Finding your groove: getting into vinyl with Audio-Technica
I’d like to think that I could’ve been friends with the late Hideo Matsushita, founder of Japanese Hi-Fi powerhouse Audio-Technica. If I could, I’d travel back in time to 1960’s Tokyo, where a young Matsushita curated “vinyl listening sessions” at the Bridgestone Museum of Arts, exposing visitors to the sounds and possibilities of high end audio and the warmth of vinyl records. I imagine sitting with him in a mod coffee shop, listening to the stories of what he witnessed in those sessions, the conversations he had with visitors, and what ultimately motivated him to head back to his small apartment above a ramen restaurant and start an audio company of his own. In the histories I’ve read regarding AT’s humble beginnings, Matsushita’s motives seem clear. Produce high end audio at affordable prices, bringing audio excellence into spaces and to customers that simply didn’t have access to it before. His first two products, the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges did exactly that, and...
Dec 6, 2023
- I listen to music on Sennheiser 595s
- I have Bose noise cancelers and love them but don't regard them as being exceptionally hi-fidelity
- my favorite earbuds were a pair of old style UE Triplefi 10vi , from before Logitech bought them. I've had Sennheiser IEs and Sonys and Apples and Shures and Boses, but never had a full on IEM.
- I listen to a wide range of music, some of which is quite lo fi and analog, but some of which is acoustically interesting. Again, not cutting edge as I haven't the ear, but the last five bands I had on repeat were Mogwai, Iron Maiden, Lord Huron, Lacuna Coil and The Birthday Massacre, so i obviously dig bands that can bring powerful sounds to bear.
- I currently serve most music off iTunes or Amazon Music.
Taking these as a given, if I was going to drop a modest sum like $500 or maybe even $1000 here, what -- in YOUR opinion -- gives me the biggest upgrade over where I am now?