jeffn
08-07-2007, 05:54 AM
Hi,
I am 43 years old Australian, have 2 kids living with their Mum not far away. I live on my own, have a girlfriend, and work in Mechanical Engineering in the steel industry. About 3years ago i was happily and proudly playing mp3's on my PC through a Creative Labs PC speaker system. I thought it was great, oddly.
As a kid I'd be taking old cassette decks apart or getting speakers from old TV's to wire up to whatever I could find. Somehow that interest hibernated till a few years ago when at a garage sale I bought a pair of Sony carbocon ssu-2000 speakers.....then an immaculate JVC JR-s300 for $7. Wow that stuff could go loud. Then i hit a garage sale of an evicted tenant and the landlord was selling all the belongings of the (in hindsight) audiophile tenant........ rooms full of gear; cupboards piled up. I knew so little that i only bought 3 or 4 things for $10 each not knowing what was good and what wasn't. I don't even remember what i passed up there. I wish I could go back now.
I'd always like my music........... Beatles, bowie, talking heads, Devo, Eno, Television, The Cure, rem, Magazine, Go-Betweens, Echo and the Bunnymen, ABC, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Human League, Heaven 17, Roxy Music and so many more. etc etc but only in the last few years has "the gear" been important, then i wondered why I'd put aside my childhood love of 'speakers' and audio for so long.
I should be honest and say that many amps and receivers that pass by my way sound similar. A lot of the attraction to me is the lure of finding something rare or in great condition or TOTL or a bargain....or maybe just something different to what I have already. If all you wanted to do is listen to music, you wouldn't keep collecting more and more gear right?
I'd rather fix a non-worker than pay big for a 'recently overhauled' unit. I like to pull things apart. The first thing I do with a new purchase is whip its top off for a look.
I've had a habit over the years to get right into a hobby to the point of obsession, then go onto the next one.......sailing, 4wd'ing, vintage motorbikes, now vintage audio....
I'd prefer an old car that broke down occasionally than a new one that didn't. There's something about feedback from machinery that I like.......if the engines hot I wanna see a pegged needle and steam, not a "beep beep" sound. I wanna know it uses half a litre of oil every 500kms, I don't wanna check once per year and search under the bonnet not knowing where the dipstick is.
Summers here revolve around the beach or boats, Winters around the heater. The seasons create 2 worlds per year. One is afternoon bbq's and wearing shorts and no shirt till it gets dark at 9pm, bedroom windows open at night and the fan on to keep cool. Winter it's dark at 5pm, the grass can be icy on cold mornings, and the heaters on at night. Generally though it's a nice area to live. endless beaches 10minutes away, fresh water lakes 45mins, salt water lake 5min, mountains with winter snow (a little) 90mins, numerous vineyards 45mins, huge wilderness areas for camping etc.
Lots of lizards, spiders, snakes, and stinging things, (if you're unlucky). I nearly took a photo last summer at the beach of a sign saying "Warning: Marine Stingers in water" and in the background scores of people in the water not caring. (they only sting for a while, but its quite unpleasant.)
On the downside, garage sale pickings in decent audio are relatively slim compared to what i read on this site about the USA. Still, there's enough to maintain interest for me.
Oh, and I like beer and red wine.
Typical weekday nights I usually have the TV on but turned down, some music playing and the laptop on reading AK, sipping a wine while my pet Whippet stares at me from the other lounge.
I hope that was mildly interesting........... :scratch2:
I am 43 years old Australian, have 2 kids living with their Mum not far away. I live on my own, have a girlfriend, and work in Mechanical Engineering in the steel industry. About 3years ago i was happily and proudly playing mp3's on my PC through a Creative Labs PC speaker system. I thought it was great, oddly.
As a kid I'd be taking old cassette decks apart or getting speakers from old TV's to wire up to whatever I could find. Somehow that interest hibernated till a few years ago when at a garage sale I bought a pair of Sony carbocon ssu-2000 speakers.....then an immaculate JVC JR-s300 for $7. Wow that stuff could go loud. Then i hit a garage sale of an evicted tenant and the landlord was selling all the belongings of the (in hindsight) audiophile tenant........ rooms full of gear; cupboards piled up. I knew so little that i only bought 3 or 4 things for $10 each not knowing what was good and what wasn't. I don't even remember what i passed up there. I wish I could go back now.
I'd always like my music........... Beatles, bowie, talking heads, Devo, Eno, Television, The Cure, rem, Magazine, Go-Betweens, Echo and the Bunnymen, ABC, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Human League, Heaven 17, Roxy Music and so many more. etc etc but only in the last few years has "the gear" been important, then i wondered why I'd put aside my childhood love of 'speakers' and audio for so long.
I should be honest and say that many amps and receivers that pass by my way sound similar. A lot of the attraction to me is the lure of finding something rare or in great condition or TOTL or a bargain....or maybe just something different to what I have already. If all you wanted to do is listen to music, you wouldn't keep collecting more and more gear right?
I'd rather fix a non-worker than pay big for a 'recently overhauled' unit. I like to pull things apart. The first thing I do with a new purchase is whip its top off for a look.
I've had a habit over the years to get right into a hobby to the point of obsession, then go onto the next one.......sailing, 4wd'ing, vintage motorbikes, now vintage audio....
I'd prefer an old car that broke down occasionally than a new one that didn't. There's something about feedback from machinery that I like.......if the engines hot I wanna see a pegged needle and steam, not a "beep beep" sound. I wanna know it uses half a litre of oil every 500kms, I don't wanna check once per year and search under the bonnet not knowing where the dipstick is.
Summers here revolve around the beach or boats, Winters around the heater. The seasons create 2 worlds per year. One is afternoon bbq's and wearing shorts and no shirt till it gets dark at 9pm, bedroom windows open at night and the fan on to keep cool. Winter it's dark at 5pm, the grass can be icy on cold mornings, and the heaters on at night. Generally though it's a nice area to live. endless beaches 10minutes away, fresh water lakes 45mins, salt water lake 5min, mountains with winter snow (a little) 90mins, numerous vineyards 45mins, huge wilderness areas for camping etc.
Lots of lizards, spiders, snakes, and stinging things, (if you're unlucky). I nearly took a photo last summer at the beach of a sign saying "Warning: Marine Stingers in water" and in the background scores of people in the water not caring. (they only sting for a while, but its quite unpleasant.)
On the downside, garage sale pickings in decent audio are relatively slim compared to what i read on this site about the USA. Still, there's enough to maintain interest for me.
Oh, and I like beer and red wine.
Typical weekday nights I usually have the TV on but turned down, some music playing and the laptop on reading AK, sipping a wine while my pet Whippet stares at me from the other lounge.
I hope that was mildly interesting........... :scratch2: