Who Were Your Mentors

@pwpacp

I’m probably not an "audiophile" yet by anyone’s standards here and this journey is surely incomplete. I continue to be amazed at what I can now hear from my own audio collection and sometimes find myself wiping a tear from the emotion of it.

Perhaps that is what really drives and excites me most.

Love this!  That emotion is typically the primary reason we begin the journey in the first place, and is a great indicator that you’re on the right path. What it takes to achieve that feeling is different for each of us, and some never quite find it.

I was blessed with having brothers 14 and 10 years older. One was a Kenwood guy the other Pioneer.

We took a road trip when I was 10 from Iowa to Pittsburg Kansas to visit my older brother in college. I stayed at his house sleeping on the floor in his living room. He left the stereo on to an FM station. I was transfixed by the glow.

"One Of. These Nights" by The Eagles and that was the moment I fell in love with music. Honestly, just got goosebumps thinking about it.

He bought me a Technics turntable for my 13th birthday.

In high school, hanging out with my oldest brother listening to music.

Both gone now, but not the memories.

[Edit: Punctuation] 

A cousin, John Nichols, in the mid-70s.  His gear was strictly Pioneer. Spec series amps, 909 r2r, tuner, equalizer, even a 1000 oscilloscope. Bose 901s. But the piece that really got me was his B&O 4004 turntable. Even with its drawbacks it sounded amazing and seemed a freak of nature. I was a pre-teen with a Craig composite unit, so it was thrilling to take a new album to John’s and listen to it “properly”. I now have my own listening room with high end stuff. I always thank John for his influence.

Blake Hovecar. Met in 2017 when I started back into this pastime.
Blake's tips included:

-Patience pays off.
-Trust your ears.
-There is no "Best' of anything. It is all a compromise.
-Rooms/setup count as much as gear.
-Nothing trumps a great recording
-ignore these forums.

Okay I have failed on at least one of his tips!

Other.....Herb Reichert....reviewer/writer/painter/ a gentleman. Aside from the late Art Dudley, there is no better. 
I have zero friends or family into audio, I am a solo weirdo....