By Juan C. Ayllon In the twilight years of my teaching career, and with no travel plans (Belle is working, not on vacation), following our family Christmas celebration with Belle, Mom, and the kids and grandkids who didn't travel, I find myself once again finding creative ways to spend my winter break. And even though I'm 61 years old, I sometimes feel like a big kid with time on his hands. Sure, there's chores and tasks that need tending. For example, I plan on replacing the broken straps on my Barcelona Chair replica, organizing our storage space, updating my resume and pondering future career plans. I also have interview pieces, reviews and other writing projects to do. However, there are some fun diversions, as well. One of the fallouts of having family over for Christmas morning brunch was an unexpected beefier and livelier sound with a broadening of the soundstage in my A/V family room. To decrease the incidence and likelihood of probing or punching tiny hands on speaker drivers, I moved my Usher ML-802s all the way up to the front wall, tucked large stretches of speaker cables behind acoustic absorption panels, and moved back the loveseat and overstuffed chair from the centered large area rug, creating a larger space away from the stereo to dance and play. Then, when the grandchildren came down for the meal and entertainment, we played music videos for them, and other than Belle having to run interference with our grandson who was mesmerized by the blue lit display on the Pass Labs X150.8 amp, they were great and had a delightful time watching, listening, and dancing with Belle.
Interestingly, both grandchildren in attendance live in homes with flat screen TVs as large or larger than ours, but both were pretty taken by the beefy and detailed auditory experience we treated them to with my stereo. One leaned on our entertainment center and stared at the show above him, and our granddaughter, in her brand new dress, did not want to exit when it was time to head home! After everyone left, we put on a movie and were both surprised by the beefier and larger soundstage we heard. With the speakers moved as forward as they'd been, and with the loveseat on the left and overstuffed chair at right pulled in tight to the area rug, it created a more intimate, near field type listening environment that I'd arranged to minimize room interaction with the sound. By pulling the chairs back and keeping the speakers further away from the seating area, there was less constriction of the space, allowing the woofers more room to breathe and resulting in a bigger, more powerful and expansive presentation. Belle was elated! Of course, the day after Christmas, while Belle was at work, I pulled out a tape measure and mirror, pulled the loudspeakers out from the wall, but only about halfway to their former position, and pointed them towards my head's central seated position. Then leaning a large mirror along the wall, I relocated the new first reflection points and ensured that they were addressed by either absorption panels or the heavy curtains at the left side. After a handful of adjustments, I played digital files and streamed songs on Qobuz via the Roon Labs music player software, and experienced HD music videos via YouTube and was very happy with the results. We are both enjoying the fruits of this labor now. As I'm writing this piece on my laptop, I am listening to Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale's Indie and Alternative album, Wet Leg, that I discovered while scrolling through some of the new releases on Qobuz's menu. There's a little language, but it's surprisingly catchy, and playing over my Dan Clark Audio Ether 2 headphones via the iFi Gobar dongle dac/headphone amp, vocals are natural sounding, the electric bass rich and low, the drum kit and other instrumentation detailed, palpable and engaging! But all this sitting isn't doing my body any favors, so, yes, I am finally bearing down on restarting my fitness and diet regime. Again. I am following a friend's advise and easing into it slowly. After so many statements of good intentions, it is time to get serious about chipping away at the weight I've put on over the years. Interestingly, during the last month or so, I've had dreams of running along tree lined pathways, exercising, and recapturing some of my lost youthfulness. Seriously! Seems like my subconscious (and perhaps the Spirit?) is whispering that this is something I really need -- and deeply want -- to move on. It is time. So, here goes! I think a big underlying theme for me this winter break is about reconnection; reconnecting with myself -- and things important to me, reconnecting with others and our community. Clearly, fitness and health have been neglected but remain important to me, but there are other areas calling out for my attention. As I chatted with my mother at our Christmas brunch, she suggested that I should get back to creating more artwork, adding that she really loves an oil painting I made of a family that hangs on her wall. I agree, and am currently kicking around some ideas for a painting to work on. Creating is a core passion of mine -- be it writing or artwork -- and I am wanting to indulge my inner artist a bit more. Tomorrow, I will be meeting with two former colleagues I taught with in Racine for a year. Ultimately, the commute was too long and arduous for me, but I really enjoyed connecting with John, who teaches music, and Kevin, who serves as a school counselor. I am looking forward to catching up with them! Belle and I were talking earlier today about reaching out to other friends and couples and getting more plugged into our church community. As you may know, I currently serve with the tech team on the sound board and attend worship services with Belle, but we both want to deepen our connections with others in the congregation. There's also a couple guys I'd like to get to know better in a men's Bible study that I attend. So, I am going to take some time to reach out this week -- maybe even grab a breakfast with one of them. Soon enough, this break will end, but I have a feeling that this will be a rewarding one.
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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
May 2024
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