Toulouse is famous for its rugby and beautiful architecture. The City is served by a large international airport, with regular, if inconveniently timed flights from the UK!
The City has a modern metro and tram network which blends in seamlessly with the amazing architecture. However, what many people may not be aware of is it is also just a 30-minute drive away from the Hi-Fi Manufacturer, Métronome Technologie.
Métronome Technologie is a brand we have worked with for some years now, and in that time, we had never paid them an in-person visit… until this October. We set off on a sunny Thursday afternoon to meet the team and see the factory in action.
As mentioned, flight times were somewhat inconvenient, with the flight arriving in France at 10:30 pm local time. Thankfully, it was only a short walk to the hotel, a quick check-in, and an overnight stay in a comfortable bed… sorted. Except upon arrival at the hotel, a coach load of people whose flight had been cancelled, we’re also trying to check in! Midnight passed, and the rooms were finally available.
The following morning, we had arranged to meet Meddy for a lift to the factory, a 30-minute drive from the airport. Meddy is the Research Manager for Métronome/Kalista and studied in the UK. I did try to use my French language skills (having not used them since school 35 years ago), but it was obvious that English was the sensible option.
Arriving at the Métronome facilities, we headed to the kitchen area for some excellent coffee and light bites. It was a great way to meet the staff and most importantly, the star of the show, Jean-Marie’s lovely Spaniel Cross called Tina.
An informal meeting with Jean-Marie, Métronome’s CEO, began over coffee and pastries (brought in by Laura – Merci). It was great to hear from the people designing and building the products – the additional insight this gives makes the products even more special.
The meeting adjourned, and we were ready to see the factory and get a closer look at the insides of their amazing products. Thank you to Delphine, the Operational Marketing Manager at Métronome, for showing us around and introducing us to Métronome’s talented staff.
It is refreshing to see that it is still possible to manufacture brilliant products in Europe which are class-leading and sonically brilliant. We watched as components were individually built and tested before being shipped. It was great to see virtually every product in stock, in all finishes, ready to go – outstanding in this day and age.
Following the factory tour, we were ushered to the factory’s listening room, where we were privileged enough to be asked by Cyril, Métronome’s Design Office Manager to assess some new top-secret components which may or may not be available to purchase sooner than later.
The system sounded absolutely superb – the loudspeakers are 7 feet tall and were designed and built especially by and for Jean Marie – the sound was extremely big and very expressive, scale on another level.
Time was running out so we had to stop listening to music, and get on with meeting the guys in R and D. Meddy, Cyril, Jean Marie, Fraser, and I spent the next hour discussing everything Hi-Fi.
Though we cannot talk about some of the design details and other ongoing projects we were shown, we can tell you that the people were charming, patient, knowledgeable, smart and good-looking!
We had a great time, poking around, trying to photograph the next new thing. A final chat with Jean Marie brought our visit to an end. Insightful and with much new knowledge gained, we bid our friends farewell, or au revoir mon amis.
Due to flights being at silly o’clock, Fraser and I had plenty of free time to explore Toulouse. It was a beautiful late summer afternoon, warm with blue skies, beautiful architecture, great coffee, and fabulous small shops selling all manner of interesting objects.
We look forward to bringing you some special new products from both Kalista and Métronome in the near future.
À bientôt, mon amie!
