Still enjoying recorded music and the hobby of audio at age 78 thanks to my hearing having survived with no major defects other than age-related HF perception loss. Started playing with audio in 1958 (before stereo) while in high school - and working as an usher for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the Fritz Reiner era. First "HiFi" was a Garrard turntable (record changer), Bell 6L6 20w mono amplifier and a DIY (with my dad's help) 3-way bass reflex cabinet and Jensen drivers. I upgraded and/or changed my system components to another technology several times over the years in the budget to mid-priced arena.
I was one of the "originals" at AudioAsylum.com (1999) and helped to manage their first server in San Francisco when I worked downtown as a contract senior network administrator. Also moderated the three vacuum tube forums for a couple of years. At the time I owned a pair of 100dB sensitive Klipsch Forte II speakers. Source was a YBA Audio Refinement CD player feeding a Mick Maloney Supratek 6SN7 preamp in front of a Tektron (Italy) 2A3 SE power amp. In about 2004 I stopped audio forum participation for many years, but joined AudioScienceReview.com a couple of years ago and post there regularly.
I moved to retire as an expat to Boquete, a small tourist town in the mountains of western Panama in 2012, and I brought a small, but decent audio system with me in a suitcase. I had ripped all of my CDs to MP3, purchased an Intel NUC PC to play them and function as an HTPC, bought a Teac AH-01 DAC/Abletec amp and a pair of the timeless, excellent Paradigm Atom v6 monitors - which I still use. The Teac died some time after a lightning strike a couple of years ago, and I tried a couple of Topping and SMSL mini components, but found them limited and unreliable (Two Topping PA3 amps died within a year.) So I bought bigger, heavier highly-rated Topping DX7s DAC, and a used, classic, mint condition 1990's Classé Model Seventy 70wpc Class AB amp from Rich Brkch at Signature Sound in Upstate NY. It is an excellent system, but I've got the itch to get a better looking pair of speakers with deeper bass.
Earlier in my retirement, I worked part time at a Woodcraft store in Santa Rosa, California and became pretty knowledgeable about tropical and exotic hardwoods. And now I am considering the purchase of a pair of Salk Songtowers in an exotic veneer finish - which at my age will likely be my last serious upgrade after 60 years of enjoying music and good audio systems. I came to this forum because Jim Salk uses Audiocircle as his contact portal with his customers and fans, and after a lifetime of playing with audio components and buying frequently from boutique audio entrepreneurs, I have confidence that the Songtowers will sound as great as they look - and work perfectly in my system. Quite frankly, they are the most beautiful speakers I have ever seen (at least in pictures), and I am impressed by Jim's speaker designs as well as his devotion to fine woodworking. It will cost $250 to ship them to me here in a remote region of Panama, but that is worth it to me.
(The only other transmission line speakers I ever owned were a pair of ESS Heil AMT-1T towers back in 1975. I really liked them, but lost them in a divorce settlement.)
