At CES2006, we were pleasantly surprised to encounter Jim Shannon in Quartet Marketing Group's exhibit room at the Alexis Villas. "What are you doing these days?" we asked. He gestured around the room. "I'm a partner in Quartet," he said. "I've been here since July."Why are we always the last to know?Shannon brings formidable experience to Quartet. He began working for New England Audio Consultants in New Haven, CT, where he became familiar with the then-new Mark Levinson Audio Systems, before starting his own high-end store in North Hampton, MA. He later joined Madrigal as West Coast regional manager, before developing the marque's overseas business. After joining Wadia Digital, he helped that company establish its international distribution network. Shannon also was vice president of sales and marketing at Transparent Audio for about six years."Coming to Quartet was the realization of several dreams for me," said Shannon. "I consider the Bay Area my true home and I missed it, but even more than that, I wanted an opportunity to create something of my own—and, of course, getting to do that with Stirling Trayle, who is one of the most respected individuals in audio, was just icing on the cake."
Shannon credited his years in Europe with familiarizing him with the T+A brand, which Quartet distributes in North America. "T+A represents a remarkable level of engineering and consumer interface. It's a shame that we Americans don't have more awareness of just how special it is, so I look forward to helping people discover it. As for Amphion, I don't think I've ever seen a speaker line that combines measured performance to value to such an extent."Contact: Quartet Marketing Group. Tel: (707) 762-0914.
