. Although they look nice, they are more money than most people want to shell out to cool there gear. We have been using computer style cooling fans for some time now. These are not expensive, don’t look as pretty if you cant hide them well, but are a very cost effective way keep things running cool. We just did a home audio install in Tacoma where the guy had his equipment in an enclosed rack and the room itself had no ventilation. Everything was getting hot and the separate amp would shut down after running at high volumes for a period of time. We dropped in two of the variable speed fans, problem solved.

I currently use two in my demo system, though one is probably more than enough. The two versions we have tested and use are the top motor thermal control fan and the Scythe S-Flex fan.

Scythe S-Flex (SFF21D) fan:
800 RPM 8.7 DBA

top motor thermal control fan:
Variable speed from 1100 RPM up to 2200 RPM

With the top motor version at its highest speed there was no irritating fan noise to deal with. You would have to be very close to the fan to hear it running full tilt. This is the one I prefer for any application.

Below are some shots of the fans sitting on top of the Marantz, shot from the top through a glass shelf. These shots are followed by pictures using a candle to demonstrate the effectiveness of these fans, give you an idea of how much air flow they create with the 800 RPM version only. We could not keep the candle lit with the top motor running at 2200 RPM so scrapped the picture idea with that one. The top motor version moves enough air to cool the most demanding heat generating unit. Again don’t worry about the noise generated. From fan to seated position there is none, even in a dead quiet, acoustically treated room.

For purchases and or home audio installations in the seattle area, please contact James Vaughan.
Sound Waves Hifi.
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com

Services we offer:

-In-wall wiring and on-wall mounting
-Plasma, projector,and screen installation
-Multi -zone audio configuration
-Networking and media streaming
-Complete system calibration (audio/video)

Equipment we specialize in:

-In-room and on In-wall speaker systems
-Subwoofers
-Source components
-Amplification
-Surge protection and line filtering
-Projector, Plasmas, and other displays
-Media furniture, stands, and mounts

And much more!

Tags: Home Audio by James
No Comments »

 Many people who are interested in purchasing a home audio system do not know where nor whom to turn to for solid advice. Setting up all those components can be a daunting and confusing task. If you have kicked around the idea of bringing the theater into your own home and are looking for a professional company you can feel confident in, read on.

We do some dirrect sales, but our company is mainly directed towards people who purchase, have us deliver, set up, install and calibrate there home theater systems.

We will be updating are blog more often under our new testimonials category. These are from customers whom weve had the pleasure of working with who thought very highly of our services. We take what others say about our business very seriously. Helping people obtain there audio dream system is what we are about. More importantly helping people do it right the first time is key to saving them money in the long run.

If you are in the market to start from scratch, upgrade, or add to your existing system give us a call, we would be glad to help you.

For purchases and or home audio installations please contact James Vaughan
Sound Waves Hifi
425-637-1729

www.soundwaveshifi.com

info@soundwaveshifi.com
Services we offer:

-In-wall wiring and on-wall mounting
-Plasma, projector,and screen installation
-Multi -zone audio configuration
-Networking and media streaming
-Complete system calibration (audio/video)

Equipment we specialize in:

-In-room and on In-wall speaker systems
-Subwoofers
-Source components
-Amplification
-Surge protection and line filtering
-Projector, Plasmas, and other displays
-Media furniture, stands, and mounts

And much more!

Tags: Home Audio, Testimonials by James
1 Comment »