[buckeyefanandy]

I have read over web pages for hours and hours trying to start a Budget system that I could enjoy for years to come.  I have talked to guys that acted as if my value as a human being was measured by the cost of my gear.
I have also found many people that were very helpful in this quest.  Many folks had opinions of gear that I should buy that was used, outdated, or overpriced.  I wanted a quality piece for a price that I could afford.  I also expected this to last a long time.  
Most times my talks led people to tell me to get my head out of the clouds and forget about it.  That I would have to settle for less or Pony up.  
I tried for 6 months to build a system of items that I picked up of Ebay cheap.  The JBL synthesis, Vandersteen speakers, and countless amos that did not work out left me feeling lost.
One guy suggested that I call a guy named Klaus to talk about my situation.  He pointed out that Klaus sold a $1500 system that would make me smile.
I began to look at this site, as well as Agon to get prices.  I decided to sell off all the stuff I had and hope I would get enough to get that $1500 system.  When all was said and done I only had $1100, not even enough for a Stratos amp (that is still my dream, that thing is slick)  
I sent Klaus an email and gave him a call while he was at the RMAF with many strange questions.  He emailed me and called back while he was on his way home.
He knew that I was not going to be a big spender, and that even with his great prices I was going to be counting pennies.  He treated me with great kindness and personal care.  I ordered a Khartago amp, and waited for it to come.  It is here now and I can't believe that I was lucky enough to find this guy and his company.  Klaus you could never know what your service has done to renew my enthusiasm for audio.  

I work for a small non profit in Cleveland Ohio.  We focus our energy by working in 10 of the poorest areas in Ohio.  Cleveland was the poorest big city in the US.  And the people we serve are the poorest in the city.  We work with families that average between 4500 and 9500 a year for a family of four.  The kids we work with have it very tough, I can't tell you some of the things they face each day.  This year we have had 8 kids between the ages of 11 and 18 that have been shot and killed.  Some of these things create a great deal of stress, and audio is my choice to unwind and forget about my day.

Considering what many of the kids I see live like, I feel blessed to be able to spend the modest budget on a luxury like audio equipment.  

Blessings,

Andy

[ajzepp]

Awesome post, bro....I'm pretty excited to get some Odyssey gear into my system, too.

[bunky]

Andy,congradulations on the new Khartago. you just bought one of the best deals in audio.this hobby can consume time and money so remember to take your time and enjoy the music , because after all thats what this hobby is all about. thanks....WCW III

[MaxCast]

Great story, Andy.  Klaus is a great man.  His products and service is worth every penny.  Are you going to get the rest of the $1.5k system?

Thanks for your hard work in the inner city.  I see similar things every day and when I see kids involved it really breaks my hart.

 And on a lighter note....GO BLUE!!

[buckeyefanandy]

Great story, Andy.  Klaus is a great man.  His products and service is worth every penny.  Are you going to get the rest of the $1.5k system?

 And on a lighter note....GO Bucks!!

I am going to try to get the preamp, i have made a few offers on some used Etasian pre amps that people are selling because they have moved on to a Tempest. The Tempest is just too much for me right now.

As for the Epiphonies, I will probobly not go that route at this point.  Don't want to mess with stands.  May look into a pair of used Nightengales at some point.  My wife thinks they are nice to look at.  It is all a mater of time or money.  My experience is if I am willing ot wait I can find the gear for the price I can pay.

My hope is to spend $1500 for a system.  That is mostly if not totaly Odyssey.  In the future I would love to get a stereo Stratos Extreem.  And listen to my music.  I think the great thing I can be satisfied with my rig while many of those guys that told me to give up will still be obsessed with finding the next piece of equipment.  Never feeling the music, and never enjoying my little slice of Audio heaven.

And as always,

O-H-I-O

[mcrespo71]

What a fantastic post.  It's great you found Odyssey, which offers amazing value and performance.  Enjoy the music!

Michael

[buckeyefanandy]

I just am giving credit to where it is due.

[teiki arii]

This year we have had 8 kids between the ages of 11 and 18 that have been shot and killed. Some of these things create a great deal of stress, and audio is my choice to unwind and forget about my day.

