Who R U?

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