Clarinetist Carjez Gerretsen on Using Tea Pro to Hone Musical Craft

Carjez Gerretsen is an acclaimed Dutch clarinetist. He has performed as a soloist and with orchestras including the Cannes Regional Orchestra, Freiburg Philharmonic, and French Youth Orchestra. Passionate about contemporary and chamber music, he also collaborates with Ensemble Variances, Virévolte, Polygones, and pianist Pierre Chalmeau. Gerretsen got to test the Tea Pro DAC/amp while performing with the Paris Mozart Orchestra, and shared his impressions with us.

Khadas: What genres of music do you listen to, both within and beyond your professional repertoire? 

Carjez Gerretsen: So, as I'm a professional clarinetist, it happens quite often that I listen to other clarinetists to keep in contact with what's going on around the world and to be inspired. So it brings me to listen a lot to classical music, but not only classical music. Listening to classical music keeps me discovering and getting richer from a cultural point of view. Then I try to stay as curious as possible, listening to other kinds of music. My favorite is jazz music and electro music.

Khadas: What devices do you use to listen to music in your daily life?

Carjez Gerretsen: I would say that I listen to music across different devices. On the go I would use my phone using wired earphones. Then at home I would alternate between my Hi-Fi equipment that I connect to or my phone or my computer. I have CDs as well but I must confess that I'm less and less using CDs. And then the last part of my listening to music moments would be the times that I used to record myself or other musicians with my home studio equipment.

Khadas: When listening with the Tea Pro DAC/amp, how does the experience differ from using Bluetooth headphones or wired headphones directly connected to a phone or a computer? 

Carjez Gerretsen: I would say that when I heard about your product, I was curious about exploring new possibilities of devices that could give me more information about what I'm hearing. And that's what I discovered. I heard more details in what I was listening to and I also heard a kind of, as you said, depth. So I had... kind of entered a new dimension. Just by listening to music, I discovered an extra dimension.

Khadas: From the perspective of a professional musician, do you think that a portable DAC/amp like Tea Pro meets your listening needs while traveling?    

Carjez Gerretsen: Yes. Nowadays musicians often record themselves because they can be more aware of what they do and they always have the possibility to correct and improve. A tool like Tea Pro can help us be even more precise in the way that we listen to ourselves. This can help us win time and improve better and faster.