It’s the time of year for saving money!
I remember it well. My early passion was cars. Sports cars. Fast cars. I even had a rhyme – Mustang, Mach I, 354, four in the floor… I don’t remember if Ford ever put a 354 in a Mustang. It did work for my little rhyme though, made up at about the age of 14. It’s fair to say cars were my first real passion and remain one even now. Not my only passion, however. My passion for audio erupted at the age of 15 all because of a trip to my best friend’s house, and his brother’s system.
Jimmy, my buddy at the time and all through high school, had an older brother who had recently purchased an all McIntosh system – tube amp, preamp, a Mac turntable and speakers.
Music for me, at the time, was an AM transistor radio. I could hang it on the handlebars of my bicycle and tool around the neighborhood on Saturday morning listening to Casey Casem’s American Top 40. When, that is, my Father didn’t have me engaged in yard work.
After first hearing that McIntosh system, my little radio seemed no longer acceptable and my mission was a McIntosh system like Jimmy’s bother Charles had. It could be fair to say my becoming an audiophile was because my friend, who lived close by, who had an older brother, who happened to buy a stereo system, a high end system, a McIntosh system, graciously allowed his younger brother and pain in the butt friend to come listen. Pretty long odds, right?
I remember first hearing it and thinking how loud and clear everything sounded. Not so surprising when my only comparison was a $3.00 transistor radio. My journey had begun.
Forty-six years later my journey continues.
I’ve often wondered what has kept me in this hobby for so many years. I could have purchased that Mustang, Mach I, and saved myself a significant sum of money. This is especially true when I think back on all the money I have spent, not “invested” mind you because I don’t see an audio system as an investment, on all the stereo equipment I’ve owned over the years.
I once had a pair of Ohm Walsh II’s and blew out a tweeter three weeks after I bought them. I remember obsessing over the Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck – because admit it, that thing was WAY cool! I still have my first system, the one whose procurement only occurred because of a huge amount of neighborhood yard work and my Dad’s steadfast refusal to buy me a stereo. I remember many hours spent listing to the new group or whatever music was the rage the time.
When you think about it, not much has changed. Oh sure, the cost of systems has increased. But then, so has my ability to afford them. In fact, I’d say my ability to afford stereo equipment is proportional to, maybe even more than what I could afford when I was in my 20’s and finally had gainful employment – not to mention the earnings a 15 year old doing yard work provided.
I also sometimes wonder if my high performance audio journey to is similar to the path taken by other audiophiles. How many of us, like myself, discovered something better existed because they had a friend, or knew someone who had taken a bite of the apple?
Or did many present day audiophiles learn about the hobby from their parents? Did they, perhaps, develop such profound disdain for the family Philco that they searched for something better? Did they, by sheer happenstance, wander into that “stereo store” up the street out of nothing more than inane curiosity? Or, possibly, were they into magazines like Popular Mechanics and saw ads for Dyncao and Heathkit and thought yes, I’d like one of those!
And what about the question of what keeps all of us so entrenched in the hobby? Looking at my own past, there were times I had lost a lot of interest in audio. I was concerned about other things and music was a distraction at best. My devotion to audiophilia today, however, has never been stronger and music now is a welcomed relief from the tangles of the everyday world.
Okay, fine. But what has kept me devoted to a hobby for so long? What keeps any audiophile who has decades of participation to what is unarguably an expensive, time consuming, space in the home devouring hobby in which typically only one family member is a participant? If I look absolutely forward to getting into my audio room, closing the door, and relaxing to my favorite music, is it not a safe bet other audiophiles feel the same?
I could ramble on about music, emotional connections, a pursuit of excellence, fulfilling a childhood dream (which I have done by the way). I could talk about all that stuff until even I was sick of hearing it. I’m sorry, I just don’t think that is an adequate answer to the question of why. I can understand what gets one started in the audiophile hobby. What keeps them there for decades? What is it about a stereo system that we are willing, excited even, to invest more and ever more money in better and better audio systems? Why a high-performance system as opposed to any other type of playback system?
