By Juan C. Ayllon This morning before work, I fired up my system and opened the curtains at the rear of my listening room. Now normally, I keep them pulled closed, as they absorb and dampen high frequencies bouncing off the glass. However, it’s Friday and, darn it, I want to take the dark cavern out of “man cave” and let in the sun! I was going to post some press releases, but apparently at this hour, my wifi won’t accommodate both ROON labs (my playing software on my music server) and iPage running concurrently. I thought about turning it off and spinning vinyl, but honestly, I’m enjoying the rich and tasteful riffing of Anthony Wilson’s guitar juxtaposed against the organ and drums of his trio in their album, Savivity. As some may know, it’s a mainstay of my listening sessions these days. Anyways, I wasn’t going to sacrifice hearing that as I squeeze in some music on this glorious Friday morning, so the press releases will have to wait! Yesterday on Facebook, a friend voiced concern that with the tone of some of my recent articles, I might be flaming out on audio and downsizing to basic consumer electronics. Well, the short answer is “no.” I’m not burned out, as this morning’s session bears witness. However, I’m not as enthused as I once was. Hold on; the drum solo on “Sea Blues” is distracting me. Whoa, I love the lilting cymbals, the visceral thumps of the tom and snare, followed by Wilson’s buttery notes on guitar. Amazing. As I was saying, I’m not as enthused as before. Part of it is the current dilemma of being consigned to my home for the greater balance of my days. We can’t go out to restaurants like our favorite steakhouse, Beelows, or even the lakeside Lindy’s Landing, where the food is good, but the view and ambience is wonderful. We can do takeout, like Belle will be doing after work when she swings by Lou Malnati’s for pizza (if they don’t open too late and make her wait around after work, that is). Or last week, when we drove up to Lake Geneva, sat by the lake and had an attendant walk it over to our car, where we ate and stared out at the spectacular body of water. But it’s more than that. For one, I cannot buy audio gear like I used to before. My budget no longer allows for that, so whatever I buy comes from the sale of something else. For another, writing reviews takes a lot of time and effort and, sometimes, the rewards just aren’t there to justify the means. So, I want to be more selective and pick my spots. And then there’s the physical hassle of unboxing, moving, setting up and tearing down the gear. At 59, that’s not quite as fun these days. Forget the bigger speakers I’ve had here, like the hefty Usher TD-10s, for example; just moving, installing the Soundocity outriggers on my 95 lb. Usher Mini Dancer 2s (there’s nothing “mini” about them!), raising them back up and lowering them onto the Herbie Audio Lab Cone/Spike Decoupling Glider pucks as Belle places them under was a hassle! I really need to pick my spots. Then, there are the grandchildren; when they eventually return, I have to be very careful about protecting them and the gear from one another (that’s the primary reason I added the outriggers -- so they won’t tip). Did I mention that my grandson wrecked a lamp that he was rocking back and forth two months ago? Also, I would like to expand my writing horizons, as time allows, to other interests. You know that I used go cover boxing for over 10 years before I began covering audio, right? (I actually got into my first AXPONA with a Cyber Boxing Zone press pass in 2014) That was a lot of fun--until by and large, they stopped hosting world championships in Chicago. As much as I love Chicago’s boxers, I got tired of covering little shows. Know what I mean? Likewise, I would like to explore other avenues. I’ve always wanted to write a book or a movie, but there’s only so much time. That said, to expand on my friend’s second question, I have no plans to downsize to basic consumer audio gear. Um, that would be a BIG NO! I like my stuff. If anything, I’d love to work my way up the food chain, but that’s not going to happen. Sh*t. However, to go down? That’s not going to happen, either, anytime soon. Anyways, looking at the time, I need to shower and get ready to teach. Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!
1 Comment
3/30/2022 09:46:56 pm
I very much appreciate it. Thank you for this excellent article. Keep posting!
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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