John's Room

[John72953]

Hello!

I'm a newcomer to the Canada HiFi forums at the invitation of Suave, when I posted on his Facebook page about the T.A.V.E. Show this coming Sept.30-Oct.2, 2011. I am very excited about this new show, and I hope it's a major success, as Toronto is a market too big to be ignored.

Anyway, a bit of history. I have been into audio and music for most of life, thanks to my father. Every Sunday morning he would sit and listen by himself to Dave Brubeck, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra and the odd classical vinyl release on his prized Baycrest console. With my Mother being away at church, he would crank it up and sneak in a pint or two of some Kingsbeer (his fave beverage), and just groove to the sounds. While he wasn't the most progressive in terms of accepting different music, he did allow me to spin my first LP (that I bought with my paper route money). That album was The Beatles - Beatles '65. While I could tell that that he wasn't totally taken with it, he never once asked me to turn it off. Making a long story short, he eventually did learn to appreciate the newer sounds from bands like The Beatles and a few others in time. In reverse, I learned to appreciate jazz and swing (his faves), and I couldn't be happier for it.

Jumping forward a few years when component audio starting to make an appearance in "hi-fi", I was mesmerized by a Sansui, Pioneer and Akai system that I heard in the basement apartment at a friend-of-a-friends pad. It was that experience that led me to seeking out better quality, as my Dad's beloved Baycrest console couldn't hold a candle to it. And so the journey began!

I am too old to remember all of the various component pieces (models) I've owned through the years, but starting with Pioneer, Kenwood, Akai, Harmon-Kardon, I slowly evolved to the more upper echelon of audio like Krell, McIntosh, Garrard and Teac/Tascam (then, not now). I can tell you I spent a bundle upgrading and refining and fine-tuning my setup. This lasted for about 10-15 years, but I always felt something was missing. Sure it sounded good, but I became too critical. I analyzed everything to death, and finally I figured out that for me I had lost sight of the original purpose...which was to enjoy the music.

Lo and behold there were other processes happening in my life at the time that sped up that process. Divorce, a personal business failure and bankruptcy has a tendency to do that. For years I didn't have any audio system of any kind, other than my PC and a Boombox, but I still amassed more music. It was during this period that I finally, finally realized that the music is what mattered more than anything. I no longer cared so much about how it sounded, and instead learned to appreciate the music for music.

Jumping ahead almost another decade, I decided that I wanted once again to have something that offered me a little more than just a vehicle for basic reproduction, so I started thinking and auditioning. What I came up with in the next few years is what you see in the picture I have posted. I like what I have assembled, and with some tweaks here and there, I think I have come up with something that I could live with for a long time. Will there be changes? Probably! Are they necessary? Maybe! All I know is this:

I have never enjoyed my music more!

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Nottingham Anologue Horizon SE/ RB250/ Sumiko Pearl (temporary)
Pioneer SA-9500II Integrated Amplifier
Tonar Vinyline 4189 MM/MC Phono stage
Monster HDP-2400 Power Conditioner
Totem Sttaf Loudspeakers
Various cables.