Who R U?

Being similarly curious, I'll bite and hope to not get bitten in return. I'm 44 years old and have been a software salesman for the last twenty years. Was born and raised in East Texas and moved to Northern California two decades ago where I still live. In addition to the obvious interest in music my "other" spare time is spent hang gliding.

Hi David; A good thread (I hope). I've posted some of my personal info. before, but will gladly join your thread. I'm from N.DAK, but have lived "out west" since 1963. Now 57, I've been married for 35 years and we have a 28 year old daughter who is a pharmacist:). Retired now, we live on the Oregon coast. The last 15-16 years of my career I was a Senior Forest Soil Scientist with the Dept. Of Interior in W. Oregon (impressive title, but what it meant was that I dug holes). I have a BS degree in Forestry, and practical minors in Soil Science and Botany from the U. of Idaho. I've been an avid amatuer photographer for 25 years, and only really "discovered" high end audio 8-9 years ago as a result of friendship with a high-end vinyl junkie. He recommended Vandersteen speakers for my otherwise mid-fi gear, and I was off and running. I amateur weld and, built a double wide stereo stand that weighs over 200 lbs-- empty-- concrete filled corner posts etc. I hope a lot of AudiogoN "regulars" post here. Cheers. Craig.

Garfish,thats quite a stereo stand! I built one also but it only weighs in at 80 lbs.(sand filled) I have never been to the Oregon coast but from the pics.I've seen it is awesome! Happy Listening!

great post. as a somewhat frequent visitor/poster, i'm interested to learn a bit more about the folks whose advice i (sometimes) follow. i'm a 30 year old lawyer (i know, i know, but at least i'm being honest). i was born and raised in michigan, spent 5 years living in new york, another four months in san francisco and i've been living in hong kong for nearly 2 and half years. i'm looking forward to moving back to new york later this year. when i'm not at home sitting in the sweet spot (either by myself re-falling in love with sounds that never cease to amaze me, or explaining what those "lightbulb like thingys on top of that box on the floor" are), i'm likely traveling. i grew up in a klipsch horn household, so i was bitten by the bug early on. my first mid-fi adventures were in high school/college and it's been all uphill (downhill?) ever since. enjoy. randy.

I,am 35 years old,live in new jersey,started my love for music and audio equipment since my high school days where i would dj at local party's and wedding's.Did a 1 year intern at the apollo theater in harlem N.Y. as a sound engineer after graduating from the institute of audio research.Hope someone had warned me.[no money in this bussness] went back to school and presently,i make a living as a aircraft maintenence technician.HAPPY LISTENING.

I am 48 years old and live in midtown Manhattan. My father was a recording engineer, so I grew up with Altec Lansing Voice of the Theater's and Revox A77 reel to reel tape recorders. I was the "tape machine operator" on John Denver's recording of "Rocky Mountain High" in the early 70's. I grew into the high fi hobby early, and apart from my father's professional interest. Had my first "system" at 18. I have tended to buy the best equipment that I could afford and justify and then keep it for 10-20 years. I am back seriously in the audiophile game for about a year, after a good 10 year hiatus. I have my own business providing data processing consulting services primarily to New York's financial industry.

Fpeel; Is the common denominator of Hi-end audio and hang gliding perhaps "soaring"? Cheers. Craig.

Hey Guys, It's nice to meet my fellow audiophile crazies. I'm a past president of the NJ audio society, and have written for The Audiophile Voice, Positive Feedback, and SoundStage.com. I'm presently the editor at StereoTimes.com. In case you are interested, my colleague at StereoTimes.com, Adnan Arduman (from Turkey), has a nice website with pictures and bios of many audiophiles from Greece and Turkey, with another section devoted to 'philes (and their systems) from around the world (myself included). It's quite an interesting site, called "Nuance and Fluence". If you'd like to check it out, go to: http://www.arduman.com/aa scroll down and click on the link, "My Friend's Systems". Anyone interested in viewing my personal page can access it directly at: http://www.arduman.com/aa/Sayfalar/frank/frank.htm

I'm 32, have 2 small children and a wife that puts up with my love for music. Since my children are small, I really don't get the chance to listen as much as I'd like. I live in Dallas,TX but was raised in Florida, having lived there for over 15 years. Sharing ideas on this site is really great and it is the only forum I have ever posted in (covering ALL topics on the WWW). I have met some wonderful people off of this site who enjoy the same passion for audio as I do. Happy Listening! Tony

This is a good topic and the thread is progressing very nicely. I'm 36, tall, dark and handsome ( HA HA HA ), born and raised in the Chicago area, never been married ( but that may change soon ) and am self employed. I own a radio communications based business ( amateur, CB, scanners, etc) and am an RF Technician by trade. Besides running my business, i also do design consultation for over a half dozen manufacturers of RF equipment. I have done professional sound reinforcement and custom installations for a living in the past and continue to do so when time permits. I grew up with "hi-fi" as my Father has always been an avid audio enthusiast. My younger brother has also "caught the bug" and is working on a pretty ambitious quad-amped system with my help. The bad part of having a family of "audiophiles" is the debates about who's system is best : ) On the side, i like to build "electronic projects" that vary anywhere from very high powered RF amplifiers to large speaker arrays. Taking existing designs and modifying them is also fun, but not quite as rewarding as doing your own from scratch. Sean >

I ask myself that question sometimes in an indirect way (I'm 23, the youngest so far i guess). I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived there about a year before moving to Eugene, Oregan for two years. Then lived in Wichita, Kansas for seven years. I then moved to Arlington, Texas and finished 6th through high school. I guess I got into hifi when I was 11 or 12 and decided I wanted one of those entry level fifty-watt recievers and saved my lawn mowing money (I also got into tropical fish at this time and got my first real job in a tropical fish store). My dad bought me the Cerwin-Vega speakers for my birthday. I saved up another hundred bucks and bought the matching JVC cd player later (they were the first of the titanium series). After Texas I moved to Missouri for college. During my third year I was sick of school (and Missouri) and so I dropped out an ran off to Leuven, Belgium to live with a friend who was going over to finish his degree. After traveling a bit of europe and getting lots of good sleep I ran back to the U.S. to finish my B.A. degree since I figured I needed that. I chose Sociology just because? And after many systems in between I own an all Van Alstine FET-Valve system with Biro speakers. Currently, in this immediate post graduate state I'm working as a Phlebotomist since I happened to pick up the job my second year of college from a friend and it pays ok and I get benefits. Right now I'm looking for some type of job in Italy through an international recruitment agency and if that fails I may move off to Chicago in five months to continue dancing ballet and find some interesting day job, or something else that may come along and grab me. That's all just where I've been and some of the things I've done; I consider myself a mutt to this day. Just a little bit of this and that, but nothing dominant. I remember doing stuff like this thread in certain art classes but in a different way.

My turn to 'fess up. I'm 39 and have been involved in audio since I was 12. I have three kids, girl age 6, girl age 8, and boy age 10. Cool kids, and they're following my footsteps and very much enjoy music. I own six stereos so I listen to music always, unless I'm golfing, playing hockey, or coaching my kid's sports. I'm a branch manager for a semiconductor distribution company in Montreal (head office is in California). And yes I speak French, makes communication a chore, shifting back and forth between French and English leaves me a little befuddled at times. The hardware side of our obsession really hasn't grabbed me as much as the music, looks like I've kept the hobby in perspective so far. Having said that, I've spent my fair share on gear. Well, I'm off to see Pearl Jam, happy listening all...Jeff

If you can be midfi and still contribute, here goes. I'm 40 and a veterinarian in coastal Georgia. I gained an ear for music early thanks to my parents who made me play 10 years in the orchestra, violin then bass, (so I wouldn't be too much of a redneck....or was my dad doing that Johnny Cash "Boy Named Sue" thing...) Most of my background is large animal, (horses and cows,) but now my old beat-up body, (also 4 years as a paratrooper,) treats mostly dogs and cats. I have two music loving young'uns, 11 and 8, but you should not want to listen to NSYNC and Ms. Spears that much. My wife likes the TV, so my listening room is my office. [David99, can I have an email on all that gear you will be selling after the union?] Best to all, thanks for the occasional "short cut" to great sound. Charlie

Charlie,I wont be selling any of my gear.I laid down the law early on concerning the importance of my stereo.She also is quite interested in the hardware.Digs the tubes and turntable!! Come on give me more credit than that!! I'm an AUDIOPHILE first,LOVER second........

Well, I guess I'm up. I am a 31 year old programmer/analyst. This is my first year of doing this. Previously, I spent 8 years as a chemist/materials scientist, working in the electronics industry. I was born and raised in the Philadelphia, PA area. I make my home in the suburbs of this wonderful city. Not married yet, no children. My father was an electrician, tv/audio repairman, and finally an electrical engineer. He was(and is) very much into audio. There were always countless amounts of equipment around. And I had my first system before I was five. I became more serious as a teenager, and took a hiatus in my mid 20's(no time). I went through my father's stages, post tube era. American audio ala the 70s and 80s(the thirst for more and more power). Finally coming to the realization that you could only listen so loud, and that sound quality did not have to be a factor of volume. I had a bunch of solid state amps. Over time, I went back to the future, and fell in love with tubes. That's where I am now. I really love this site, and have learned so much, since coming on the scene in July. There are so many dedicated audiophiles here, I feel like I am in the presence of greatness. Joe

Great thread idea - here goes: I'm the 30 year old (in 2 weeks) married father of two girls (2.5 yrs; 5 mos). I'm a software consultant living in the Boston 'burbs. I've been a techno-weenie type as long as I can remember - love math, A/V club in high school, etc. After being into music and stereos since early high school (50-watt receiver w/ $150 3-way speakers), I went mid-fi in college and only this year can FINALLY afford to start building a "real hifi" system - I'm trying it w/ tube gear. My amp came in yesterday and my pre arrived at home this morning - I'll be leaving work early today! I set the amp up last night and drove it from my CD Player's (variable) headphone output. Even in this non-stereo config., my living room was swinging and so was my older daughter - to the MJQ's Complete Last concert'! So far, she seems really into music; I need to cultivate that so I'll have an audio ally in my household! I'm also into cycling (another pastime that caters to the gear-obsessed!). Not much time for anything else (heck, not even enough time for riding and istening!) but the girls more than make up for both!!

