In Memory of Robin

In Memory of Robin (The Scot)

Hi-Fi Basics XIII: The Preciousness of a Fellow Traveler

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my friend Robin (not Hood, but a proud Scot), whose audio endeavors in Hong Kong (and later Taiwan) I have chronicled as much as I could have. Now, the sad news: he had passed away in Taipei some weeks ago.

I mentioned before that Robin had harbored a chronic illness for the last decade. As one would have expected of him, he not only had weathered it well, but lived a very full life. He died from an unrelated and unexpected illness. I had also never mentioned Robin's professions, and am not going to do so now. Suffice to say he devoted most of his life to helping others, mostly people he had never met. A noble endeavor.

The mid eighties were my halcyon days in New York. Those were the days when artists from all the Chinese worlds started to converge in NYC, and I count myself lucky to have been part of the crowd (as you know, doctors are frequently negatively portrayed by artists, certainly in music, as in Wozzeck). Believe it or not, even in that age, when excessive and ugly financial practices started to dominate the world and set the world on the path to the unprecedented global inequity of today, there were plenty of innocence to be had, more so than today, I'd say.

I actually knew Robin's wife before I met Robin. I really did not see him that many times in NYC, but I remember for some reason his looks one evening on the street. I can only say he was on fire. I don't remember why; maybe he had just met his future wife? But that look has stayed in my mind all these years. Robin was a man of passion, and not afraid to show it.

Our paths converged again when the couple relocated to HK, but I didn't see them often at all, especially since they were in and out, had busy professional lives, and lived on Lamma Island, far away from me. It was not until they moved to Central that we met more often, especially since Robin by this time had taken up audio.

This late phase, where we saw each other more often (but not often enough) started when I paid them a visit in the Central flat. Then Robin came to my place and was stricken by the Yamaha NS-1000, which he instantly knew was what he wanted. It transformed his entire audio journey and he then went up to the FX-3, which I'd never have heard otherwise. It was what he gave me in turn. Then, he restored my Garrard 301 and went on to R2R. If you look at the timeline in my blog, for the past decade I had made few home visits but, for this article, I revisited the posts and am shocked by how many of my yumcha friends I had taken to experience his setup. Indeed, with Robin, I probably did some of my best writing, and that is for a good reason. For this, below:

The Preciousness of a Fellow Traveler
When I chewed on the news of Robin's passing, in no time it dawned on me how much he stood out for his sincerity and lack of pretense, rare among audiophiles. He became an audiophile because he loved music and wanted more fidelity, which is me too, despite my excesses.

Then, it occurred to me that I should write an (Hi-Fi Basics) article on the importance (or luck) to have a fellow companion on an audio journey. Perhaps due to a past life of an academic (albeit somewhat forced upon me) I tend to be methodical, and inclusive, so in the end I often become long-winded. So, I started to draft a long article on how important a fellow traveler can be in audio. What I mean is the presence of meaningful exchanges, to-and-fro. However, true exchanges like this are still regrettably rare in audio, as most focus more on the hardware than the meaning of music (which a proper vintage mono setup can probably convey as much as modern "state-of-the-art"). Accordingly, I planned the article and wrote quite a bit before I realize that, in re-visiting what I wrote about Robin, I had already conveyed most of my feelings.

Even if the methodical in me often re-synthesized an old article or idea into a new one, what I wrote about Robin and I, together on a journey, cannot be superseded. Once I re-read everything I had written about our encounters, I knew that this series is the perfect ode to Robin. It has a coherence of its own, rare and precious. Plus, I am very glad to have shot a short video footage of him, which to this date I have not done for anyone else. It is all for the glory of music. SO:

If you haven't read these, they encapsulate the philosophy of this blog. I am also glad that my good friend icefox, very discriminating, shared in our joy together. Click and read, and I am sure you will not be disappointed:

https://cheaptubeaudio.blogspot.com/search?q=robin

17 January, 2009 Home Visit:: Robin's Nest

15 October, 2009 Part II. From Beryllium to Beryllium

07 September, 2010 04-09-10 Return to Robin's Nest

27 January, 2011 Talk Vinyl: Restoration of Garrard 301 Part II

03 February, 2011 Talk Vinyl: Restoration of Garrard 301 Part III

09 February, 2011 Talk R2R: How to Describe the Sound of R2R?

26 June, 2011 Audiophiles in Illness - Music as Therapy

27 August, 2011 Welcome back Robin, we'll be missing you!

30 June, 2012 Letter from Robin in Taipei

29 August, 2016 Home Visit: My Dear Old Friend Robin the Scot

29 October, 2017 Letter from Taipei: Robin's New Toys