Of all the ways to experience the world, sound might be my favourite. I’ve always been captivated by music and audio, ever since I was little. I remember running around the square rug of our family living room in rhythm to my father’s George Benson record ‘Weekend in LA’ – which I still have. I remember hearing Queen for the first time on cassette with my yellow Sony Walkman and awe struck at how rock and narrative could collide. I remember wearing out my cassette of John Williams and the Boston Pops ‘A Space Odyssey’, but being able to hear them live in Boston many years later, and finding a copy of the LP in a bargain bin even years later than that. And I remember the pride and hours I spent with my first serious hi-fi setup 23 years ago…
Yep, audio makes things memorable. It makes you smile, cry, stop, move, wonder, dance like a madman, and find meaning and messages, for you and others (those mixtapes really meant something, didn’t they?). Recently, I’ve been cataloguing my CD collection on Discogs, probably the world’s most comprehensive library of nearly every form and release of music. I’ve added all 570 of them… and that figure steadily creeps onwards… but I still need to add my records, though I have far fewer of those. It was actually this process of cataloguing that made me reflect on how many stories those albums told, either as a physical form (where I was when I first heard them) or the tunes that deeply resonate. It also confirmed my decision to tell all those stories about music on my site, rather than on Instagram – after all, these stories and collections are mine, they should not belong to an algorithm. So I’ll be adding versions of all those Insta-posts here, with deeper ‘Director’s cut’ insights on why these albums connect with me.
Which brings me to the hi-fi part. I’d always been impressed by how good audio systems could bring music to life. When I was young, it was my father’s Sony systems, including a beautiful Sony turntable that I wish I’d made Dad keep. So as I grew up, I had aspirations to own a really nice stereo too. It wasn’t until I got my first serious role as a teacher that I could finally afford something special. But in all my travels, music was always by my side or at my desk – I simply couldn’t go without tunes to walk to or work to. I bought my first proper hi-fi system in 2003, the same year we bought a house – I guess you may as well double down on all that spending! It was a lovely setup, with the first series of Monitor Audio Silver floor-standing speakers, a Silver Centre, Monitor Audio Bronze rears, and an amazing subwoofer, the Legend Kurlo 3 (which is still going strong today!). They were powered by a gold Denon 3803 AVR matched with a gold Marantz CD-player. I was in audio heaven… and yes home theatre movies sounded awesome too!
It actually wasn’t until 2024 that I finally upgraded my system, which is a pretty good run I think! The adventure of listening and choosing a new suite of speakers and hi-fi gear was almost as good as finally making a decision. In the end, I went with a Sonus Faber Sonetto arrangement, including the lovely Sonetto III floor-standers in the picture. They brought new life and feeling to all my CDs, as well as to streaming (which is a whole other post!), and to movies. I’ve been pretty chuffed when friends and visitors comment and react positively to the impact they make – I had a friend once who cried at how a tune he remembered from his childhood played so powerfully on my system.
I am on a constant audio adventure. I love finding new music, old music, ways to listen to music, and marvel at the artistic creation of how it makes me feel. Music can tell so many stories, and we carry it with us everywhere, even if it lives in our memories. I appreciate that my hi-fi gear and nerdy experiences with audio are not something that everyone can access or understand – there are some serious audiophiles out there who spend serious money on crazy setups; I don’t think that’s me… But I do know that the music you listen to on those crappy ear buds or a little pair of hollow speakers is doing the real depth and power of music an injustice. I love taking others on their audio adventures too, and I’ve inspired a few people to delve deeper into what they’re missing. Mostly, I want to share my lifelong passion for music and the ways we experience it. It’s one of the few parts of this world that remains almost timeless.
