Here's To Dear Old Dad

My dad had an old German console radio and record player, which my daughter has now. My brother and I used to listen to the short wave receiver quite often -- and I sure remember the old records, especially the musicals. A bigger influence on me, relative to being an audiophile, was my friend's father, who was an electrical engineer. He built Heathkit products and made sure his son, my friend, had decent equipment so I grew to appreciate good sound. I still remember my friend's Dual turntable and how it would continue to play records even when tilted at a 60 degree angle -- kids, don't try that at home ;-)

My story is very similar to yours, kensekd. My father also gave me a sony boom box when i was around 10. I still remember listening to miles davis reel-to-reels on his maggie mg1's when i was a kid. I still have the bug 20 years later with my 3.5's; courtesy of dear old dad.

I too salute my Dad for introducing me to this hobby when I was a child. Over the course of the years that I was growing up we owned several Dual TTs including a Dual changer that would have several LPs stacked & they would drop as the one playing finished. Don't think I could ever own such a device today - I'd be too jittery stacking my precious vinyl on the to-be-played stack!! ;-)
I remember when he yielded to me when I was a teenager & bought me my 1st amp, floor standing speaker, tape-deck & direct-drive, linear tracking Technics TT (which is still there!).
He also spoke very passionately (& still does) about Western classical music & how is used to revive his mental fatigue when he was going to college & had to study in the wee hours of the night.
I now have most of his vinyl classical collection but a lot of it had to be discarded owing to mold growing on it! Unfortunately , I'm much less into classical music but his collection is of sentimental value to me.

Yep my Dad's love for this hobby when he was younger unknowingly set the stage for my now being into audio. I can distinctly remember my mom and dad throwing wine (and who know's what else!) parties in the living room of our bungalow on the south side of Chicago, and him spiining album after album (Grassroots, Santana, Fifth Dimension, Ramsey Lewis, Jefferson Starship...) on his Garrard turntable. I can still remember looking at his Stromberg-Carlsson amplifier and those beautiful glowing tubes, the inviting green glow display of his Kenwood tuner and that smooth, warm sound of those maple finished Fisher-Scott speakers with their window-paned grills.......

For the record, I am doing my best to pass some of this passion along to my kids. Both boys, ages 9 and 6, know the music and lyrics to about 80% of the Beatles entire song catalog....

Good reply slipknot. Your story brought tears to my eyes. I am now a dad and listen to music just as your father did after you went to bed. My children never say much but I do spend many a night listening after they go to bed. I have never asked them but your comment makes me wonder how my listening is influencing them. They are both very musically inclinded my daughter plays both piano and violin and my son the piano. I also play piano and I know my practice habits have and do influence them. My daughter has a cd player / clock radio in her bedroom and she listens to it quite frequently so I perhaps have answered my own question.

Thanks, Chuck