What Other Interests of Yours Relate to Your Audio Hobby/Pursuit

[Bill Hart]

Self-knowledge is a good thing. And I found that while my background as a copyright lawyer has gotten me to meet people and get involved in business of music, it is not enough.
I've been teaching some form of media rights course for more than 20 years. My current course focuses on drafting media deals, treating the conveyances as building blocks, understanding the meaning of certain legal conventions and helping younger lawyers draft clauses with a real understanding of the law and the industry conventions that shape the law.
But this is not enough. I'm planning my next ten years. And have found that my interest in audio history, archival studies, the various standards for preservation observed by 1st tier archives and the taxonomies of how to categorize and access information on recordings is now a passion. I'm thus pursuing an independent course of study at a post graduate level that will combine these interests. It's not like I need another degree,but I realize these interests tie in heavily to what I am most interested in, related to the pursuit of audio. It's been a slow evolution to get here and seems to be an additional accumulation of my knowledge base from the copyright law.
What areas of interest do you have that mesh with your pursuit of high quality audio reproduction?

 

[jazdoc]

 

[Bill Hart]

Ha. I seem to remember @Mike Lavigne has a taste for that juice. I grew up in rye whiskey country in western Pa. Most of it was shot and a beer stuff--I think the '70s were probably a low point for hard liquor and rye wasn't usually sought after--it was a working man's drink. Now, with the revival of all these boutique brands, it's a different story. My wife did one of those several day tours through Kentucky whiskey country with some friends where a lot of those brands (even Michter's, a sour mash which claimed to be one of the oldest whiskeys from a pot still in Pa) are now distilled and aged. There's a whole industry devoted to the tourism of bourbon country down there--Buffalo Trace, etc. They drive you each day so you and others aren't at risk.
Don't know if it is an age thing or geographic thing, but down here in Austin, the youngsters seem to be able to handle hard drink. Then again, they are buying these premium cocktails made with all kinds of custom essences, shrubs, infusions, etc. I'm sure there are still a few old school bars here- but....

 

[Neil.Antin]

Bill,

Oh, let me count the ways - LOL.

When I got back into vinyl, it rejuvenated my interest in high quality audio reproduction which was waning with digital. Vinyl presented me with a whole new challenge that really dovetailed with my engineering background; and for me launched a whole new journey.

While most know me from my deep dive into record cleanliness, how to achieve it, and how to maintain it, Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition - The Vinyl Press, this is only a piece of what else I did.

I took a VPI TNT and based on my knowledge of materials, resonances and vibration modified it to a whole new level. I added a 1/4" aluminum constrained layer damping plate that transformed the table. I added a 2nd tonearm, and based on my materials knowledge I now use two different belt materials in a specific stacked arrangement - EPDM-top/Viton below that further improved the table. My knowledge of lubricants and tribology has allowed my platter to run >2,000 hours with no wear beyond the initial bedding-in. All of this is adding to better reproduction. The table is pitch perfect to my ears and very quiet - where I could tap on the plinth and hear it through the speakers, now nothing.

My basic knowledge of electricity allowed me to transition to tubes which if I said this is where I would be 10-years ago, I would have said - really? Buying a tube tested helps.

But I am someone who needs a physical connection to my passion; and digital for me does not give me that connection. Although I am investigating an upgrade to my digital and I am on the verge of analysis paralysis - painful LOL.

But the journey continues as does the quest for knowledge; albeit having gone back to being paid for work, enjoying the fruits of what I have learned and what I have achieved.

Take care,
Neil

 

[Bill Hart]

Neil, I love ya.

 

[Neil.Antin]

Bill, you're a good man; and that's from an engineer to a lawyer LOL

 

[PeterA]

My three main interests are really unrelated and I pursue them separately: audio, sailing, and competitive indoor badminton.

I do pursue them with a similar zeal and attention to detail and desire for improvement. Occasionally, there is a social component to all three involving friends and family.

Sailing and audio are mostly solitary activities giving me time for relaxation and reflection but I do appreciate that they both have a certain aesthetic appeal and must function at a high-level.

Performance matters in all three interests. Great thread topic.