I do not realize how lucky we are to live in France: no killing gun, no shot kid! You have not to feel guilty about all of it. You do so much for these kids and families that you need to resource yourself...
Best regards...

[byteme]

This year we have had 8 kids between the ages of 11 and 18 that have been shot and killed. Some of these things create a great deal of stress, and audio is my choice to unwind and forget about my day.

I do not realize how lucky we are to live in France: no killing gun, no shot kid! You have not to feel guilty about all of it. You do so much for these kids and families that you need to resource yourself...
Best regards...

Too bad this well intended post had to go this direction.  Yes, froggie, it is really THAT simple.  No gun, no dead kid - NO GUILT!  Thanks for solving that for us!  Care to chime in on some other big ones?  Abortion?  Stem Cell research?  The growing military and nuclear buildup in SE Asia?  Poverty?  Hunger?

Wait, let me guess:

Abortion - wear a condom!
Stem Cell research - see #1
Growing military and nuclear buildup - Ask them to stop it
Poverty - Let's have a bake sale to raise money!  Or, no, wait, let the government pay them like they do here in France!
Hunger - Send them over to the bake sale!!

         

[Eric]

What an awesome story!!!!!

[teiki arii]

Too bad this well intended post had to go this direction.  Yes, froggie, it is really THAT simple.  No gun, no dead kid - NO GUILT!  Thanks for solving that for us!  Care to chime in on some other big ones?  Abortion?  Stem Cell research?  The growing military and nuclear buildup in SE Asia?  Poverty?  Hunger?
Wait, let me guess:
Abortion - wear a condom!
Stem Cell research - see #1
Growing military and nuclear buildup - Ask them to stop it
Poverty - Let's have a bake sale to raise money!  Or, no,  ...

Hi byteme,
thank you very much for your reply! How angry you seem to be! But for sure, about weapons, it is very simple: I don't want to teach you anything but if people had a gun in my country, I should have been killed a long time ago when I work in slums... I have just been so many times kicked off and that's enough for me. Hanger with a gun has nothing to do with hanger with fist, although it is the same hanger...
Don't extrapolate What I said, I was just talking about civil weapons.
"Froggie" is not very nice, is it? Just calm down, don't kill frogs...
Have a nice day...

[John151]

teiki  - Interesting 1st 2 posts!  May I suggest that we stick to Audio topics as I highly doubt that any political discussions between France and America will go smoothly.

[byteme]

Hi byteme,
thank you very much for your reply! How angry you seem to be! But for sure, about weapons, it is very simple: I don't want to teach you anything but if people had a gun in my country, I should have been killed a long time ago when I work in slums... I have just been so many times kicked off and that's enough for me. Hanger with a gun has nothing to do with hanger with fist, although it is the same hanger...
Don't extrapolate What I said, I was just talking about civil weapons.
"Froggie" is not ...

1 - Don't for a minute presume to know what and or how I feel.  You come here and post twice and have already made sweeping assumptions about a) Andy's guilt and b) my anger.  

2 - Everyone is teaching everyone else, all the time.  I'm learning from you - but I don't think it's what you intended I 'learn'.

3 - WTF?  Hanger?  kicked off?  I can only assume you're referring to "anger" and being "pissed off"

4 - You don't want guns in your country - GREAT!  YOU DON'T HAVE THEM!  And NO it's not "simple".  You see, our ancestors left where you are because of a lack of freedoms - primarily religion.  However, there were other freedoms they held dear and wrote into our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.  So while in your view it's "simple" in our view - it's founding priciplels of a nation.  You don't undo that.  When you do - you end up with what you've got there, which is essentially a nanny state where the unemployed have the right to go on strike because the government isn't paying them enough.  Are there deplorable things that happen here?  Sure there are - IT'S A BIG COUNTRY.  But to blanket things with a comments like yours is sciolistic.

5 - If you can make gross assumptions I believe that I also have that same right to do so.

