I remember when I first became aware of LPs and CDs made for audiophiles. I had begun to frequent my local audio stores, and I was pining for gear that I coveted but never in a million years thought I’d have the wherewithal to acquire. I could hear these “special” albums playing from the behind the closed doors of the bigger showrooms, wondering if one day I’d be the one sitting in that buttery leather sofa, demoing some giant mono-block amplifiers driving a pair of exotic looking speakers that filled the room with the impossibly quiet, starkly arranged female vocal ensemble of the moment.

It occurs to me now that we don’t so much become audiophiles as we become indoctrinated into the audiophile world. In my case, the desire to sit in the big boy room led me to seek the advice of audio guys that spoke in an esoteric language all their own. They seemed right at home handling $20,000 amplifiers and python like speaker wire of incomprehensible girth. I found the sheer physicality of it all, leaving aside the sound, endlessly intoxicating.

My “audio guru,” as I used to to call him, taught me that I needed to get a bigger, more powerful amplifier to power the bigger, less efficient speakers I would no doubt be upgrading to down the road. He convinced me I should keep moving up the upgrade ladder with speaker cables and interconnects as well, trade up my budget cartridges for “better” and more expensive ones, and fill up the remaining space on my rack with an “essential” power conditioning device.

I also learned I should do all the above with “audiophile” vinyl pressings of records I might not even like but that I’d pull out after every “upgrade” to demo the latest iteration of my system. Demos that, year after year, seemed exciting at first, but were ultimately underwhelming and unrewarding. Why was the sound so artificial? Where was the magic in the music? It would take me decades to find it.

Fortunately, I did find it. I can distinctly remember a Sunday afternoon two years ago spent playing records with a friend and reformed audiophile (baby + expensive tube amp = audio fire sale). We were finishing the session with a yellow label reissue of Sonny Rollins’s Way Out West, and my system was sounding as good as it ever had, and as good as it could with the gear I had at the time. As side 2 reached it’s conclusion, my friend and I both looked at each other with the same dumbfounded expression. It was a look that said “Holy cow! That is the sound of live music!”

After hearing that sound I simply could not go back again. I wanted it with every record I played every single time I played it. But it remained elusive. Not every record could deliver it. Not even one out of every 100 records could. And even with the records that could, my system was not always up to the task of doing it. Either the electricity was wonky that day, or my VTA was a bit off. I struggled to know what was changing from one day to the next.

Since that day though, that sound, the sound of live music playing in my listening room, has been the driving force behind my approach to analog audio and every change I’ve made to my system, not to mention every record I’ve bought to play on it. If a new cable or power cord was going to be an improvement, it had to improve my system’s ability to reproduce my best sounding records in a more revealing, transparent and “live” sounding way. It didn’t matter what else that piece of gear might do, if it didn’t make recorded music sound more convincing, more immediate and more real, then it wasn’t the right gear to move my system forward.

And since that day, I have to tell you, no “audiophile” record has ever given me that sound. Not a MoFi, not a Tone Poet, not one from Analog Productions. Not one single audiophile reissue has ever been able to deliver a signal to my system that results in the musicians on the recording coming to life in front of me. There may very well be an audiophile record out there that can do that, but if there is, I have yet to hear it.

In fairness, before that day, I had not heard that sound on any record, audiophile, vintage or otherwise. This was because, up to that time, that sound was not a sound my system was capable of reproducing. In fact it was a sound I wasn’t even aware was possible. But it was a sound that, once I heard it, there was simply no going back from it.

I’ll admit here that I’m decidedly caught in an audiophile trap. If the way the music is reproduced doesn’t thrill me, then it doesn’t matter how wonderful that music or the performance of it is, that record will never end up back on my turntable. Sorry to say it but it’s the unfortunate truth. I don’t just want the music I love to sound “good”, I want it to take my breath away. I want it to thrill me!

I call this website “A Guide For the Dedicated Analog Audiophile,” because I want to offer those of you who are new to this crazy hobby, or have been at it a while without achieving the success you desire, the benefit of my experience. Am I the most knowledgeable audiophile out there? Certainly not. Not by a long shot! But I have been fortunate to benefit from the knowledge and experience of a handful of audiophiles who are very knowledgeable and have taken a different path forward. And that path leads straight to the place of hearing your favorite music played back as though it were being performed live in front of you.

Precious few records can take you to that place, and even fewer audio systems can. Most of the gear built for the audiophile market these days has been developed during a time when most audiophiles, and I believe most builders of audiophile equipment, no longer know, truly, what live music actually sounds like. Or if they do, they can’t seem to build an amp or a pair of speakers, let alone an entire system, that sounds that way.

That last statement will likely be a controversial one, and perhaps even one you strongly disagree with, but it is based on my experience. And judging from the number of audiophiles who keep insisting that the Blue Note Tone Poet reissues are excellent, it seems not many audiophiles have heard records come to life the way that I have. And until you’ve heard that sound, you still don’t know what’s even possible in analog audio.

So for those of you willing to take a leap of faith with me and entertain the possibility that I might know what the heck I’m talking about, I invite you to read my recent articles and explore the approach to analog audio I’ve taken and achieved success with. It’s an unconventional approach for sure, but one that works.

In the meantime, take the advice of those singing the praises of the latest audiophile reissue with a substantial grain of salt. In all likelihood, they are recommending the record without having heard an excellent vintage version. Either that, or, they have not heard any record on a system that has the ability to bring a record to life the way a truly great system can.

A comment I’ve gotten now more than once is this – “I’d rather have 20 Tone Poet reissues than pay the equivalent price for just one Hot Stamper from Better Records.” To which I say, really? Because where I’m listening from, what’s the point of that big stack of brand spanking new records that sound decent when you can have just one that gets your heart racing every time you hear it.

And make no mistake, this website is for those who want to get their heart racing with their records, and with their audio systems. This website is for those seeking a peak experience with every record they play. This website, you might say, is not just for the “budding analog audiophile,” but for the “budding, serious, obsessive, demanding audiophile that’s not content with a pile of mediocre records that they never want to play, taking up valuable shelf space”.

If that describes you, then welcome to The Broken Record! You are in the right place.