I am a 50 yo Home Improvement Contractor/ Custom Woodworker. Originally from the Eastern Shore of MD, I now make my home in east Tennessee with my wife of 25 yrs. I have had many hobbies over the years including motorcycles, golf,playing music (drums), woodworking, etc.
Music has been a lifelong passion for me. I started collecting records when I ws 9-10 yrs old. All my $ went for records.(45's) Then somewhere along the way I got enough $ to buy albums. My first album was "The Beach Boys Live". I don't remember what kind of "record player" I had at first but I do remember the music. My parents were not into music or stereo and I don't recall knowing anyone who was though I did get to spin some records at a local dance party which was broadcast on the radio (AM). For me it has always been about the music.
In my teen yrs I learned to play drums. I was a John Bonham protoge. I have always liked hard rock/ heavy metal though I have learned to enjoy many different forms of music from bluegrass to acoustical jazz/ swing to blues and some classical Oh did I mention blues
My first system after leaving home was a "Voice of Music" turntable/radio combo. I remember it had a much lighter tone arm than the one I grew up with. Oh it had a nice cabinet too. That was important in those days. In the early 70's I bought a "Quadrophonic" receiver. At that point I had not heard the word "audiophile" yet so i didn't have any better sense than to believe it sounded good. Especially when you used the discreet quad tapes. Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" sounded awesome. A few yrs back I saw an old friend who reminded me about that quad setup. Twenty five yrs ago but he still remembers. in the late 70's I was introduced to Harmon Kardon. I purchased the HK 730 receiver (their top of the line) along with a Technics turntable, Ortofon cartridge and originsl large Advent speakers. I was in HiFi heaven. I didn't know music could sound so good. In the late eighty's I replaced the HK with a Luxman R115 receiver after the left channel in thge HK went out. What a shock. The Lux which sounded so right at the store turned into a dog at home; very flat and thin compared to the HK. I was advised to ditch the Lux and fix the HK. This I did and took the $ from the Lux and purchased a pair of Infinity RS-5000. This was a definite improvement over the Advents, though they were a good speaker for the $. I added a Mag CDB-650 cdp to the mix afterward. My experience with the Luxman showed me how difficult and disapponting upgrading can be. It also made me appreciate the HK even more. I used the HK up till about 9 mos ago when it began to sound bad. It had been regularly cleaned and serviced by a quality service center but the solder joints were breaking down.
Thanks to the www I went online to find out what was available. I discovered Agon about a year ago. I was shocked by the amount of equipoment available and even more shocked by the prices of some of it. Because of the resources here and elsewhere online, I have been able to start to put together a pretty good system. Most of the people on the forums have been very helpful to me in my quest to put together the best system I can with the budget I have available. Your insights and experiences have been extremely helpful. Many have gone out of their way to be helpful. For this I am grateful. I read the forums almost daily and have enjoyed many posts though I may not interact on that thread. I have gotten much good entertainment out of the banter that takes place among my fellow Agoners. In short I have enjoyed my experience and interaction on the forums. May the music continue to flow and always sound just right.
Music has been a lifelong passion for me. I started collecting records when I ws 9-10 yrs old. All my $ went for records.(45's) Then somewhere along the way I got enough $ to buy albums. My first album was "The Beach Boys Live". I don't remember what kind of "record player" I had at first but I do remember the music. My parents were not into music or stereo and I don't recall knowing anyone who was though I did get to spin some records at a local dance party which was broadcast on the radio (AM). For me it has always been about the music.
In my teen yrs I learned to play drums. I was a John Bonham protoge. I have always liked hard rock/ heavy metal though I have learned to enjoy many different forms of music from bluegrass to acoustical jazz/ swing to blues and some classical Oh did I mention blues
My first system after leaving home was a "Voice of Music" turntable/radio combo. I remember it had a much lighter tone arm than the one I grew up with. Oh it had a nice cabinet too. That was important in those days. In the early 70's I bought a "Quadrophonic" receiver. At that point I had not heard the word "audiophile" yet so i didn't have any better sense than to believe it sounded good. Especially when you used the discreet quad tapes. Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" sounded awesome. A few yrs back I saw an old friend who reminded me about that quad setup. Twenty five yrs ago but he still remembers. in the late 70's I was introduced to Harmon Kardon. I purchased the HK 730 receiver (their top of the line) along with a Technics turntable, Ortofon cartridge and originsl large Advent speakers. I was in HiFi heaven. I didn't know music could sound so good. In the late eighty's I replaced the HK with a Luxman R115 receiver after the left channel in thge HK went out. What a shock. The Lux which sounded so right at the store turned into a dog at home; very flat and thin compared to the HK. I was advised to ditch the Lux and fix the HK. This I did and took the $ from the Lux and purchased a pair of Infinity RS-5000. This was a definite improvement over the Advents, though they were a good speaker for the $. I added a Mag CDB-650 cdp to the mix afterward. My experience with the Luxman showed me how difficult and disapponting upgrading can be. It also made me appreciate the HK even more. I used the HK up till about 9 mos ago when it began to sound bad. It had been regularly cleaned and serviced by a quality service center but the solder joints were breaking down.
Thanks to the www I went online to find out what was available. I discovered Agon about a year ago. I was shocked by the amount of equipoment available and even more shocked by the prices of some of it. Because of the resources here and elsewhere online, I have been able to start to put together a pretty good system. Most of the people on the forums have been very helpful to me in my quest to put together the best system I can with the budget I have available. Your insights and experiences have been extremely helpful. Many have gone out of their way to be helpful. For this I am grateful. I read the forums almost daily and have enjoyed many posts though I may not interact on that thread. I have gotten much good entertainment out of the banter that takes place among my fellow Agoners. In short I have enjoyed my experience and interaction on the forums. May the music continue to flow and always sound just right.