Hello from St Louis

[ChicagoDog]

"ChicagoDog" saying hello to the AA crowd for the first time. Everyone, please feel free to simply call me by my real first name, Doug. So...I've been hanging out here in the shadows for a week or two and decided to pony up a few $ and become a "real" member today. Lifelong Midwesterner here...central Illinois, then St Louis, then Chicago and now back to St Louis.

I cut my teeth on audio as a young boy, listening to my older brothers Aerosmith, Kiss, LedZep, et al records (past my bedtime of course) in the mid to late 70's while fresh/strange "smells" on my brothers cloths, reflective posters on the wall and glowing electronics made a pretty nice impression. As a late 80's teenager the big rack stereos made quite an impression on me too (the more lights/meters the better the sound right ) Toss in some big 15" Cerwin Vegas and it was go time!
Well, I moved away from audio, as if my prior experience counts much, and didn't get into the "higher end" of things until the middle 1990's. That period was brief but enjoyable. I started with Polk LS90's and every single piece of the top of the line Sony ES components (with the ultra cool, and completely fake, wood side panels)
Moving forward, and still not super "high end" my system later consisted of Legacy Audio Sig 3 speakers, MIT cables, Proceed amp, dac, Conrad Johnson pre and transport. With this system I really started to understand the ins and outs of what I thought, what I HEARD, what I FELT, what I valued and realized what complete and utter nonsense someone else's attempted forced opinion in regards to gear/music/etc meant to me. (by the last part I mean a pushy dealer that kept bringing amps to my house trying to convince me I was wrong and needed change and also friends who thought I was insane for spending so much $ on equipment ((insert wife for friends years later )))
So years have gone by, probably 10 since I have had any system at all, save for my Grado GS1000's which sadly are being used straight into a Dell desktop tower (I know guys, I know...) So here I am...starting over, from scratch on a major budget$$$ to boot. Living in a house now, instead of a high rise condo shoebox in the middle of the Chicago Loop. I started planning/building a system over the past year that materialized into only 2 things so far A single McIntosh MC352 and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus speakers. Actually, the Focus will be swapped with a pair of Legacy Whispers in the next couple of weeks. In addition, a McIntosh MS750 should be on its way to me in the next 2 weeks as well (the seller is waiting on a replacement box from Mc, I have not paid him and there is still time to change my mind on the deal)
If you made it this far you are patient! So, to recap, I have the Legacy Focus in my possession, soon to be Whispers, I also have a MC352 and likely will complete the deal for the MS750. So, a pre-amp?..I want an MDA1000. Bad. If anyone has one at a reasonable price, PLEASE feel free to comment. Cables? MIT seems to be out of flavor and Wireworld seems to be the "in" thing around here but I will let my own ears and wallet be the judge. I have to admit the c500 controller with a c500 tube section looks great and sounds great (I ahd a quick audition once in Chicago a couple years ago) and might be an interesting addition to using the MDA100 strictly as a D/A. BUT, the MDA must come first (I only listen to cd's really for now) I like rock music but my step son is a Jr in HS and has been selected to sing in the very competitive jazz and concert choir at his school...so he likes, listens to and sings a wide variety of music. I hope to get this system completed soon so he can enjoy some high end equipment (before he graduates and we kick him out on his own)! LOL
Any thoughts, comments, critiques, offers? Feel free. Thanks for reading!

[Masterlu]

Doug... Welcome, and thank you for your Support!

[JGM411]

HI Doug and welcome to AA. There are a couple STL-Audio Aficionado members floating around here on this forum.

[Still-One]

Welcome to AA Doug

[blacsno]

Hi....... Doug! I have to travel back and forth to the Wentzville area for work! I was wondering where the good hi-end stereo store are!

Ken

[ChicagoDog]

Hi Ken...I'm not aware of any shops in the Wentzville area. There is one place called The Sound Room in Chesterfield, right off the Clarkson/Olive exit on 64/40. They carry McIntosh but have little to nothing on display to speak of. They also carry Anthem Classé, Integra, Lexicon, Marantz, Mark Levinson, McIntosh, Pioneer Elite, Rotel and Sony. Check it out yourself BUT when I went in the 2 kids told me the owner doesn't want to pay $ out of pocket to have stuff on display so I didn't see much except a couple MC integrateds and a MacBook plugged into some gadget.(I was curious about the McIntosh D100 since I can't find an MDA1000) They wanted a 10 percent non refundable deposit, expected me to wait "2 to 3 weeks for delivery" and expected me to pay full MSRP. I won't be back. A shame too, they are 1 mile from my house. Oh well. YMMV

[tweet]

Doug - Welcome to AA!

[blacsno]

Originally Posted by ChicagoDog

Hi Ken...I'm not aware of any shops in the Wentzville area. There is one place called The Sound Room in Chesterfield, right off the Clarkson/Olive exit on 64/40. They carry McIntosh but have little to nothing on display to speak of. They also carry Anthem Classé, Integra, Lexicon, Marantz, Mark Levinson, McIntosh, Pioneer Elite, Rotel and Sony. Check it out yourself BUT when I went in the 2 kids told me the owner doesn't want to pay $ out of pocket to have stuff on display so I didn't see much except a couple MC integrateds and a MacBook plugged into some gadget.(I was curious about the McIntosh D100 since I can't find an MDA1000) They wanted a 10 percent non refundable deposit, expected me to wait "2 to 3 weeks for delivery" and expected me to pay full MSRP. I won't be back. A shame too, they are 1 mile from my house. Oh well. YMMV

Thanks... I saw the Sound Round store but didn't go in while staying at Residence Inn in Chesterfield. If you want a MDA1000 give Audio Classic a call.

Ken

[Josquin des Prez]

Welcome to AA ChicagoDog. I am in University City.

I'm a big fan of Music For Pleasure in St. Louis. If you like vinyl they are the best (and maybe only) place supporting analog playback. Big brands there are Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, Octave, T+A, Boulder, Naim, and others.

[chessman]

Doug, welcome aboard!