Who we are

There are probably many dozens of custom audio-video computer builders out there, as you can see from a Google search.  The trade magazines refer to these builders as “mom and pop” outfits engaging in “kitchen-table fabrication.”  The main complaint is that support is almost non-existent, and when something breaks, the builders must order parts that might take months to arrive from overseas.

We are, and will continue to be, different.  We have a team of 6 individuals working together here in Livingston, MT, on the banks of the Yellowstone River.

• Mike is the owner of the local Radio Shack and has over 25 years of experience building and repairing computers.  He does full-time repair work on all kinds of computers.  He is our go to guy if something breaks or software gets corrupted.

• Torben is our computer-assisted machinist who mills the fans and the brackets that hold the fan onto the heat sink.  He regards his assignments so far as child’s play.

• Brian is a gunsmith by trade and designed our BNC connection, which took months to perfect even though it seems like a simple assignment.  You wouldn’t believe the difficulty in getting the right wiring and soldering.  He’s the one who suggested that the test of success is whether we can pick up the computer by the BNC connector and swing it around our heads 3 times.

• Darren is our main builder – he is an architect by training and, after all, that is what we really are doing – designing and physically constructing something small and complex.

• Suzanne is retired from being a network administrator at a school with 50 Macs.  She handles finance, nagging team members, and has the best ear for listening for differences in connectors, DACs, and other things.  The little things matter in building anything that meets the definition of audiophile.

• John spends all his time listening and complaining (actual quote from another member of the team).  Seriously, in this business the ONLY test of quality in our view is by listening and seeing.  We have now 4 separate listening rooms in our complex to test out the effects of changes in components.  We don’t expect to stop learning.

Our business plan is simple – a) keep building the best and let the market tell us if we are doing it right, and b) provide the very best support to clients even if it drives us crazy(er).  We also have a management succession plan – something that is missing, so far as we can tell, from the “mom and pop” outfits.

Some notes on our support:

• We keep enough parts on hand that you shouldn’t have to wait for more than a few days to have the fixed machine shipped back to you.  No matter the part that needs to be swapped out, we still go through a new “burn-in” – although of shorter duration than the original burn-in.

• You can reach one of us almost immediately by e-mailing me at john@baetisaudio.com.  Others on the team check this same e-mail every day.  We are tougher to reach by telephone during fly-fishing season, but we check our phones at the start and end of each day on the river.  Cell service is not so hot once you get out there somewhere.

While we joke about things like cell service while on the river, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that we are anything less than extremely serious about this business and its success.  The older you get, the fewer chances you have to make a difference.  We intend to make a difference and we don’t expect it to be either easy or of short duration.

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