What made you become an 'audiophile'.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by thxphotog, Apr 14, 2014.

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  1. druboogie

    druboogie Maverick Stacker

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I always DJ'd all my life, had vinyl all my life but never took it seriously soundwise. I always had my turntables and mixer hooked up to some cheap amp and speakers, or amplified speakers. Any records I had before 3 years ago, I needle dropped them and put them away. Hi end stereo systems werent even on my radar.

    It wasnt until one day I fixed a broken Dual and gave it to my Aunt 3 years ago that I realized the sound waiting in the records and components. She had a hi end Yamaha amp and some set of speakers that her late husband bought. She hadnt used it since many years before before he died. She hasnt had a turntable in at least 30 years. I put a old Pickering cart I had on this turntable and hooked it up, and the sound lit up the whole house. I surprised her and myself. All these records she kept that hadnt been played in 30 years. She was so excited she RAN to pull these records out of the garage, we sat there and listened to so many of them and the sound blew me away. In the 70s she had a cheap BSR one piece stereo that she listened to these records on. She was so used to listening to her music on her laptop that she had the biggest smile on her face. Now she can walk around the house while blasting her music again.

    It was that day I realized what kind of sound I was missing in my records. I since then looked up message boards and bought components for a system just to listen to...to play records that are clean and that never touch my dj system.
    (Although I now look at my pairs of 1200's differently and realize how audiophile/upgrade friendly they are)
     
  2. maui_musicman

    maui_musicman Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Kihei, Hi USA
    The search for the elusive playback system that makes me think it's live music.
     
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  3. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    In 1977 I heard a Sonus blue cartridge on a breuer dynamic tonearm on an Ariston RD11 feeding a G.A.S. Thaedra and Ampzilla running Dahlquist DQ-10's with stereo subwoofers run by a Son of Ampzilla.

    That experience changed my life.

    And it's a damn shame you can't buy DQ-10's anymore. Or DQ-12's, which I would think would be a snap to manufacture.
     
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  4. Tony L

    Tony L Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    As a kid of about 12 or 13 back in the mid-70s I heard a friend's dad's system, it was a Thorens TD-125, SME 3009, V15, Quad 33/303 and Celestion Dotton 66s. The album played was Question Of Balance by The Moody Blues. That was it, I was hooked. I had no idea pop or rock music sounded like that as I'd only ever heard it through a scratchy little transistor radio or Dansette-grade kit up until that point. The Ditton 66s are big and powerful sounding speakers so it really was a culture shock! By age 16 I'd saved, begged, borrowed or otherwise accumulated enough money to buy a proper system second hand, it was a Lenco 75, Quad 33 / 303 and a pair of JR149s. A great little system IMO, I've still got a Quad 303 and a pair of 149s knocking around so it's nice to be able to cross-reference the whole journey from then to now. I heard a pair of 66s again a few years ago too and they are something rather special!
     
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  5. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    I'm sure it started when I visited the home of my 7/8th grade math/reading teacher, Mrs. Way. She has one of those KLH all-in-one systems and a pair of Koss 4a cans.

    [​IMG]

    Three years and a lot of library research later, I've got AR-3's, an AR amp, AR AX turntable and a Shure 91 cartridge. A year after that, Radio Shack's re-badged Stax earspeakers.
     
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  6. Doug Sclar

    Doug Sclar Forum Legend

    Location:
    The OC
    I'm still running DQ-10s her with stereo subs. I used to use a lot of GAS stuff but not for my home system. We had about a dozen GAS amps at Dawnbreaker Studio but we couldn't keep them running due to the fact that they were stacked in a rack.

    I had to build a special ducting system to keep them cool. GAS was just down the street from the studio so I spent a lot of time there. I loved to talk with Jim about electronics.
     
  7. dirtymac

    dirtymac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Exile, MN
    About 6 years ago I was loaned the DCC "Highway 61 Revisited", was just floored at how good it sounded, then googled the guy who seemed responsible for the improvement I heard. The google machine reacted to my entry of "steve hoffman" in the search field with all kinds of results. The one I clicked on http://www.stevehoffman.tv/dhinterviews/Hoffman_LATimes.htm clued me in a little bit about sound quality. That was the spark for me and the first tear in the fabric of my reeling bank account.
     
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  8. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    There's new G.A.S. gear coming. This year, apparently.
     
  9. G E

    G E Senior Member

    Ten year old kid gets a nine transistor pocket radio from his uncle and discovers "Girl" and "Michelle". Is absolutely knocked out. Then, what can he do to make it better? Pulls the mono earbud off the line, hooks it up to a salvaged 6 inch speaker and wow! A short time later wonders how he can make it better.

    It's the question I pondered for the next 49 years and I think I am getting close.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2014
  10. soundQman

    soundQman Senior Member

    Location:
    Arlington, VA, USA
    Actually, you can find them used and then refurbish/modify/upgrade. Great hobbyist tinker-worthy speaker. There's quite a lot out there, since they were so popular. I have a pair and use them. If anyone is interested, there is a company called Regnar that specializes in restoring them, run by a former Dahlquist tech.
     
  11. PROG U.K.

    PROG U.K. Audiophile-Anglophile

    Location:
    New England
    My journey to being an audiophile occurred gradually over time. My late father always had a decent system, I seem to recall some TEAC, Technics and Dual products over the years. I think he also had Pioneer speakers. Gradually, I started to get progressively better components as I got older. Starting in my early teens I had a nice starter Sony bookshelf system MHC-1750. Next would be my high school/college years which I was fortunate to have a family member in the business who allowed me to purchase my gear at cost. Started with mostly Denon and Boston acoustics and stayed with these brands for the next few years. Around the time of the birth of my first child, I purchased my first system that I considered decent in the form of NAD Master Series and B&W 683's. It was around this time that I joined the Steve Hoffman Forum and really started to care about mastering of music. I have tweaked my system repeatedly over the years since then. Got rid of issue prone NAD pieces, and recently switched to Musical Fidelity M6i, Oppo BDP 105 and KEF900s/R400 subs, I am in a nice place right now and very content. For now.......
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2014
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  12. thedudeabidz

    thedudeabidz Stepping sharply from the rank and file

    Location:
    Bahstun, MA USA
    I blame my father as well. Growing up with a decent stereo system in the house and good music playing on it makes it impossible for me to ever settle for less.
     
  13. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    It was the early 70's, I was always playing around with non audio electronic stuff and decided to try and solder up an amplifier kit, eventually I got one to sound good. I was still in school and living at home . I didn't have much money but found a way to purchase a couple sets of crappy speakers then later splurged and bought a pair of Altec 14's, somehow I came up with $1300. but had to tell the folks they cost $300. my dad said I needed my head examined. lol
     
  14. chumlie

    chumlie Forum Resident

    Simple. I LOVE MUSIC
     
  15. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    This is a great thread.

    I can't say when I became an audiophile, (or even IF I'm an audiophile). When a bud came over recently and marveled at my record collection and equipment, I stupidly said, for the first time, ever, "I'm an audiophile." Well I knew right out how pretentious that sounded to him. I've never said it again.

    In the 1980's, when I saw some Nautilus and MFSL lps in a record store, I was curious. I bought a couple and was hooked. I didn't have audiophile equipment back then. Just a Fisher system. And a family friend who had a great system would say, "hmm, the UK pressing sounds much better." Referring to a Cat Stevens lp - Izitso. But Genesis' Trick Of The Tail on MFSL was quite something even on my non-audiophile system.

    Years later, I bought a copy of The Absolute Sound, Jan 1991 issue on a whim. (It's in front of me right now.) And the care and descriptions in the writing impressed me. They had some integrity back then, scorning in a note that they do NOT print ad's for products next to a review - after one company complained. That got my attention too. And their review of Jadis. I still want Jadis.

    Later in 1986, I got a Proton receiver and B&O turntable. When I upgraded the cart to an MMC2 I was floored. Thus began the search for an even better turntable.

    Then NAD separates. A Thorens vintage 124 and 125. Again I was floored by the 124. A worn Columbia House pressing of Pretenders II kept me in my seat riveted.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2014
  16. I think the biggie for me was after I was fortunate enough to get a Receiver and a pair of speakers when I was in high school. I wasn't allowed to play it very loud when anybody else was home, so I decided that I would start to look for a pair of Headphones. I rode my bicycle across town to a Stereo store that said they had a pair of headphones that was better than the Koss headphones that were really big at the time (I think they were 4A's, but that was a long time ago) that were on sale. Can't remember what they were. They hooked up the headphones to a receiver and put on a record. It was MFSL "Year of the Cat". That was when I got introduced to high(er) quality vinyl and I discovered that mastering and better vinyl made a difference. I didn't buy the headphones, but I did get the album.

    I didn't own a turntable. :oops:
     
  17. JMCIII

    JMCIII Music lover first, audiophile second.

    Music. Simple as that. I love music. Always have. I had always known good sound growing up, and I'd chased it all my life in one way or another. But it wasn't until I read an issue of Stereophile that I well and truly became an audiophile.
     
  18. Frippwire

    Frippwire Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI USA
    I started out buying records and it grew from there.

    I remember being at a family function when I was 15; a cousin and I broke away from the boring family stuff to listen to records in his basement. He played for me Zappa / Overnite Sensation, Queen / A Night at The Opera, Blue Oyster Cult / Agents Of Fortune and an album by Angel whose title escapes me. His stereo set up was the nicest I had encountered in my young life. It sounded sooooo good to me. He took the speaker grilles off and I was majorly impressed by the movement of the woofer.

    As quickly as possible I bought the Zappa, Queen and BOC records, sold my comic book collection and bought myself a "nice" stereo system. I picked out the receiver, speakers, turntable and cartridge myself (wish I could remember what brands they were). I've been upgrading my gear ever since.
     
  19. Stones_Fan_129

    Stones_Fan_129 New Member

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    I got sick of listening to poorly mastered CD's, sought out the well-mastered ones which were few and far between. Eventually decided that I should just get a decent turntable and make my own CD's off of those so I at least get the quality I am paying for.
     
  20. MonkeyMan

    MonkeyMan A man who dreams he is a butterfly?

  21. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Music, I love the stuff! My uncle Ray was a sound buff and he bought me a nice portable 8 track system. It was nothing compared to his gear but I got the bug.

    Also in High School my best friend's father had a true high end system with Infinity, Phase Linear and Accuphase gear. His system was a revelation and he used to sell me his old stuff for give away prices. He was a real great guy and that helped me get even further into the hobby. Plus in the 70's Hi Fi was a bigger fad than CB radios and Disco.
     
  22. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    What made me become an audiophile? I was naturally predisposed to it.

    I noticed stereo when I was seven years old.

    My father was an audiophile.

    No one else in my family were audiophiles, but everyone had their own record collections, and I started one at the age of six.

    I became fascinated with mixing at the age of eleven.

    I played drums in school, but became more interested in sound reinforcement in the highs school band, and then engineering. I also became interested in audio equipment and audio reproduction staring in the 80s.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2014
  23. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
  24. DTS-MA 7.1

    DTS-MA 7.1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    I think when I heard the eagles " hotel California" in DTS DVD, and needed to buy a millenium 2-4-6 to hear it at home,
    My onkyo only had Dolby. Also when reading stereo review in the 80's and adding rear speakers to my stereo receiver to make a hafler effect.
     
  25. fantgolf

    fantgolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rochester, MN
    Was an electronics technician in the Navy and after that experience I bought and built my own HeathKit pre-amp and power amp and bought a used decent turntable. I was stunned at the sound quality, especially after I hooked up the two AR2's and AR3's I bought while in the Navy. Four speakers in a good sound room and I was hooked for life. I still use the Heathkit power amp in my stereo setup and my brother-in-law had the AR3's until they died a few years ago. Can't remember what happened to the AR2's but I do remember they wore out (or were blown out) at some point. I guess that was how I became an audiophile.
     
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