Don’t want to derail, but curious if all of you consider yourself highly addictive personality types? Most appear to have been intensely interested in other hobbies or activities beyond Audio pursuit of perfection.
I have succumbed to watches, photography, woodworking, shoes, and fishing over the years. Probably a few others. Stayed away from things that could break the bank- but then audio got there 😉
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Porsche 911 s (currently 2018 Turbo S couple) and detailing them, Toyota Land Cruisers, dog shows, target shooting (.45 ACP Kimber, Colt), photography, Nikon D3S, D700, Nikorrmat |
Audiophile is #1. I’m blessed with a dedicated room, a wife that loves it as much as me and two good careers. (And no kids. Thank you lord)
2014 z51 corvette convertible. Love American muscle/top down/metal music
health: hot tub, sauna, regular yoga.
15’ reticulated python. Burmese python. Tarantulas.
Sex. Often. Certainly a hobby.
Guns. Never thought in a million years. Now, I like feeling safe(er)
weed. Also never would have thought in a million years. Now I grow it hydro and store it in a humidor. I’m a total weed snob.
Just retired from live shows. Saw everyone I ever wanted to see and met most in my 20s and 30s. Best memories in my audio room with pics of me with Ozzy to the Indigo Girls to Goldfrapp.
Life, is good. |
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Drums - Vintage and Craviotto
Jeep Wranglers - JK and JLU Rubicons... not mall crawlers but actually go off roading/rock crawling.
Bicycling - Touring and Off Road
Craft Beers - All kinds and flavors
Woodworking
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Apparently many of us make fun of conspiracy theories even in the face of a possible pandemic. :-D (referencing a post on Munich show cancellation).
Seriously, I teach SCUBA as a break from hifiness. And try to make violins. |
Born and raised in NYC I yearned for the mountains so I took up
skiing, camping, hiking and hunting early on. Competitive long range shooting has been fun the last 5 or so years. (I can shoot the volume knob off my Auralic Vega at half a mile)! Been on several awesome horseback hunting adventures out west. (that gets addicting and expensive). Woodworking and furniture making, and oh yeah the guitar I bought......haven't got around to it yet. |
Fine art black & white photography. I work with 4x5 and 5x7 folding wooden view cameras, expose and process film using the zone system, create unsharp masks prior to printing and print and process in a wet darkroom. I won't bore you with equipment models. Technique is far more important than the hardware although everything I use is excellent quality and more importantly, in proper working condition. Subject matter ranges from architectural studies to traditional landscapes. Greek Isles, Death Valley, Canadian Rockies, Finger Lakes, Maine coast and more. I am also the recording engineer for two local orchestras. Again, I won't fixate on hardware as it's all good stuff and technique is far more important. All of that plus listening to music pretty much occupies all of my time except for maintenance of my residence and an occasional bike ride (I love hand made Italian road bikes).
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Motorcycling (on/off road), travel, guns, CAD & 3D printing, Porsche
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Audio
Ham radio operator
Photography including infrared
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FAA HF radio spoken here.
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Quite a diverse group here. Add another golfer to the group. As in with Audio, I find that in all of my hobbies the buying, selling, and collecting equipment is as important to me as the activity.
The rest of my hobbies have all faded. These include bicycles/bicycling which pretty much ended in my late 30s. I am 62 now. Photography, I sold all of my film cameras a few years back and just gave my Nikon D 5200 SLR to my son. I still have a few smaller mirrorless SLR’s. Don’t even take them on our cruises and travels anymore Take all of my pictures with my iPhone 8. Playing and collecting guitars, I have always been a terrible player, but was a pretty good collector of electric guitars. Now all have been sold except for two. I rarely pick them up anymore.
There have been others as well, but Audio and Golf are my only remaining passions. Age and health have diminished the golf a bit. Can’t play as often as I would like and although I hit it pretty good for a guy my age, my distance pales in comparison to the younger guys. Still score pretty well though. I enjoy our pets, especially walking my crazy four-year-old Pomeranian. My dogs have also gotten smaller over the years. I agree with those who spoke about family. I join my wife for her passion, yard saleing on Saturday mornings when the weather is nice. Friday nights are still out to dinner and a movie. Also enjoy attending concerts with my friends.
