Julian Ashbourn

I was raised in the small town of South Benfleet in Essex, England, who's main claim to fame seemed to be the old church yard with it's pirate graves and the fact that there was a battle of Benfleet around AD 950. Nowadays, like most towns in the busy south east of England, it is unrecognisable - or perhaps I have simply lived away for so long.

As I child, I had no particular interest in hi-fi, although I well remember my father struggling with horn loudspeakers and various interesting items. He was an enthusiast and consequently, while I lived at home, a steady stream of equipment came and went. In those days, the enthusiast had to possess a good hack-saw with plenty of spare blades in order to cut out panels in wooden cabinets to house the early Quad pre-amps and other equipment.
No self respecting enthusiast would be without an open reel tape recorder, often a Ferrograph, Revox, or, if funds were low, an Elizabethan.
And of course there would be a Garrard 301 or equivalent spinning it's platter in the top section of the cabinet. I heard just about every type of loudspeaker, from Lowthers, Tannoys, IMF and many others, together with a wide variety of amplification.

While, at that time, I could take or leave the technology, I was always interested in the music. Later, I also became interested in the technology and worked for some years in the hi-fi and pro-audio industries. In the 70s, I even built a "home studio" long before it was popular to do so. I also became interested in other technologies and veered off towards computers and other areas of electronics, including a fascination with biometrics - see homepage.ntlworld.com/avanti.
Nowadays, I work in the aviation industry and have very little spare time, although I do like to occasionally relax by listening to some favourite music. A psychiatrist would have a field day interpreting my musical tastes as they are rather wide. I suppose I gravitate mostly towards classical music and jazz, but in fact like anything which is a good example of it's kind.
I also have clear ideas around what makes a good recording. I have always had a good "ear" for reproduced music and am particularly sensitive to phase distortions and correct musical timbres. I therefore tend to notice technical compromises, but do not let this get in the way of enjoying the music. I would rather listen to a great performance via a less than great recording than vice versa. Indeed, I frequently listen to recordings made in the 30s, 40s and 50s, some of which are of surprisingly good sonic quality, perhaps due in part to the simplicity of the recording technique.

I stumbled across TNT by accident one day on the web and was immediately taken by the truly non commercial philosophy. It seems to me that this is closer to the original spirit of the internet and how it should be used. I.e, people from various backgrounds and nationalities being able to share a common interest. Full credit then to Lucio and all the contributors who have taken the time to share their thoughts and enthusiasm.

For my own part, and, time permitting, I would like to mount a light hearted campaign against the rubbish churned out by certain elements of the hi-fi marketing machine and puppet like media, the higher end of which it seems to me is distinguished mainly by it's arrogance.
This is especially pertinent with regard to the totally unrealistic cost of so called 'high end' hi-fi, which places it beyond the reach of many and suggests that reproduced music cannot be enjoyed unless many thousands of dollars / euros / pounds change hands. This is simply not the case and I hope to explore this claim via this channel.

To finish with a provocative thought. There are many millions of individuals in the world who have no access to hi-fi equipment and yet enjoy making and listening to music. Music has played an important part in society for several thousands of years.
Reproduced music, by comparison is fairly new. For me, music is more than hi-fi. It is the history and times reflected in the music. The lives of some of the foremost composers and performers. The design of instruments. The architecture of musical forms. And much more. I could live without hi-fi, but a life without music would indeed be greatly diminished.