 

[Bill Hart]

There are many other avenues of pursuit that parallel the audiophile experience and enhance it: one is attending live performances; another is playing an instrument and knowing what that sounds like for real.
We went to hear Lyle Lovett's Large Band a couple months ago at the Moody Theatre where ACL is filmed. It is a first class venue and a good sounding room. We prefer the mezzanine, which overlooks the stage.
I saw a bass player with a white beard that was longer than a Disney dwarf. It had to be Leland Sklar. But surprising to me, the drummer, Russ Kunkel, went from long curly locks to a bald banker look in a suit. Those guys have been playing together for 50 years. I saw them back in the day: they backed (in the studio and on the road): James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and so many others from the California rock "mafia" of singer-songwriters from the '70s.
I can read and play but I kinda suck being alone. If I kick in with somebody, I get an image in my mind of the music and can play. I decided a long time ago that I would not be able to live in the style to which I wanted to be accustomed, if I had to survive as a performer (or even a songwriter). Thus, the law behind the machine.
But, I have music on the brain. I'll bet a lot of us do, even if we don't know notation, or have formal music training.
Nashville notation is numbers, 1/4/6/5. You can do that in any key. There are so many talented people that don't get more exposure. Not much I can do about that-- I spent time with the "influencers" here -- in the live music capitol of the world--and found that they were mainly about live performance, not signing major label/publishing deals. Whatever. I'm not after this for the money, more about learning, hearing, exposure.I have a family friend that is a well known "go to" Nashville cat (he has worked with Paul McCartney among many others) and he is on the balls of his ass.
I'd love to learn to play cello- what a beautiful instrument. I was told that Starker rarely applied vibrato to disguise missing the mark. His Kodaly for Unaccompanied Cello on Period is a killer. Charlie King and or Robin Wyatt had a nice copy on tape. Is that something you've listened to? J. Du Pre was also a favorite. I don't listen to much classical any more. Some of the Deccas from the era are superb.
I'm just as likely to play some proto-metal (aka very heavy early rock).

 

[bonzo75]

. I was told that Starker rarely applied vibrato to disguise missing the mark. His Kodaly for Unaccompanied Cello on Period is a killer.

Starker, Kodaly, low priced Altec set up

 

[Bill Hart]

My three main interests are really unrelated and I pursue them separately: audio, sailing, and competitive indoor badminton.

I do pursue them with a similar zeal and attention to detail and desire for improvement. Occasionally, there is a social component to all three involving friends and family.

Sailing and audio are mostly solitary activities giving me time for relaxation and reflection but I do appreciate that they both have a certain aesthetic appeal and must function at a high-level.

Performance matters in all three interests. Great thread topic.

We are to a large degree dependent on what is captured in the recording, no matter how good the system. I know that the approach you are following, consistent with David's, is that sizzle and boom isn't music; that it is hi-fi in a way that does not replicate the experience of real instruments. I know the piano well; it is a hard instrument to record. I won't pretend to know how to do that. There are a few very good recordings of piano that convey both the gravitas of a full concert grand, as well as the singing, almost ethereal high notes. Pretty rare, though. The recording arts are probably where we should start. I suspect simpler is better, just based on experience. My preference is not "produced" recordings, but in talking with a guy who worked with Phil Ramone (who I met on several occasions for dinner and otherwise), his assistant said that you would not believe how much manipulation was necessary to make a "natural sounding" recording. Pretty cynical in some ways. The Chris Whitley cut of Dirt Floor on Classic Records ( one of the few from that label that was a first release on vinyl rather than a reissue) is a guy playing a resonator guitar and singing in an old barn in Vermont, captured on a few tracks. Visceral. I'm a huge Chris Whitley fan-- if you don't know Living with the Law get acquainted with it. The audiophile choice is "National Steel," a promo of the album with fewer cuts. And sounds better. Over and out.

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

Bill,

Oh, let me count the ways - LOL.

When I got back into vinyl, it rejuvenated my interest in high quality audio reproduction which was waning with digital. Vinyl presented me with a whole new challenge that really dovetailed with my engineering background; and for me launched a whole new journey.

While most know me from my deep dive into record cleanliness, how to achieve it, and how to maintain it, Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition - The Vinyl Press, this is only a piece of what else I did.

