[lonewolfny42]

The best dressed man at RMAF.....Hugh Dean 




photo by Captain Humble.....

[SET Man]

Hey!

  Chris I thing there is something missing in that photo. 

  Oh! Yeah! Aren't you suppose to have a bottle of beer with you there?

Take care,
Buddy

[mjosef]

So that's what an Aussie looks like   
He makes the Wolf look small.

[lonewolfny42]

I left the beer in the bar.....

[kyrill]

Why did Hugh wear yr tshrt and what happens to yr glasses?
I see you don't wear them 

[AKSA]

Chris,

Thanks to you and Jeff for the photo;  it was a great time, and I'm only sorry it was so short!!   

Meeting Chris, a man with a huge heart and extraordinary kindness to his fellow audiophiles, was a high point.  I gave him quite a hug on meeting him, and he probably thought he'd been attacked by a bear in the Rockies......  A great regret is that I didn't drink with him at the bar as that night I dined out.

Kyrill, that's a bloody tie, man, not a tee shirt, and let me assure you that I'm long sighted, like many Aussies, and while I can pick a kangaroo at five miles, reading needs glasses.  Blind as a bat, but without the good ears.......  damn all those summers, there have been far too many of them already.  And the big feet have suckers, so we can walk round downunder without falling off........

Cheers,

Hugh

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks Hugh.....
It was really nice to finally meet you.... (and I should add Marty....he's sharp...and a nice guy as well)

Sorry I didn't get to meet with you in NY. Next time....

What I would like to read (when you get the time-rest up after your long trip) is what you thought of the Show in Denver...your view on the U.S.A...and what you thought about New York. First trip here....right ? Thanks Hugh......

                                 Chris

[AKSA]

Chris,

I'll reserve my comments about RMAF, as I saw so very little of it.  Lamentable, but there was no time for an exhibitor to wander around.  I was very happy with the Aspen/Ellis presence there;  we did well.  I saw AVA/Salk with Frank and Jim, Wayne of Bolder Cables, AudioKinesis (Atmasphere, a fave of mine), Nelson Pass's room, Bastani, a huge tube amp and speaks from Texas, and Ayre's room with Vandersteen.  I dined with Ed West, Lyn Olson, and John Attwood, luminaries in their fields.  Oh, and Steve Harrison showed me an impressive room from a local Denver high end guy.  That was it, and what I saw was impressive.

Now, other impressions.  Here we go.  I loved America passionately.  It has a friendliness, scale and landscape which staggered me, I love the country and wish I'd been there thirty years ago.  The Rocky Mountains were stupendous;  at 11,300 feet my breath was all but taken away!!     At just 16 I travelled all over Australia by air, and came to see the grandeur of my own country, which is very different, based as it is upon ancient desert landscape, a very few tropical areas, severe water shortages, and a dazzling array of burned colors.  The US is very different, with almost the entire country arable and water plentiful.  That makes a huge difference.  Marty and I hired a car and drove 500 miles to Aspen and back to have a good look.  I was grateful that although I drove on the wrong side of the road the entire distance no one hit me......   You really do see the States by car, and it was awe-inspiring.  I found the people very friendly and willing to talk.  There is a natural reserve in Australia, people don't like to talk to strangers, we mind our own business perhaps a little too much!!  I am extremely talkative, and many is the time Marty walked away from me, embarassed that I'd engaged a bag lady in a long chat about nothing much on a street corner.  I find I can really discover things about a society this way.  But in the States, people were very happy to talk, and as soon as they heard my accent, they were fascinated because Australians seem to have good press these days.  Most did think I was a Pom, which is regrettable, but hey, we are none of us perfect..........   I had conversations with all kinds of people, in shops, cafes, streetcorners, airplanes, gas stations, bookshops, parks, you name it.  (If only I'd been like this as a young man, hmmm,   )  The sheer numbers of people compared to my own tiny country made it a smorgasbord for me;  everyone has a story and I had a ball.  Paul and his wife Nancy made my NYC stay a tourist dream;  sadly, however, I did not get about as much as I should have, but then I'm nearly sixty and my energy was limited anyway.  The three of us covered just about every restaurant of note in the Brooklyn district, and man, that's a big town!!

Of course there are problems in all societies.  In the US I saw very tough survival for most of the population, particularly if you should get sick.  There are quite a few beggars on streetcorners, many of them mentally ill and most of them black.  This is very different to Australia, where we have a benevolent approach and society's unfortunates are generally better cared for.  But this has its problems too, and our vitality and drive does not compare to yours, with a consequent effect on our psyche.  Your society is intensely driven and creative and people are endlessly resourceful, and I can see why the world's best technology originates in the US of A.  This feature can be argued;  many European countries are outstanding in this area, notably Germany and Scandinavia, but the US leads the world in consumer technology in my opinion.

