Sweet! So this is it for you, right …? (LOL)
Is my never-ending search for audio nirvana over? I don't know if I can answer that question other than to say that for the first time in over 45 years, I am not actively looking to replace any of the system components.


Okay. That was a pretty serious reply, for an audiophile! Still, not a bad place to land, eh?
Right. What happened though is that I now wanted to share what took me a lifetime to discover; to see if there are other music lovers who enjoy the same qualities in their music as I do. This got me started on another journey to see if these same qualities I have come to enjoy so much in my music could be found in a budget system. How can I help make it within reach of a very wide range of music lovers?


Sounds like a plan … or at least a good concept. Then what?
Well, let me back up a bit. Before Darrel and Diana retired their audio business in 2016, Hawthorne Audio had a forum where members discussed and shared a wide range of audio topics and came to know each other very well. While participating on the forum, I met Randy Rash. Randy was an open baffle DIYer. He was constantly littering his shop floor with sawdust as he created new baffle designs. Randy and I were able to meet in person at Audiokarma's AKfest and hit it off. We continued to share emails to keep up with what we were doing in the audio world and that dialogue confirmed how we both appreciated the same spaciousness, tone and pace in our music. As we approached retirement, we often talked about how much fun it would be to open an audio store. For me it was just talk but Randy went for it. He opened Caintuck Audio which featured his hand-built open baffle speaker designs. People who came into the store loved what they heard. But there was not enough traffic to justify keeping a brick and mortar open. So after a year, Randy closed the storefront and Caintuck Audio went on-line.


A sign of the times, huh? It's a tough business!
It was. It is. In the meantime, I had Randy ship me a pair of his Betsy speakers. What I heard astonished me. Knowing Randy's ears, maybe it shouldn't have. Here was a pair of diminutive inexpensive speakers that—for a fraction of the cost—closely mimicked the characteristics I had come to love in my reference system. I knew then that I had the first piece of the puzzle - a foundation for a music lover's budget system.
Excellent. Many believe that speakers are the best place to start.
Indeed. As Randy says on his website: "Please don't make the mistake of thinking that the Betsy baffles perform like a budget loudspeaker. They are reasonably priced for the sincere but broke music lover but sound like a much more expensive loudspeaker. With a high-quality front end and amplifier, they will provide truly excellent sound." Then next step was finding an equally affordable amplifier and source that would complement Betsy's musicality. I discovered—through audio discussion groups—a small number of passionate reviews of an amp from an obscure manufacturer. The comments spoke of the characteristics I was looking for at the right price. This was the Musical Paradise MP301 integrated amp. And then it was only natural to go with a proven player, meaning the Onkyo C7030CD player which Randy used in his store. I found the MP301 and C7030 to complement the Betsy in bringing out the spaciousness, tone and pace I enjoy in my music. This combination brings out a level of musical aliveness I have never heard in a system at this price point. And truth be told, I have not heard it in many much much higher priced systems. George and I both have heard our share of high-priced systems. So I was ready for a good listen to what George had put together. Here's how that first listening session shook out for me:
  • A tough test for the diminutive Betsy but I had to get it out of the way with all the electronica in Thomas Dolby's Flat Earth that sounded very good for early digital. The first thing that jumped out at me was the feeling of momentum. Then came the sense of spatiality. These little buggers threw a big soundstage.
  • Besides the timbre of his voice sounding very true, the guitar work on Marty Stewart's Soul's Chapel immediately hooked me. All that twang and the oddly bent arpeggios were proper and held my attention while the band's pacing made my body want to move.
  • The Chansons from Morten Lauridsen's Lux Æterna featuring the Los Angeles Master Chorale offered a substantial rendering of space. The voices easily extended seven feet high and four feet outside the edge of the baffles. There was a credible delivery of stage depth as well. For the system to avoid hard, glassy and synthetic textures that are often apparent on massed voices was impressive.
  • Leonard Cohen's Ten New Songs was up next. Though he recently became one with the energy field, my notes say "It's him, right here, right now." Even with this big-bottomed production, the speakers did not struggle to go further than they had a right to. They stayed clean and simply suggested what went on below without trying to fake getting there. They have a natural physicality that I could live with easily. Seriously.