Audiophiles in Austin, TX, Please Check In!

[Ron Resnick]

I have a close audiophile friend moving to Austin, Texas.

Austin members please check in!

 

[Bill Hart]

It's a little thin on the ground here, Ron. Arnie- (Babybear?) out in Hill Country, J Frech, somewhere in central Austin, I know I met a few folks from the local audio society when I finally moved down here full time, and S Banks, who I think is now out in Georgetown- the guy who imports that Greek gear isn't exactly in town, but I met him at Albert's in Dallas, Scott Oliver, who posts here. That's all I know.
Having lived in NY metro for decades, and hung with the old Audio Society there (Myles was a member, we were both young, Sid Marks, a whole bunch of writers for TAS and STereophile, plus manufacturers used to attend), it is probably not a fair comparison. I also don't really visit retail shops much anymore. Be interested to see who chimes in. I generally welcome visitors especially if they have a strong interest in music. One young fellow reached out to me a few months ago for some help on cleaning vinyl and he has a deep knowledge of country- real stuff, not the pop/rock Nashville cranks out. Lots of musicians here, not as many audiophiles that I've met. But, I'm not sure if it's me-- I'm very happy to spend time by my self, though I'm not exactly a misanthrope. Working on that.

 

[lordcloud]

I'm in Austin (Just north of Austin, in Round Rock).

 

[lordcloud]

It's a little thin on the ground here, Ron. Arnie- (Babybear?) out in Hill Country, J Frech, somewhere in central Austin, I know I met a few folks from the local audio society when I finally moved down here full time, and S Banks, who I think is now out in Georgetown- the guy who imports that Greek gear isn't exactly in town, but I met him at Albert's in Dallas, Scott Oliver, who posts here. That's all I know.
Having lived in NY metro for decades, and hung with the old Audio Society there (Myles was a member, we were both young, Sid Marks, a whole bunch of writers for TAS and STereophile, plus manufacturers used to attend), it is probably not a fair comparison. I also don't really visit retail shops much anymore. Be interested to see who chimes in. I generally welcome visitors especially if they have a strong interest in music. One young fellow reached out to me a few months ago for some help on cleaning vinyl and he has a deep knowledge of country- real stuff, not the pop/rock Nashville cranks out. Lots of musicians here, not as many audiophiles that I've met. But, I'm not sure if it's me-- I'm very happy to spend time by my self, though I'm not exactly a misanthrope. Working on that.

Hi Bill!

I came to visit and listen some years ago (you and your wife introduced my girlfriend and I to The Phoenician, which we love(d)), and I've been meaning to reach out to you to come over and listen again.

Henri

 

[lordcloud]

Believe High Fidelity (Aries Cerat) is in Hutto, just north of Austin.

Sbo6 is in Round Rock as well.

 

[Bill Hart]

Hi Bill!

I came to visit and listen some years ago (you and your wife introduced my girlfriend and I to The Phoenician, which we love(d)), and I've been meaning to reach out to you to come over and listen again.

Henri

Hey, Henri- you are always welcome. The last few years have been a little crazy for everybody, glad we are sorta back to normal. I think the system has changed since you heard it- the Koetsu cartridges really give the bottom end the same kind of filled in sound and dimension as the midrange. Just shoot me a DM here and we can go from there.

 

[Bill Hart]

Believe High Fidelity (Aries Cerat) is in Hutto, just north of Austin.

Sbo6 is in Round Rock as well.

Yes, that's the fellow who I met at Albert Porters. Nice cat. He turned us on to a Greek record, sort of new age/classical/jazz, not something I would have found on my own. Cool album.

 

[RHMMMM]

Hey all! I’m the one moving to Austin from LA (thanks for the thread, Ron!). Ron has been amazingly kind to me in the short time we have known each other.

I am really excited and will be living in the Domain area for a year or so while I get a lay of the land and before I buy a home.

