Who is your 'GOOD' BAD INFLUENCE (B.I.) in AUDIO

[jadis]

I'm not sure whether this question has been posted before in WS but
thought it would be nice to share how we got into this craze called
audiophilia.

In my case it was my mother. She did not exactly urge me to buy
audio stuff but based on what I see re her hardware purchases, she
was ungrading; and she had lots of LPs of the 50s and 60s playing on
an all-in-one phono cum speaker unit, till she would junk it and go to
open reel and finally audio cassette tapes. Each time she travelled to
Hongkong she would bring home a new 'toy', much to my delight.
I get to play my own stuff in her new gear till I myself bought my own
Japanese mini-component as my first music system.

From there, the bug had bit me, and to enjoy the music of my time,
I kept buying local LPs upon local LPs and also cassettes, and would
then tape the Lp music to play in my car. I was a 'cloistered' audio buff,
listening on a solitary basis, till a supplier went to my office and saw
some Audio mags I had on the table; he then confessed to me that
he was into the audio hobby as well, and he told me to 'upgrade'
from a Sansui set into a JBL based system with an American-made
integrated amp that, at that time, blew me out to the moon. Since then,
the upgrading game started, till, in the mid 90s, when my mom saw
the wooden crates of the B&W800s, she asked me what they were,
and I said, loudspeakers - she was dumfounded in awe....but deep
inside, I knew she was thinking.." I created a Frankenstein"......

[ichabod]

My dad.

He's been into radio communications since WW II. Lots of that old radio digest and magazines where I frequently see and read ads from fisher, scott, mcintosh, altec, jbls.

We made a hifi set out of our old tube RCA radio in the 50s. Collected 45s, and lps since 78s were scarce and on the way out. Brands like Capitol, Liberty, Mercury, Columbia, Decca, and the likes were popular. After those tube days, I met another guy in my teens who became a successful pianist (playing abroad and at the Intercon Hotel) later. He rekindled that love for the classics, and jazz. We used to listen to PC band playing all those marches, "Poet and the Peasant" was a fav. at the Luneta including the MSO performing there as well as at the CCP and PhilAm Life. Live music all the way to the Jazz pubs like the one in Escolta called "Tipanan." Dunno if any of you baby boomers remember the place. That was where I heard Peter Loro, a pinoy jazz trumpeter ala Chet Baker (I'm almost sure Chet was an idol) Dominic Salustiano, pianist/arranger, jazz exponent in the days when Brubeck was king. And an odd assortment of music makers in the 60s where jazz was the real acid test of musicianship, making a headway amongst audiophiles and music lovers.

Later we discovered Empire Electronics in aurora blvd. Some set-up guys must know this. This was where we brought our open reel tapes for recording from the master tapes. They had a whole wall full of master tapes. One of my favorite was "Camelot" of the original london cast with R. Burton, and J. Andrews, with R. Goulet. I love the music to this very day when I get to listen to it on CD over my vintage amps.

Then there was stereo exchange where I first heard the Quad 57s. Astrub Gilberto was in the room with us while Claus Ogermann was blowing lotsa air on his trombone.

Familiar tunes from Ray Anthony, Welk, Mantovani, Percy Faith, and the likes were a constant source of musical inspiration. Who can forget Cugat, T. Fuente, and all that cuban mambo? Then of course mainstream audiophile favorites like T. Bennet, Ole blue eyes Sinatra, spiced up by R. Clooney, B. Holiday, Dinah Shore, S. Vaughn in her "Sinner or Saint" thingy. Pat Boone's "Oh Bernadette." Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" and all that rock n rolling with the Everly Brothers as teen idols in the backdrop of those mainstays but slowly fading from the music business except for their spectacular recordings; like the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, of course who would miss the famous military band leader of those war torn years Glenn Miller and his band playing "Moonlight Serenade" with those GIs dancing the slow drag. What a scene in the dance floor later revived for nostalgia by B. Manilow.

