TAS: Was high-end audio always a passion for you?

Julien Pelchat: I remember when I was probably about four years old my younger brother, who’s also an audiophile, had a teddy bear with a music box inside and a winding crank. We were so fascinated by it that we actually destroyed it getting inside. I think that was the beginning.

TAS: And your first great stereo?

Julien Pelchat: At 19, I got my first real system and it was pretty substantial. At the time I was doing sound reinforcement for friends who were in rock bands, so I bought a pair of JBL 4520 horn-loaded loudspeakers, bi-amping these with Harman Citation amps—the Model 12 for the mid-highs and the Model 16 for the bass—using a JBL active crossover. Also, a Revox openreel recorder and a Technics turntable.

TAS: That’s a lot of “reinforcement.”

Julien Pelchat: The idea behind that is if I wanted to reproduce rock ’n’ roll the way it should sound, I ought to be using the same system we were using for the rock concert. Soon after that, one of my friends acquired a pair of Spendor BC-1s, a Quad 33 and 303, and an Ariston RD11 turntable. I was shocked when I heard it, because the system was actually reproducing human voice much more naturally than the big system that I paid a lot of money for. So, I sold the big system and bought the same system, but with a Mayware Formula 4 arm and Shure V15. Since that time it’s always been about the truthfulness, the verity of the sound.

TAS: When did you first discover you could make a living from audio?

Julien Pelchat: Well, that actually has never been the point. When I first started, I did many things– sound reinforcement, recording music, some soundtracks, some time working in retail—and I saw what was selling and thought I could do better than that. I bought all the books from the AES. By 1990 I ended up working for Oracle, and that’s where I met my partner Bruno Bouchard, who’s now president of Verity. Bruno is the electrical engineer, and together we make a very strong collaboration because we are very different.

TAS: How would you describe the differences between you?

Julien Pelchat: Bruno is a very thorough, scientific, and reflective kind of guy. Before he decides to do something, he needs to think about it for a long time. I am the more creative, crazy guy with the crazy ideas. If I like something, I’m pretty sure he’s going to say, “I hate it,” but at the end, when we agree on something, it’s well balanced.

TAS: Do the two of you listen in the same way?

Julien Pelchat: Very differently. Bruno is also a musician, a classical guitar player. So he hears the instrument from behind, while I’ll listen from in front. Since Bruno is hearing less high frequencies, he always prefers a very warm, musical sound. Having done a lot of studio recordings, I like to have a lot of details.

TAS: What do you imagine we’ll be listening with in about ten years?

Julien Pelchat: I think analog will still be there, but what I would like to see is high-resolution downloads of mastertapes. I should mention Rene LaFlamme at Fidelio Records just announced that he’s doing this. And since the broadband connections are getting better and better, I think we’ll soon have access to a higher quality of sound.

TAS: How do we capture the imagination of a new audience?

Julien Pelchat: We have a lot of young guys working for us, about 22- or 23-years-old. They have iPods, but they also have turntables. I think there is hope.

TAS: Are the retailers doing everything that they can?

Julien Pelchat: I think it depends on the country. When we look at the United States, there’s a lot of custom install and, sadly, a lot of retailers have just forgotten about high-end audio or how to set up a turntable. But when I travel to foreign countries (Verity sells in 35), especially in Europe, two channel and analog are extremely strong, and I see dealers working high end the way it should be done.

TAS: Best advice to the new audiophile?

Julien Pelchat: Be careful if something really impresses you the first time you hear it, because very often what impresses you on the first listen gets disturbing in the long run.

TAS: What continues to inspire you?

Julien Pelchat: The challenge. I was voicing a speaker the other day, and we found we had to match the levels of the tweeter and the midrange a quarter of a dB in order for it to sound right. When it’s right, everything locks together and the speaker completely disappears. This is what I’m always seeking—the point where everything locks together in a perfect union.