Audio |

I love my audio hobby. Like my other hobbies, this one goes through peaks and valleys of activity, but when I’m into it I’m really into it.

What does it mean to be an audio buff? Well, first, a love of the music. Second, a love of audio gear. And third, the joy of collecting both the music and the gear. I think I’m pretty balanced between the focus on the music and the focus on the gear. Some buffs are known to be so over-the-top on the gear, they can lose sight of the real joy, which is the music. But I do take great enjoyment in assembling a really great sounding system utilizing classic pieces of gear I find at bargain prices. There’s nothing like milking your inexpensive system and getting it to sound like an expensive system. Hey, I’d like to have an expensive system don’t get me wrong, but its not in the cards when today you can spend $20K for turntable and $5K for a cartridge, or $10K+ for a CD player.

My current collection

Analog Front-end

OK folks, be prepared for some serious bragging here. This is my MOST cherished piece of gear, and one that would easily be the envy of any serious analog buff, regardless of how much $$ they could spend on gear. What you are looking at is a one-of-a-kind Thorens TD125 with a custom plinth by the renowned Doug Olsen, who just happens to be from the SF Bay Area. I consider myself amazingly luck to have found this, and will never ever part with it. I expect to keep this in the family for generations and generations. Am I exaggerating about this turtable? Nope. To help you appreciate how amazing, how unique, how unusual this turntable is, see the links below. These are all from the great web site, the Analog Department. The first link shows you what the 100% standard Thorens TD125 looks like. This one is fitted with the SMe 3009 arm, which was perhaps the most popular pairing back in the day. The second link is Doug Olsen’s personal TD125, which you will see, is almost exactly like mine. The third is another custom plinth in black lacquer, which I find amazing.