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WHO DO YOU OWE?


BigStewMan

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Back in early 1984, I walked into a stereo shop looking to buy a system. I knew absolutely nothing. The guy directed me to some Heresy's. He also recommended an NAD amp & preamp. I'm happy to have met that guy. my worst nightmare is what if that guy would have been a bose man.

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1972 or 73, Herb Dealer, La Scala's and McIntosh, never forgot that sound, guess at the time, he was the only guy who could afford such gear, and the rest is History ............................ Funny, the voices never started until after I joined this Forum !!!!!!!!!!!

" I never knew my stereo sucked, until I joined this Forum " .......................... [:|]

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Steve Poe, the brother of my best friend who sucked me into all of this in 1975 with his SAE, Dual, Advent setup.

Gene Whipp and the original sales team at Carlin Audio here in Kettering. After closing, a handful of us would hang out with them and try out all the new stuff. This went on until the store was sold to a new owner.

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Back in the day (70's early 80's) when good audio "salesmen" were also (seemed to be) cool guys who would take the time to educate you and grow with you on your journey!

It was not always a what is in your pocket to spend today kinda thing. Or this is on sale, so I need to move it on you, too. I was in a outlet store, and a guy said "Wow... Have I got something for a man like you will enjoy!" Yep, back to the back room to do the a vs b setup... Big sound, little cubes... I had to listen to see what all the hype was.... and it was ok... but thats the point.. it was OK... Not great!!

You already know the store...I am still amazed at the sales tactics.. "It looks like you!" yeah right...."Your walking away from a great deal, the misses would be proud of you." I wanted to say, Dude.. Come over to my house, and I will show you something to be proud of!" hehehehehehe

Maybe the sales of really good audio has gone from something sexy to impress your other half and set the mood.... to "She will be proud of you, cause this is small" and I guess today's marketing is small is always better to women? Oh Really? Yes I know... Some women prefer small, I guess but it has also been my experience once they went big... Hard to go back if they can fit it in. Maybe the argument is this? It is not what you have, but how you use it in the space allowed?

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If the question was about Who turned me on to Klipsch, I stand by my earlier statement ............... if it was about getting turned on to Audio, the answer is the U.S. ARMY, while stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, the Audio Club guys got me going !!!!!!!!!!!! (1969)

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I owe my parents for the beautiful RCA TV/Hi Fi console that occupied the family room. It had a nice tube receiver and a record changer. The TV took forever to turn on. I owe my oldest brother for letting me use (sometimes he knew, sometimes he didn't) his Sansui 7070, Ego Speakers and Pioneer PL-55x. My other brother had a Kenwood receiver, accuLab speakers, a very early NEC cd player, ADC EQ, and a beautiful Quartz DD Scott turntable. We'd visit my uncle and all having that feeling you get when you hear something better. His Nikko 9090 was nice, but the Altec Santanas were what was different from my family's systems. All this from a very young age coupled with reading all the stereo mags from about age 10 put me straight into audio madness in my teens and I've been spending money ever since. So to answer your question, I owe my credit card company.

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Like Dean, I owe my finding of Klipsch to Carlin Audio however, mine was in Fairfield not Dayton.

Walked in & chatted with Jeff. Pointed to those funky speakers in the corner that looked so unconventional.... he played them and I was bamboozled! Given that I was only 18 and heading to college, I knew Khorns were not for me...so what about "those" as I pointed towards what happened to be LaScalas. Those were self contained and I could put them in my dorm...

He turned them on and my buddy & I just stood there at how great they sounded... I was a bit curious though...as I thought a speaker that freaking huge should have more bass than it did.... I suppose my face said it all because as I turned towards Jeff to inquire about size/bass issues, his face was beet red. Seems on top of the LaScalas were a pair of Heresy's and he was playing "gotcha" with me cranking the Heresy's up, allowing me to think it was the LaScalas playing.

I'm sure he pulled that stunt many times and I've got to admit, it worked.

I bought a pair the next year when I was 19 (1979) and have them to this day.

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Guest srobak

I owe my dad. If it wasn't for him and his vintage Pioneer gear (including R2R), I don't know what I would be listening to today...