I suppose at the end of it all there are some questions not worth the time spent looking for an answer. I suppose at the end of it all what might be best for audiophiles is to simply close the door and listen to their favorite music.
In fact, I’ll end here because I feel the sudden need to shut that door, turn on the system, close my eyes and become lost in a sea of my favorite music. Maybe THAT is the best answer to the question.
I had a 429 Mustang when getting out of OCS, and my wife to be could not steer the car, so it was sold and bought a 4 door Buick Skylark as she was the keeper and now we are 49 + years together. Audio was the replacement for “high performance cars” and well worth it. The beginning was a Fisher 500TX, Dual 1209 with a Pickering XV-750, Dynaco A-25’s and the added a Teac 350 cassette deck and a cassette player for the car was not far behind. Now I spend more time in my recording studios and reading books for ACX/Audible which I started last year. I am helping friends who also want to do the ACX thing and getting them set up with USB recording interfaces and mics. I have had great fun over the past 15 years recording concerts for our local public school and our local University, for free. I have learned a great deal and now know how hard it is to get a great recording. Now have 15 mics in my mic cabinet and it is fun to
give back. Just now messing with Zoom Cameras and video is much harder than audio as proper lighting is king. I even with this COVID-19 have my wife reading our grandson kids books and posting them on YouTube for him to watch as we are locked down. She is having great fun with a simple Ligitech camera, Rode NT-USB mic and Debut software from NCH. Very simple, but it works great. All grandparents should do this.
Thanks, Paul. The question of what makes audiophiles audiophiles has been of interest to me too. I’m in my mid-30s. My family is quite musical, although I did not inherit the instrument-playing gene. My mother is an amatuer – and better than she gives herself credit for – pianist. As a small child I can remember her putting me to bed and then going out to the living room and practicing her playing. Most night of the week I fell asleep to the sounds of her playing Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, etc. My dad is less of an audiophile than me but had a decent HiFi setup in those days as well. He had a JVC stereo receiver from the mid-70’s, a MegaTech turntable, and SpeakerLab speakers. I remember vividly being about 5. Mom had just played a piece on the piano. Dad put a record on the turntable and dropped the needle. I heard the same piece coming from the speakers as mom had just played. Child mind blown! I also remember being with my dad when he bought his first CD player. It was a Sony. He bought it at Montgomery Ward. My love of music started as a child, and I credit my parents for this. Mom’s piano playing and Dad’s listening to records. I would even ask dad to play records. I’d never remember the titles so I’d have to sing the chorus or hum the melody. He almost always played my requests.
Fast forward a few short years. I was 10. We attended a small church that needed a sound system upgrade. Dad was instrumental (haha) in helping with that upgrade. He was often involved in the music services at the church, though, so who was to run this new sound system from the back? Well, 10 yo me, of course. So at 10 I was learning the ins and outs of wiring up and operating a sound system, and learning how to hear – how to listen for subtle details and adjust levels and avoid feedback problems and troubleshoot and you name it. I spent 15 years being almost the sole sound system operator in churches. I sometimes say that experience ruined me. My brain is now hard-wired to hear the flaws. That’s led to a lot of expense and having to train myself how to sit back, listen, and enjoy rather than constantly tweak.
During my teen years I was also hearing my dad learn how to play the bass guitar. My brother also learned saxophone, piano, and cello. He was also very involved in band. So my brain has catalogued LOTS of intsrument and vocal reference sounds over the years.
I must also credit music streaming as keeping me hooked on the hobby too. Having high quality streams of nearly the entirety of Earth’s music was a real shot in the arm to both my love of music and audio.
Speaking of Ohm Acoustics, it was at college — MIT in the mid-to-late 1960s — that I became interested in audio. Many of my dorm mates had great systems, and down the hall, John Strohbeen and Sandy Ruby were about to start up Tech HiFi. Some of the nicer systems had AR4x speakers and AR turntables, with the AR factory and a showroom nearby. One fellow had a huge floorstander called “Mother,” which tempted several to trade from little stereo to big mono (but none did). My own special talent was adjusting the tweeter pot on an AR4x to get the most natural violin timbre. Oddly enough, in a room of audiophiles today, I’m often the one most enthusiastic about natural timbre, tone controls, and DSP, the one who doesn’t think all the controls should be glued straight up.
