Hi all,
I've been a music lover my whole life--I blame my dad--and I listen almost exclusively to vinyl. I live in Kelowna, BC, with my wife, Jenny (who tolerates my audio "habit").
I got the hifi bug years ago although my system wasn't that good. As I got more into the gear side of things, I bought a CD player (a Marantz CD73 if memory serves) but thankfully hung on to my vinyl. I thought the CD sounded a bit bright but chalked it up to being "correct". It was digital, right?
Later that year I went to my first hifi show, at Heathrow in England. In the Absolute Sounds room they were demoing Krell reference amplification, Apogee Divas, a Goldmund Studio TT, and a Krell CD player. At the time, I wondered why they were bothering with the TT--until I heard it. To my undisciplined ears, it sounded as good as the CD player. Maybe there was something in the madness I was reading in The Absolute Sound after all?
I went home and borrowed a Michell Syncro from a local dealer for a week. It sounded pretty good but what really convinced me was when I played Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. I heard details in the vinyl I hadn't heard in the CD! When I plugged my CD player back into the system, I listened again to verify: yep, I was getting more detail from the vinyl. I was sold: I had to buy a decent turntable.
I could've bought that Syncro there and then, but worked out that if I saved really hard for 6 months, I could go into the next level. I auditioned several TTs in this exalted price range: the Linn LP12, the Pink Triangle PT Too, and the Roksan Xerxes. It was the latter I eventually went for (although in retrospect, the PT Too was probably the better deck).
Several upgrades later, I now own a Forsell Air Reference Mk 2 TT, a Lyra Parnassus cartridge, an Audio Research SP-9 Mk 2, and a pair of MartinLogan Spires. Wiring is Nordost Frey. I have about 1,400 records; I'm adding as many as I can but funds are very limited as I write (due to long term unemployment), so I'm not adding to my collection as much as I'd like!
I decided to put my love of music and hifi and my writing skills (I have had a computer programming text book published) to work, the net result of which is a freely-downloadable, vinyl-centric audio mag called Vinylphile (the first issue will be published "RSN"). The mag will be free to read by all, and (hopefully) supported by advertisers.
I am looking forward to being an active participant in this new high-end audio community, and I'm honoured that Steve asked me to join the cadre of moderators. I hope I'm up to the job!
I've been a music lover my whole life--I blame my dad--and I listen almost exclusively to vinyl. I live in Kelowna, BC, with my wife, Jenny (who tolerates my audio "habit").
I got the hifi bug years ago although my system wasn't that good. As I got more into the gear side of things, I bought a CD player (a Marantz CD73 if memory serves) but thankfully hung on to my vinyl. I thought the CD sounded a bit bright but chalked it up to being "correct". It was digital, right?
Later that year I went to my first hifi show, at Heathrow in England. In the Absolute Sounds room they were demoing Krell reference amplification, Apogee Divas, a Goldmund Studio TT, and a Krell CD player. At the time, I wondered why they were bothering with the TT--until I heard it. To my undisciplined ears, it sounded as good as the CD player. Maybe there was something in the madness I was reading in The Absolute Sound after all?
I went home and borrowed a Michell Syncro from a local dealer for a week. It sounded pretty good but what really convinced me was when I played Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. I heard details in the vinyl I hadn't heard in the CD! When I plugged my CD player back into the system, I listened again to verify: yep, I was getting more detail from the vinyl. I was sold: I had to buy a decent turntable.
I could've bought that Syncro there and then, but worked out that if I saved really hard for 6 months, I could go into the next level. I auditioned several TTs in this exalted price range: the Linn LP12, the Pink Triangle PT Too, and the Roksan Xerxes. It was the latter I eventually went for (although in retrospect, the PT Too was probably the better deck).
Several upgrades later, I now own a Forsell Air Reference Mk 2 TT, a Lyra Parnassus cartridge, an Audio Research SP-9 Mk 2, and a pair of MartinLogan Spires. Wiring is Nordost Frey. I have about 1,400 records; I'm adding as many as I can but funds are very limited as I write (due to long term unemployment), so I'm not adding to my collection as much as I'd like!
I decided to put my love of music and hifi and my writing skills (I have had a computer programming text book published) to work, the net result of which is a freely-downloadable, vinyl-centric audio mag called Vinylphile (the first issue will be published "RSN"). The mag will be free to read by all, and (hopefully) supported by advertisers.
I am looking forward to being an active participant in this new high-end audio community, and I'm honoured that Steve asked me to join the cadre of moderators. I hope I'm up to the job!