Ha ha nostalgia and some tears is what audio has been to me all these years. I hate to see that many sometimes miss the best part of it -- because of too much hi tech talk, and watts-you-machamacallit, which is: THE MUSIC!!!

It's nice to reminesce. Let's hear from someone else how he got into audio.

[arnoldc]

my tita. she, through her vinyls/turntable and open reel/tapes, introduced me to music. i still have some of her vinyls, like the sinatra, paul anka, andre kostelanetz, etc. and my tito for the ten years after, grand funk, rolling stones and he's also the one who led me to the DIY hobby. finally my mother for getting us our own turntable.

of recent, si ihatejazz! - the analog pusher he fulfilled my analog dreams (when i was young, i always lusted for a linear tracker)

[iceman90a]

my sister - she used to play the piano when we were young, we'd sing along as she played Pippin

then in my high school days, i was rarely without a walkman: The Clash na...

[jadis]

Cool stories, guys....

[marty_e]

As mentioned by Ichabod, Empire Electronics was owned by my uncles. I used to hang there after my usual visit to the Magnolia plant after school. This is not to say that I was an audiophile at 8 or 9 yrs old but my exposure always there. My uncles always had their home systems that we were never allowed to touch. Nonetheless, once they say you can't touch it, you'll want to and that's what planted the seed of interest for me.

Though i've kept in touch with the hobby via trying to be a "spinner" in HS or shifting to car audio then HT, i abandoned it in the mid 90's due to other interests. My last 2 channel system then was acquired via Mang Dima in the early 90's.

My return to 2 channel int he last 2 yrs, specially valve, would be largely due to Raffy O, meeting Rene R, Joe3rp, Vintage Dog, JM, Ed F., ArnoldC, Fritz, George, Nilo M., and the list goes on as the membership of this site grows...

[jadis]

Another interesting part of my audio life is was when I was in HS 3rd
year, circa '76, we had a vocational class wherein we had to produce
an AM/FM receiver from scratch. Amazingly, I had zero interest (hilig)
in that project. I even hated it. Now, I scratch my head and wondered why, had I put more attention to it, I could now be a DIY'er. We even had
to submerge our circuit board into some chemical to melt away something,
I recall, and by the end of the schoolyear, when a non-sounding receiver
meant a failing grade, I had to bring that project to a technician in Raon
to make it work...Oh boy...sayang....I should have paid more attention...

[arnoldc]

Ferric Chloride

In high school, I make solid state amps that I sell to my teachers three of them bought from me. Sayang, sana tubero na ako nun para nakaipon ako ng maraming tube.

[Jon Agner]

I was a casual listener during my younger years listening mostly to Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Queen, etc, plus a couple of Metallic Gigolos and punk music (what can I do, hawak ng uncle ko yung Akai Turntable). I was a spinner during my HighSchool days kaya puro new wave naman ang tugtog ko.

My liking for Jazz fusion started out during my college days - when me and my college buddies would have jam sessions (they play instruments while I do the singing) at school and in their homes. One of my buddies happens to have a Dad and an elder brother that plays a lot of Jazz music in their house, so, during one of their casual listening sessions - we had a chance to hear some of their collection. I was introduced to Spyro Gyra, Yutaka, Sergio Mendes and Chuck Mangione.. The following days I came across David Benoit, Lee Ritenoir, Earl Klugh and Kenny G.

When I started working I did something that I wasn't able to do during my younger years: collecting records of the music I like. For the next 8 years all I did was to buy CDs and play them on my Sony Discman and my AIWA system with an Active Subwoofer system.

One cold December night in 2000, while me and my old neighborhood buddies were just spending the night away, Ike Tuazon (CHOOBS) started talking to be about vacuum tube amps. (Eh alam naman natin siguro kung gaano katindi ang convincing powers niyan so na-convince ako, kahit walang listening session). Sinabayan pa ng pag-convince sa akin ng utol ko na napakinggan si Holly Cole at Keiko Lee duon sa ARC + NHT... So there, after a week I was at Sensible Audio, talking to Lito Gelano and acquiring my first vacuum tube amp... a Harman Kardon A224 Trio. After 2 weeks I was able to acquire a pair of Mission 700s, so before midnight of December 31, 2000 - I was able to obtain a decent Audiophile system.

