A few words about me and what to expect from this blog.

My name is Christos, I live in Athens, Greece. I was born in 1971 and I am into Hi-Fi since a kid. I was the only kid in elementary school that had a stereo system (and not a portable radio cassette) in his room – ok it was a crappy one, but we are in Greece and it is the beginning of the 80’s.

I remember that as a kid I started listening to music because I was attracted by the stereo equipment, meaning that I had to do something with them, so I had to listen to music!

I don't know if this caption is real, but it is a wise one!

Then I started appreciating my dad’s pre and 2x monoblocks.

Then I discovered the yearly Hi-Fi exhibition which at that time was at the Athens Hilton hotel. What a wonderful time it was - without the web, the exhibition was a good way to see new models. I remember seeing the mighty Sansui B2301 with a plexi top and listening to Pioneer C90/M90 driving Tannoy Mercury sitting on top of two passive subwoofers.

Then I discovered the magazines. Greek, UK and USA magazines.

But more about the journey and the equipment at a future post.

Let me introduce to the equation my good friend Panos. He lives at a walking distance of 6 minutes from me. He was born in 1968 and he knows virtually anything about computers. Anything I know about my PC is due to him. Panos some years ago decided to get deeper into Hi-Fi and Home Cinema. Well, he made quite a start!

Panos is not emotionally attached to the machines. I remember a period that he was buying and selling equipment very fast. In the meanwhile, we were making a lot of listening and testing, testing that at that time I didn’t consider that would be interesting for any others to know. I also realized that having a close friend who lives close to me with another Hi-Fi system is a great opportunity to understand what is going on. For example, when a song is performing poor at my living room, I have the opportunity to listen to it at another system and drive some conclusions.

So here comes the moment that I regret that I did not write about our journey to the land of Hi-Fi. Here are some of our adventures that I want to share with you:

-          Our systems.
-     Reference recordings (audio & video).
-          Computer audio, worth or not?
-          Is there a difference in computer audio between network reproduction and USB?
-          How to set up Foobar2000.
-          Vinyl, is it so good or it is just a fetish?
-     How to set up a turntable - how to determine optimum tracking weight and anti-skating value.
-          Audio cables, do they make a difference?
-          S/PDIF coaxial digital cables Vs. optical Toslink.
-          Tweaking, does it have any meaning?

…and many other things. I am writing in English and not in Greek so I can appeal to more people.

Happy listening as always!

Chris