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. |
Fpeel; Is the common denominator of Hi-end audio and hang gliding perhaps "soaring"? Cheers. Craig. |
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. |
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 Redkiwi, Hdm, John_1; Nice to meet you on this thread and read your bio-info. I'm a big Junior Wells and Buddy guy fan also, and Hoodoo Man Blues is great-- listened to it last night. I saw Buddy Guy live several years ago. He's a tremendous performer with a smile that could light up Oregon, and his version of "Mustang Sally" is killer. Redkiwi, I now have 5 Shirley Horn CDs (your influence), she's great, but I only like the ballads. I'm really enjoying this thread. Cheers. Craig. |
Personally I'm glad that David99 had the nerve to start this potentially contentious thread, and as he mentioned me in it, I feel a small amount of joint responsibility for it too. I think the thread has been highly successful, extremely interesting, and very worthwhile. So, I sincerely hope no one pollutes it with pettiness and negativity. I have really enjoyed getting to know other Audiogon members, and as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most valuable threads of the year. Thanks David. Cheers and Happy holidays to all. Craig. |
Hi Shaqspack; great intro. post-- at least I certainly enjoyed it, and welcome to Audiogon Chat. I believe "some of us" could occasionally use your professional services on some of the more heated threads. Do you do cyber-counseling? Nice to meet you too Retroguy; I see on another thread that you're already "mixing it up". Cheers. Craig. |
David; happy to see that your thread "has legs"-- hope it keeps going. I posted very early (2nd) in this thread, but nothing about my "system".
I use Levinson M37 transport and M360S DAC connected with Cardas AES/EBU dig. cable. This front end connects to a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 pre-amp and then to a pair of McCormack DNA-2DX Rev. A amps that are used to bi-amp Vandersteen 3Asig. speakers (I have Vand. 5 speakers on order :>). The pre-amp and CD-R sit on Townshend Seimic Sinks. I built my own 200 lb.+ double wide, spiked stereo stand.
Wires are Synergistic Research Phase II ICs with active shielding, and Syn. Res. Sig. No. 2 bi-wire speaker cables. All components have Syn. Res. Master Couplers on them, and are plugged directly into four duplex hubbell dedicated outlets. For room treatment, 5 ASC tube traps,3 ASC Wall Panels, and misc. bookcases, CD cabinets and furniture are used.
Accessories include a Pioneer CD-R, Sony cassette recorder, Monster HTS 1000 (for acc.) and Sennheiser 600 headphones. I also have a 2nd system that is essentially made up of less expensive Vand., SF, and McCormack components. I've got about 1,000 CDs-- need more music! Cheers. Craig |
Congratulations David. A great thread, and I think my favorite-- hope it keeps going. Is 200 posts a record? Cheers. Craig |
I only occasionally check on this thread-- glad to see it's still going strong. Thanks Evo845 for sharing your personal and painful experiences with us. IMO, it takes a strong man to admit those kind of feelings and "weaknesses". And I think CFB's compassionate response was excellent too. I can assure all that I too have been at or near the bottom of the barrel. My sister also died of ovarian cancer-- at age 48. Thanks for sharing, and welcome aboard. I sincerely hope that you can enjoy the music.
The terrible events of September 11, 2001 may cause many of us to re-assess Who We R. Craig |
Rivercitylad; as I went to school in Moscow, Idaho (90 miles S. of Spokane), I've spent some time in the fair city of Spokane-- a place I may choose to live if not here on the Oregon coast. Welcome to you and all the new people here on Audiogon.
Congrats to you David, "our" thread now has over 300 posts, and I'm glad to hear of the positive changes in your life and music. I agree, there are some excellent recordings of C/W music, ie Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and G. Jones come to mind-- but I'm still a Bluesman at heart. BTW, in Oct., I added Vandersteen 5s to my system, and am still falling in love with them ;>). Incredible bass.
Dugg, it's nise to si yore Naim bak on the 'Gon. Happy New Year to all A'gon members and readers. Cheers. Craig. |
Bishopwill, it's refreshing to have someone so "up-front" about their views on the always controversial subject of subjectivity vs objectivity in high-end audio. Welcome to the Forum. Cheers. Craig. |
Some really fascinating new Bios above-- welcome. I can identify a bit with Lugnut (neat name), as I went to U of Idaho ('63-'66), bought a '69 Vitimin C Orange Plymouth Road runner in '69, and have pursued photography as a hobby for 30+ years. I drove that Roadrunner 10 years, kept it in mint condition, then sold it to a 17 year old who wrapped it around a power pole 2 weeks later-- what a waste:>(.
And Zaikesman. Wow, what a wealth of experience-- actually participating in all those kinds of music! I'm impressed for sure as I've only "played at guitar" for 40 years, but really no more than Rock jam sessions in my younger years.
A philosophy professor too! And a Ferrari and Porsche owner/racer! This place is getting damn interesting. I look forward to hearing from all you guys. What's fascinating to me is the tremendous experience and broad diversity of other interests that A'gon members bring with them. We really are more than "audio-nerds". Welcome, and Cheers. Craig |
