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Greetings from Las Vegas. I was born in the age of analog and still hold fond memories of my first Technics turntable. My best friend had one, as did all of the “cool” kids at school and I remember how much gas I had to pump and how many oil dipsticks I had to check to finally be able to afford to buy one (yes, there were full service gas stations and gas cost around 59.9 cents/gallon back where I lived :disbelief
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Later, I lived in an old garret apartment above a small shop in Old Town, Alexandria and spent many, countless hours in a record store that used to be on Union Street. I survived the age of the 8-track, cassette, and then I stumbled on the Meridian Boothroyd Stuart CD player (with a very brief side trip into MiniDiscs) and left the analog world and never looked back…. until now. While I’ve long forgotten the rather short list of the various components I’ve owned, I still vividly remember the people and moments associated with them.
Of course, there are some pieces that stand out, not always for their proficiency, but rather for their ability to transport me back to their respective times and places in my life. The Technics turntable, the Meridian CD player, the Artemis Eos loudspeakers that were very much like me at the time I purchased them, young, open, and filled with possibility. The Mark Levinson 39, 360s, and 380s were solid and stable products that shepherded me through my midlife. And now, it seems quite curious, yet natural that I’ve come full circle and returned to analog (although I won’t dispute that I find digital to be so much more convenient, and therefore indispensable, on many occasions).
My needle drops come with a bit more unsteadiness in my hands, and I won’t be engaging in any debates here about the Loefrgen A, B, or Stevenson or who makes the better alignment protractor since I can no longer see the damn painted crosshairs or etched dots on the templates clearly anymore. I no longer listen critically, since I'm trying to put my days of criticizing behind me (coincidentally, my ears are as old as my eyes) and quite frankly, that’s no longer why I listen or what I listen for anymore. But I will revel in the exuberance and wonder in the discussions of those of you with young(er) eyes and ears and who marvel at the beauty of everything that came before and who dream with boundless hope and enthusiasm of what still lies ahead. For me, I've come back to the future.
.Later, I lived in an old garret apartment above a small shop in Old Town, Alexandria and spent many, countless hours in a record store that used to be on Union Street. I survived the age of the 8-track, cassette, and then I stumbled on the Meridian Boothroyd Stuart CD player (with a very brief side trip into MiniDiscs) and left the analog world and never looked back…. until now. While I’ve long forgotten the rather short list of the various components I’ve owned, I still vividly remember the people and moments associated with them.
Of course, there are some pieces that stand out, not always for their proficiency, but rather for their ability to transport me back to their respective times and places in my life. The Technics turntable, the Meridian CD player, the Artemis Eos loudspeakers that were very much like me at the time I purchased them, young, open, and filled with possibility. The Mark Levinson 39, 360s, and 380s were solid and stable products that shepherded me through my midlife. And now, it seems quite curious, yet natural that I’ve come full circle and returned to analog (although I won’t dispute that I find digital to be so much more convenient, and therefore indispensable, on many occasions).
My needle drops come with a bit more unsteadiness in my hands, and I won’t be engaging in any debates here about the Loefrgen A, B, or Stevenson or who makes the better alignment protractor since I can no longer see the damn painted crosshairs or etched dots on the templates clearly anymore. I no longer listen critically, since I'm trying to put my days of criticizing behind me (coincidentally, my ears are as old as my eyes) and quite frankly, that’s no longer why I listen or what I listen for anymore. But I will revel in the exuberance and wonder in the discussions of those of you with young(er) eyes and ears and who marvel at the beauty of everything that came before and who dream with boundless hope and enthusiasm of what still lies ahead. For me, I've come back to the future.