Garfish, there actually are similarities between hang gliding and hi-end audio. As you say, they're "soaring" in the sense they lift one spiritually and physically. They are both escapist pastimes in the sense of providing a release from the anxieties and troubles of life. Where they most parallel each other, though, is in being equally expensive hobbies! Hadn't thought about it until now, but my audio system costs the same as my HG gear! Great, just what I needed, a new expensive hobby. The two are mutually exclusive, too. I've flown while listening to a Walkman; the rythm of the air almost never coincides with that of the music. BTW, though a HG pilot for a dozen years and avid music fan for many more, it wasn't until recently that my dream audio system became reality.

I am 45 years old and was born and raised in Des Moines, IA. I spent my childhood messing with piano, clarinet, and electic guitar in school as well as garage bands. My stereos until my mid teens were all good hand me downs. I later became fond of Dynaco and McIntosh tube gear. I moved to LA in 1977 and attempted a career as a musician but due to an extreme lack of talent I failed horribly. Disenchanted with music in general, I stopped listening from around 1985 until just recently. I worked in the interior design industry from 1979 (part time for 4 years) through 1990. In 1990 I resigned from my company and did occasional consulting work to pay the bills. I met my wife in 1991 and married in 1992 still a man with no career. In 1993 I went into the specialty food and wine business which I truely enjoyed having been a wine collector for years and a sous chef at a much younger age. Things were going well until I was injured during an armed robbery in 1998 (I was not the perpetrator). I have been off work for the past year due to headaches and visual problems that stem from the head injury that I sustained. I am told that I will most likely not be able to work at a physical profession again. The TV gives me a headache and so does reading at times. So here I am listening to music once again and experimenting with new gear including the mind boggling and plentiful interconnects and speaker cables. My wife and myself are both avid collectors of Haitian and other art, books, "old" Russian nesting dolls (300+), French advertising barware, free standing Eiffel towers (200+), plastic souvenir snowdomes from the 60's and 70's (3000+), souvenir table cloths, souvenir spoons (must have a 3D depiction of a known architectural monument or building on the top), well you get the picture. My wife also sells some of our mistakes (carnival chalkware, souvenir ashtrays and shotglasses etc.) on Ebay. Since we have been somewhat financialy stretched the past year my wife did not welcome my renewed interest in this hobby with open arms - at the start. I realy enjoy music now, all kinds. I just located a pair of Musical Fidelity X gear mono amps, to bi-amp our modest system, that will cost around $800.00. My wife just offered to sell her silk scarf from the 1948 olympics to offset the expense. I love my wife. She pretends not to hear a difference in sound, but on the other hand sits "quietly" and listens everytime I add another cheap tweak like Vibrapods, new stands etc.. I have even caught her eyes bugging on a few occasions, she gets it. I intend to continue this hobby once again and without fail. I am now looking into future administrative work with the city of West Hollywood, which is where we live, once the headaches resolve themselves a bit more. I also enjoy these forums which without I would have been completely lost a few months ago. The banter is also a hoot. Best regards. David Keil,DeKay

Well, I am a relative newcomer to Audiogon, but here it goes anyway. I am 36 years old (for a few more weeks!), and was born in Havana, Cuba. I moved from Cuba to Spain in 1976,and came to the US in 1978. After a few years in (where else?) Miami, I went off to college in Atlanta (B. S. Chemical Engineering), then on to grad school in balmy Wisconsin (M. S. Chemical Engineering). I have worked for Procter&Gamble ever since graduation in 1989, spending 5 years in Cincinnati, followed by 3 years in Rome, Italy and close to 3 years in Brussels, Belgium. I am now back in Cincinnati and am an Associate Director of R&D. Work has allowed me to travel to many countries, with some memorable stints in Russia, Poland, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. I got into the hobby almost by mistake when I was transferred to Italy. I wanted to buy a decent stereo that would work overseas AND eventually in the US when I returned - and all I could find in Cincinnati to fit the bill was Linn. If I had only known about the "upgrade bug" back then, I would have waited till I got to Rome and gone straight for Unison Research!. Well, at least I had the good sense to eventually buy Sonus Faber speakers. I am married (to another P&G employee) and have 3 Siamese cats i.o. kids (they'll never ask for a car when they turn 16 or want to go to college and, when properly positioned, do a pretty good job on those first order reflections). Besides hi-fi, I love convertibles (had to leave the Alfa Romeo behind, but consoled myself w/ a BMW M Roadster), karaoke singing, single malt scotch (goes well w/ the karaoke!) and gourmet cooking. I am a moderately serious wine collector as well with a modest (500 bottles or so) but carefully selected cellar, and I am an avid reader. BTW, I sold all my Linn gear (except the LP12!) when I moved back to the states, and made my first foray into vacuum tubes (BAT, Aronov). Musical tastes range from opera to jazz to latin music, and I spend a least an hour listening to music every night (preceded by 45 minutes of amp warm-up and, usually, LP cleaning duty!)

Fpeel, you are right. I have over 200 military free fall jumps, and, after enough of them to reduce the adrenaline rush to a level where one can really feel it.....you can try to become Johnathon L. Seagull. A truly awesome experience. And to you, David99, you are my new hero, you lucky SOB [:)] Best of luck. Charlie

Thanks Charles!! This thread is coming real well.Not a single fight yet!! Maybe getting to know one another better will finally help us to all get along better.My girlfriend is getting a kick out of this also.She likes the hardware part of this hobby too and we went to a shop yesterday and looked at some cool tube gear and some B+W Naultilus speakers.We just wish we could afford some!!

Alexc, Man it sounds like you need to retire early and write a book - I bet you have stories to tell! Enjoy! Tony

Jeffloistarca, is your company name Firebird that make InSb wafers? Good listening!

My name is Brad, and I am an audioholic. Vitals: 33, Atlanta, Project Manager (studying C code), had this disease since my first receiver back in high school. I listen to everything but country, polka, top 40. I also love good scotch, cars, beach, mountains, city life...whatever. I hope to become friends with other audio-nuts in the Atlanta area.

hi all, i dunno how i got started in this hobby - musta been that li'l transistor radio i got for my 6th b-d, back in 1962! i played it to *death*! then, when 11, i had saved up enuff allowance & paper-route money to buy my 1st stereo - a panasonic receiver w/matching speakers, cassette deck & turntable, all for $129 (my cheapskate tendencies also took hold early - i remember selling this set-up in a garage sale four years later, for $100!). then, back in '69, at age 13, i bought my 1st *serious* stereo - bose 901's, a dual 1229, & a pioneer sx828 60wpc receiver. this system got me thru college. dunno where i got this music-bug - no one in my fambly gives a hoot about music. i'm also into cars-n-motorcycles in a big way, & no one in my fambly understands *that*, either. oh well... i was born-n-raised in washington, dc; which may explain my *political* tendencies - i was handing out leaflets for eugene mccarthy's presidential bid back in '68! ;~) my liberal arts degree was obtained in ann-arbor, mi (8hrs from a forestry degree, garfish - i refused to take woody plants 1, & organic chemistry!) moved to portland oregon back in late '79, to go to lie...uh, i mean law school. when lie-skool confirmed all my expectations, i quit in the middle of my 2nd year. i wanted to remain in oregon (god's gift to n. america, imho), but reaganomics forced me back east in '83. i'm currently residing in a bucolic setting west of frederick, md, wery close to harper's ferry, wva. i commute down some lovely back-roads in/on one of my alfas/pantera/buell/ducati, (*no* toons in the cars, btw!) to the nih in bethesda, md to practice arch'l/engineering/construction project management, keeping all the dr's & researchers in their *sota* research labs. (no, i'm *not* loaded, the cost of *all* my wehicles combined woodn't be enuff for *one* m5 bmw!) enjoyin' life, listenin' to toons in the 25x38 living room, w/the wife, 9-yr-old daughter, & 5-yr-old son. the daughter likes to sing along w/me on my poor renditions of the likes of neil young, frank zappa, doc watson, & ??? :>) regards from doug in fredneck county, maryland

I'll bite. I'm 50, and a corporate finance/general corporate lawyer who works in downtown Manhattan and commutes from NJ. I got into this hobby through my love of music--I was in a rock band in high school, switched to folk in college at the University of Michigan in the late 60's (and when Hendrix, Clapton and Page made rhythm guitarists scarce), where I played in a number of coffee houses and folk festivals, and now I sing in some very good church choirs and, from time to time, a harmony quartet. Interesting how the musical tastes change over time. I'm married (29+ yrs) with a son who just graduated from Ithaca and has now joined the ranks of unemployed cinematographers. Although my dad had pretty good equipment while I was growing up, and I always had some decent stuff, I really didn't get into this hobby until the mid-80s, when I heard a pair of Duntech Sovereigns driven by Rowland and ARC electronics at my local dealer. Since then I've gone through successive upgrades as my finances would allow, mostly involving solid-state to hybrid to all tube electronics, but I tend to hang on to pieces of equipment I like for quite a while and build the system around them. My interests outside of music are more pedestrian than some of the prior posts, principally sports, particularly golf, bowling (my partners laugh at that one), baseball and hoops.

My name is Aldo, I go by Skip. I'm 43 and have been married to a wonderful woman for 22yrs. We have no children ( as we elect not to) but do have two dogs and a cat. Was born in 57 and lived in N.J. until 65. In 65 we moved to the hot, humid, and bug infested state of Florida, where I grew up. In 78 our lovely Uncle Sam was kind enough to let my lovely wife and I see the country of Germany for two years(where we first got our start into the world of stereo reprodution. After moving back to FL., after the military, Florida Power & Light was looking for apprentices for high voltage lineman. After my four year apprenticeship was complete I was now qualified to work on voltages from 120v. to a lightning bolt. Well that's what they told us, actually up to 500KV. Stayed with FPL till 95, when we'd had enough, and packed our bags for the beautiful state of Idaho. My wife and I wish we had made the move to Idaho years ago. Can't dwell on what ya' shoulda' done, just go forward from here. Ended up working as a Power Lineman for the beautiful City of Idaho Falls. Bought a restaurant/bar called The Frosty Gator. "The Best Tail in Town". We actually sell gator tail from FL. So now I have two full time jobs with little time for my hobby(my stereo). I have just started to upgrade our system and am really enjoying all the comments this forum brings. Have recently gotten back into the vinyl scene and am enjoying it. Am also pursuing going back to college at Idaho State. Want to pursue my degree in electrical engineering, might be tough on this 43 year old man, but what the hell. How old am I going to be if I don't get my degree is the way I look at it. Well, that's the short version of who i am. I'm done now.

Rayhall; nice to meet you on this thread. As a result of yours and Redkiwi's influence, I now have a Shirley Horn CD (re: Redkiwi). BTW she has a fantastic voice and I now understand where Dianna Krall got her "style". I also have 2 Ella Fitsgerald, and 4 more Shirley Horn CDs on order. Sedond-- organic chem. is a bitch anywhere, but plant physiology just about "did me in". I seem to be the "old coot" in this forum, and age gives me a somewhat different perspective on HQ audio I think. Cheers Guys. Craig.

Garfish- Its scary, two soil scientists on this site. I'm a 48 year old wetland/soil scientist; self-employed. I make my living digging holes and then tying little flags on trees (where the wetlands are, hence my screen name. I live in central CT w/ my spouse of 25+ years (some married and more not). A child of the 60's, put together my first radio shack system as a freshman in college. Sometimes get too hung up on the gear side, but with my own business to run and an 11 year old son, sometimes not much time for listening. Found this site last Winter, and got started buying some gear to replace my 80s vintage Yamaha C1a/NYAL Moscode 300 system. Love the threads and am real happy with the (nearly) new gear I've bought from people on this site. I like rock, bluegrass, folk, blues and a little jazz music. Really don't like the personal attacks and one-upsmanship I started seeing here late this summer. Hope this thread succeeds in establishing more of a community. Thanks for all your ideas and the great gear I've bought.

This was a great idea, David. I've found it to be the most interesting thread yet. I'm a poor 23 year old psych major. When I'm not buried underneath my texts or planning my next equipment purchase years in advance, I play guitar, play tennis, paint, and go to a lot of plays and art shows with my girlfriend. The only audio enthusiests in college are the gangsta wannabes who think Cerwin Vega is "tight". So it is nice to check this site once in a while. Take care kids!

Worldcup86, no, I don't know who Firebird is, I work for Insight Components, we distribute semiconductors (aka integrated circuits or chips). Some of the lines I carry include Burr Brown and Crystal Semiconductor, keeps me close to Classe, Oracle, Sima, etc...ATB, JL

Hi, This was a great idea. My real name is Todd, I am 31, recently moved to LA for work. I think I can trace my audio habits back to junior high when I like many of you out there saved up all my money for a few months and went down to Sears for an all in one system. True nirvana for a 14 yr old. I then spent all my summer earnings one year in college to buy the "incredible" Bose 901's and a Yamaha integrated amp that got me through graduate school. Now I have gone off the audio deep end and am loving every minute of it (aside from the bill time). Otherwise, in real life I am a newly practicing orthopaedic surgeon and love surfing, cycling, basketball, and volleyball. My weaknesses are for port, chocolate cake, and good mexican food. My best day would be spent at the beach with my girlfriend, a bottle of wine and a towel.

Welcome to LA Todd! Great thread BTW David. My name is John and I am 30 years old born and raised in Southern California (I know this might depress some of you). I have been into hifi since I was 13. My first "real system" was a used Carver amp and preamp w/ a Sony CDP, and some cheap Infinity speakers. Initially was a music major in college, but graduated with a degree in history. Have played drums professionaly up to about 4 years ago. Have been married since 97 and now find myself spending the time I would have spent playing my drums listening to music on my Wadia/Levinson/ProAc system. I am an Account Executive for a very large Internet company and enjoy cycling (raced competitive for over 7 years), good wine, live jazz and believe it or not working around the house (my house was built in 1922 so I have spent much time doing this). I have bought and sold a ton of gear on this site and have been fortunate enough to meet some great people. It is nice to know that there are others like myself out there. Keep up the good work!

I have to say, You, people are so much better than i am! While most, of my generation, where preparing for the future, i was a bum (in between the odd-jobs)in Paris, Roterdam and Stavanger. In 86, i ended up in Vegas. That was my city! In between jobs, or no jobs, there were crazy women and gambling. Hard lessons! During those years, i didn't own TV, and had just a $10 Sony transistor, set, always, on the KNPR "classical" station! In '96, i attempted to became a Pro-fighter, but got alergic asthma (running in Vegas, during the Olive trees blooming, is a bad idea)and had to find me a steady job, finally! During those years, i wrote some poetry, and short stories. In '97 i picked-up brush and some oil's and made some "copy's" of the "Masterpieces" just to see if i could do it! I had to try to keep the "tiger" of my back, and explain this life to myself! I've been painting ever since. And at the begining, i made a few $, painting the portraits of the dead relatives, from the photographs. The "high-end" hobby is from years poverty growing-up in Yugoslavia, where only Hi-Fi, "gear" i heard about, was looking into the catalogs an magazines. Now, i have a job as "slot tech" on the night shift in Mississippi Gulf Coast, still hate movies, and like Mozart and Bruckner...! If you are interested check my web-page...and this is not solicitation! Regards! Dragan http://home.worldnet.att./~dragan-v/index.html

Nice idea to know some of our fellow 'philes from a more personal perspective. I may qualifiy as the "old fart" in the crowd, but here's my background. I am almost 58 y.o., was born and raised in the Washington, DC, area, graduated from the Univ of Washington in Seattle (followed by MS from Univ of Utah). I served in the US Army for 7 years during the Vietnam era, and had two tours of duty in Germany. In the years since the early 1970's, I have worked as a human resources manager, and as part-time and full-time graduate professor, teaching in Washington state and on US military bases in the western Pacific. I am currently the HR Director for a non-profit biotechnology research firm in Seattle. I have a 31 year old son who is about to complete his PhD in history at Arizona State Univ, and have a terrific 2 year old grandson. I began my audio hobby in 1964, after buying some Fisher kits (tube tuner, tube integrated amp). I have also sold high-end audio equipment on several occasions between 1974 and 1993. In the last 3 years, I have expanded my interest in audio to include home theater, and have assembled a system that pleases me, but will see further upgrades over the next year (Adcom GTP-750 pre/pro; Bryston 4B-ST and 5B-ST amps; VPI HW-19 Mk 4 TT with Rega RB-900 arm; Lehmann Audio Black Cube phono pre; Rega Jupiter CD player; Sony 550D DVD; JVC S-VHS; Sony WEGA 36" TV; Vandersteen 3A Signature main speakers, with Vandy VCC-1 Signature center speaker; B&W surround speakers; Kimber Kable 8TC bi-wire speaker cable; Kimber Silver Streak and AudioQuest Ruby x3 IC's). The next, and perhaps final, addition to my system will be a SACD player (altho' I intend to wait at least another 1-2 years to see what standard finally becomes common). My other hobbies include: jazz, blues, and classical music (about 4000 LP's and CD's); wood carving (NW Indian masks, etc.); fly fishing; scuba diving; marine photography; good food and wine; rare Scotch whiskies; and UW Husky football.

Hi Garfish, I too like Shirley Horne and was lucky enough to see her at a NYC jazz club several years ago. It was a memorable experience. I have learned my lesson now and I don't say anything about Diana Krall. I am sorry for my part in what went on way back when. Glad you are discovering and enjoying jazz.

I love this site.My name is Todd,I was born in Charlotte NC. Relocated in late 60's to Greenville NC where I was raised. I'm 37 yrs.old and my first system consisted of a Realistic 15 watt a channel receiver,Gerrard turntable,& realistic two way speakers. I was 12 yrs. old & bought the gear with money made working in tobacco( my father could not understand that kind of money for a music box)I currently live in Greenvile NC, I'm an owner of a janitorial supply distributorship. My wife is a Doctor and she is great when it comes to my expensive hobby.I listen to eveything except rap junk. I also collect vintage high end watches,enjoy fine wines & fast cars. Thanks for great thread. PS I have met a lot of great people in my selling and buying of gear.

Swampwalker-- yes, eerie to have two "hole diggers" on this site. I've done a few wetland determinations myself. Sdcampbell-- glad to see I'm not quite the "old fart" of the forum. Too bad about the Dawgs this year (a worthy opponent). Yes, I'm a U of O DUCK fan-- Quack, Quack. Rayhall, thanks, and I'm learning better cyberchat manners myself. Eldragon-- college and an 8 to fiver ain't everything. You've had an incredible lifetime of travel and experiences that I'll never see. It's great to meet all you guys. Cheers. Craig.

hi folks! my name is jojo from san francisco, i love this site! without it, it would not have been possible to upgrade my system... anyway i'm 40 years old, and new at this game (real hi-fi stuff). musically, it all started in the early seventies, listening to top 40s, it was soul music back then, i've been hooked eversince. fortunately i have a understanding wife, who lets me dissapear into my music room downtairs whenever i feel the need, my seven year old sometimes joins me, and she mostly knows the tunes that i listen to. like most one of these days my dream system will become reality, life has been good so far, and one thing for sure, this hobby will never end... thanks ps- i mostly listen to: electronic music, dub, lite jazz, trip hop, brazilian, dance (prefer deep-house).

I'm an audiophile and not a geek. According to this thread, is that possible?

