Article: Meet The Audiophile Style Community | Volume 1

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[AudioDoctor]

"I want to thank the Audiophile Style community for being the best audio community in the world. Without you guys, this site wouldn't exist and I'd have to get a real job."

 

You're welcome!

 

;-)

[JoeWhip]

Love my tea too although I am more mundane. My favorite is Smokey Earl Grey from Fortnum and Mason in London. Got back from London on February 10th. Glad I bought 8 250g bags. No traveling for a long time. Be well everyone!

[EfeTe]

Is it mandatory to use our real names? If the Missus gets to find out the price tag of my equipment then I am in serious trouble   

[austinpop]

Quote

Tea is my favorite beverage and I've become a bit of a snob about it over the years. I drink second flush Darjeeling or Nepalese black tea. Currently my tea f choice is Organic Nepali Golden Black from Young Mountain Tea. Sourced from the Tinjure garden in Ilam, Nepal, it's the best tea I've ever had. I purchase it by the pound. Some day I'd love to go on a tea estate tour in India or Nepal. 

 

Wow Chris, this is a side of you I did not know.

 

I come from a tea-snob family too, but for more direct reasons. I spent the first ten years of my life in Eastern India, and actually went to a boarding school in Darjeeling. My uncle managed tea estates (or as they were called then, tea gardens) and managed several all over that region over his career, in Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and a couple of gardens in Assam. I've only visited tea gardens as a child, but the experience is wonderful. 

 

Unsurprisingly, I'm a Darjeeling snob too!

[charlesphoto]

I have a tattoo of a 501C/M on my arm. Haven't owned one in years but shot a lot with one back in the '90's. Last Hasselblad I owned was an SWC which I stupidly sold a few years back (now they go for ridiculous prices). Great cameras but I just couldn't deal with the cost of film and processing anymore. The 50mm is definitely the best lens. I still have a couple of Mamiya 6's and a Rolleiflex 2.8F kicking around but should probably sell at some point to buy some other goodies I need. 

[blaven]

Thanks for doing this.  I enjoyed it.  Congratulations on your journey, and success.  You've earned it.  

Love the photos and of course, the equipment.

 

Keep up the good work

 

be safe and stay healthy

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Wow Chris, this is a side of you I did not know.

 

I come from a tea-snob family too, but for more direct reasons. I spent the first ten years of my life in Eastern India, and actually went to a boarding school in Darjeeling. My uncle managed tea estates (or as they were called then, tea gardens) and managed several all over that region over his career, in Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and a couple of gardens in Assam. I've only visited tea gardens as a child, but the experience is wonderful. 

 

Unsurprisingly, I'm a Darjeeling snob too!

Wow Rajiv! Now I’m really upset we couldn’t see each other at AXPONA this year. We have much more to discuss. But please, don’t tell me you’re a first flush guy :~)
 

I’m currently reading a book called “Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea” and dreaming of the day I can visit the tea estates. 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, charlesphoto said:

I have a tattoo of a 501C/M on my arm. Haven't owned one in years but shot a lot with one back in the '90's. Last Hasselblad I owned was an SWC which I stupidly sold a few years back (now they go for ridiculous prices). Great cameras but I just couldn't deal with the cost of film and processing anymore. The 50mm is definitely the best lens. I still have a couple of Mamiya 6's and a Rolleiflex 2.8F kicking around but should probably sell at some point to buy some other goodies I need. 

 

Hi Charles, I certainly hear you. It costs about $25-$30 per roll (12 shots per roll for those unaware) when I figure in the cost of film, processing, scanning, and shipping. I’m looking at doing more myself, starting with the scanning. 
 

As someone who just does this for pure enjoyment, I can live with the expense and inconvenience (wait, that sounds like listening to vinyl). For you, a working professional, I completely understand the route you’ve taken. 
 

I thought about getting a Mamiya 6 because they are much more portable than the 503CW / 50mm CFi, but I’m so invested in the Hasselblad ecosystem it’s hard to justify. I have a 50mm CFi, 80mm CFE, 180mm CFE, extension tubes, backs, etc... The thought of getting into an additional system makes me cringe. 

[sdolezalek]

Chris: I think this is a very timely idea.  We are having to rewrite our sense of what a "community" is and for many of us, we may be closer to our Audiophile Style Community than our next door neighbors for months to come.  The one thing I'd love you to say more about is about what drives you in this hobby?  As you continuously change/improve your system what are you looking to achieve?  We know that despite its enormous success, this web site (actually more some of us, its users) also gives you headaches.  What keeps you committed to it and what makes you smile at the end of a day?

 

I have spent my last 40 years trying to find solutions to some of our global challenges, first in biotechnology, then in clean energy and most recently in how we can sustainably feed this planet and preserve our health.  I've had the opportunity to work directly with brilliant entrepreneurs and also to experience devastating failures.  It is a stressful 7x18x360 kind of a life but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  But there are times when I need to escape the pace, the noise and the excitement.  That is a big part of what my audio system is for -- the ability to transport me to another world, or even better, to the memory of a great concert experience.  The degree to which my system can do that gets a little bit better each year (even as my hearing degrades a little bit each year as well).  As I have gotten to know other members of this AS community I have discovered others whose listening tastes seem to coincide with mine and I have eagerly watched as they upgraded their systems and tested new components.  Many of them have far more time than I do and I really appreciate it when some (particularly "AustinPop") go to great lengths to explain what they have done and how they have done it. 

 

In the world we now face, having that ability to "transport" ourselves to another happier place, even for an hour at a time, is more important than ever before.  But for many of us, the cost of acquiring "state-of-the-art" components will become even further out of reach.  Therefore the ability of members of this community to build systems capable of emotionally moving us without emptying our wallets will be critical.  As will the ability to find others in this community who share our passions, not only for music but for the other "finer" things in life.  I've been amazed, in that regard for how broadly my other passions for photography, cycling, and food and wine seem to be shared by this audience.  Cheers! 

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

28 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I figure in the cost of film, processing, scanning, and shipping. I’m looking at doing more myself, starting with the scanning. 
 

As someone who just does this for pure enjoyment, I can live with the expense and inconvenience

 

Photography seems to be a common crossover interest for many audiophiles.

 

Some audio sites have a sub forum for photography and to share photos. Maybe this could be added here?

 

For me, the funny thing about photography is that, unlike music, I do not strive for "life like" realistic reproductions. I mostly try to see the world as the camera sees it which of course is different to the eye.It is this difference from this reality perspective that gives it interest, to see things differently. This is similar to a painter who may not try to create an image that looks "real". It is to capture a moment, mood or a feeling, however you like to render and communicate that.

 

I love the new mirror-less Sony alpha, A7R4. IMO whether analog or digital, any camera is just a tool and Sony have forged ahead it seems in digital technology.

 

My father being a pro photographer for a while, I grew up with an old fully manual Kodak 35mm film camera. I went from B&W and then color film  and darkroom processing. I now use Camera raw and/or Photoshop to develop raw digital  images and find many of the processes similar to darkroom techniques. Digital just is way easier and presents greater opportunity for creativity (not = faked) IMO.

 

The greatest thing about digital is the fact you can afford to take many pics and trash all but the decent ones.If you take enough pics you are likely to get at least one keeper. perhaps this makes one lazy in not setting up the pics well in the first place (but which only applies if you have time).

I had about 20 secs to set this shot up in Edinburgh Nov 2019 using manual settings.Travel photography, when with others, can be quite challenging.

 

[ARQuint]

Enjoyed your portrait, Chris.

 

We lived for 4 years in Minneapolis, where I did my medical residency. My older daughter came into this world at what was then called Fairview-Southdale Hospital, just across the city limits in Edina. Growing up in Philadelphia, where we moved when she was a year old, if she told people she was born in "Edina", they wanted to know if she was delivered behind the deep fat fryer.

 

Andy Quint

[JoeWhip]

Speaking of travel photos, here is a good one I took in December, in far more peaceful times.

[Bill Brown]

Interesting @ARQuint, my wife and I did residency at the University of MN as well after having met in medical school in TX.

