I recently visited a friend — Nadia. She is a music lover, and her vinyl-based rig, consisting of some vintage components, is located in the kitchen. Unlike me, she listens to music while she is cooking, doing something else in the adjacent room, or simply relaxing on the veranda. In contrast, at my place I always listen intently and in front of the audio system. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the evening we spent on the veranda, chatting about things, drinking and laughing with a couple of friends.
Category: Thoughts
Slightly Metaphysical
March is slowly approaching its end, and this reminds me that I haven’t written anything on this blog for quite some time. The reason is simple: not much has been happening here, although some interesting topics have been circulating in my email exchanges with Biju and Peter recently.
Good Vibrations
Recently, my attention has been focused more on artistic interpretation than on reproduction quality. I think this is a good sign. The decisions of when to hit the string and how long to let the tone ring, as well as how intense each stroke should be, are the aural expression of the artist’s interpretation of the music at the moment of transferring an idea into sound. As an amateur guitarist, I have been confronted with this matter throughout my own experience, and I realize that even a simple three-chord progression can be performed in many different ways by slightly varying the timing and intensity of the strokes.
System Update – December 2017
Some time has passed since the Audio Note OTO SE Signature took over the amplification duties in my audio system, and as usually happens when a new component of higher quality is introduced, some deficiencies intrinsic to other links in the audio chain begin to reveal themselves. Armed with some new knowledge obtained during my communication with Peter Qvortrup, I went through a process of system optimization evolving around this single-ended amplifier, with the main goal of bringing out the best in it. I am glad to say that the end result is a level of enjoyment that has surpassed anything I have experienced before.
My Audiophile Journey
It all started with my love for music. We did not have proper audio equipment back in the 1980s, which in Bulgaria were dominated by cheap Russian transistor electronics. I was first introduced to what could be considered an advanced audio system in the home of my drawing teacher, where I attended lessons together with a group of other children.