Snook2, it ofter seems to me that "geek" is in the eyes of the beholder(s) who give you that 'deer in the headlights' stare as you wax poetic about soundstaging, imaging and minute gradations of coloring. I'm 38, a VP of product mgmt. for an online financial company, also a Pastor in my church and a classically trained studio musician (pianist & electronic keyboards). Married & two sons. Born and raised in SF Bay Area (San Mateo, went to UC Berkeley, now live in East Bay). I was brought up from a very young age around music, have always had a love for and a desire to create it. The joy of creating music and playing with other musicians (esp. jazz and improvised music) superseded the pursuit of reproducing music for me, until just recently. Have typically spent large amounts of cash on musical instruments (synthesizers, etc.) and very little on audio gear, being content with the Yamaha R5 / Technics TT / Infinity speakers we bought when we first got married 14 years ago. However, the Hafler & Genelec monitors I use in the studio (and this site) started my dissatisfaction w/ my home system, so I bought a used pair of Von Schweikert minis. HHB CD recorder soon replaced my Sony CD carosel. Now Carl Eber has whetted my appetite for Magnepan's, VTL, and a starter TT like a Basis or something. My musical tastes are rather eclectic, embracing everything from Rachmaninoff to Sex Pistols to John Coltrane to Bach to Eno to musique concrete to Hendrix to Pat Metheny to King Crimson, and more than one "audiophile" shop here in the SF Bay Area has told me they didn't have speakers that would really do well with everything I want to throw at them. We'll see. BTW, this is a very valuable and insightful thread and so far is thankfully free of flames and posturing. Keep it going!

Hi everyone, I'm 48, sell new Cadillac's for Don Massey and have been in to Audio since I was a kid. A good friend of mine had a Magnavox console stereo (really his folks) and we used to listen to the Venture's on it. What great sound that thing had. Because of that, we started to play the guitar, which I still play today. So now, 36 years later I find myself collecting older Pioneer gear and listing to cd's as apposed to albums. I have a small collection of Pioneer gear, SX-626 (two of them), SX-650, SX-1500TD, SX-980, SX-1250 (two of them), SX-D7000, Series 20 A-27, the infamous SX-1980 and A-88X. I listen to all of them from time to time. Right now I have the SX-D7000 hooked up to Infinity SM-225's (I run two pair hooked in parallel). Source is a Sony DVP 7700 and a Monarchy 22-A D/A converter With a Velodyne CT-120 sub for bass. Not a bad setup. Excellent soundstage and detail. I have gotten a lot of good info. from Audiogon. If anyone has any questions about the older Pioneer gear, I will be more than happy to answer them, if I can. Mike

Snook2, how people appear in print and via the net are sometimes VERY different than how they are in person. Many people take advantage of either being completely anonymous or others not knowing them in person to produce an alter ego or portray themselves as something they really aren't but would hope to be. Having said that, all you have to do is attend an audio convention to see what most audiophiles "look like". Most are middle aged men that wear glasses / contacts and could stand to loose a few pounds. I know that this is a very vague generalization at best, but at least most of these guys bathe on a regular basis. Now if you want to see "REAL" geeks, go to a large ham radio convention. You'll get to see some of the strangest creatures on the planet that rarely venture outside of their own house. They live their lives via the airwaves and are many times complete outcasts from society. Since they don't do a lot of "face to face" communicating, they see little need to bathe or learn how to match clothes appropriately. The funny part is that i enjoy both hobbies and bear NO resemblance to what anybody would think of as being a typical audiophile or radio nut. Most people that look at me would think i'm closer to being a criminal or a thug : ) Sean >

Sean- I had high hopes this thread would be free of ignorance and put downs.But I see its been invaded and Im sure its all down hill from hear.I ask my fellow "geeks"to ignore this stooge and continue the mature dialog.P.S. anyone have any tape for my glasses?

Hi guys, I am glad to get to know some of you whom I read comments from. Specially Craig (Garfish) who has saved me from spending too much money on the Analog gear. My name is Mohamed Youssif; I was born in Egypt 1960. B.Sc. in telecommunications engineering and have been working with satellite telecommunications since I graduated in 1983 and immigrated to the US. Got my citizenship and lived in the Washington DC Metropolitan area for 13 years. My hobby started when I was a teen playing drums and singing. My first stereo I bough in 1979 when I used to go to London every summer to work for McDonald’s and then buy stereo and come back to Egypt when school years started. My friends used to get very excited when they know that I am traveling because they know that I will be selling my old stereo. Now I work for Teledesic - (the Internet in the Sky) project of Craig McCow and Bill Gates- as Regional General Manager for the Middle-East and North Africa based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Now I have lots of equipments that is mix between what I brought with me from the US and what I purchased locally. So I have a mix of 110 volt and 220v equipment. However, I am currently purging the 110v equipment. It is a challenge but I am getting there.

hi again, mohamed. craig may have saved ewe some money, but he steered ya away from a *lot* better sound! ;~) regards, doug ps - whan ya purge the *last* piece of 110v gear - *that's* when yule get transferred back to the usa!!! :>)