So my Audiophile tale begins...

[m_shoe_maker]

Who influenced me Probably Billy Idol.

Used to be addicted to his songs. Especially when used during parties. White Wedding, Dancing with Myself, Blue Highway, etc. etc.

I started buying 12-inch, 15-inch woofers and horn tweeters from RAON thinking that all it takes to have super bayo sounds, is to buy many huge drivers.

I started to build speaker enclosures housing 4 or even 6 12-inch woofers with 4 horn tweeters (per channel ). All of this driven by my dad's Harman Kardon receiver.

Boy, was I an Audiofool or what

[m_shoe_maker]

BTW, I was also using my dad's Dual turntable. Ayos ba

[jadis]

Ferric Chloride

In high school, I make solid state amps that I sell to my teachers three of them bought from me. Sayang, sana tubero na ako nun para nakaipon ako ng maraming tube.

ahhh..that's it. maganda ang effect nung tubog, parang magic...
and ya, sana tubes ang receiver na project naman, baka ma-interest
talaga ako noon....

[jadis]

.....and btw...glad to hear more stories...keep them coming, guys and girls....good to know
our ROOTS....

[jo2]

My uncle who use to work for RCA/Living Stereo(?) fixing theater amps.

I was his sidekick at the age of ten!

[boobtube]

may thread na ito earlier, I chanced upon it many months ago. But a new one wouldnt matter I guess. peace! nice stories!!

[vintage_dog]

may thread na ito earlier, I chanced upon it many months ago. But a new one wouldnt matter I guess. peace! nice stories!!

here's a similar thread:

http://www.wiredstate.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1738&start=0

[dafos]

When i discovered that taping records on cassette, be it chromium dioxide, sa, sa-x, etc could never match the sound of the record being recorded. To make matters worse, a cassette recorded in one machine would sound awful when played back in another machine even if they were the exact same model. Then came the likes of eric lim and his huge D 150's and SP 3a pushing those humongous Snell type A's in his tiny sauna type room blowing the guts of any japanese 1000w solid state gear of the day. And man, when he first let me hear a futterman otl amp, that was it!

[JackD201]

My older brother was an audiophile with all his studer and revox stuff, who was in turn influenced by my Uncle with his McIntosh's and the like. I was exposed to great sounding music so early it became sort of a given around the house I took it for granted. ACTIVE interest into "audiophilia" came much later. I ended up "spinning" as an alternate it in high school and in college for the parties M Shoe refers to often when the upper classmen started getting too busy with school. I took a shine to setting up and tearing down and that is when the love affair with the "gear" started. I got busy myself and live bands had rendered the DJ inconsequential so eventually I sold my decks, mixer, speakers, amps you name it and spent the money on a vacation in the states. I came home with a home theater system. After a few rounds of upgrades it dawned on me that i listened to music FAR more than I watched movies. So I began building my system with a bias towards music. Later i was sent to the US to train in anticipation of heading up the audiopost division of one of the major networks here. There i was certified as a recording engineer, a post production engineer for film, studio design and construction, and MIDI Programming and DAW operation. Fate would have it that upon my return, another career path lay ahead for me. The passion for sound however did not diminish and here i am today no longer a professional but still an avid music lover.

[mullard88]

Hi jadis,

Would you believe it was our friend, the fake audiophile who more than 30 years ago got me interested enough to purchase the B&O beogram 6000 turntable and the beomaster 6000 receiver. Life is funny.

[jadis]

Hi jadis,

Would you believe it was our friend, the fake audiophile who more than 30 years ago got me interested enough to purchase the B&O beogram 6000 turntable and the beomaster 6000 receiver. Life is funny.

hi mullard,

really?? i learn this only now. that is very interesting.