Who R U?

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