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Hello!
Interesting. Age 82, competitive runner in National and Local age-group running events under the NSGA rules (National Senior Games Association). Division one track at Manhattan College in 1950's. One national gold in 10K run in 2013, another a bronze in national 5K in 2015.Five medals in NY State Games running events in 2019. Taking aim at National again in 2021 assuming old body still in shape...
So, running is one hobby. Another, I play Jazz piano badly (take lessons), play at a non-discimiational audiences at Church functions, etc. They always ask me back!
Audio of course. Hold four patents in loudspeaker design, the entire Joseph Line of speakers my design. My license agreement with them expited in 2005 and at that time I retired. Do some restoration on vintage McIntosh for Audio Classics of Vestal, NY.
RIMO
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The correlation factor between high-end audio and Porsche's seems to be strong with this group!
Definitely cars for me as well (1965 Mustang convertible in the garage). Wine and food are probably a close second to audio. If I could find a way to work with wines, it would be the dream! Lastly planes and travel (#avgeek)
Actually, just looking at my social media feed, it's all of the above and Airedale terriers (we have one)... and that's about it. |
I spent a lot of time running my sports cars and sport bikes through Deal's Gap's 318 turns in 11 miles, as well as winning a few regional SCCA regional autocross class championships. My watercraft race team, (7 SeaDoo's, 1 Polaris, Two Yamaha's, and two Kawasakis) spawned a young rider who has won a dozen or more national and world championships. Interestingly, my boy chose 505 as his race number, because it looks like SOS from the shore. Our future world champion chose 911, which he still uses. Also, I study and write about philosophy, astrophysics (as a hobby, not as a dedicated professional), religious contradictions, and especially Sociology of Mental Illness, i.e. Why are some behaviors and beliefs labeled as insane in some cultures and not others, e.g. religion? As a audiophiliac, I wonder why some people are so insecure in their choices of equipment that they totally obsess on minutiae, rather than actually enjoy listening to music?
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Hillwalking - mountaineering with my dogs
Tuning jap cars and driving scottish roads. My long termers: a R32 nissan skyline gtr, 3.0, dry sump , mid 600's, high 9's standing quarter but unbeatable on the back roads, a Mitsubishi evo 6, 2.3, dry sump, mid 400's with more to come, and a toyota mr-s roadster, 2zz engine swap, monkey wrench 2 litre stroker, lumpy cams and 6speed box, mid 200's and sublime handling.
I've also got a bit of a thing for landscaping, i moved over 2,000 tons of earth and rock to create an amphitheatre in my garden
Oh, and i grow the best weed in Britain😁 |
I teach English and french to my 2 dogs...
And after breaking the inter-species barrier I walk the desert city with them…
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You should have got an English Setter and French Bulldog. They already know the language.
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There are many interesting responses. These days, my primary interest is photography which has also been my lifelong passion for almost 50 years. I've had all the Minolta, Nikon and Canon gear and am now primarily a Leica and Hasselblad man shooting both medium format and full frame. I've been in Popular Photography and currently have a print on TV on a show called The Resident. It was cool to get a check from Twentieth Century Fox. For what I've spent on equipment, I could have bought a new Porsche 911.
I like to travel and have an Airstream Interstate. I've been to 46 states in it and have photographed my way across North America. I have enough solar and lithium to stay mostly off grid, and could have bought two Porsche 911's for what it is costing me. I'm currently downsizing and may just hop in the RV and hit the road.
I grew up in Charleston and spent years surfing, skiing and diving. I got a Divemaster certification in 1990 from the same guys who found the Hunley, the Civil War submarine. I've had a Whaler and used to run it 15 miles offshore.
I just sold my woodworking machines and am probably going to even part company with my Festool stuff. I'm pretty spry for 59, but house maintenance is getting to be too much of a time waster and headache.
As for audio, I've had lo-, medium-, and hi-fi and recently sold the KEF's and Bryston's. I have an old ranch house with a lot of rooms and have it filled with SONOS which I am happy with. I just bought some MOVES which sound good enough. I bring the MOVES into whatever room I'm in and then have 4 speakers running. It's not hi-fi, but it's adequate. Don't worry hi-fi people, I still have a mid-fi main system that sounds like hi-fi.
I had a motorcycle, bicycles, and a beach house. My current cool thing is an electric scooter, a Boosted Rev. I've got about 500 miles on it since purchasing it in December.
Check out my Instagram page where I have over 500 photos posted. If you don't have an Instagram page, open one and start exploring a new world of cars or whatever. It's not Facebook.
@coasttocoastphotoatl
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@rimo thank you thank you thank you for lovingly rebuilding and fixing my Dad’s 1965 MX-110Z
i cherish it and the letter you wrote on the repair order - “ a family heirloom and treasure indeed “
RIMO ( inventor of the filter so named ) only guy to catch factory mistake that intermittently shorted out MPX board !!!
best to you kind sir ! |
Too many hobbies!
High end audio - based in both digital and analogue, I still have a main system, an electrostatic speaker based system, a system made up of some of my old gear I can't bring myself to get rid of, and even a system in my library albeit a modest one. Server drive with c. 3500 digital albums ripped by me, and a bit more than that number of vinyl LPs.
Wine - wide ranging dedicated cellar with almost as many bottles as LPs.
Cars - raced them for 30 years (still have my old race car, a 58 MG) plus a couple of other period MGs, a Jensen, and a couple of modern sports cars (Solstice, BMW Z4MC), Sold another Jensen and an old Lamborghini when I downsized. Used to build and restore them, but not so much over the last decade.
Gardening - c. 300 species Rhododendrons (down from 800 at the old place) plus many Magnolias, Acers etc.
Cooking - a natural meld with the wine interest
Clocks and watches - keep and restore a wide range from late 1600s on.
Fountain pens - used to use a different pen or two every day when working, less often now retired.
Antiques - furniture etc.
Photography - both botanically related and otherwise. Still have my first underwater camera (60s vintage) so tend to hang onto gear but did acquire a DSLR recently to replace a couple of fixed lens digitals.
Enough to keep me out of trouble. |
Yes I have another Hobby but it carries a dirty little secret
I do part time DJ' ing but have to connect up to some pretty lousy pre installed Amps and Speakers.
My dirty little secret is I try all sorts tweaks and workarounds to get the best possible sound without the dancers realizing
I say on average only 3-5% of dancers will notice the difference between
a mediocre sounding track and one thats been enhanced by software or hardware tweaks
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Great thread! Diverse crowd, but with certain themes recurring! My love of music and audio equipment comes from my parents, who always had a stereo system, and lots of LPs spinning.
As for me... I’ve been lifting weights for 41 years straight, and have been competing in bench press competitions since I was 31 (I’m 54 now). I have my own home gym where I mostly powerlift, and my sons, and my grandkids, join me whenever they’re over.
Speaking of grandkids, is being a grandfather a hobby? If so, that’s my number one! I also love grilling all year on my Weber kettles. Big family, so plenty of grill time all summer by the pool.
I have a 2015 competition orange mustang GT premium with the “50 Years” package. I’ve had a thing for mustangs since I was six! I’m not a mechanic, but I can detail like crazy!
I also keep aquariums. Big oddball fish interest me. My favorite is my silver arowana. Close second is my datnoid. We’re getting a 300 gallon tank for them this year.
My wife is very patient with my audio hobby, so I’m sure to remember to ask her what she feels like hearing each night. We have a main system, a bedroom system, a family room system, and a vintage system in my weight room! As well as a system in the shed which plays outdoor speakers aimed at the pool area. There’s almost always music playing around the house. And I make sure it sounds good!
Keep it coming!! |
Classic car collector.
Guitar builder.
Beekeeper. |
vivisection...mummification...alien communications...petty larceny
OK, none of that is true. The truth is so boring:
1 - I walk 5 miles a day as fast as possible. Ran that or more for decades; now it's walking. Used to swim 2-3 miles/day (that was then).
2 - Music every waking hour: usually streaming classical interspersed with headphone audio of many different genres (I have 7 headphone amps and 8 or 9 headphones...it's not a passing phase)
3 - Streaming video content (4K blu rays & Netflix) on a huge OLED TV. I've always been a fan on high quality visual narrative, and we are the new golden age of that
4 - And writing...anything & everything. I make my living as a writer, but even when there's no work, I write for other reasons. It' what rat psychologists call "consumatory behavior" (ie, do it because it feels good) |
Hobbies that I've enjoyed over the years have included audio (since about age 14), motorcycles, mostly dirt bikes, photography (film), hunting, shooting, flyfishing, woodworking, have always read, but never thought of it as a hobby, probably most seriously for the last 20 years my family genealogy, and collecting American art pottery, both antique and new. Oh, and lastly, run-on sentences.
L.
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Takin' pictures with my camera. |
If it has bullets, I’m in.
If it has wheels, (two or 4, engine or not) I’m in.
If I might be risking my life at some level, I‘m in.
If I’m on stage, I’m in.
It it’s heavy and I have to pick it up, I’m in.
If it tells time, I’m in.
If it’s with my wife... I’m definitely in.
If it makes some kick ass music, I’m in. Pretty much sums it up.
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Well Cooking,long walks ,watching you tube ,searching thrifts,used to fish alot but not anymore. |
I enjoy long walks on the beach.
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Audio is my first passion, 50+ years and counting.
Cars: I have two Corvettes, a '68 427 convertible was my first car have had it 45 years. And a '16 Z-51 coupe which I've been on the track with.
I did a body-off resto on the '68.
A couple of Harleys: '76 shovel head chopper and 2003 Heritage Classic cruiser. I built the '76.
I've spent way more dollars on cars and bikes, so does that make them
my #1. No. Love the audio, plus you don't get pulled over for playing to loud.
Competitive revolver target shooting, reloading, practicing at my private club outdoors, almost always alone. Very relaxing due to the concentration required, everything else melts away.
And cooking/grilling/BBQ and photography and beer and attending Mensa events.
That concludes my therapy session for today. Thank you.
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Barts the 68 is my absolute favorite vette! It would round out my trio of a Singer 911 and an Eagle Speedster XK-E. Time to go out and buy another lottery ticket.
Geof3, my oldest is a starving actress in New York City. She was Vivian in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. I have terminal stage fright.
gkr, Bee keeping? I won't do anything that requires me getting into a hazmat Suite. Do you sell the honey?
Audiobill, you sold your woodworking machinery? All my work as a doctor is going to wind up in the same place, 6 feet under. But the pieces I make could live on forever.
Gavman, let me know when you are visiting the US!
Danvignau, humans are now living in an environment they did not evolve in. As a result they are dysfunctional in many ways. Under the dysfunction is usually some instinctive process gone awry. Obesity is an example as are women preferring to drive SUVs (they like being up higher and men displaying that they are the most frightening powerful SOBs in town. Women spending a gazillion dollars on make up and on and on. A great question is, Why are we so fond on music? Itis a universal trait in us. Where did it come from. My personal theory is that there is music in nature, a bird communicating by singing. I think before we invented words we communicated the same way. There was a sequence of notes that said "Danger" and so forth. Certain tribes communicated with drums. We can relax when we have an advanced warning system. We relax with music. Just a thought. |
My work is most of my passion: (1) high-throughput multi-omic analysis, (2) psychotropic drug discovery, and (3) formerly trauma neurosurgery and psychiatry.
My wife, son, and I have done some club-racing: 930 Turbo S2, 911 RS America, 993 Turbo, 996 Turbo X50, 997 RSR, 997 Turbo (2), and a Ruf Yellow Bird 996 (996 Turbo, >700 bhp).
I also like bird watching, but not hunting (not a political statement here). |
I have too many hobbies and I'm sad that they are all expensive and I am retired on a fixed income... High End audio, Photography, Computers, Slot Cars, 3D printing, guitars and cars. I dont have one now but I've been a Porsche fan most of my life. My last one of 7 that I have owned was a 2013 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Amazing car! Maybe if I win the lottery.... |
"...but curious if all of you consider yourself highly addictive personality types?" Not at all. |
"I took my car once to an Alfa dealer and asked for a rough estimate so they beat the crap out of me." LOL geoff, I know that dealer!
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I have plants all over the house. I keep a garden in the summer. I read. I go hiking when I have time, even in winter. |
Geoff, i'm sure you were a noodling needler at age two. A natural talent evolved is beauty to behold. Kudos! |
Cooking, high end pots pans knives and all of that. And or course a foodie. |
Oh and RV ing. Love my Airstream. |
Geoff- all kidding aside, that is a really nice bike!! Perhaps when your Brooks saddle breaks in.... Grannyring- when you stop being such a foodie you may be able to get out of granny-gear. (just kidding Bill:) I'm sure you'd out sprint me at your
any given whim (currently:). I'd been on very long hiatus from road biking, vow to get back this Spring. Biemmezeta Chronostar, Alan Carbonio, both 80's (still building) and Late 60's Cinelli Supercorsa (full original) Velominati Rules |
isochronism, no Bianchi? Fausto Coppi is rolling over in his grave. Celeste rules:) |
And Gino Bartali as well 👍 |
My advanced-age chickenheartedness (spurred on by a couple of serious shunts) has seriously impeded my road bike mileage but I'm still devoted to the pastime. I watch every bicycle race that shows up on MSNBC (which are many). I miss Paul Sherwyn. I spurn SRAM and covet Campy. I've moved away from steel and have taken a liking to plastic (my nickname for carbon fiber). My Bianchi Infinito is the perfect road steed for geriatrics. Designed for the cobbled classics, the geometry is laid-back and fairly upright. The ride is commendably soft.
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Aside from listening to music...
Playing my Martin guitar
Job/hobby writing software
Job/hobby building and restoring furniture
Watercolor painting
Writing my book(s)
Reading my 2500+ book collection
Farming a 1/4 acre for organic food
Fixing current home to sell to build my new forever home
Way too many other things.
What I don’t do enough of is sleep. |
Lets see,
Classic American Muscle Cars, own a 1971 Chevelle Convertible
Photography, semi-professional commercial photographer (a sideline). Used to do large format (film) photography for products. Actually did one years ago for Stanton/Pickering for a turntable they were bringing to market for advertising. Now everything is digital so I have move a lot of gear in that direction but still have film from 35mm to 8x10. The larger is used as props/ remembrances in listening room decor.
Woodworker, as I have built my equipment cabinet, CD rack and tables/desk in listening room
I kill more time than I care to think about...
SteveA |
1. Road biking - just started a year and a half ago after hip replacement
2. Golf - lifelong hobby
3. Pool - always wanted a table but only room available is my 2 channel room - not going to happen!
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Many hobbies over the years. I am 71 now and almost over British sports car disease. I have owned 4 Austin Healeys, 3000 & sprites, also restored a 1970 Lotus Europa.
My rare coin collecting and selling financed my McIntosh gear 10 years ago. I have been into audio for over 50 years.
I am also an addicted golfer ( I see a pattern forming, lol ). I play 3 or 4 times a week all year (South Georgia), maybe more. My wife is also a golfer so I have carte blanche to play as much as I want. I am not particularly skilled, but I can break 80 when the stars align.
I also have restored a few homes, including a 1854 Greek Revival with 14 ft ceilings.
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