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It kinda started for me when my Dad bought me a crystal radio kit for Christmas back in 1964. From there it went to a "transistor radio" of the AM flavor in 1967. That made do until I earned enough money delivering papers to buy a REAL stereo from Soundesign - complete with a separate.....yes - that's right, a separate turntable AND a built in 8-track!! Racing dirt bikes got in the way until around 1971 when I got my first car, a 1968 Camaro. It just had to have some good sound so in went a Craig AM/FM 8-track and 4 dual cone 4.25" speakers. OH YEAH......that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. LOL...... That car took me to lots of dances and to college and saw several stereo/speaker/amp systems waaaaaay before car audio was a big deal. I was the first car on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a Nakamichi deck, Linear amp, and ADS 300c's rockin' out. And then that fateful day........

Me & some buds from my fraternity decide to visit this audio store that a professor (Dr. Sheppard) from our university (Mississippi State) had opened called Ideal Acoustics. Once there Dr. Sheppard (who knew a couple of us) suggested we go have a listen in the back room. And there it was....a pair of Khorns driven by McIntosh electronics playing a Telarc recording of the 1812 overture on a Thorens TD125 with SME tone arm.

I got a woody.

And I ain't been the same since.

Thanks Dr. Sheppard.

Tom

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Al Gore for inventing the internet! [:|]

OK thats how I found Klipsch, but I found the horn sound when I was young at a huge movie theater in New Orleans who had at least a 6' tall and very wide Altec lansing "voice of the theater" on each side of the stage, and more behind the stage I guess ? The Altec's I heard back then got me looking at every speaker with horns, and most back then were commercial models, then I ran across klipsch while looking up info about some old Altec's (thanks again Al Gore).

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I owe my Mom, Marilyn Colter, who was a great lover of music and played piano and drums. She always said I'd be sorry when I gave up my lessons and I am. She let us play Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Deep Purple, and Yes (very horribly) in the basement for years. Mom listened to an awful lot of really bad rock and roll but often said 'turn that one up boys' (cause that's what she called us 'the boys'), 'that one sounds good'. She especially loved Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Before moving out of the parent's home I spent the last of my lawn
mowing money for a pair of Gollehon speakers with dual 15's and horn so
I could do sound for a local R&B band. I miss you Mom.

I owe my Dad, Richard Colter, for his quirky taste in music which haunts me to this day. Boots Randolph, Willie Nelson, Kingston Trio, Herb Alpert, Blood Sweat and Tears, and movie soundtracks (Dr. Zhivago, 2001, Sound of Music) were some of his favorites. Thanks for putting up with all the Steppenwolf and Led Zep Dad, even though you called it 'jungle music' at the time! LOL

I owe John Schaffer, owner of Indy Pro Audio (then Calliope Sound) who took me in as an apprentice sound dude. He owned the MCM stacks and LSI dual stacks which I took around as rental systems. My biggest gig with them was running sound for the massive Black Expo back in the early 1980's. Installing sound and lighting systems in discos and dance halls was quite an eye opening experience at times.

I owe Bob Gassel at Klipsch, who gave me a chance. And Trey, Steve, Mark, Rod, Russ, and Roy and Chris (in Hope) who helped me along the way. Too bad it ended so soon, I had a lot to offer Klipsch.

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cool write-up Michael--my parents also endured music, much to loud, that they couldn't stand. Alice Cooper and Yes probably played the most. We do share something in common. I'm a huge Yes fan and particularly a Rick Wakeman fan. I'm not the type to ask for autographs; but, I did get his several years ago. About five years ago, I took my mom to Las Vegas (she's getting old and lives alone). She told me to put in some music, "I'd like to hear whatever you're listening to these days" she said. Naturally, I started off with some Queen; but, then I put in some Rick Wakeman. He's only playing the Grand Piano and telling humorous stories in between songs (he's a good story teller too). Mom loved it. In fact, two weeks ago when I was visiting, I bought her a Rick Wakeman DVD. But, the influence went both ways, I actually enjoy the Kingston Trio and some Crooner songs because I heard them coming from Pops stereo in the living room. Good memories.

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