 

[sbo6]

There are a bunch of us in Austin, but obviously not as big as big cities have. In fact a few of us tried some years back to start a club - 512 Audio and we had a room at LSAF. We plan to have a room this year again and (kind of) promoting my FB group Supreme Sound and Music. Supreme Sound and Music | Facebook

I know Arnie well, Henri and others and you're right, things kind of fell apart a bit with COVID. Come on down to LSAF, I'm sure you'll have fun!! It's more about the music and the people than the system IMO

 

[RHMMMM]

There are a bunch of us in Austin, but obviously not as big as big cities have. In fact a few of us tried some years back to start a club - 512 Audio and we had a room at LSAF. We plan to have a room this year again and (kind of) promoting my FB group Supreme Sound and Music. Supreme Sound and Music | Facebook

I know Arnie well, Henri and others and you're right, things kind of fell apart a bit with COVID. Come on down to LSAF, I'm sure you'll have fun!! It's more about the music and the people than the system IMO

thanks! Had to look up LSAF - Lone Star Audio Fest!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hey all! I’m the one moving to Austin from LA (thanks for the thread, Ron!). Ron has been amazingly kind to me in the short time we have known each other.

I am really excited and will be living in the Domain area for a year or so while I get a lay of the land and before I buy a home.

It's been wonderful getting to know you! I am very sad you're leaving LA!

 

[jfrech]

Hi, I am just west of Austin in Horseshoe Bay

 

[arnies]

Welcome to Austin. I am very close to downtown Austin (not in the Hill Country).
I think the Austin audiophile community is larger than what most people think, it's just that not many of the local enthusiasts do alot of posting on audio web sites. But there are a wide range of very good audio systems here. Also, we have increased our local dealers here and now have 4 dealers with real brick and mortar locations - Tweek Geek in Dripping Springs (moved here from Colorado), Origin HI FI in North Austin, Sound Sanctuary of Austin in central Austin, and Whetstone Audio in East Austin. There are some home based dealers as well - Believe Hi FI in Hutto for example (north of Austin).
I think you will find it to be a fairly vibrant audio community once you are here and settled.

Thanks,
Arnie

 

[Bill Hart]

Welcome to Austin. I am very close to downtown Austin (not in the Hill Country).
I think the Austin audiophile community is larger than what most people think, it's just that not many of the local enthusiasts do alot of posting on audio web sites. But there are a wide range of very good audio systems here. Also, we have increased our local dealers here and now have 4 dealers with real brick and mortar locations - Tweek Geek in Dripping Springs (moved here from Colorado), Origin HI FI in North Austin, Sound Sanctuary of Austin in central Austin, and Whetstone Audio in East Austin. There are some home based dealers as well - Believe Hi FI in Hutto for example (north of Austin).
I think you will find it to be a fairly vibrant audio community once you are here and settled.

Thanks,
Arnie

Man, I don't know why I thought you were in Hill Country. I'm in the old part of Travis Heights. You are closer than I thought!

 

[Bill Hart]

Hey all! I’m the one moving to Austin from LA (thanks for the thread, Ron!). Ron has been amazingly kind to me in the short time we have known each other.

I am really excited and will be living in the Domain area for a year or so while I get a lay of the land and before I buy a home.

We started coming to Austin in 2012--we rented (in Clarksville, an old community very close to downtown) part of the year and would travel back to NY for summer and fall. We hired a real estate broker to represent us as buyers and got a "feed" from the multilist database that focused on the neighborhoods we were most interested in.
Renting here gave us the opportunity to know the city, make friends and get a better sense of where we wanted to live. It was invaluable. By the time we bought (at the beginning of 2017) we had a fair amount of knowledge about what we wanted and how that matched the various locales. Some neighborhoods that we first looked at in 2012 had gentrified considerably over that 5 year span.
One thing I can tell you is that buying residential real estate here (at least compared to NY) is caveat emptor. Older houses with additions that were never permitted-not on the tax rolls--were quite common. (Our broker would pull the building department file on any house we were considering to ascertain this). Interestingly, they typically don't use lawyers for house closings-- I'm a lawyer and always hired one to handle real estate transactions.
Downside of living at the Domain- it is really a self-contained city outside of town, so if you are planning on living in Central Austin, you are going to have to schlep into the city. There is certainly stuff to do up at the Domain- one of my favorite spots for casual food- 2nd Kitchen-- closed in town, but I'm pretty sure they still have a location at the Domain.
Housing prices have not softened that much despite what you may read-- stuff is still overpriced, especially in desirable neighborhoods-- but the buying frenzy of multiple bids over ask may have died down and listings now take longer to sell.
One nice thing about living in close proximity to downtown is that you don't really need a car to get around-- we had lived out in the country in NY, which I loved--along the Hudson River-- but it is nice to be back to city living. There are of course some downsides but depending on your priorities, you may find that the tradeoffs are worth it. We had lived in Brooklyn Heights for many years when we were in NY and it enabled us to walk into Manhattan, and do a lot of things that living in the Hudson Valley made more of an ordeal. Part of it may be an age thing for me-- I really don't want to spend time driving at this point in my life.
Oh, bonus- the airport here, though small-ish, is very manageable, except during peaks, like holidays. It isn't far from town, and with Clear and the other pre-check approvals, you can cruise right through.
Biggest downsides to me about Austin: summers are crazy hot; there is no Jewish soul food, like smoked fish, blintzes and all the other goodies you'd find in a real delicatessen (LA has good ones) and they don't really "get" Italian food-- there are a couple decent spots that are always booked. But, tacos-- we got tacos! (Breakfast tacos are wonderful).
Welcome to an interesting town that is still growing like crazy.

