Positive Feedback's 100th Issue and 30 Year Anniversary!

I really have to hand it to Positive Feedback Editors Dave & David, as well as their very involved and cool significant others, for achieving the impressive 100 issues and 30 year milestones at Positive Feedback.

Kudos to you, that's an amazing accomplishment! 

Positive Feedback Editor Dr. David Robinson

Positive Feedback Editor Dave Clark

As I can attest to from my own efforts over the years, managing hifi writing and a website is no mean feat, not to mention all of the advertisers involved, and all the other duties that Dave & David are responsible for at Positive Feedback (like dealing with us quirky writers). 

All of that takes time, lots of time, can be frustrating, can be expensive, and yet it provides times that are truly wonderful as well.

Let's face it, no one is getting rich from writing about audio, it's about passion, its about relationships, its about loving music, and about trying to contribute something positive to the hifi hobby we all love, which is of course what Positive Feedback is all about.

Jeff's Place

I'll tell you what, I've always appreciated being able to write about hifi for Positive Feedback, and this year was particularly noteworthy for me, with Jeff's Place coming aboard here at Positive Feedback after 10 years of publishing on my own. It's great to be here at Positive Feedback and be associated with such terrific people!

The modest nuevo bungalow that is Jeff's Place!

In the past, there's been times I was so frustrated with website issues for the original Jeff's Place that I was ready to throw in the towel and call it a day, so being here at Positive Feedback with their expert management of the Positive Feedback and Jeff's Place websites is a huge relief and encouragement - thank you Dave & David for all you do, it is very much appreciated!

The People of HiFi

I really value my relationships with readers, other writers, and the industry people I know. I love to get messages from all of you, hear your stories & adventures, as you all make it so very interesting and rewarding, and you really do matter to me, so I wanted to take a moment to say "Thank you!" from the depths of my heart. 

Over the years I have pursued writing about things that truly fascinate me in audio, which are often out of the "high-end" mainstream, like vintage gear, or small boutique audio operations, DIY projects, hot-rodding audio kit with modifications, creative state-of-art gear, or hearing about completely new philosophies about audio that change the way I think about all things audio and music. 

Don Garber with family circa 1975.

Keith Aschenbrenner of Auditorium 23

Writing about and getting to know Don Garber (fi), Keith Aschenbrenner (Auditorium 23), Frederik Carøe (Duelund Coherent Audio), Yazaki-san (Spec Corporation), and Nelson Pass (First Watt and Pass Labs), to name just a few, has been incredibly rewarding, and I have learned so much from them! 

I hope it's ok I borrowed your photo, Frederik!

Ishimi-san (President of Spec Corporation), Jeff-san, Yazaki-san (Spec Corporation).

Hifi wizard, Nelson Pass (First Watt and Pass Labs). Photograph by David W. Robinson, copyright (c) 2018, all rights reserved.

My Local Friends

There's also those unsung heroes of my hifi life - my local friends - that make my world a better place to inhabit.

Ron Barbee - a Renaissance man of many talents!

My friend, Ron Barbee, is a retired nuclear engineer, guitar player, a fantastic talent with audio circuits and all things audio, a generally talented and insightful man all around, a truly nice guy, and who is always ready for a hifi adventure.

Ron has taught me an immense amount about modifying & repairing audio equipment, helped me with DIY projects, and introduced me to the joys of vintage audio!

We even did a road trip to Seattle to hear the Stokowski Altec's, and then Ron helped me get them back home - what an adventure that was!

We've had some great adventures, Ron, and here's to many more!

Leo (left) and Ron getting ready for some not so serious music listening!

Then there's Doc Leo, fellow Westminster and vintage hifi enthusiast, who's always game for a hifi, travel, or live music adventure, at least when he's not up to his ears doing surgeries, that is!

Leo is a good friend, an amazing guy on so many levels, and is a lot of fun to be around. Leo's introduced me to opera, Macallan single malt whiskey, Vespers martinis, and some great wines, enriching my life a bunch in the process!

We've had a ball traveling around the world, checking out new cultures, eating good food, drinking good beverages, making new friends, and listening to live music events in Seattle, Budapest, Krakow, Prague, London, Vienna, Salzburg, to name a few examples. 

During our travels we've even run into some of you! 

Eliseo (Troy Audio), Bill Hanuschak (Great Plains Audio), and Santos Oropel (Troy Audio).

It was a real treat to run into Eliseo, Bill, and Santos while we were drinking beer in the Hofbräuhaus in Munich this Spring!

Chad with the Westminster's and Stokowski Altec's.

Then there's my long-time friend, former colleague, and retired engineer, Chad Henderson.

Chad has a knack for always being there at the right time for moving heavy loudspeakers around - thank you, Chad!

Chad has always been there for me as a friend through the thick & thin of life, the difficult times of divorce, the decline of my parents health, the death of my Dad, caring for my 94 year-young Mom, personal health issues, always encouraging me to keep focused on the good things in life, and always willing to lend a hand to help me out when I need it.

Lucinda Williams concert in Seattle.

On the fun side, Chad and I like to do bicycle riding adventures, craft beer tours, go to live concerts, visit his cabin on lake Chelan, and listen to some great music on our hifi rigs, mixed with a little bit of partying!

Chad bought a couple of his friends tickets a few weeks back for the Lucinda Williams concert in Seattle, and we all had a ball, enjoying Lucinda's music, and just kicking back and enjoying life!

Thanks, Chad!

Ron, Santos, Leo, and Pete at Jeff's Place.

Then there's my buddy and former colleague, Santos Ortega. Santos is a great guy and I've known him for ages. We both went to WSU in Pullman, had the same boxing coach while at WSU (Santos is a very good boxer, I'm not), and worked together as government servants for 25 years.

I've learned a lot from Santos over the years, while working with Santos as a volunteer EEO counselor, for example, and I like to think that his influence has made me a better and more insightful person overall, and Santos has played a big role in the world view I hold today.

After all, when you're a white middle-class kid growing up in rural Idaho like I was, you need all the insights you can get into what the larger world is about and what people have to deal with on a daily basis. 

Santos is hifi enthusiast and music lover, we've gone to hifi shows together, visited hifi shops on road trips, and we once put on a concert series to introduce the locals to diverse live music they might not otherwise get to hear.

I like to think that through our efforts to help and educate people, we've contributed to making our little corner of the world a better place.

David Biancosino, Answers In Art.

Then there's my friend, former colleague, engineer, computer whiz, woodworker, and all around great guy, David Biancosino. David and I have had lots of great work & personal adventures together, and I look forward to many more!

Dave's woodworking talents are huge, and he was the talent behind building the crossover plinths for the Duelund-Westminster Project - many thanks, Dave!

Soon Dave and I will be preparing the plinths for the Duelund-Altec Project, so stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks!

Left to right: Ron Barbee, Andy Moore, and Pete Riggle.

It's a pleasure to entertain visitors as well, like Andy Moore from Down Under (above), and Rafe Arnott from Vancouver, British Columbia (Part-Time Audiophile, AudioStream), for example.

I am always amazed anyone would want to travel long distances to come visit me, so thanks for stopping by guys, it was great to meet you, share some audio fun & games, and become friends!

Rafe getting an action shot of the Garrard 301.

I'm not always able to entertain visitors due to a generally busy life, but I sure do enjoy doing it when I can! 

As you can see, now as a retiree, a lot of my life revolves around music, hifi, family, and the friends I have made over the years.

You might notice that along with hifi & music, the theme of this post is people. I appreciate all of them, and all of you reading this. I enjoy hearing about your hifi adventures, so keep them coming!

I should say I've only mentioned friends from a few recent adventures to keep this post to a manageable size, so my apologies to those many friends (and family) who went unmentioned - there was no offense intended - you're still as greatly appreciated as always! 

One of the things I hope to do in the coming months and years is to get out and visit more of you, and in so doing, I hope to make some new friends!

For example, I'm going to be visiting Peter Qvortrup (Audio Note UK) a little later this year, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm also hoping to get out and visit Chris Harban (Woodsong Audio), Bill Hanuschak (Great Plains Audio), and others, in the not too distant future, so stay tuned for the adventures to come!

As always, thanks for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me, and my hifi life! May the tone be with you, and your lives be blessed!