Too much!

New York Diary (20-26): Epiphanies, Milestones and the Making of an Audiophile

Several important discoveries propelled me inexorably towards the debauchery of audiophilia or, as Eric L would have it, Hell! Due to senescence, the datelines are likely an approximation, but I'd think not by too much.

Dahlquist DQ10 My formative years in NYC. This was chronicled here. After I got them I was happy for a few years.

Analog Rules My very first CD Player bought in the late 80's was a bitstream Magnavox. As I wasn't really an audiophile then, I listened gladly to it on my Dahlquist setup. UNTIL, one day, I was ready to give away some LP's. That day I compared Milstein's Solo Bach (DG) and was stunned at how inept the digital replay was. When I moved I gave it to my sister. I didn't buy another CDP until several years later. This happened to be the first golden period of buying LP, when people were just switching to CDs (led by the audio press; just like when they ripped all their CDs to files and now find Streaming easier and more enjoyable), and the time when I became a card carrying vinyl junkie, scouring bins all the time.

Tube is King Shortly after swearing in analog for life (above), I made a new audiophile friend. One day he brought over his McIntosh MC-60 and my Dahlquist DQ10 just rocked! I was flabbergasted and an instant convert. Not so long after, I started buying vintage. I perused his Audiomart after he read it, and so was almost always too late. So at first I had to settle for less "desirable" stuff, like Eico. Among my purchases were the Eico HF-87 and the seller persuaded me to also buy the HF-86 and that was how I fell in love with EL84/6BQ5. I also bought an HF-85 preamp, which was highly veiled but very sweet. It came with all Mullard tubes. I had some Russian tubes but was shocked how much better old-stock tubes were. Back to the friend, later I often hung out at his Canal Street loft. He had a pair of Maggies, which I liked. He also had a pair of the original Watt, before the birth of the puppies, supplemented with Entec subwoofer columns. That was how I first started to detest Wilson and the press; how could such an expensive loudspeaker be so bland and yet praised? He drove them with a pair of Jadis JA-80 but they never sounded that great (I preferred his friend's Quicksilver 8417). Unlike many others, I started with vintage amps. It was only later in HK that I heard and tried some modern tube amps (aside from earlier ARC, few appealed to me). Preamp is another thing and classic tube preamps from ARC, Counterpoint, Melos etc became a passion.

Intermission: Then Came Hong Kong, HiFi Paradise. Or Hell, or Purgatory at least. In the HK of those days, audiophiles were everywhere. The first ones I got to know were my colleagues. It helped that we went for Happy Hour everyday (a lot of expats then, from the UK, Australia, Sri Lanka etc, but few of the Westerners were into audio). Two used Audio Research (both were classical oriented and educated abroad). One used SP9/Classic 30 to drive double LS3/5A; the other LS5/V35 to drive Sonus faber Electa Amator I. As source, the former used a Marantz CD-72 Mk II and the latter Micromega Duo (see the influence?) It was also with them that I first visited Excel and Golden String, two of the biggest distributors then. After I started buying and trading things, the number of acquaintances grew exponentially. Now, this was still in usenet days. One day I spotted an Illuminati D-60 (which I still have) and called the fellow. He said: "hey, we are in the same place! Yours is a hospital extension!" That was how I got to know Lee, an Emergency Room Physician who was famous for his vinyl collection and site Vinyl Paradise (now defunct, not the one on facebook). He was a pivotal figure in the HK vinyl renaissance. People like me don't know the classic Cantopop albums but he very early on knew their musical as well as historic values (I am sure this scene was/is also played out in many South Asian places, like India). He also introduced me to even more audiophile colleagues in other departments. Neonatal Physician Cheung (a person I most admire) had these Martin Logan's at home, bi-amped with Jadis Defy 7 and an ss amp, but we knew the ML's could not sound good in such humid environment (it didn't help that he lived atop a hill). Another vignette. Around the millennium, I was living on the ground floor of a 3-story building in a gated community. One day I saw 2 heads bobbing in my front garden. I went out to confront them. They said sorry - they thought nobody's home and they wanted to get a better look at the Marantz 9's I had close to the sliding doors (in America perhaps they would have been shot dead)! So! They told me that the fellow across from me was also one of "us". Now, this fellow had 4 vintage Volkswagen's in his front yard. One day I visited him. Boy! Tannoy drivers, vintage gear, everywhere. Apparently, he once owned a store in the famed Apliu Street. He was also an early practitioner of the SET amp movement. I bought from him at very good prices a grey Garrard 301, and a Japanese San Ei VT62 SET amp. Fast forward, in 2012, just a few days after I moved into a small high-rise apartment, I heard from the even smaller next door unit, Take Five, and from the sound I knew it was a proper audio setup (never went in though). See, just to tell you, audiophiles were everywhere in HK; you don't even have to look. In Covid terms, "Carriers" and "Silent Spreaders" were everywhere! BUT, most people still think of us as Aliens. 