 

[sbo6]

We started coming to Austin in 2012--we rented (in Clarksville, an old community very close to downtown) part of the year and would travel back to NY for summer and fall. We hired a real estate broker to represent us as buyers and got a "feed" from the multilist database that focused on the neighborhoods we were most interested in.
Renting here gave us the opportunity to know the city, make friends and get a better sense of where we wanted to live. It was invaluable. By the time we bought (at the beginning of 2017) we had a fair amount of knowledge about what we wanted and how that matched the various locales. Some neighborhoods that we first looked at in 2012 had gentrified considerably over that 5 year span.
One thing I can tell you is that buying residential real estate here (at least compared to NY) is caveat emptor. Older houses with additions that were never permitted-not on the tax rolls--were quite common. (Our broker would pull the building department file on any house we were considering to ascertain this). Interestingly, they typically don't use lawyers for house closings-- I'm a lawyer and always hired one to handle real estate transactions.
Downside of living at the Domain- it is really a self-contained city outside of town, so if you are planning on living in Central Austin, you are going to have to schlep into the city. There is certainly stuff to do up at the Domain- one of my favorite spots for casual food- 2nd Kitchen-- closed in town, but I'm pretty sure they still have a location at the Domain.
Housing prices have not softened that much despite what you may read-- stuff is still overpriced, especially in desirable neighborhoods-- but the buying frenzy of multiple bids over ask may have died down and listings now take longer to sell.
One nice thing about living in close proximity to downtown is that you don't really need a car to get around-- we had lived out in the country in NY, which I loved--along the Hudson River-- but it is nice to be back to city living. There are of course some downsides but depending on your priorities, you may find that the tradeoffs are worth it. We had lived in Brooklyn Heights for many years when we were in NY and it enabled us to walk into Manhattan, and do a lot of things that living in the Hudson Valley made more of an ordeal. Part of it may be an age thing for me-- I really don't want to spend time driving at this point in my life.
Oh, bonus- the airport here, though small-ish, is very manageable, except during peaks, like holidays. It isn't far from town, and with Clear and the other pre-check approvals, you can cruise right through.
Biggest downsides to me about Austin: summers are crazy hot; there is no Jewish soul food, like smoked fish, blintzes and all the other goodies you'd find in a real delicatessen (LA has good ones) and they don't really "get" Italian food-- there are a couple decent spots that are always booked. But, tacos-- we got tacos! (Breakfast tacos are wonderful).
Welcome to an interesting town that is still growing like crazy.

We should meet Bill, maybe we can get offline.

I agree with all you said, but to add a bit of subjective color - I grew up on Long Island, N.Y. and moved to the Austin area in 2000. Austin has become incredibly crowded and I find as I get older that I need less to do with the city and enjoy more intimate locations with open spaces. As such, we're looking to move further away from Austin (Round Rock to Georgetown or possibly Salado). This also enables me to build a larger audio room - more inside and outside space and still not too far from the Austin suburbs and city.

WRT food - I also agree, I miss good Italian (not what Texans consider good Italian) but I will say that Tex Mex and barbecue can be a very good alternative.

And, like Arnie said, there are a lot of us local Austin audio nuts, just scattered with all types of systems and most important good people IMO.

