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Hudson Audio
Technology
 Those
of us who live or work in New York City are
fortunate indeed to have easy access to some
of the most well established high-end audio
shops in the United States. Stores such as
Innovative Audio, Lyric Hi-Fi, Sound by
Singer and Stereo Exchange have,
collectively, over a century of experience,
and each offers a number of dedicated
listening rooms and a wide variety of high
end audio gear. These stores carry products
from some of the best known manufacturers of
high-end audio gear, for example B&W, Mark
Levinson, Magnepan, Wilson Audio, JM Labs,
Dynaudio, Sonus faber, BAT, Jeff Rowland,
VAC, VTL, Audio Research, Ayre, and Cary
Audio, to name but a few.
Less well
known however is that NYC is also home to a
number of smaller audio shops. These range
from smaller store fronts, to lofts, to
home-based dealers. These shops tend to
offer more intimate settings, are often
appointment-only, and at least in some
cases, offer products from smaller
manufacturers. These shops both compete with
and complement the better-known “mainstream”
stores. Whether intentionally or otherwise,
many are “below the radar” in the sense that
they are not well known, and tend to get
little press.
In this
series I will highlight some of these shops
in NYC and surrounding areas. I will follow
no hard and fast rules in determining which
stores qualify, and will try to err on the
side of inclusiveness. Certainly no judgment
should be inferred from a store’s inclusion
or exclusion. My goals are both simple and
straightforward: to make more audiophiles
aware of the valuable resource that the
smaller shops represent, and to have some
fun while doing so.
The first
blip on our radar screen is Hudson Audio
Technology. Run by Tom Hills (photo), the
shop is located in a home on a quiet street
in Harrington Park New Jersey, about 15
miles from the George Washington Bridge.
While still in high school Tom began working
on car audio, mostly for friends. After
graduation, Tom went to technical school,
where he studied both analogue and digital
circuits, and built power supplies. He then
went to work for a computer manufacturer,
where he built power supplies and
communication cables. At night and on
weekends Tom moonlighted doing TV and VCR
repairs.
Tom’s
introduction to high-end audio was at the
Audio Connection in Verona NJ, where he met
the importer of the Moerch Tonearm. Tom
built what he believed would be a better
cable for the arm, one made form 4 wire
silver, a Tiffany DIN plug, and initially a
Bocchino connector. Tom experimented with
different connectors and eventually settled
on the Eichmann Silver Bullet. This marked
the beginning of Hudson Audiopath cables.
Tom still sells the phono cable (4 versions,
in fact), as well as power cords and power
strips. All are hand-made by Tom, in his
on-site workshop.
For many
years audio remained a part-time endeavor,
as Tom ran a successful printer repair
service that focused primarily in large
format printers. Circa 2002 Tom gave up the
printer repair business, at which point
audio became his full-time business. Tom set
up the house to showcase not just the
Audiopath cables, but also a variety of
audio products (speakers, amplification, and
both analogue and digital front-ends) for
which he is either the importer or dealer
(or in some cases, both). There are
currently two showrooms, with another two
currently under construction.
Tom’s guiding principle is to represent
products that provide excellent value. A
quick estimate is that the most expensive
piece of gear is perhaps $10,000, and most
of his offerings are considerably less. Tom
prefers tubes to solid state, and analogue
to digital, but unlike many in our hobby, he
is not militant about it.
The top of
the line speakers in his shop are from FJ/Blumenhofer
Acoustics, which Tom imports from Germany.
The basic design is that of a horn-loaded
tweeter sitting atop a cabinet which houses
a woofer. Based on a too-brief listening
session, the speakers struck me as being
dynamic yet surprisingly mellow. The other
products Tom carries are described in his
website; examples include Bluenote, Eminent
Technology. Omega, Art Audio, Consonance,
VAC, SOTA, Jolida and Rega, amongst others.
In closing I should add that Tom is the
antithesis of the high-pressured salesman.
Rather, he is calm and easy-going, and fun
to hang out with. If you’re interested in
any of his products, give him a call or send
him an E-mail, and set up an appointment.
And tell him I said “hi.”
Website:
www.hudsonaudio.com
Showroom and Service Center Address:
10 Manor Road
Harrington Park, NJ 07640
Mailing Address:
Hudson Audio Technology
143 Bergenline Ave.
Closter, NJ 07624
Phone: 201-768-0672 - Showroom
201-768-6986 - Service & Manufacturing
201-768-3073 - Fax
Email: HUDS143@AOL.COM
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