Hello from the (midwest) USA

[Digitrax]

Hi folx!

Recording studio owner (and long-time audiophile/music enthusiast/audio designer) from Michigan here. So nice to find this forum. I assume most of us are also AudioKarma, D.I.Y.Audio, Prodigy-Pro, Audiogon, etc. members as well, but it's nice to see a forum that has a music (not just equipment) evaluation focus as well.

I'm looking forward to participating in this (relatively) new forum - should be fun.

[John]

Hi Andrew
Welcome
What music do you enjoy and what do you use to listen too. Be good to have someone from a studio background and I hope I can learn from you experience and knowledge
Enjoy
John

[Beechwoods]

Glad you've found us, Andrew we've been around a few years - since early 2008, but I guess we've still the new kid on the block as far as hi-fi forums are concerned! Sounds like you have a lot experience to bring to the game, I look forward to seeing you out and about on the forum!

What kind of music do listen to, and what does your home system look like?

[Digitrax]

My musical tastes run towards acoustic (or electric) rock which is intelligently written, passionately performed a la Dylan, Van Morrison, Billy Bragg, Graham Parker, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, etc. I'm also a big fan of 60's/70's soul (Marvin, Otis, Stevie, JB et al). I was at one time, a signed recording artist (I've written 200+ songs) but blew it before A&M released the album (long story). Now I'm just an avid fan and nearly-single father to an (8-yr-old) active son who is the love of my life and occupies a great deal of my time.

As far as the home system, my equipment tastes run toward tube mids, FET highs, and BJT bass. I love the warmth and liquidity of tube gear in the mids, but like the tight, percussive, well-damped bass of bipolars down bottom and am also a great believer in ultrasonic extension. That being said, my speakers (Snell Ci's) are only biampable, so the mids and highs run off a New York Audio Labs Moscode 300 Maxi and a Crown K2 drives the woofs - all driven by my own tube pre (and tube x-over) and a Benchmark DAC1 off of my iPod or CD's digital out.

P.S.: I now design audio for a living and, when time allows, do studio and/or live gigs.

[camtwister]

Hello Andrew,
Interested to note you enjoy Bragg and Thompson - two peculiarly English and left-field musicians. I wouldn't have imagined that they had a strong following in the Midwest. Am I wrong or are you unusual (a positive position!) in that respect?

[Digitrax]

Cam, I'm not originally from here (born and raised in New York; spent half my adult life in Massachusetts and the other half in Rochester NY) so I can't really say. Being in a college town (Ann Arbor = Univ of Mich), I think there's a great deal of liberal thinking here - I'm sure it's not so when you get to the more rural area (of which there are many). The same was true when I lived in Rochester NY; I was in a very progressive city surrounded by nothing but rural "country-boy" types as soon as I traveled outside the perimeter.

Interestingly enough though, seven of my favorite artists of all time (Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Ian Hunter, Joe Jackson, John Lennon, Graham Parker, Richard Thompson) are from the U.K. (and Van's not far from there either).

As a postscript, though, RT did come here to a 400-500 seat venue called The Ark and he sold out. I think good music is just good music, wherever you go.

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Andrew, welcome to AoS from me to :) I do hope you enjoy your stay, get stuck in fella ;)

Yes, i'm also a member of DIY Audio but i haven't been back there since i joined up here (different user name to) :eyebrows: I just like the chilled atmosphere that AoS appears to have, suits me down to the ground :cool: