The best region for Audiophile

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by thomaskong, May 14, 2019.

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  1. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    If it's cost savings that determines an audiophile's experience then the southeastern US has the secret sauce. There is a great but unknown reason why super high end gear is rare in Dixie. Sound travels through the air, right? Well, we have such heat and humidity that thickens our atmosphere, even a Crosley turntable with a puny speaker sounds like you're front and center in a top end listening room elsewhere in the U.S.. People spend 6 figures sometimes to get that "warm" sound when most of our sounds are already warm. Lol.
     
  2. finn

    finn Forum Resident

    Caught the ferry back from Nantucket to Hyannis, prefer the architecture of Nantuket. We were there on the shoulder so prices were reasonable, stayed at the Wauwinet outside of the town, got driven around in a 39' ford "woody", ate lobster and drank French plonk, spoke to Californian wine makers about horse racing and generally thought how lucky are we.
    Cheers.
     
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  3. L.P.

    L.P. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austria
    Ah, I didn't know that. To be sure I googled Washington state earthquakes before I posted and only found one in 2001 so I thought they were quite rare over there. But as it is north of California I should have expected tectonic movement.
     
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  4. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Or the power vent water heater
     
  5. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Ya, I was glad to leave San Francisco in 2000. Just not worth it anymore. Good memories of better days though.
     
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  6. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    I had lived in Bay area from 1982 to 1989 with fond memory of it.

    But now it is too expensive to live there with high electricity costs and property taxes.
    Thus unless you are very rich, it is not easy to maintain spacious listening space over there.

    I am happy to live in Pacific Northwest with enough listening space and nice 180 degree western view of Olympic mountains, Skagit Bay and Sound.
     
    Chris Schoen likes this.
  7. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Nice! Bet you get some great fresh seafood too. :righton:
     
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  8. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    I agree with you.

    I had traveled to Florida, SC, NC last January.

    I am tempted to live there after finding cheap gas prices.:D

    But I do not like the possible evacuation due to strong Hurricanes. :(
     
  9. carbonti

    carbonti Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York County
    I dunno. I’d answer the best region for audiophile is right smack dab where you live if you are happy and happen to like where you live. Having that quality is the first priority only after having good health because you can manage around almost anything else. In a world possessed with global connectivity and global logistics there is not much that can’t be had or that is too far away.

    I live in one of the world’s great cities. With all its pluses and minuses. It ain’t cheap but that’s just the way things are. Same with electricity: it is what it costs ‘cos I’m not choosing where to live based on kiloWatt/hours (which oddly enough is fairly cheap here from ConEd versus expensive in outlying Nassau County from LIPA). It’s not very conducive to audiophile as far as personal living space but there are enough stereo shops around to keep one interested.

    Life is what you make of it...good music & good sound are things that add to what is already there. Regions are just different flavors of good things. I hope yours is as enjoyable as mine and I’d invite you over to share the experience.
     
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  10. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    You have a nice point.

    Some people love New York, others not.

    I got shocked to visit New York on 1983 after finding messy street and subway in Manhattan.

    It is not my cup of tea, but some people enjoy it.

    There is no definite answer to my topic.

    But after retirement if you enjoy music in relaxed way, then Pacific Northwest may be one of the best region.
     
  11. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Which is better: An evacuation which you can plan-on and prepare for happening every few years, or a >9.0 Earthquake which gives no notice before it strikes and which completely destroys a large part of the infrastructure for a 1000 miles from northern California to British Columbia while also likely triggering a string of volcanos to erupt shortly afterwards? :shrug:

    The PNW is beautiful, but it is always a roll of the dice as to when "the big one" will hit when you live here. When it hits, the fact is that "the big one" will probably not be survivable for long for the majority of the population; even for the "doomsday prepers". It's not like you can decide to evacuate if both I5 and I90 (etc) are collapsed, and the airports are ruined. And sheltering in place won't work for long unless you have a source of clean water, even if you should have 10 years of beans and rice stored away.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2019
  12. Erocka2000

    Erocka2000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Comparing 1983 New York to present day New York, is like comparing 1940s New York to 1980s New York. They are simply not the same city.
     
  13. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I don't know if there is one best area but I can make a few observations:

    1. San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and Atlanta have some of the best record stores in terms of selection of hard to find stuff. NYC can be good too if you can afford the Jazz Record Center offerings.

    2. L A is easily the best if we measure by hardware availability. I believe there are over 20(!) dealers in the greater LA area.

    3. Chicago has some great dealers in MusicDirect and Quintessence. New York City has a nice wide variety of available brands.

    4. I just got back from the Munich show and based on what I saw Germany may be the overall best country for high end gear. Japan is also huge. I was surprised by how many reviewers from Japan made it to Munich. United Kingdom perhaps is the leader in audio R&D based on what I saw and heard.

    At the end of the day, it's a truly global economy and we can pretty much get whatever we need.
     
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  14. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    Since 1983, I had visited New York 6 more times, most recently on 2015.

    I agree with you on improvement of New York.

    But considering overall weather and living costs, I am happy to be in Pacific Northwest.
     
    bhazen likes this.
  15. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    It seems some European countries are good for audiophile living.

    In France, you may be able to buy whole castle at reasonable price.

    But due to high VAT, all new equipment prices are high over there to make change of audio hardware more difficult.
     
    LeeS likes this.
  16. Fruff76

    Fruff76 L100 Classic - Fan Club President

    I always thought Montreal has a lot of love for the scene.
     
    LeeS likes this.
  17. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    I had been to Montreal twice and liked its French atmosphere.

    But it is too cold for me during winter over there
     
  18. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    The chance of having earthquake stronger than Mag 7 in Washington State within next 30 years is around 10%.

    Thus I am willing to bet that I will not have big one in my life.

    But just in case, I have enough food to eat more than a week at home.


    On the other hand, the chance of having earthquake stronger than Mag 7 in California State within next 30 years is around 50%.

    With high tax, gasoline price and earthquake risk, I am not going to move to California.
     
  19. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Massachusetts isn't too bad.

    1. Cool in Spring and Autumn is amazing.
    2. Legal Pot
    3. Good Radio Stations
    4. Some good high end stores
     
    googlymoogly likes this.
  20. mj_patrick

    mj_patrick Senior Member

    Location:
    Elkhart, IN, USA
    The best region for Audiophile

    Probably the ears.
     
  21. finn

    finn Forum Resident

    From a statistical perspective, this thread could be very interesting if framed by listing the 5 most important considerations that have the potential to increase your enjoyment of this audio reproduction pursuit. Already we have mentions of access to dealers, live music, outdoor alternatives, costs of living, costs of acquisition, difficulties associated with construction/ living requirements, the liveability of our cities, towns, rural situations and if there is upsides or downsides. Often life doesn't allow for many choices so maybe we can't have our cake and eat it too but it would be interesting to know what would be perfect for one aspect of your life.
    Not asking about equipment though, just the other stuff that's important.
     
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  22. carbonti

    carbonti Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York County
    No problem. Places have their own vibe and it either works for you or it doesn't. No point in being miserable. Heck, I've often viewed NYC under the metaphor as a crucible, a blast furnace or as an atom smasher. Yikes. But any big city will extract a price.

    Yes, that sure would be different.

    Well, NYC in the 80's...the subways were better. Man, some of those years back then were desperate times. For all of NYC's faults, and there are many, nobody wants to go back to those days.
     
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  23. googlymoogly

    googlymoogly Forum Resident

    There are so many varying microclimates in the PNW, that it really depends. The overall humidity levels really depend on the location. I grew up in the Southeast (FLA), and I remember humidity so thick at times that it made the walls of my bedroom run with condensed moisture. That kind of humidity is pretty rare along the coastal PNW. Maybe some of the inland areas get that level, on occasion. The climate in the Coastal/Cascade regions is pretty moderate, on average. Summers tend to be quite dry, too, for much of the region.
     
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  24. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    I'm not sure I really understand this thread- it's not about the availability of gear, hi-fi or record shops, but more where to live that is conducive to audio?
    I lived in metro NY (both in the city and in the lower Hudson Valley) for 36 years. It was a mecca of hi-fi retail shops and there were a lot of audiophiles there but I'm not sure the retail scene is as vibrant as it once was-and that's probably true everywhere. Other factors had pluses and minuses- great city, lots of good food, interesting street life, things to do; downsides included cost of living and in some cases, nasty power grid with old infrastructure.
    I don't live there anymore, but I'm not down on it.
    I think you could live just about anywhere that had good reliable power. After that, it's all a matter of sourcing gear and records. That's not something that is centered in one city.
    Tomorrow, I'll go to the Austin Record show, which is billed as the largest record show in America. I've usually found more stuff of interest at the WFMU show in NY. But, then again, there's Utrecht. Does that mean I should move to the Netherlands? (I actually like Amsterdam as a city, but don't think I'd want to live there full time).
    If this is about lifestyle and what places are good places to live, I'm not sure that has much to do with audiophile issues unless I am missing something. Maybe I am....
     
  25. Clonesteak

    Clonesteak Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Weed is legal in Michigan. Sales tax is 6%. Utilities and cost of living is low. Third ranked state for breweries. All homes pretty much have basements which are perfect for an audio cave.
    Right next door to Chicago to attend AXPONA show. Ann Arbor has excellent record shops along with Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Detroit.
    *** No earthquakes or Hurricanes here. Snowstorms make for great days to enjoy some tunes.****
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2019
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