For me, the earliest I can remember, being a kid in a record store and looking up, on the wall, seeing a white vinyl special edition of “The Beatles”. I don’t know what the sound was like on it back then, but it was then I realized that there are other, special editions of the albums I owned. Oh how I wanted that. Next came an awareness of Quadraphonic sound. Oh how I wanted that too but was too young to afford it. Then half speed master albums. I started buying a few of those. I’ve kept all my albums since I started buying them in ’69 or ’70. Steppenwolf (silver mirror cover) and Woodstock soundtrack were my first. Fast forward to today, I’m finally able to afford quality equipment with surround sound, SACD blu-ray players, and a turntable to enjoy. There was a period of time with no turntable through the ’90s so my records were packed away. Anyway I tend to enjoy the better recorded media when it strikes me.
I just got into it recently. I am on the hunt for better equipment and got hooked on the articles and videos. I am looking for better sound for my vinyls. My stepdad got me hooked on vinyls about 8 years ago, now I have a collection of about 150 jazz and r&b vinyls. So now I researching storage, and equipment. So if there is any information anyone can give a beginner on the best reel to reel, amplifier, cordless speakers, turntables, etc… I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance
The first thing to address is what do you have now in terms of gear? Some, most, or all of what you have may be all you need. The R2R issue can be a costly one as the machines are not cheap and do require maintenance and tape is not cheap as well, especially pre-recorded. If you are looking to record I would suggest a Tascam DR-40 SDHC card recorder that is about $150 and can record from the built in mics or externally from line devices such as the tape out of a receiver or integrated amp…just like you would for a cassette deck. You can record files in MP3, cd quality, or up to high rez at 24/96 and can easily input files into your computer by USB. The 16/44.1 files you can burn to CDrs.
Think of your goals first. Are you a musician or just a music listener? Do you listen mostly on headphones? Anyone here will need more information about your interests and current gear to help you. We can help.
I am a music listener without headphones. I am looking for white speakers and a reel to reel and a receiver. I just bought the Denon DP 450 turntable. I am looking for compatible pieces in white
The fact that you said “white” speakers and have not mentioned quality is a little disconcerting to me…as an audiophile. I would do one of two things: 1.) either go to a HiFi Buys or Magnolia or Best Buy in your area and start your journey and start listening to a bunch of speakers. I would subscribe to Stereophile and I would look at Steven Guttenberg’s youtube page and learn about audio before you spend any money. You could also check http://www.audiogon.com, join if you want, and start looking at prices of R2Rs that are for sale their. eBay may have some, but buy local so you can go see and hear it, as the freight to ship would be high. You can also check out http://www.accessories4less.com for some bargains; speakers, receivers, integrated amps and the like. They will have all kinds of stereo and multi-channel receivers for home theater if that floats your boat. If no good audio stores are near you, also check out http://www.audioadvisor.com and you may want to call them and talk to someone directly who could answer your questions.
I am not sure why you want R2R, but I have a close friend who has one, his motor quit, and he is looking at over $300 for repairs and he has heads that must be replaced. They are fun the watch the reels spin around, but can be much work and $$ to maintain.
I am a beginner and I need guidance. Due to the virus , I can’t go to Best Buy, so I am buying on line. I would like to thank you for your assistance, I appreciate it. I have spoken to quite a few people and everyone has very different opinions about equipment. White is my favorite color and I noticed while searching, I can find what I want in white, just not sure what is the best brand. Again thank you and stay safe and healthy.
I think Cambridge Audio and a pair of those white Kef speakers would be a nice start.
Thanks Christopher!! I will check them out!
Thanks, I just ordered the Kef speakers from Crutchfield!
great idea