Dear Tetra,
Upon first hearing Tetras, I felt something unique going on. There was more to them than just being a technical tool. They had a simplicity and honesty that allowed their soulfulness to shine. They were not "perfect" because due to the subjective and personal nature of speakers, there is no such thing. They are an interface between the listener's ears and the source. But I instinctively related to the approach Adrian was taking. I feel that any component in an audio system that draws attention to itself has failed to an extent. Ideally the only thing there is the music. When everything is right, even the listener disappears.
Then a very fortuitous thing happened. Adrian asked me if I would be interested in designing a loudspeaker with the Tetra team. And it has been quite an enlightening experience to be involved in creating a loudspeaker. Adrian's sense of choosing the components is quite good. And fortunately we were in sync from the start. But when presented with this opportunity, it was daunting just knowing where to begin. I envisioned a ribbon tweeter as an essential component...in fact I had a dream where I "saw" a ribbon tweeter. When I awoke, I immediately did a sketch of it before the image slipped away. The following day I told Adrian about the dream and he informed me that he too favored a ribbon tweeter and had already done some research. He then e-mailed me a photo of one that he was leaning towards and it was basically the same design I had seen in the dream. Yeah, we were off to a good start ... There have been ups and downs along the way but we have accomplished what we set out to do with a minimum amount of grief. And best of all, they sound better than what I had hoped for. I have been listening with them for over a month now and I am more impressed every day. We have used them in our mastering studio with great results. They translate well to the "real world" They are accurate without sounding "scientific". They are soulful and powerful, yet delicate and smooth. They make you feel good, but not too good in a hyped sort of way.
All they need now is the ears of the world. May it be so.
With respect and affection,