I was struck by the sincere courtesy I received at all times during my visit.  I can count on the fingers of one hand instances where people were rude.  I recall a conversation with an old black woman on a bus hurtling down a major street in Manhattan as Paul and I searched for a good camera store.  She was a beautiful old lady, and just charming, with no trace of prejudice towards me at all.  I struck up a conversation with a beautifully dressed, professional business woman, a thirty something black lady in Denver, and was deeply impressed by her intelligence, and her grasp and acceptance of the racial issues within her society.  I met a Hispanic man on an airplane who was another wonderful person, visiting a dying close friend in Miami who was critically ill with liver disease and pneumonia.  He was a very accomplished man, too, a fully certificated engine and airframe fitter for US Airlines.  We spoke of the racial mix of US society, and patterns of immigration, always a hot topic and for me, a fascinating one.  I would say that levels of politeness and community spirit are stronger in the US than in my own country;  I'm very impressed by this and am saddened by the way Australia is going.

OTOH, I was appalled by the waste of oil I saw in the States.  The country is not taking depleting oil reserves and green house heating very seriously.  I come from a rural background of large diesel engines and broadacre farming.  I know about this stuff, and the pickup truck culture with it's huge gas guzzling motors does need to change soon.  Mind you, I love this technology with a passion, and it would be tempting if I were a US citizen to buy a Lincoln Navigator (or even Toyota Tundra!!), but over consumption could bring the country to its knees and more than anything I want to see the US survive and prosper.

I was disappointed I saw so very few motorcycles.  I love them with a passion, perhaps I should have spent time in California!!

In closing, I now know why New York city is the greatest Megopolis in the world.  I fell in love with the city, it is stupendous.  A walk in Central park, a frantic shopping spree on the corner of W 75th St and Amsterdam, a stroll by the brownstones near the park, a ride on the subway, a visit to B&H audio/video store, an aimless wander through the Museum of Natural History - these were powerful memories for me and I shall never forget them.  I really want to go back, I loved the energy and vibes, and was very impressed by the clean air and good condition of the city.   The history speaks to me in a way no Australian city can match;  very, very impressive.

Hope this tells you something of my thoughts, Chris, there is so much more I could say.........  and thank you for asking!!

Cheers,

Hugh

[kyrill]

hehe

this is the Hugh I know* i see , thru in and between his posts especially in 'Latest news from Aspen" hmm, last post dec 2006



*wish this was true, but not met the man yet

[lonewolfny42]

Thank you Hugh for your very detailed comments, a good insight.

I enjoyed reading them, and I'm very glad that you and Marty enjoyed the trip.

Hope to see you back here again.....

                             Chris

[T-Bone]

Hi Hugh,

You looked like a man (photo) on a mission! Very professional. "grin" Bet they don't forget the man from Oz in the suit and tie!

Glad you had a nice visit.

Brad Kizer

[MikeC]

Hi Hugh

Is this your Squeezebox power supply in the Bolder Room? http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/denver07m+h/denver_3.html, about 1/3 down the page. Also a photo of your room here http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/denver07m+h/denver_2.html, right at the top.

Wish I could have been there.

Mike

[AKSA]

Yes, Mike

Both references are correct, thank you for highlighting them.

I left a Hologram PS with Wayne for testing, and he was impressed enough to make me a kind offer I received just today, a collaboration where he will offer his analog supply in combination with my error feedforward regulator techology for his premium product.  This could work well and I believe would be a killer product.  I too would continue to sell my Hologram original at lower cost from Australia, but this should not too much interfere with Wayne's US sales.  The market there is so large;  we will not much encroach on each other's territory.

I was impressed with Wayne and we could have a great collaboration between us.  This is one of the reasons I went to RMAF;  collaborations.  I simply can't be in the US from Australia, so I need contacts and distributors in that great country.

We will try to present our room better next time around;  but it's difficult to predict what you need as you jump on an airplane from the southern hemisphere.  Certainly some of the rooms were just sensationally well presented.  Professional sound deadening material is bulky and very difficult transport, and many exhibitors arrived with literally truckloads of gear.  The problem invariably seems to have been mismatches between large speakers and small rooms;  the audiofest favours smaller, not larger, speakers.

We had an amusing incident moving our speakers around during listening tests.  One of the speaker leads fell off and shorted - and the amp immediately produced a strong smell of burning fuse resistor!

I removed the cover from the amp, replaced the fuse with one kindly handed me by Frank Van Alstine, plugged it in, and resumed playing as though nothing had happened.  That's 1 tough amp!!

Just to emphasize the advantage;  the amp has no protection of any kind as it's sonically intrusive in my experience, but it's carefully engineered so that shorts neither destroy the speakers or the amp - just blow a fuse.  There has been some good luck in this design brief, but it was always designed this way.  I'm very proud of this feature, as SS amps are usually very fragile.  Not the Aspen stuff!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Seano]

[AKSA]

Hi Brad,

Yes, my first visit to the States, I was determined to make it worthwhile and dressed to thrill.  However, on the Sunday I did scale it down somewhat!  Thanks for your post, welcome to the forum!

Many thanks Sean,

Appreciate your computer skills!

Cheers,

Hugh