Whose your Audio Muse?

[Masterlu]

Growing up I had a friend slightly older than my 18 year old self. He had JBL's and a full compliment of Harmon Kardon Citation gear including model 16 which really got me going.

His name was John, and I credit/blame him for igniting my Audio Passion.

Who was yours?

[ChrisAZ]

My Dad. He had a McIntosh receiver and AR speakers, if memory serves. He listened to classical and opera and hated rock and pop music - due to my mother he tolerated jazz. I remember going to his hifi dealer with him. Well, I listen to all forms of music (excluding rap, techno and pop) but I did form a love for opera due to him, as well as an addiction to the gear to play it on. I'm doing the same for/to my 17 year old son (who loves classic rock and soul) who admitted this week that he's caught the audiophile bug (as well he should since I have given him my old gear, he doesn't have a shabby set up). So this disease is apparently genetic.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by ChrisAZ

My Dad. He had a McIntosh receiver and AR speakers, if memory serves. He listened to classical and opera and hated rock and pop music - due to my mother he tolerated jazz. I remember going to his hifi dealer with him. Well, I listen to all forms of music (excluding rap, techno and pop) but I did form a love for opera due to him, as well as an addiction to the gear to play it on. I'm doing the same for/to my 17 year old son (who loves classic rock and soul) who admitted this week that he's caught the audiophile bug (as well he should since I have given him my old gear, he doesn't have a shabby set up). So this disease is apparently genetic.

Indeed... My son Rich aka LuJr swallowed the hook; mini me!

[Taylode]

I guess mine would be someone that I never meet. One of my buddy's had a girlfriend whose brother was serving in Viet Nam and while deployed he sent back a pioneer system. I think I was either 15 or 16 at the time and after listening to his system I was hooked.

[2fastdriving]

I started a similar thread a while back.

http://www.audioaficionado.org/gener...udiophile.html

Mine was a friend whose dad had an amazing Phase Linear setup. Every product PL had was in this guy's room, I swear. Might be rose colored glasses but I still feel like it was one of the best systems I've ever heard.

[Yamaki]

My maternal grandparents. My grandmother was a piano player, who played for her own enjoyment, at the drop of a hat. My grandfather was into tube amps, Electrovoice speakers, turntables and 78 rpm vinyl. Between the two of them, I was hooked on music and gear.

At 19, while serving in the military, I found myself at a Navy PX in Subic Bay. There was a gear "package" available in a lot of military PX's then which consisted of a Pioneer RT-1020H R t R, a C-26 pre-amp, a MR-77 tuner, a MC-250 amp & a pair of Sansui SP-30's.

That was my first "real" system and my first 3 McIntosh pieces.

[EfeTe]

That would be my friend Pablo. Early on (we were 14 or so) we both were heavily interested in music, theory, instruments and records. And so we would buy tons of records (destroyed our savings and didn't go out so no sex life either!), scores and we would grab the tunes we like the most and study them.

We would play those in my infamous Sony STR313 or in his vintage Pioneers for hours, play the cassettes (!!) back and forth non stop, discuss tonal nuances and tried to emulate our idols f.i. Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Robben Ford etc.

Both Pablo and I carried on to start a significant CD collection myselg surpassing the 2k mark and I think he's well over 5 by now. We drove for hours to concerts, even flew out of the country for concerts and obviously keep fond memories of that. Now 2 decades after that he is a guitarist / session player in Madrid Spain and I've got plenty of activity here myself but still email one another when we've discovered a new cool tune. My setup is still pretty basic but he's assembled one hell of a recording studio full of great monitors and B&W 800 line!

I don't think we'll ever curb this. Will probably still exchange music and thoughts in our 80's with our pretty much decimated hearing abilities by then

[miner]

The mailers I would get from the warehouse outfit in San Luis Obispo, CA - can't recall their name right off. Warehouse Sound maybe? Only nearby (40 miles) dealers I could go to were CMC Stereo and Pacific Stereo in IL.

[AKA_Hyfi]

I would have to say my older brothers. The oldest was building Heathkit, Dynaco, and Hafler gear on the kitchen table and also worked closely with David Hafler on circuits when he was still in Pensauken NJ. My second oldest brother had various pairs of AR speakers and tested all the builds. He later got AR and SUMO gear. My firt stereo was a Heathkit build and when I started working, my first income tax refund went straight to Soundex when I was 17.

[JJinID]

My dad - I was pretty fortunate to grow up in a household with a full McIntosh system from day one!