Audio and video endeavors

The passion to homebrew and tinker,philosophy and resources

My grandfather,Frank H. McIntosh,was founder and longtime president of McIntosh Laboratory,Inc.,one of the oldest producers of high-end audio equipment. McIntosh was one of the pioneers in the industry,and still holds a very high reputation for well-engineered,marvelous-sounding gear that lasts forever. My childhood was full of trips to the office with Grandpa. I got to wander around the factory,talking to the employees and watching them put together the gear. The Old Man,as he referred to himself,always liked to listen to music,and listen to it loud. I learned to appreciate good music and its accurate reproduction from him.

Music has always been a big part of me; equipment to reproduce same is thus of vital importance. I guess you could say it's in my blood (as mentioned above). Anyhow,I fight a never ending struggle between the contrary goals of flawless high fidelity in the listening room,and a positive balance in the checking account. Here's a couple of resources that have been invaluable in reconciling what I hear with what I want to hear:

Parts Express

Source for parts,components,tools,books,test tapes,and just about everything else the electronics-oriented hobbyist or professional might want or need

Madisound Speaker Components

Supreme source of all things speaker-related. Thanks for the tweeters!

AudioXpress Magazine

AudioXpress combines the former Audio Electronics,Glass Audio and Speaker Builder magazines into one publication. Essential to the audio do-it-yourselfer.

The Audio Critic

The Audio Critic was a breath of fresh air when I first discovered it - an audio journal that actually performed meausurements and double blind comparisons,and approached audio from a science/engineering perspective,as opposed to the highly subjective,art- and restaurant- critic approach taken by the Stereophiles and Absolute Sounds of the world. The vagaries of the publishing world,and the advancing age and declining health of publisher Peter Aczel,have driven this worthiest of publications into a web-only format. Still very much worth a visit; the back issues are a delight to read.