 

3 winters were enough for me

 

Bill

[smdb01us]

Great introduction Chris, thank you for sharing! As a current networking nerd now in technical sales for a networking company, it is good to know we are well represented! 🤓

 

For the rest of us: don’t mess with Chris as he has a very particular set of skills. Skills he has acquired over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like us... just sayin’

 

 

[intensemojo]

I went to PJ20 at Alpine Valley too. My favorite band, Queens of the Stone Age, opened for them. 

[Blake]

Enjoyed reading your entry Chris. 

[jvlata]

Chris, I enjoyed very much reading about your journey so far in this life.. Thank you for developing this wonderful site..I don’t post that much but I visit almost every day..

 

Like other here I share the passion for photography and I was a F1 photographer for 17 years, Travel photographer for many, many years.. I own so much to photography it have take me to more than 80 plus countries around the world. After 40 years in the US last December I returned to my home country of Chile. I have a hazelnut farm and enjoy my music collection surrounded by pace and quiet..

My other passion: Cooking, Chilean wine ofcourse, Cycling, and Coffee… actually I when to Minneapolis to learn how to roast!

 

If any one here one day make it to Chile.. You are welcome to my place..

 

Here is one of my cover photo published in Overland Journal Magazine..and I’m lucky to be the owner of that LR Defender 110 😉 Photo taken in Salar de Coipasa, Bolivia.

 

Please, be all safe.

 

Jorge

[PYP]

Chris,

Really great stuff, but how about a forum thread for introverts?  OK, well that will be a thread with no personal details, so perhaps not as interesting.  😃  

 

What, no Chinese tea drinkers?  I'm a snob for Cooked Pu-erh.  When someone at work asked to try some, I made sure they liked the taste of soil.  The stuff just makes me happy.  

 

Best concert?  Saw Pink Floyd, but was not in a state to remember where or when.  True story.

 

Best live music moment:  Sonny Rollins at the Monterey Jazz Festival.  His very first note threw me back in my seat!  After that, I knew I had to try harder at whatever I did.  Very humbling and truly educational in the broadest sense.  

[sdolezalek]

Covidian beauty in Paris...

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

23 minutes ago, sdolezalek said:

Covidian beauty in Paris...

 lovely shot and like the almost pastel  salmon tones and richer greens/blues/red

What is covidian ?

 

@The Computer Audiophile should we have a separate photography sub-form to store these posts?

 

[sdolezalek]

10 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

What is covidian ?

 

As in Covid-19, but I have started to refer to it as "we live in Covidian times..." 

[Middy]

Thanks Chris,  looking back do you regret leaving the hair Salon industry...?

🤔

I've wanted to know more about the people on AS and what brought them here on lifes journey. (Not as in my wife on facebook, stalking people like CIA deep cover operative) 

Not even to give more credence or weight to thier posts and thoughts.

Just  to know about the nice helpful people here. If anything that people here are human being's first not a sound bite in a post. 

The Reviews have worked very well, setting a high bar.  This will be a nice addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[austinpop]

48 minutes ago, sdolezalek said:

 

As in Covid-19, but I have started to refer to it as "we live in Covidian times..." 

 

I understood you, thanks to my fragmentary knowledge of French - "la vie covidienne," instead of "la vie quotidienne."

[gmgraves]

Great inaugural profile, Chris. As a lover of Earl Grey tea, I share your enthusiasm for the beverage.

 

I never had a Hassleblad, but I did have a Mamiya 330 setup for a number of years. I had two 330 bodies (one for Panatomic X B&W, one for Fuji Velvia 100 color reversal), every lens Mamiya made for the system, a “Porro” finder (a pseudo prism finder that allowed eye-level viewing), and a pro grip for the camera body. I sold it (reluctantly) because I simply got tired of lugging around all that weight whenever I went on a photo “expedition”, so I went digital.

[sdolezalek]

5 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

I understood you, thanks to my fragmentary knowledge of French - "la vie covidienne," instead of "la vie quotidienne."

 I like that better! Putting the french feminine spin on it makes it sound friendlier. 😉