6 - Froggie is not nice?  I beg to differ - http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/frenchfrogs.html - I'm under the impression that Frog is widely known slang term for the French.  Am I wrong?  Not according to Dictionary.com - frog

n 1: any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species [syn: toad, toad frog, anuran, batrachian, salientian] 2: a person of French descent [syn: Gaul] 3: a decorative loop of braid or cord [syn: frogs]

7 - Calmer than you dude....calmer than you.

8 - Personally, I don't kill things.  I don't own a gun, I don't step on frogs.  Although, unlike you, I do have the freedom to legally own a gun.

Lastly, thanks, I plan on having a day.  Always do.  We'd all love to have you contribute something useful, keep it up though with the stuff you're currently posting and I can predict you'll see more of the same...not that I'm trying to teach you anything...

[John151]

Teiki sent me a PM apologizing for creating such a stir.  While I took his initial post to be a political statement, and assumed he was a troll, his PM to me indicated that this was a mis-understanding due to his English language skills.  

IMHO, Teiki was simply relating to Andy's story of helping people, and of seeing many tragedies.  He was NOT intending to make a political statement of any kind, nor was he commenting on the affairs within the US.  

Teiki - Welcome to AudioCircle.

[teiki arii]

I am so sorry for what I have told. I made a mistake about what I wanted to express. It's an opinion, nothing to do with the music, but I felt closed, to some extents, to Andy...
Thank you very much again John to have clarified the situation...

[byteme]

Hey!  GROUP HUG!  Welcome to the board!  Glad we got that straightened out!

[miklorsmith]

Wow.  I always thought the deep rifts between nations were primarily separated by the governments.  I personally have nothing against the people of France or any other country, regardless of the actions of their leaders.  Politicians certainly do not act on the views of every citizen and sometimes maybe not even the majority.  So, guilty until proved innocent is inappropriate dogma to me.

Andy, great story.  There is indeed a lot of invented competition and bravado in audio.  Hey, it's a bunch of guys!  What group of guys doesn't puff up chests?  Remember every person you contact is their own person, independent and different from all others.  Sure, the hobby chains us together like prisoners but don't get discouraged.  There are lots of helpful folks out there.  And, no matter what price point you're shopping at, you're facing the same issues ANYBODY looking to upgrade faces - how to best appropriate funds.  None of us have all the answers, so forums like this help us learn and get ideas.  You'll learn in time who likes the same sounds you do.  It's a fun pursuit.

My 2 cents for you is to look into a non-oversampling DAC to pair with an inexpensive transport.  These suckers really pay off and prices are reasonable, with new units available around $500 and used stuff for a couple hundred.

Good luck!

[byteme]

Good point miklorsmith.  It's always easier to spend someone elses $$ but ya, if you can find yourself a Nixon or other non-OS dac - mmmmm...YUMMY!  

But then we gotta start talking coax cable and pretty soon we're spending all kinds of money for you!!

One thing I've learned along the way - the beauty of this hobby is that you don't have to jump in with mega bucks to get good enjoyable toe tapping sound!  You start with some more inexpensive pieces (although that Khartago will be able to last you through and keep up with killer gear) that are reasonably priced.  Make "investments" in pieces that sound good and have a good reputation and when it comes time to upgrade you'll be able to get decent money out of them and replace it with gear that someone on a journey not unlike yours has enjoyed for the last few years!  The trick is knowing when you've reached the point of diminishing returns and remembering to enjoy the journey and the music along the way!

[jkm]

What I've come to like about this forum is that I can ask a question that reveals my naiveté or inexperience and that someone will still try to respectfully answer.

I hope that this forum can continue in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Glad the misunderstanding was straightened out.

Welcome to the forum Teiki.

[bunky]

Too bad this well intended post had to go this direction.  Yes, froggie, it is really THAT simple.  No gun, no dead kid - NO GUILT!  Thanks for solving that for us!  Care to chime in on some other big ones?  Abortion?  Stem Cell research?  The growing military and nuclear buildup in SE Asia?  Poverty?  Hunger?

Wait, let me guess:

Abortion - wear a condom!
Stem Cell research - see #1
Growing military and nuclear buildup - Ask them to stop it
Poverty - Let's have a bake sale to raise money!  Or, no,  ...

WOW!