I know how you feel I lost mine early this year hae was also my best friend.We had so much in common togrther and although our musical tastes were different from each other we both learned a lot from each other. My tastes are solo piano and orchestral and he Opera and Orchestral it was great to listen to what we had picked up each week that we met up and listened. You have my sympathies, I hope you can meet someone new and forge a new friendship as I haven't so I miss him terribly.
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I wish that I had an audiophile friend to lose. My closest friend used to be interested in high end audio many years ago, but lost interest for a variety of reasons. Now it's just me, and I have no one to talk to about gear or music. We still go to concerts together at least, but it would really be nice to have an audiophile friend that I could talk to and see in person now and then. |
Lost a pal 20 years ago. He was an opinionated bastard, yet a patient guiding force when I was new to all this. An opera singer and smoker. No cares about the big house falling down around him as long as he had the music. Big room, tall ceilings. Casement windows flung open. Gear everywhere. Full of superlatives, and always trying new kit. Listened to all types of music but opera and small ensemble classical was where he was most at home. Taken too early. Should’ve quit the smokes. Forever pottering around tweaking with astonishing results, he taught me that a healthy skepticism was necessary in order to stay solvent. |
I lost a good friend two years ago, he was in the industry but was a music lover to the core..... had over 5000 albums and a few thousand CDs I was going through a tough time, I had recently come close to dying and had a long road back, but it was nothing compared to how he suffered. He went down hill fast and was gone in 8 months ....It taught me that life is short and there's always someone out there worse off than you. I miss digging out classic deep tracks and talking hi fi..... |
Losing a friend is losing a part of your life. In the past five years or so I have lost my best friend (a fellow audiophile), my brother, and my parents. It is a sorry thought to think that everyone we have ever met or loved will die. But that is the lesson of this life. Music is the one happy constant in my life. It endures: another lesson. |
Lost a great audiophile friend a long time ago. I learnt lots from him, he introduced me to Guy Clark's music making, among so many other things. I've only been blessed by my audio mates: increasingly rare skills shared, collaborated on projects, generous with time, music, gear, friendship. My take on the audio community is that we are enriched by our shared love of music, and the pursuit of fidelity. We tend to be ready to share our interests and help carry on this most interesting pursuit. Thanks to all who share, so we learn, and in turn share. |
Wow interesting topic. I would love to have someone that lives near me with the same hobby. Makes me think I really should join an audio society, or something like that. But there's none that are close to me that I know of, and I work odd hours. I feel bad you've lost your friend. This includes the others here that told their stories. But never forget just how lucky your were to have had that friend in the first place. And remember to always be kind to others. Because you never know. They might end up being a great friend that you might never have had if you were not so friendly to them in the first place. I hope we all find that friend someday. Even if it's just for a short time. I recently lost my best friend. We met when we were very young, like 6 years old, and later became best friends. Say around 10 years old, but I think it was actually younger. Anyway, he passed away almost 2 years ago now. I'm 46. He was a little younger, like 6 months. We were so close we finished each other's sentences. Heck we could just trade the stories off to each other if we had to leave the party, or whatever. We thought alike, and could talk about anything. And I do mean ANYTHING. All those shared memories. You'll never, ever, ever get that again from another person. That's it. That ship has sailed. But as sad as that sounds. There's a much worse alternative. And that's us having never met in the first place. So honestly. I don't look back with anger. Maybe a little sadness. But when I do. I remember how lucky I was to have ever had a friend that close. And I remember all the good (crazy lol) times we had too. I think of all the people I met because of him too. I still talk with his brother, and mother occasionally. And even though his brother is very different. He was their for much of it all too. So I feel blessed to have that even. At 46 years old. Basically all my close friends are gone, or moved away. Or changed, as life does to most of us. But I look back at all the fun times, and feel very lucky to have had those times and to still have the memories. I hope you all do too. I've talked to many people over the years that have never known this feeling. Maybe they were a military brat, or whatever. And they have a sadness in their heart I don't have, because of this. There's actually been a lot of studies, and talk of this I've read about fairly recently. And it's actually a really big deal for us guys to have a good friend. Unfortunately a wife just isn't the same. And even more unfortunately society reinforces the false notion that we should grow up, and put family over our friends. Yes of course family is first. But there's no reason we can't have both. I'm not sure exactly what I'm getting at other then. I feel your pain. And I also feel lucky to have had a good friend in the first place, even though he's gone. And the really sad part is. I started with this hobby again about a year ago. And he always loved the stereos I had when I was young, and was a very accomplished musician himself. So although he wouldn't be in the hobby himself. He would've been a great sounding board, and would have loved to listen to my gear. That would have been great. But so was the 30 plus years we had as best friends. Bless you all. |
I have a lot of audiophile friends through my local audio club - The New Jersey Audio Society (check it out - www.njaudiosociety.com - ) Suffice it to say that it is not filled with a bunch of young, healthy millenials. We recetly lost our President Emeritus to MLS at the age of 61. It was heartbreaking to watch a healthy, vital, kind and generous father and husband slowly degenerate into a vegetable. He did the best to make the most of the time he had left, and unlike some hobbies, he was able to continue enjoying well-produced music through his excellent system throughout most of his illness. It taught me to spend less time obsessing over the technical aspects of our hobby, and to spend more time listening to the music I love. I realize that I have more LPs, CDs and files than I might ever be able to listen to (really listen, not just as background). It is a sobering thought. We lost another member about two years ago. It was tragic on a few levels. He had spent his retirement designing and building a wonderful dedicated basement room for his excellent system. He had Rives design it, and he gradually built it. But his health was not good, and before he had finished it, his hearing had deterioriated significantly. He had one episode at one of our meetings, where we were fortunate enough to have a physician-member in attendance. The physician said that he thought this fellow might check out right then and there at the meeting, but he recovered enough to head home. He passed about two years after most of the work on his listening room was completed. The whole thing reminded me of Das Boot, the film that took sad irony to whole new level. The lesson I learned from this was the same: Listen more; life is short. On the brighter side, this guy did have a nephew who was interested in the system. A few of our members visited the guy's home a few months after his death to instruct the nephew and his father on how to operate the gear. I shudder to think what happened to his massive vinyl collection, though. It was too awkward to ask his widow about it. |
I understand fellas. Rich Red it was nice getting to meet up with you at lone star Audio fest. My buddy was hit with pneumonia and went in about 5 weeks. It was crazy. One day he was getting better then boom. Crazy as hell though. Let out this huge yahooooooo when the music got too good for him. Crazy as hell. I,was the only one that could put up with him. Help,put our systems together. Told me about my speaker. Great audiophile. Would push me and my friend bill to always try more gear. Would listen with me and Bob for 9 hours straight some days. Great music discovery constantly. I’ve learned to enjoy the music and not over obsess on equipment. Fellas enjoy your system. You never know,when the music will stop! |
I remember david Baskin from design audio video in whitehouse Texas. He had Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was dying but he had a speaker bucket list. He had raidho, solutions, accuphase, Sonus faber, Lumin, dynaudio. He had the best system I’ve ever heard in my life. 600k system. Home listening cottage in the back of his house. Wow! He enjoyed his final 5 years listening to the best then he died. He and Charles were friends and little did I know they would both be gone within 10 months of each other. Audiophiles are different. We are unique. We are hard to replace. |
@Amb3cog, Beautifully said. We lose friends, but we were incredibly blessed to have had them. And then there is the possibility of new friendhsips and reconnecting with others. My uncle and I have really bonded over a mutual love for audio, and one of my closest long-time friends and I have renewed our friendship now that our kids are a bit older. Audio is a key ingredient in both cases. |
The older we get, the more friends and family we lose. Keep them close while you have them. Death is permanent. Ain't that the truth. Sorry for your loss @calvinj. I lost the only audiophile buddy I had a few years back and he was 8 years my junior (I'll turn 70 this year). I lost a brother a year ago this week. I'm the youngest of 9. I have one older sibling still alive. The rest of my immediate family has passed on. Losing a friend or family member is tough. Reflect on the good times you had together. He will always be with you in your heart. |
I remember the last listening session I had with Dave and Charles. When the music got good Charles would let out a big yahooooooooo and Dave could only move his hands on one arm and his whole left side couldn’t move because of Lou Gehrig’s so he would just lean back and roll his head and neck when the music got too good. They both did this that last time while I was bobbing my head. A black Chicago dude with a black texas dude in a white east Texas guys house zoning out to jazz. Music truly brings us together. If someone walked in they would have sworn we were in a cult. Lol. |
We are all moved/touched by different things. We have all lost people we care for/ about. I think many/most of us on this site are moved/ touched by music/ sound. You may find the "Kama Muta lab" site or the white paper "what is sound?" on the Decware site interesting- I know I did (just ignore the conspiracy theory stuff). I have always been easily brought to tears by what I perceive as beautiful-particularly music & it's good to have someone who "get's it" to share that with. So let's enjoy while we can! |
Hi to you all from South Africa. To put it simple I share your pain to a degree. I don't think anyone can understand the individual pain we go through when we loose a close friend especially someone we have a lifetime audiophile friendship with (39 years) ................... Just knowing there are others out there like myself is enough for now. Thank you all for sharing. |