I took a VPI TNT and based on my knowledge of materials, resonances and vibration modified it to a whole new level. I added a 1/4" aluminum constrained layer damping plate that transformed the table. I added a 2nd tonearm, and based on my materials knowledge I now use two different belt materials in a specific stacked arrangement - EPDM-top/Viton below that further improved the table. My knowledge of lubricants and tribology has allowed my platter to run >2,000 hours with no wear beyond the initial bedding-in. All of this is adding to better reproduction. The table is pitch perfect to my ears and very quiet - where I could tap on the plinth and hear it through the speakers, now nothing.

My basic knowledge of electricity allowed me to transition to tubes which if I said this is where I would be 10-years ago, I would have said - really? Buying a tube tested helps.

But I am someone who needs a physical connection to my passion; and digital for me does not give me that connection. Although I am investigating an upgrade to my digital and I am on the verge of analysis paralysis - painful LOL.

But the journey continues as does the quest for knowledge; albeit having gone back to being paid for work, enjoying the fruits of what I have learned and what I have achieved.

Take care,
Neil

I second Bill’s love ya man! That document is a major piece of working knowledge. A real gift to the vinyl community.

Thank you kind sir.

 

[Neil.Antin]

I second Bill’s love ya man! That document is a major piece of working knowledge. A real gift to the vinyl community.

Thank you kind sir.

Thank-you for the compliment - all for a good cause, and let us not forget the support of @Bill Hart who stepped in as editor and publisher making the book available for free through his site - The Vinyl Press -.

 

[Lee]

I see a lot of parallels to sports car racing, my other hobby:

1. Lots of innovation driving better performance.
2. High rate of change.
3. Very experience driven and loads of "layers of the onion" to peel back.

 

[Don Reid]

Since my main speakers have been DIY for almost forty years obviously wood working is an interest of mine that is very related to being an audiophile.

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

More a music lover and less of a gear collector, perhaps even a somewhat reluctant audiophile at times. I’ve always had an insatiable interest in basically almost everything my whole life. Studied and created all kinds of craft. I like building things and I’m also an avid gardener. But having been an industrial designer in the automotive trade for forty-five years perhaps has super-charged my understanding or approach toward well selected, well engineered components. I truly love and appreciate the mix of art and science, and certainly enjoy a high level of craftsmanship. Believing too that a system based mindset has also helped me with a kit that performs towards an end ideal. Because after all it’s about sound reproduction and the suspension of disbelief so we can get on to sharing the good stuff!

 

[Al M.]

What Other Interests of Yours Relate to Your Audio Hobby/Pursuit?

Music obviously. Here is my Stockhausen site (with a link to my other composer pages):

Stockhausen Essays

For context on the composer, here is the Wikipedia Stockhausen page:

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He is also on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

 

[tomsch63]

Gigging saxophone player in local R&B bands. When to college on a double major; electrical engineering and music. My grades in music classes always helped my overall GPA

 

[JackD201]

The most direct would be that I still DJ on occasion. I still maintain an analog set up, a digital set up and a portable digital stand alone controller. I also have pro gear that is used for parties and small functions. So basically I have a more formal train of collection Classical, Jazz, Rock, World Music and the more casual train which I mix from House variants, Melodic Tech, Trance and just now I am peaking into Reggaeton as I am currently in Spain.

Professionally I did the consolidation of House Bills that eventually turned into our revised Intellectual Property Code. Sort of ties in with Bill in a way. Like Peter I was a competitive Badminton player and reached a national ranking of No.34, bad knees had me quit in my sophomore year in college and I returned to golf but could only ever get to club and inter club level competition. Never even tried to qualify for the National Amateurs. Golf and racquet sports have a gear element to them that can be humorously audio like in obsession and superstition LOL I am now at a point where my only ticket back into class A is to wait out 2 more birthdays without any more deterioration and make it to the senior tees

I'm taking baby steps entering into the hospitality industry and I know for sure the soundscaping will be an integral element of the overall design.

I'm not really sure if wine, watches, travel and cars tie in at all but that pretty much rounds out all my hobbies.

My wife and friends have been trying to get me into playing pickle ball, the game is fun but seriously, I really hate the sound the paddles and balls make!!!!!