Three audiophiles in Naples, FL

[PHC1]

Our recent trip to Naples was a memorable experience. Gorgeous weather, great restaurants, fantastic sailing and fishing trips, a bit of shopping and we both fell in love with Naples, FL instantly. Great town.

Our trip was enhanced even further as we paid a visit to our own AA member HKVAL's lovely home.

Howard and Valerie are gracious hosts and both I and my wife Irene felt the warm hospitality and really enjoyed our evening with Howard, his wife Valerie and their other guests for the evening Buddy (Audio 1) and his wife Marita.

Valerie excited our taste buds with her culinary delights as the six of us enjoyed dinner after some great wine and appetizers. Valerie's cooking is most impressive. We enjoyed dinner and great conversation and I and Irene felt as we have known HK, Val, Buddy and Marita for a long time.

After dinner we settled down on the couches in front of Howard's most impressive system and his new Sonus Faber Futura speakers. As Howard cued up some music for us to enjoy, I was most impressed by what I heard and was a bit surprised that Howard considered selling the Futura's which only had very few hours of play time on them. I mentioned to Howard that he needs to give them a chance to break in and open up and that the style and looks will most likely grow on him. Howard's system was very musical and most enjoyable with a spacious soundstage and crisp transient response the Futura's being driven by the big McIntosh brutes. I was very curious to hear the new voicing of the Futura's and I was impressed.

As is usually the case, the pics of Howard's and Val's system do not do it justice. The neat, built in installation is very appealing to the eyes and the listening room is very cozy and conducive to long, relaxing listening sessions. Outstanding!

As the evening wore on, the ladies and us men broke up into seperate groups as we conversed about all things audio and the ladies also seemed to be very engaged in conversation, perhaps swapping the "wives of audiophiles" stories....

The evening flew by in a blink of an eye and it was time to say goodnight...

We left Howard's and Val's house and were both smiling as we both said that Howard, Val, Buddy and Marita are about as nice couples as you will ever meet!

Howard, Val, thank you for the warm hospitality! We had a great time and we hope to see you again soon!

[BlueChiaro]

Always great to hear about these AA get togethers...thanks for taking us on the journey with you, Serge! Kudos to the Naples crowd for welcoming the northerners.

[Still-One]

Serge
It is always nice when we can meet up with others from this site. Sounds like a great day all around.

Jim

[JFR0317]

Your experience at HK and Val's was very similar to Jenny's and mine. They are wonderful hosts and have a beautiful home. As you also note, Val is a great cook.

[hkval]

It took less than one minute and we all felt we had been friends for a very long time. The entire evening was extra special because the 6 of us had so much in common. The ladies bonded instantly and the guys could have talked audio and autos well into the wee hours of the morning. Serge and Irene have enthusiastically invited us to visit them in Pennsylvania and, with having their relatives moving to Naples, we hope to see them more often in the future. Muffy came out a few times to check out the visitors and was quite impressed.
To me, this is what AA is all about. The evening could not have been better.

[Jerome W]

That's cool Serge ! it seems that Howard are Val are top notch hosts.
Thanks for sharing !

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by hkval

It took less than one minute and we all felt we had been friends for a very long time. The entire evening was extra special because the 6 of us had so much in common. The ladies bonded instantly and the guys could have talked audio and autos well into the wee hours of the morning. Serge and Irene have enthusiastically invited us to visit them in Pennsylvania and, with having their relatives moving to Naples, we hope to see them more often in the future. Muffy came out a few times to check out the visitors and was quite impressed.
To me, this is what AA is all about. The evening could not have been better.

HK, Muffy was perhaps least enthusiastic... She gave me a bewildered look and ran away, "who are these strange people in MY house!!!"

Next time we'll bring a toy or a treat and try to win her over!

[jdandy]

Serge.......Wow, that was fun, and I wasn't even there.

Thanks for sharing the experience.

[Audio 1]

This was definitely a memorable evening indeed!

So incredible to have the opportunity to spend time with such wonderful people. It really did seem like we had known each other for many years and just picked up where we left off.

Meeting Serge and Irene was a very pleasurable experience for both myself and my wife Marita. They have so much to share from their fascinating lives that we definitely could have conversed for well into the night.
I always enjoy learning from the experiences of others in this audio passion we all share.

Simply put you will not find more gracious and wonderful hosts than HK and Valerie. They are truly two of the most generous and selfless people on the planet.
Every meal Val cooks is exquisite ( I have some experience here, so I feel qualified to state this!) and as usual the meal this evening raised the bar even higher. The appetizers and triple dessert choices would have more than sufficed, but as usual the main course was superb.

Sometimes life brings us wonderful surprises and the friendships forged from AA are a great example of that.
We are all here for our love of music and all things audio, but thankfully that common bond offers much more than what is on the surface.

Thanks again to HK, Valerie, Serge and Irene for a night we will always have fond memories of.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......Wow, that was fun, and I wasn't even there.

Thanks for sharing the experience.

+1....these get togethers are always a lot of fun, and I'm quite sure that a day with Howard and Val would be a most enjoyable event.

Kudos to all, the friendships here are terrific!


Pete