Month: May 2016

Don’t Thank Me

I decided write a post on Memorial Day, not because I’m an Active Duty service member in the Navy, not because my grandfather served in both the Army and Marines, nor that my father served in and Air Force. It’s because I’m American. Because today is a reminder for those who gave all.

Today reminds us that there men and women who believed in something greater than self. Greater than social media, instant gratification, and consumerism. They swore an oath to protect the country many of us call home, and died to fulfill it.
So, while we are at the beaches eating with family and friends, think about the people who gave their lives so we can maintain our lifestyles. I appreciate their sacrifices and the ones their families made.

And that’s why I wrote this post.

Are you hungry?

As I write this I’m on a couch, sitting in the lanai outside our cottage at Mama’s Fish House, the waves are crashing and we are deciding where our dinner is going to come from. Those in relationships know this conversation very well, but ours is a little different and in this case with a unique twist that neither of us are used to, almost all the restaurants here close at 9:00 PM (1 hour 30 minutes remaining). So we have to leave here, get there, order…gladly we share a palate for most things food.

We decided on Thai, with 57 minutes on the clock. It was a short drive, and my Yelp connisour frevrently informed me of its 4 and a half star rating.

As an aside, I’m going to caution you against record selection based solely on the reviews of others, and we will revisit that topic in another post.

So…when we pulled into the tiny parking lot, there was one open space. It seemed ordained that we would be eating at Thai Palace tonight (43 minutes until closing). Once we parked, I noticed a purveyor of libations. We weren’t going to miss out tonight.

The night we arrived, we were quickly aware that alcohol sales on the island promptly ended at 11PM.

I love Thai food, so I didn’t really look at the menu. I chose from my list of favorite entrees (38 minutes), once seated we were no longer concerned by the time. My lady ordered the basil stir-fry with rice and I had Thai iced tea with coconut milk, spring rolls, and Phad see ew with chicken. All of the food was delicious. The rub however…there was no meat in the Spring rolls. This fact bothered Rosetta, but I was hungry and as I said they were good.

I bet you’re wondering how is he going to tie this in to record collection? I’m not. I will however say that if you’re interested in Thai food on the north shore of Maui, and don’t mind meatless spring rolls; visit Thai Palace. Just make sure you get there before 8:30PM.

What is Vinyl for The People?

Watch this video to see what Vinyl for The People is all about.

So I got some speakers

“Hey do you need help getting those home?”

They gave me a demo pair to take home…they don’t fit in to a convertible too well. Enter the serious audiophile…”Hey, do you need help getting those to your house.” I had just me this gentleman, moments ago. He wasn’t affiliated with the shop, just a regular customer. We talked about tubes (a story for another post), and how long he had been collecting and how is wife was supportive of the hobby (she’s a rare one, huh?). I took him up on his offer. We carefully put the speakers that were 2/3 as tall as I am in his cavernous volvo sedan, and he followed me the 8 miles to my house.

Having someone to help me set them up, and talk about the audio was nice, we sat and listened for a while…

I took him to my project studio and a completely different audio conversation started taking place. “You make music too!” I told him I dabbled around, and played a few tracks I had been working on. He was floored, and offered to give me some recordings he had made on 2” tape and put on CD. We saw one another at the shop more than a few times before I relocated to Hawaii, but I never got those recordings from him. Sadly.

First blog post

Building a 2 channel stereo.

Hello! I’m Tom, founder of Vinyl for The People. The other day, while listening to some lovely lady vocalists I was hit with an idea. “Why don’t you share your experiences, follies, and expertise? Why don’t you start a blog…so people don’t have to learn the hard way, and potentially be turned away from the beauty that is listening to music on vinyl?” I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) argue with myself so here it is.

I’m going to open up about something that has changed my life, the story of my first dedicated 2 channel stereo! Some believe that good sound can only be had at great expense. Then there is the D.I.Y. type…I’m somewhere in between. When I built my first 2 channel system, I knew I wanted McIntosh gear. I was ready to bite a costly bullet and not look back. I spent a lot of time comparing gear, countless trips to the two local hifi shops that carried Mac gear and right before I was ready to pull the trigger I stopped.

I sat in my living room, and turned on the tried and true frankenstereo that had grown over 8 years from 2 to 7.2 channels and contained a hodgepodge of brands. Klipsch F2 floor standing speakers, One Rel sub, Bose 5.1 acoustamass surround speakers, all of the wires redone with monster cables and terminated the way Bose does things. A Sony SACD/DVD player, Neumark USB TT, Apple Airport and lastly, my trusty Sony receiver.

The Frankenstereo was the pinnacle of not so careful gear selection, along with what could fit my budget spanning the years. I knew I wanted a 2 channel system and I also knew I didn’t want it to come from a big box store. Now…I’m not completely opposed to mega retailers, they have their place.

This system was to be conceived based on the knowledge of people who actually love music and gear. Sure they get a commission off of me, but that too doesn’t matter. I’d rather work with someone passionate that relies on selling me a dream component than someone that works for [Big Box Store] in a polo shirt that just finished watching [Insert Electronics company name]’s training video on the latest all in one system in a box that will suit and exceed “all of my musical dreams” (real quote).

I guess not everyone dreams in three dimensions…I must have gone to my local Hi-Fi dealers 20 times before finally settling on any gear. They knew what was up as soon as I pulled up, Stereophile or some printed online review in hand. With questions…lots of questions, lol. This story is to be continued, and this is where I’m going to end my introductory post. I look forward to our commentary and sharing. We are going to build quite the relationship.

Until next time, keep spinning!

–Tom