 

[Bill Hart]

We should meet Bill, maybe we can get offline.

I agree with all you said, but to add a bit of subjective color - I grew up on Long Island, N.Y. and moved to the Austin area in 2000. Austin has become incredibly crowded and I find as I get older that I need less to do with the city and enjoy more intimate locations with open spaces. As such, we're looking to move further away from Austin (Round Rock to Georgetown or possibly Salado). This also enables me to build a larger audio room - more inside and outside space and still not too far from the Austin suburbs and city.

WRT food - I also agree, I miss good Italian (not what Texans consider good Italian) but I will say that Tex Mex and barbecue can be a very good alternative.

And, like Arnie said, there are a lot of us local Austin audio nuts, just scattered with all types of systems and most important good people IMO.

Fair point. Sent you a PM.

 

[Believe High Fidelity]

Nice to have another Austin Audiophile joining us. Easiest way to meet a lot of folks is to join the Austin Audiophile Society we have on FB to communicate with members or find events we will be hosting. We have one coming up end of March so try and join if you can. Most times it is just a casual session, but occasional we have artists come or manufacturers come in to share with us some new and exciting releases.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

We have had a lot of turnout as of late now that the COVID is not as much of a concern for our members. I head up the group so any suggestions for events or if you want to meet specific folks just shoot me a FB message or email me at J@ibelieveinhifi.com

-Joshua

 

[RHMMMM]

We started coming to Austin in 2012--we rented (in Clarksville, an old community very close to downtown) part of the year and would travel back to NY for summer and fall. We hired a real estate broker to represent us as buyers and got a "feed" from the multilist database that focused on the neighborhoods we were most interested in.
Renting here gave us the opportunity to know the city, make friends and get a better sense of where we wanted to live. It was invaluable. By the time we bought (at the beginning of 2017) we had a fair amount of knowledge about what we wanted and how that matched the various locales. Some neighborhoods that we first looked at in 2012 had gentrified considerably over that 5 year span.
One thing I can tell you is that buying residential real estate here (at least compared to NY) is caveat emptor. Older houses with additions that were never permitted-not on the tax rolls--were quite common. (Our broker would pull the building department file on any house we were considering to ascertain this). Interestingly, they typically don't use lawyers for house closings-- I'm a lawyer and always hired one to handle real estate transactions.
Downside of living at the Domain- it is really a self-contained city outside of town, so if you are planning on living in Central Austin, you are going to have to schlep into the city. There is certainly stuff to do up at the Domain- one of my favorite spots for casual food- 2nd Kitchen-- closed in town, but I'm pretty sure they still have a location at the Domain.
Housing prices have not softened that much despite what you may read-- stuff is still overpriced, especially in desirable neighborhoods-- but the buying frenzy of multiple bids over ask may have died down and listings now take longer to sell.
One nice thing about living in close proximity to downtown is that you don't really need a car to get around-- we had lived out in the country in NY, which I loved--along the Hudson River-- but it is nice to be back to city living. There are of course some downsides but depending on your priorities, you may find that the tradeoffs are worth it. We had lived in Brooklyn Heights for many years when we were in NY and it enabled us to walk into Manhattan, and do a lot of things that living in the Hudson Valley made more of an ordeal. Part of it may be an age thing for me-- I really don't want to spend time driving at this point in my life.
Oh, bonus- the airport here, though small-ish, is very manageable, except during peaks, like holidays. It isn't far from town, and with Clear and the other pre-check approvals, you can cruise right through.
Biggest downsides to me about Austin: summers are crazy hot; there is no Jewish soul food, like smoked fish, blintzes and all the other goodies you'd find in a real delicatessen (LA has good ones) and they don't really "get" Italian food-- there are a couple decent spots that are always booked. But, tacos-- we got tacos! (Breakfast tacos are wonderful).
Welcome to an interesting town that is still growing like crazy.

Bill, thanks so much for a great post! I can’t wait to make the move and be closer to some family and a little bit more affordable houses. I grew up in Florida so the hot summers won’t be too bad on me. I’ve been spoiled with LA weather though.

Looking forward to connecting with everyone!

 

[Audio_Builder]

Welcome to Austin!
I am 5 min North of the Domain. Been in Austin 25 years. Happy to answer any questions.