This old photo is looking at my then system from the prime listening position on the center of the couch that you can see in photo: Audio Room (Side View) My audio system, which is my pride & joy, represents the culmination of many years that's passed since 1967 when I was 13 and just learning of how & what to listen for. It all began back when I first heard the Beatles on the radio. I begged my parents to buy me a stereo, but they wouldn't do it. So I assembled my first audio system by gutting the insides of various audio consoles that were left out by the side of the road once a month on special collection days, when literally anything could be left on the side of the road next to your regular garbage pails in Connecticut.

I think it's kind of funny actually to remember how it all started off. I attached a wagon to my bike, grabbed some of my dad's tools and off I went! I traveled up down all the streets and eventually within a couple of months I had a stereo that consisted of two separate tube mono-blocks amps of different make and probably different power too, a tubed preamp/tuner & TT that were all gutted from the various consoles on the side of the road. But the best part was the night two friends and myself biked to the local high school and stole (remember we were stupid kids) a pair of large metal EV, coaxial, horns that were used for their football games! Dang you should have heard that system kick butt!

Later on as a grew up and I obtained jobs I started saving my hard earned cash as I listened to audio salesmen and started purchasing new solid state pieces by Harman Kardon, GAS, as well as the Infinity FET and the Mark Levinson JC-1 preamps! However in time my ears missed the truth those tubes told. So I eventually purchased an Aronov 960I integrated ultra-linear amp and the magic was back! But one day I heard an SET amp at a Central Florida Audio Society get-together and I was smitten! That was when I went out and purchased (completely on a credit card) the Mastersound Reference 845 amp/integrated amp just about 15 years ago now and it's been audio nirvana ever since!

My system now consists of the same 135 LB, 40W/ch, Mastersound Reference 845, integrated SET amp, a YBA Genesis CD-4 CDP/Transport, a tubed Musical Paradise MP-D2 DAC that in addition to rolling tubes, allows you to roll the output coupling caps and a beautiful pair of Beauhorn Virtuoso speakers.