Awl hell, why not. I’ve been addicted to this site ever since I found it, so why not fess up. 28 and living in NYC. (Still a youngster compared to many of those surveyed, though less so than I expected, truth be told). Grew up more or less in the D.C. area (Virginia, actually), went to CT for college, and was actually living in Spain (teaching, playing dilettante, and making an effort to write a book about a couple of timely summers spent in Russia and the conveniently interposed fall of the Soviet empire) when I came up with the jackass idea that, in order to properly understand all of the socio-political vectors and whatnot that go into this fancy new rule of law concept that was emerging in Russia, law school might be a good idea. Yea, jackass idea, back to VA for law school. Now, I’m doing more-or-less international arbitration and litigation in New York. Alas. My first "system" was a cobbled-together Yamaha / Infinity combo that I did sophomore year in college. I then spent the next nine years fantasizing about all of the upgrades I might get if and when I had the money. (Built a pair of speakers once, blew one out at a party, and then threw it out of a fifth story window for good measure. No injuries). Now it appears that I have the money, I got the system I was (had been...) dreaming of, the only trick is that I continue to dream of yet more expensive additions. . . Other interests? Seems that single malt scotch and wine are almost de rigeur - yea, me too. I’ve also been sporadically and consumingly obsessed, for years at a time, with rowing, skiing, sailing, rock climbing, Aikido, writing, scuba diving, fly fishing, and mountain biking - none of which seem to fit all that well with my lifestyle in NYC these days, sadly. Current obsessions, aside from sitting in front of the hi-fi with a stupid grin, include live music of nearly any stripe (though mostly jazz and blues - try to catch at least a show a week), languages (do most of my pleasure reading in either Spanish or French, though I almost never get to go), and girls. (Yea, single). Keep the stories coming, folks, this is quality stuff.

I am 46, married to the most wonderful woman in the world, have two terrific girls 7 and 8yrs, who in turn have a dog, two cats and a mouse. I live in New Zealand and descend from the marriage between one of the first British missionaries to New Zealand and the daughter of a tribal Maori King named Tamatewhakanene (pronounced Tar mar tay far ka nay nay). King "T" was the final signatory to this country's founding (but controversial) legal document, the Treaty Of Waitangi. I live in the ludicrously small city of Wellington, which is this country's capital, windy like Chicago and shakey like California, more cafes per head than New York. Commuting to the city is 5 minutes for me, 10 minutes in 'rush hour' - yet I live in a suburb that enjoys spectacular harbour views, abundant vegetation, bush walks and large sections (blocks of land). I am a business economist/strategist working in telecommunications. I have been involved in a number of audio ventures including manufacturing and marketing a valve preamp, and have good friendships with a number of people in the music, audio and film industries in New Zealand. Up till recently I had a good business sideline in Fiji, but the recent coup there has destroyed that opportunity for the present, much to my disappointment. If that coup had not occurred I would probably be now living in Fiji full-time. I have been actively keen (ie. spending money) on music since around 10 years old - first interests being the Beatles, quickly dropped for the Rolling Stones (at 10 and a half). Then ventured into Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, ELP etc (around 13). Followed by discovering Blues (15), then Classical (22), then Jazz (28). These days I have dropped the interest in pop and most electronic music in general. I dropped buying Classical when I reluctantly moved from vinyl to CD (very hard to get vinyl here) about five years ago. Somehow Classical has never sounded musical to me on CD. But I still go to Classical music concerts. Like many (but obviously not all) audiophiles I prefer to listen to mostly acoustic music and so my preferences are mainly Jazz, Blues with some Country and Folk sprinkled in too. Therefore my preferences in audio system are for transparency and timbral accuracy rather than for horse-power. My all-time favourite musicians include; Junior Wells (mainly when teamed with Buddy Guy playing guitar), James Brown, Shirley Horn, Sarah Vaughan, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bill Evans, Count Basie (his small band stuff), Tom Waits (but not the whole repertoire). My taste in people is confined to those with intellect, humour, honesty and self-respect - and so my friendships are few but deep. I am an introvert and so enjoy the solitude of a glass of wine, good music and a good book. My other 'phile obsessions and occupations are wine, coffee, motor-racing and rugby. I really enjoy reading Audiogon posts but do not contribute much as, being an introvert, I tend to wait till I feel I have something unique to say. One of my hobby-horses in the audio field is that audio magazines are not as relevant as most seem to believe. I feel the audio press is sadly, but understandably, all style and no substance - that journalism triumphs over reality, and that much of the audio vernacular is driven by these audio journalists needing to make the issues concerning a component more complicated than they really are. I find that I react to a component according to whether or not I can enjoy music when it is inserted in the chain, and that the attempts of audio journalists to categorise the sound issues into narrow components merely makes for a longer story - not greater insight.

Guys, you know what is missing, is emails, we should post our emails. Thai will allow us to communicate directly if we elect to. What do you think? Mine is myoussif@emirates.net.ae

hi mohamed, if anyone posting is an audiogon member, then they can be emailed directly, by yust looking up their user id in audiogon's list. if *not* a member, then ya have to post yer email address to get your comments posted. regards, sedond@ors.od.nih.gov