Seattle tips

[haraldo]

Hi Guys

So it seems like I may going to Redmond towards end of January on a business trip, and I never been to that part of US before; I am planning for some extra days in addition to the business side of things in Redmond...

Apart from the good tips that may be on tripadvisor.com, do any of you guys have any nice suggestions for the Seattle area, maybe what I am first and foremost thinking of could be good audio places where I can get exposure to some really nice systems... I am a 2 channel music guy, don't care at all about HT and 5.1.

Or anything else spectacular that I may not find on the regular sites like tripadvisor and lonelyplanet.

It seems like Seattle in January may be really bl#¤% cold and brisk, even for a Norwegian

Cheers

Harald

 

[Chu Gai]

East of Seattle lies Bellevue where you'll find Madrona Digital (they have a website). I wouldn't characterize it as a 2-channel place but the guy who I believe owns the business, Amir, is an ex-Microsoft VP. He and I have butted heads on a variety of topics and. Will tell you he's quite smart. He also runs the WhatsBestForum. Tell him Chu sent you.

 

[Swerd]

I've only been to Seattle once, but it's a lovely place. The city is pleasant with lots of good restaurants. With Puget Sound and all the islands, there's lots to see.

If you're going to Redmond, there will be lots of visible Microsoft influence. Employment is high and people are well paid in general, so be prepared for high prices.

I wouldn't expect Seattle in January to be cold by Norweigian standards. I would expect overcast skies with frequent light rain, but not freezing cold. It may be far to the north for the USA, but Seattle is further south than Paris or Vienna.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle#Climate
Average temperatures for January are 37-47°F, or 3-8°C.

 

[haraldo]

Well.... Going to Redmond, it's obvious that my trip is a business trip related to Microsoft .... Even Switzerland is not as expensive as Norway in some ways so how bad can it be in Redmond ...

It's the advantage going abroad ... everywhere else is less expensive

 

[haraldo]

Does anyone know about any good Vandersteen and/or Thiel dealerships within a reasonable driving distance from Redmond?
And that will readily do a proper demo?

When I write Thiel, I mean the old models, meaning CS 1.7 or CS 2.7

 

[Swerd]

Does anyone know about any good Vandersteen and/or Thiel dealerships within a reasonable driving distance from Redmond?
And that will readily do a proper demo?

According to Vandersteen, there is one dealer in the area, Advanced Audio Systems in Tacoma. This is about 50 miles from the center of Redmond, more than 1 hour drive.

http://vandersteen.com/dealers/usa (I used 98101 as a zipcode for Seattle)

http://advancedaudiosys.com/index.htm
You could call them to see if you can make an appointment. I don't see an email address.

When I write Thiel, I mean the old models, meaning CS 1.7 or CS 2.7

Good luck on finding those.

 

[Swerd]

Forget Vandersteen and Thiel. If you're traveling all that distance from Norway to the USA, you should make a stop in Detroit to visit Salk.

http://www.salksound.com/contact us.htm

Where do you change planes?

 

[haraldo]

Thx, I'm not so into the US zip-codes...

There seem to be a Thiel dealership in Renton.... but there is no mention at all about Thiel on the dealership website
Digital Cinema Design, 4130 NE 22nd Street, Renton, WA 98059
http://www.digitalcinemadesign.com

 

[haraldo]

Forget Vandersteen and Thiel. If you're traveling all that distance from Norway to the USA, you should make a stop in Detroit to visit Salk.

http://www.salksound.com/contact us.htm

Where do you change planes?

The connecting flight is on Iceland (Reykjavik)

I Thought about Salk too, these new exotica 3 floorstanders is supposed to be something else.... but I believe it's more or less like the 2 way exotica monitor and with an integrated rhythmic 2 * 8" sub
But I would really like to put the exotica 3 on the "hot-list" too

I really want to do something with speakers and I'm not afraid of shipping from US to Norway, but certainly don't want to go for something I never auditioned.... I believe in the time/phase coherence, which is why .... Vandersteen, Thiel (old ones).... but I'm open minded

I may be going to US on a regular basis from now on, so if I don't manage now, it will be another chance for Salk....
The US trip may be a possibility for some good auditioning, my wife is coming too, so I have to mix some shopping and sightseeing into the plans too
Actually, most of my gear is US made

 

[Swerd]

I used to think the same about the time/phase coherence thing. A number of years ago (I believe it was 2004 or 2005) I helped my brother shop for good speakers, and he ended up buying Vandersteen model 3a speakers. They still are quite good today. We also listened to an equivalently priced Thiel model (I forget the model) but was not impressed. At the time the Vandersteens cost about $3500 (US$) per pair.

