Not really an epiphany, but a long trail to the rabbit hole.
When I was young, my parents (dad) listened to a lot of music on this funky system he set up with an HH Scott tube receiver, old Garrard record changer and two large "full spectrum" speakers hidden up in the rafters somewhere. The music - mostly jazz, musicals, soundtracks and opera - was rich and loud, and it seemed to come from Heaven. By the time I was about 8 years old, I had learned how to climb up and put records on my Dad's system. The next thing I knew, I received a Westinghouse portable record player with a built in speaker, the one that had a plastic molded top that closed like a clam shell. My much older brother and sister gave me newly minted copies of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour and I was hopelessly smitten. Shortly after that I got a little transistor radio that I would listen to it incessantly. By the time I was in high school, I was spending most of my meager income on putting together the best sounding system I could, and buying and borrowing records to make high quality cassette tapes for use in the car and at parties.
I took a long break from my early ride on the merry-go-round for excessive schooling and child rearing, and was spurred back a few years ago by my wife of all people who said "Honey, it would be nice to be able to listen to the radio". At the time we only had a very old integrated amp, a little bit less old CD player and some cool looking but modest sounding home brew speakers. I interpreted my wife's comment as "Honey, go out and learn everything you can about music reproduction in the new millennium, and don't come home until you have gotten the most musical system we can barely afford with a plan to gradually improve it for the next twenty five years", or something to that effect. In this recent quest I can honestly say I have heard some really nice sounding systems. Still no epiphany, but a gradual reawakening of a deep seated interest.
When I was young, my parents (dad) listened to a lot of music on this funky system he set up with an HH Scott tube receiver, old Garrard record changer and two large "full spectrum" speakers hidden up in the rafters somewhere. The music - mostly jazz, musicals, soundtracks and opera - was rich and loud, and it seemed to come from Heaven. By the time I was about 8 years old, I had learned how to climb up and put records on my Dad's system. The next thing I knew, I received a Westinghouse portable record player with a built in speaker, the one that had a plastic molded top that closed like a clam shell. My much older brother and sister gave me newly minted copies of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour and I was hopelessly smitten. Shortly after that I got a little transistor radio that I would listen to it incessantly. By the time I was in high school, I was spending most of my meager income on putting together the best sounding system I could, and buying and borrowing records to make high quality cassette tapes for use in the car and at parties.
I took a long break from my early ride on the merry-go-round for excessive schooling and child rearing, and was spurred back a few years ago by my wife of all people who said "Honey, it would be nice to be able to listen to the radio". At the time we only had a very old integrated amp, a little bit less old CD player and some cool looking but modest sounding home brew speakers. I interpreted my wife's comment as "Honey, go out and learn everything you can about music reproduction in the new millennium, and don't come home until you have gotten the most musical system we can barely afford with a plan to gradually improve it for the next twenty five years", or something to that effect. In this recent quest I can honestly say I have heard some really nice sounding systems. Still no epiphany, but a gradual reawakening of a deep seated interest.