Wading into Digital and BBC Waters I didn't have a proper setup the first year in HK. But, as mentioned, I heard some decent setups. When I moved out of the University Quarters, I started with 2 cheap Philips CD players (chronicled here) and never stopped. Up to that time, my own experience with bitstream was downright negative, but I knew from my colleagues that Marantz and Micromega could be good. I got a pair of used 11 ohm LS3/5A, paired it with Dynaco ST-70 that I brought back from the US, and a DIY Marantz 7 (made by a student of mine) and the sound was excellent, almost on par with what I have in front of me right now. Sometime later, Golden String had a clearance sale, and I bought the Spendor SP 2/1 (later also the SP1/2) and started my exploration of BBC and BBC-related loudspeakers beyond the LS3/5A (if interested, see my Spendor Overview). From then on, I bought, tried and sold a huge array of vintage CDP's and UK loudspeakers. For digital, basically over more than 10 years I tried everything bitstream and 16-bit classics (and earlier 14-bit ones). I am going to say more on this in a later Micromega Overview.

Horns, no looking back My first exposure to horns was a humble one. In HK, I heard at the aforementioned Lee's place his Klipsch KLF-30, a large floorstander. This was a three-way tower, with ferrite tractrix treble and midrange horns, and double woofers. I was impressed by the presence. Not so long after, I spotted a pair of La Scala's in the back of the shop (Sound Glory) and got them for a good price. Owner was just too happy to get rid of these (I later bought from him stuff nobody else wanted, like Loth-X BS1 and Magnpan SMG). This was the period when I was living on the ground floor, and I had much more room than before. A Malaysian fellow was relocating back to his country and was trying to sell his Lowther TP-1 (here). Someone (now a well known tube guy who operates a vintage shop) made a really lowball offer that he couldn't stomach. The night before his departure I made him a fairer offer and he delivered them the next day on an open top truck (along with a Garrard 301)! It was fun having them side by side, which was why I knew very early on that the Lowther was not nearly as efficient as the Klipsch. This was a fecund period. I also bought a pair of Tannoy 12" Gold in original Lancaster cabinets. My loudspeakers were definitely getting bigger! It's regrettable that I don't have even one picture of this period! That was at the start of my Ebay days, before smartphone and picture hosting! Then, a lot of words, few pics; now, lots of pics, few words..

SET Amps With efficient loudspeakers, I started to explore SE amps. I loved the combination. Once I started with SE amps, I basically abandoned larger PP amps. It's not necessarily the sound, rather the convenience, simplicity and reliability. I have never had any of my SE amps break down, something I cannot say about vintage PP amps.

Cables Once I started using professional cables from Mogami and Gotham I never bought anything else.

Ebay addiction For almost 10 years I was just addicted. Basically I just stopped abruptly. I should be a seller, not a buyer!

So, I had my beliefs formed relatively early on. Then for almost 2 decades I just wallowed in excess, and now have a big mess to clean up. Let my example be a warning to you!