Mike's Barn.

I Like Mike.

thanks everyone for the nice comments, and also for the more critical comments too, i don’t like to take myself too seriously. i’m just having fun.

don’t be too tough on Chuck (MillerCarbon), this was his first video for his new blog and he was learning how to use the i-phone gimble device, which seemed to follow me when he pointed it at the gear. and he was using a pair of lapel mics for the audio instead of the phone mic. give him 5 or 6 video’s to get his process down and he should be competent.

i did not like watching me talk for 30 minutes either. it's obviously not my superpower.

it’s always easier to not do something and take shots, than to do it. so appreciate the efforts.

btw; i do still pay attention to Audiogon and chime in when it is a subject i have an interest in discussing. plenty of value here.

@mikelavigne you should host a listening party, that way we can all do our own videos for everyone to comment on.

Got a few records ready to go! Would love to hear how they sound on that system!

you should host a listening party.

Got a few records ready to go! Would love to hear how they sound on that system!

@mswale you would be welcome any time you are in the neighborhood. and also fine to bring your records but i have plenty too.

i have visitors on average once maybe twice a month, and larger groups 3-4 times a year. right now a larger group is scheduled for late April. about every other year i have 25+ from the local audio club visit. done that for 20 years. the audiophile/music loving community means a lot to me.

that way we can all do our own videos for everyone to comment on.

there are a few video’s out there. i neither encourage or discourage videos, and never comment on the sound. not a big believer in phone video’s as evidence of positive or negative system performance. YMMV

Mike is such an incredible ambassador for high end audio. Mike is so generous with his time and wisdom. I am fortunate to have been welcomed to Mike's barn numerous times over the years. No matter how great it has sounded (and it always sounds amazing) Mike keeps working on making it sound better. That same focus on detail and continuous improvement is why Mike had an incredible career in the automobile business. Mike's friendship and guidance have played an integral part in my hi-fi journey. 
 

it sounded like my cheap laptop speaker to me. Oh well.

@jhconnor 

thanks John, for the kind words. i hope all is well with you and you are still enjoying your fantastic system. retirement is going well for me. don't work too hard. :-)

Yeah I watched it on YouTube, yeah that's some freaking set up....I wish I could have a audio barn....like that....

@mikelavigne 

I really enjoyed your sharing about your audiophile journey, your generous helpfulness, and your patience with difficult people.  Many thanks, you are a blessing in my audio journey.  

Blowhard: a person who blusters and boasts in an unpleasant way

@lalitk Thanks! I learned a lot from your reply. I have three pairs of speakers, two preamps, and (until yesterday) 6 amps (several borrowed), so I totally understand the A/B adventure.

Regarding the rational for having multiple turntables:

I don’t like two tonearms on the same table, especially if one is of tangential design. I also don’t like detachable head shells. Changing cartridges on an arm without a detachable head shell is not something one wants to do every day (at least I don’t). Having more than one tonearm allows one to have multiple cartridges, the arm and cartridge matched in terms of symbiosis. Why multiple cartridges? One stereo and one mono of course, but also cartridges that play music in a different manner. One may be better with large scale music, another with small scale.

Having a table for each tonearm---the arm and table matched in the same manner as arm and cartridge---makes a lot of sense. A cartridge, arm, and table combined makes a system, just as do an amplifier and loudspeaker. Having multiple loudspeakers---each with a power amp chosen just for that speaker---also makes sense if one desires to hear music played in different ways. Or in terms of excelling at reproducing small scale music (the QUAD ESL) vs. large scale (name your favorite "big" speaker).

The cartridge and the loudspeaker----the two transducers in the hi-fi chain, one at either end.