Andrew Singer Of "Sound by Singer" passed away yesterday

Steve Guttenberg had a nice remembrance of Andy today...

 

two main takeways for me watching this lovely tribute

1) it is about the passion, the experience, the joy that great music played through a great system affords

2) the friendship and bond created by a shared passion that shapes lives in a positive way, is enduring and heartwarming

🙏💟

Lyric is also an extinct NY joint that got some of my filthy lucre.

I had been going to the store on 15th Street since the late 80’s. I wore jeans and a tee shirt and didn’t wear jewelry, never mind a Rolex. I first bought some Cardas cables there, which were recommended by Andy. I went back there for a few years and eventually bought a CAT preamp. I never had a problem there. Everyone was nice to me. I didn’t know Andy that well but we spoke about equipment and he let me listen to a few really good systems with CAT preamps, which is why I brought one. RIP Andy and thanks for your recommendations,  allowed me to really enjoy my music.

Sorry for those last couple of lines.  I don’t know what happened there , but it should have read allowing. 

I visited Andy’s downtown store many times while still a budding audiophile in the ‘80s. Always a terrific experience. My favorite shop in NYC. It was there that l met salesmen Steve Guttenberg (very nice remembrance from Steve above) and Bob ? as well as Andy himself. They were always helpful and patient with this then very “green” enthusiast and who was clearly not the “Rolex” type. One of the things that I always appreciated about visiting Andy’s shop was the fact that on most visits at least as much time was spent talking about music as was spent talking about audio. I remember well the excitement with which Andy once mentioned that he was going to hear the Swing Jazz (now star) Ken Peplowski. Not many had even heard of Ken at the time. It was also there that I learned some of the most important audio lessons, the importance of component synergy and in the process heard what to this day is one of the most memorable systems that I have ever heard.

The Audio Research SP9 had gotten a glowing review in TAS and was declared a true giant killer. I took the plunge and went on to pay list price and make my very first purchase of a brand new product. Excitement is an understatement to describe how I felt taking it home and installing it in my system. Distress is an understatement when the sound of my system turned out to be terrible. Thin and bleached out. I let it burn in for three weeks and finally gave up and took it back to Andy hoping I could exchange it for something else. Andy proceeded to install it in one of the systems in the shop in order to make sure there wasn’t something wrong with the SP9 and the sound was glorious. To this day one of the most musically realistic I have ever heard. I’ll never forget that system: Roxan Xerxes tt, Koetsu Rosewood Sig, SP9, Manley monos and Snell Type A iii. Andy gave me a store credit. I bought several pieces from Andy over the years.

Sound By Singer was a no nonsense operation with passion for the hobby and for music. In my opinion some buyers walk into audio salons with an attitude that is not conducive to receiving good service. Andy will be missed.

BTW, does anyone remember Bob? He went on to work at Lyric. Terrific guy and a real music lover. Have often wondered what happened to him.