I was secretly jealous of my brother's speakers, until I heard Salk speakers. I bought SongTowers which cost much less, and since then I am no longer jealous. My brother agrees that they sound good.

It's funny that most Salk speakers use Seas drivers, all made in Norway.

If you ever fly through Detroit, definitely plan a visit to Salk. And if you ever fly through Washington, DC, contact me, and we'll visit Dennis Murphy who designs for Salk and his own line, Philharmonic Audio.

 

[haraldo]

I used to think the same about the time/phase coherence thing. A number of years ago (I believe it was 2004 or 2005) I helped my brother shop for good speakers, and he ended up buying Vandersteen model 3a speakers. They still are quite good today. We also listened to an equivalently priced Thiel model (I forget the model) but was not impressed. At the time the Vandersteens cost about $3500 (US$) per pair.

I was secretly jealous of my brother's speakers, until I heard Salk speakers. I bought SongTowers which cost much less, and since then I am no longer jealous. My brother agrees that they sound good.

It's funny that most Salk speakers use Seas drivers, all made in Norway.

If you ever fly through Detroit, definitely plan a visit to Salk. And if you ever fly through Washington, DC, contact me, and we'll visit Dennis Murphy who designs for Salk and his own line, Philharmonic Audio.

Thx a lot Swerd I appreciate it very very much indeed
Washington DC and Maryland is not on the itinerary yet, but it may well be later... If so, I will for sure give you a word (PM)

Funny that you should mention Seas, their main office is just around the corner from where I live, I thought about making a factory visit and making an article about it, I just don't have the time for it.... I believe there are some really clever and dedicated people working there, it would be interesting to see those guys. There are many high profile brands using Seas drivers, too many to mention.

Thx for tip about Philharmonic audio, never heard of them, it's interesting to see the quality of the drivers going into the products, like the $2k slims tower.

Wherever I turn, Salk seems to pop up, but I guess there's no place to make an audition in the Seattle area, probably I should contact Jim Salk directly now...

Any other Seattle tips would be very welcome too, thx a lot guys

 

[haraldo]

10 days and counting, staying in Bellevue

 

[agarwalro]

Go to Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue. Best Lamb Shwarma I've eaten.

 

[haraldo]

Go to Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue. Best Lamb Shwarma I've eaten.

Thx a lot, at the moment I'm going through the full list of places for Bellevue, Redmond and Seattle on Tripadvisor, trying to figure out what will be good .... also trying to find places with not too rich food

Mediterranean kitchen is now on the priority list of places

 

[haraldo]

Images of Seattle

 

[haraldo]

Chihuly Garden and Glass

 

[haraldo]

Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room

 

[Swerd]

Nice photos, thanks. Looks like you're having a good time there.

 

[lsiberian]

I went there over the summer.
Japonessa had incredible sushi and
Piroshky Piroshky was wonderful.

 

[haraldo]

Nice photos, thanks. Looks like you're having a good time there.

Thx mate
I spent a week, and I was so lucky that my wife went too
The main purpose of the trip was actually a Microsoft architect conference, so it was mainly lots of hard work really
It's crazy impressive what Microsoft is up to now in the near future

There were some ups and downs.... we spent some days in downtown Seattle, we stayed at Hyatt Regency Bellevue...

First photos are taken from 73'rd floor of Skyview tower, the tallest Building in Seattle, quite nice and a good place to go

The first really big up of the trip was Chihuly museum just next to Spaceneedle, an exhibition of the glass art of Dale Chihuly, crazy impressive and a must-see in Seattle ... you just have to go there !

Second major up is the Starbuck Reserve Roastery, if you are more than medium interested in coffee, then you just can't miss this place, we ended up going there twice on our last day and spent 5 to 6 hours there, we both had caffeine up to our ears by the time we left late evening ... looking forward to a long intercontinental set of flights the next day.

Another good thing that we did was to attend the Bill Speidel underground tour of Seattle, really interesting and a nice introduction to early Seattle and history before and after the fatal fire of 1889. You will also get a nice tale of early creative entrepreneurship, for instance companies that sold chihuahuas as sled dogs to people going to Canada and Alaska to look for gold, LOL

Our biggest disappointment was the Seattle Premium Outlets ... not a high variety of products and overpriced, we rented a car just in order to get there and realized that we should have saved the money for car rental and better spent the money doing other things in Seattle and Bellevue Area... The shops at Bellevue Center was also not exactly what we expected.

Nice to visit Microsoft, Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle