The best region for Audiophile

The summers in western Washington are bone dry, though it is definitely rainy other times of the year. I use a dehumidifier in my basement to create a consistent environment, but I never had any issues with mold before I started using it. I think you'd have to have a leak or some other problem to run into mold issues.

 

I lived in NY between WA and TN.

 

Boston is not that bad except it is hot in summer.

One of my friend enjoy living there.

 

i would say the usa...because it's filled with trumpsters ha ha ha

 

It is a paradise from May to Oct in Pacific Northwest not too hot and dry.

Even during winter rainy season, the humidity is not that bad due to wind.

 

The most safe area in US immune to natural disaster is Arizona.

Little risk of earthquake, hurricane or tornado.

It also has a decent high end shops around Phoenix.

But it is too hot during summer to enjoy music.

Thus it is not the best state for audiophile although it is good to live for retiree.


Some people over there use Class D amplifier during summer time.


It is good to be audiophile in wet weather or cold one like Chicago since you tend to stay inside.

England is also good for audiophile in the sense.

I would rather do outdoor activities in sunshine states than staying inside.

 

I may need to update my assessment of Hawthorne. About a year ago when I was looking for a high end cartridge they told me they could order anything I wanted but had no demo cartridges set up. Bummer. Since Upscale did not call back on Friday, I decided to give Hawthorne a call about phono stages. I was calling to inquire if they had a JC 3+ in stock or for demo. The very nice guy over the phone said he could get me one to demo in about a week! He also recommended the Rega Aura and said he had one set up to demo. I plan to compare them and make a decision very soon.

 

Of course you could come down to Oregon and investigate Echo Audio in Portland where they have had both D'Agostino amps and Wilson speakers used for some significant savings on top of the lack of sales tax. While it's not a bad place for an audiophile, the Portland area does have more than it's fair share of problems. And while I've been lucky in that most every place I've lived since college grades well by audiophile standards I would not use that as a measuring stick for where I might want to live in the future. I find Portland attractive as it has some nice rivers nearby to fly fish for steelhead, along with forests near mountains for camping and scenic, twisty roads for enjoying the motorcycle and the sports car. The local stereo shops are a nice bonus.

But to the OP's point, I do dig Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle. Cool shop with a great (and plentiful) mix of used and new gear.

 

On the bright side at least we are sitting west of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Not that you are raising some very good points, but plenty of people live in fear of natural disasters, of crime, of all kinds of things for that matter only to die early on from poor health or from any variety of other reasons (some likely stress induced). Obviously there is no "one size fits all" when it come to hifi or to life and where we might choose to live. I just feel fortunate to have a hifi and that I do have options for places to live.

 

My living room !

 

Somebody asked me worst region for audiophile



It’s a fun thread.

What is the worst State or region for Audiophile? ...Hurricane Alley?


My take of worst region for audiophile is Southern California.

Electricity and housing costs are expensive over there.

High property tax and state income tax also make living there expensive.


There is also high danger of earthquake which can ruin your audio system.

It is also pretty hot during summertime not good for using Class A amplifiers.


The weather is so good to do outdoor activities and do surfing on the beaches.

Why you want to stay inside listening to music in Southern California?

As an avid audiophile, it is the last place to move to.

My son got master degree in Engineering from UCLA.
I do not mind visiting there for few days from time to time but I will not take permanent residence there period.

 

• Anywhere in the flight path of an aerially active military base if loud, low, high pitched jet engines and helicopter "whomp, whomp" upset your listening.
  
  
• Federal prisons. Maybe OK for headphone listening. Not sure.
  
  
• Apartments above truck stops are not ideal, let me tell you.
  
  
• Communes would be problematic, I imagine. All those people acting like they own your stereo. Not for me, buddy.

That's off the top of my head.

 

An area with regular and frequent lightning. Like Florida.

My DAC likes to be plugged in 24/7 to stay warmed up and takes a day or two to fully warm up after being unplugged. I don't know how I'd use a DAC like that in Florida where I'd need to unplug it every time lightning rolls through.

Even just leaving amps and other things plugged in all the time would freak me out in Florida. I don't want to risk tens of thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment being left plugged in if I'm not home to unplug it when the lightning decides to roll through.

The west side of Washington, Oregon, and California are the best places to be if you don't want to worry about lightning frying your equipment and want to leave gear on 24/7 with little to no worry.

 

Florida may be another candidate for worst region.

It is hot and humid not for Class A amplifier.

As you mentioned, it is not a good place to leave component 24/7 on.

It is also good for outdoor activities.

One of my friend left Florida after two evacuations due to strong hurricanes.

But with warm weather, there are many retired audiophile living in Florida.

 

While I realize that all of what I have laid-out here are real risks, I'm not actually all that concerned about these risks most of the time. I was merely playing devils advocate in response to the OPs fear of living in hurricane territory by pointing out that we actually have much greater risks right here. It's just that the frequency of EQs is low enough that most of us think (or hope) that we will won't be around long enough to experience the next big one.

Oh, and regarding Jellystone: When that eventually blows again, it pretty much won't matter where you live.

 

I realized where you were coming from and should have added an appropriate smilie face to my post. I grew up in Illinois and later lived all over Texas. The Pacific Northwest is the first place that I've lived just because this is where I wanted to live (it's been more than 16 years now). Even with the awareness of the threats from natural disasters that we might face, I remain grateful to be here and have no desire to return to those places I once lived. But I also have friends back in those other places who wouldn't live anywhere else. Thank goodness that every last one of us doesn't want to be in the exact same place.

Oh and Yellowstone is indeed mind-boggling.

 

Who needs a basement when I have a living room filled with gear

No basement here in AZ as it is cheaper to sprawl than to dig down. But I do miss a basement for the workspace and a place to store all my crap, especially all my tools.

Because I have a big solar array on my home I pay NOTHING for electricity for 6 months of the year and then only $23 per month for the other 6! Most of gear is tubed except for my amps and I like SS for the amp section.

 

I'm in the lower Hudson Valley. There are extended power outages seemingly every year with the trees coming down on power lines. The Spring and Summer are especially terrible for listening as everyone seem to have overpowered, industrial-strength gardening equipment now. All I hear are tractor mowers, chainsaws, chippers, trimmers, blowers etc... Being a musician and trying to do home recording is almost impossible during those months. In the summer I've got to turn off the A/C, and in the winter turn off the furnace when I record at home.

 

A basement would (literally) be cooler, but I understand why builders don't do it. Good for you going solar.

 

Definitely a problem. I am fortunate now in a "sound-proof" basement, but not forever. The house needs major upgrades, so I will be moving due to a pending renovation, not looking forward to moving to paper walls and other complaining people (with their noisy footfalls). I have discovered the value of good door seals and window seals. I am very near a main road, so, the difference is in the old stone foundation, very thick outside walls, a drop ceiling, and complete sealing of windows and the door. We could be hit by an asteroid, I wouldn't know until I opened the door.

 

And great sump pumps!
Been there, never again, I change every 8 years,;no matter what
Lost hundreds of unreplaceable records.

 

The coasts would be great. Amazes me that we have so many high end manufactures in the Mpls/St Paul area and it is rare to see used high end available for sale.

Off the top of my head, local brands in no particular order: JRiver, Atma-Sphere, Bel Canto, Magnepan, Audio Research, and Audio by Van Alstine all built within 30 miles of my house but you think they can be found used locally? Rarely. Most of my friends don't even know they exist.
The ARC piece in my system was purchased used from CO. And I've toured their factory.

 

Wow!

Recently I ordered Magnepan LRS.

Those region is the most populated by the number of high end audio manufactures.

During cold winter, one can enjoy nice sound even with Class A amplifier which will warm up the listening room.

 

The Twin Cities area does have one of the largest and best unicycle clubs in the US. Perhaps the audio manufactures enjoy unicycling. That would certainly be a draw for me to locate a business in that area. I've been to Minneapolis, and the reason was the TCUC.

In my previous posts in this thread promoting areas around Seattle with good mountain bike trails. Assume I meant unicycling trails.

 

Ya, mine is over 20 years old, still works...