Audio
Audio and music have been my intertwined passions since my earliest days when my parents would fill our small home in Ruskin Heights with vinyl records played on a monophonic Voice Of Music 560 record changer. Finally, I began my “audio journey” during my high-school days in the 1970s, which included the opportunities to begin a career in professional audio.
My first stereo? A used Akai M-8 reel-to-reel, its built-in vacuum tube power amplifier driving a pair of Akai full range speakers and a barely-working Webcor record changer plugged into the M-8’s phono inputs. Soon, a well-worn DeWald stereo amplifier joined the rig, a $5 garage sale find. Next, a new pair of STR Beta speakers replaced the Akai fullrange speakers, a new Kenwood KA-3500 amplifier with KT-5300 tuner replaced the DeWald, a new Dual 1249 (seen above) superseded the Webcor, a Pioneer CT-F7171 and Revox A77 joined the Akai M-8. Ultimately, by my second year of college, a Harman-Kardon Citation Eleven preamplifier, Crown D75 amplifier, Harman-Kardon ST-7 turntable, Revox A700, Revox B77, Revox B710, Klipsch Heresy and La Scala added to the system.
That was just the beginning of an ever-evolving collection of Bang & Olufsen, Crown, Nakamichi, Yamaha, and Pioneer amplifiers, plus my own amplifier designs; Ampex, Berlant-Concertone, Revox, Scully, Wollensak, Pioneer, Nakamichi, TEAC, TASCAM, Uher, Korg, Nagra, and Marantz recorders; my own speaker designs, Peavey, TASCAM, and Altec mixers; SAE, dbx, Dolby Labs, Burwen, and my own signal processor designs; over 60 microphones by AKG, Beyerdynamic, Revox, Sennheiser, Reslo, ElectroVoice, Turner, Shure, AudioTechnica, and Nakamichi; plus a Scully automatic record lathe with Westrex 45/45 cutter head and Adamant stylus, many more Dual turntables, a very-tweaked Rega Planar 3, two Yamaha turntables, and two fun Bang & Olufsen turntables.
And phono cartridges. Oh boy. Yeah, I got addicted to phono cartridges, numerous Shure, Stanton, Pickering, ADC, AKG, Klipsch, Denon, Supex, Empire, Nagatron/IMS, MicroAcoustics, Bang & Olufsen, Grado, Rega, AudioTechnica, Sumiko, Benz-Micro, General Electric, Sonotone, Dual, and Fairchild models made from the mid-1960s until 1990. Seriously, I’m glad my addiction was phono cartridges instead of crack.
Along the way, I began a parallel career as a professional photographer. And way too many cameras and lenses by Pentax, Graflex, Burke & James, Minox, Olympus, Mamiya, Zeiss, Schneider, Wollensak, Gundlach, and Yashica. Plus the inevitable horde of darkroom and photo studio equipment, including a custom-built Beseler enlarger, numerous Bowens Monolite strobes, Jobo film processors.
I have a bad habit of going totally overboard in anything I get involved in.
And yes, I’m an analog man in a digital world.
