Vinyl Rules!
I spend my time my "Triple Hit" Stage IV Agent Orange cancer and keeping it in remission. When it was discovered in June 2015 at the Duke University Medical Centre it had metastasized in virtually EVERY organ in my body. Duke's Cancer Lab actually found Agent Orange in my body's DNA.
Duke's Oncologists' noted there was 99% probability I'd be dead by Christmas 2015. However, my contrarian, "I will prove you wrong inner-asshole self" informed them I would prove THEM wrong. I had already survived a number of high-risk Special Ops assignments (I stupidly volunteered for) in Southeast Asia. I never got shot, and I never lost a man on my team, so why worry about a Stage IV cancer with a 1% survival rate!
When I'm feeling better (good days
and bad days 
) I enjoy skinny dipping, naturism, underwater and dry land photography, writing about audio & music. My work has been featured in The Absolute Sound and HiFi+ magazines and in the book "McIntosh.....for the love of music..." (I wrote the story on the development of the famous MR78 Tuner). I also co-moderate the FM Tuner Group at www.fmtunerinfo.com, and I enjoy gourmet cooking, reading, shooting (I am an expert marksman), quilting, smocking, and needlepoint (well, last 3 for SWMBO 
). We live at an elevation of about 3,500' in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the TN/NC/VA borders intersect.
I'm a former CIA/DIA/NSA/MACV-SOG spook (See www.tinyurl.com/SpecialOpsElite). Now mostly retired, but hey, you can never really "retire" from a 3-letter government agency.
Favourite small arm is the French .357 six-shot Manurhin MR73 Sport 5.25 revolver, used by the GIGN, the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Please let me know in advance if you plan to visit - I never outgrew the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. the urge to play with firearms and blow shit up!
🎖 
🕶
Duke's Oncologists' noted there was 99% probability I'd be dead by Christmas 2015. However, my contrarian, "I will prove you wrong inner-asshole self" informed them I would prove THEM wrong. I had already survived a number of high-risk Special Ops assignments (I stupidly volunteered for) in Southeast Asia. I never got shot, and I never lost a man on my team, so why worry about a Stage IV cancer with a 1% survival rate!
When I'm feeling better (good days
and bad days ) I enjoy skinny dipping, naturism, underwater and dry land photography, writing about audio & music. My work has been featured in The Absolute Sound and HiFi+ magazines and in the book "McIntosh.....for the love of music..." (I wrote the story on the development of the famous MR78 Tuner). I also co-moderate the FM Tuner Group at www.fmtunerinfo.com, and I enjoy gourmet cooking, reading, shooting (I am an expert marksman), quilting, smocking, and needlepoint (well, last 3 for SWMBO ). We live at an elevation of about 3,500' in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the TN/NC/VA borders intersect.I'm a former CIA/DIA/NSA/MACV-SOG spook (See www.tinyurl.com/SpecialOpsElite). Now mostly retired, but hey, you can never really "retire" from a 3-letter government agency.
Favourite small arm is the French .357 six-shot Manurhin MR73 Sport 5.25 revolver, used by the GIGN, the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Please let me know in advance if you plan to visit - I never outgrew the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. the urge to play with firearms and blow shit up!
🎖 🕶- Location
- West Jefferson, NC
Signature
Audio and Home Theatre 7.2.4 System
Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303, McIntosh MC 2100, McIntosh NC2125, Two McIntosh MC2205’s, 2 Mitsubishi M-A01’s, Monolith M8125x 8-Channel Amplifier, & 2 PS Audio 2C’s.
Preamps: Arcam AV41, Creek OBH-8SE phono preamp; Denon PRA-1000 preamp, Hitachi HCA-8500MkII preamp, Lexicon DC-1 preamp, Marantz 3300 and Marantz 3800 preamps, McIntosh C-28, & McIntosh MX117 tuner-preamp, 2 Mitsubishi M-P04 preamps, Sony TA-P9000ES 5.1 preamp for A/V, SACD and DVD-A listening, and a Surround Master V3 preamp (From Australia, imported in USA by Involve Audio). I like the Marantz 3300, Marantz 3800, McIntosh C30, McIntosh MX117, and Creek phono sections best.
Tuners: Denon TU-767, Denon TU-800, Hitachi FT5500MKII, Kenwood KT-5020, Kenwood KT-8007, Marantz ST-17U, Marantz ST54, Marantz 125, Marantz st-500, McIntosh MR74, McIntosh MX117, Mitsubishi M-F01, Mitsubishi DA-F30, Nikko Gamma V, Pioneer F-91, Rotel RT-2100, Sony ST-J75, Sony ST-80, Sony ST-730ES, Sony ST-333ESX, & Yamaha T-85. The McIntosh tuners were modded/updated by Terry DeWick (RIP) & the other tuners were modded/updated by Mike Williams (AKA Punker X).
DAC: Ferrum Wandla GoldenSound w/Hypsos II
CD/SACD: Rega Isis, Naim CD5sx w/Flatcap, Primare CD31, Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD, Cambridge Audio CXU, Denon DVD-2910, Onkyo DX-C390 6 disc CD changer, Oppo BDP-95, Philips CD-80, Pioneer DV-610AV-K Multi Region Code Zone Free DVD/SACD/CD, Sony DVP-NS500V, Technics SL-PS840 with a "Super MASH 64x DAC. Finally, a Technics SL-PD1010 5 disc CD changer. The multi-disc CD changers are used during Christmas.
Turntables/Arms/Phono Cartdriges: Fons CQ30 w/SME 3009 Series II w/Shure V-15 III w/conical stylus for playing 78's and mono LP's; J.A. Michell GyroDec MkIII (AC motor) with QC external power supply, Rega RB-300 and Shure V-15vMR (NOT the xMR), Sony PS-X7 with Shure V-15 RS, Sansui QR-X7 w/Stanton 881S, Sony PS-X555ES w/Goldring Electra. Before he died, TAS' HP finally admitted the V-15vMR comes closer to replicating the sound of a master tape than anything he had ever heard. And I have several extra V-15vMR bodies and several extra NIB styli for them when they are needed.
Streaming Source: Innuos Pulsar, Bluesound Node II (two)
Ethernet: Asus GT-AXE16000 Long Distance Router, English Electric Ethernet Network 8Switch, Stack Audio SmoothLAN Network Filter, Multiple iFi LAN iSilencers, Multiple iFi HDMI iSilencers,
Speakers: QLN Prestige Five on ISO Acoustics GAIA Footers, QLN Prestige One on Solid Steel SS Series Stand in LCR Configuration, 4 Polk LS/Fx’s for Dolby Surround, 4 Braun L300’s for Dolby Atmos.
Subwoofer: 2 REL 212S/X
Power: Boltshield FSPD 140-kA House Surge Protector, 2x Dedicated 30 Amp Breaker, PS Audio DirectStream Power Plant 20 Mains Regenerator.
Audio Cables: All Speaker Cables and Interconnects were manufactured by Worlds Best Cable in Japan using Mogami wire
Video: 77" Samsung S95D OLED.
Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303, McIntosh MC 2100, McIntosh NC2125, Two McIntosh MC2205’s, 2 Mitsubishi M-A01’s, Monolith M8125x 8-Channel Amplifier, & 2 PS Audio 2C’s.
Preamps: Arcam AV41, Creek OBH-8SE phono preamp; Denon PRA-1000 preamp, Hitachi HCA-8500MkII preamp, Lexicon DC-1 preamp, Marantz 3300 and Marantz 3800 preamps, McIntosh C-28, & McIntosh MX117 tuner-preamp, 2 Mitsubishi M-P04 preamps, Sony TA-P9000ES 5.1 preamp for A/V, SACD and DVD-A listening, and a Surround Master V3 preamp (From Australia, imported in USA by Involve Audio). I like the Marantz 3300, Marantz 3800, McIntosh C30, McIntosh MX117, and Creek phono sections best.
Tuners: Denon TU-767, Denon TU-800, Hitachi FT5500MKII, Kenwood KT-5020, Kenwood KT-8007, Marantz ST-17U, Marantz ST54, Marantz 125, Marantz st-500, McIntosh MR74, McIntosh MX117, Mitsubishi M-F01, Mitsubishi DA-F30, Nikko Gamma V, Pioneer F-91, Rotel RT-2100, Sony ST-J75, Sony ST-80, Sony ST-730ES, Sony ST-333ESX, & Yamaha T-85. The McIntosh tuners were modded/updated by Terry DeWick (RIP) & the other tuners were modded/updated by Mike Williams (AKA Punker X).
DAC: Ferrum Wandla GoldenSound w/Hypsos II
CD/SACD: Rega Isis, Naim CD5sx w/Flatcap, Primare CD31, Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD, Cambridge Audio CXU, Denon DVD-2910, Onkyo DX-C390 6 disc CD changer, Oppo BDP-95, Philips CD-80, Pioneer DV-610AV-K Multi Region Code Zone Free DVD/SACD/CD, Sony DVP-NS500V, Technics SL-PS840 with a "Super MASH 64x DAC. Finally, a Technics SL-PD1010 5 disc CD changer. The multi-disc CD changers are used during Christmas.
Turntables/Arms/Phono Cartdriges: Fons CQ30 w/SME 3009 Series II w/Shure V-15 III w/conical stylus for playing 78's and mono LP's; J.A. Michell GyroDec MkIII (AC motor) with QC external power supply, Rega RB-300 and Shure V-15vMR (NOT the xMR), Sony PS-X7 with Shure V-15 RS, Sansui QR-X7 w/Stanton 881S, Sony PS-X555ES w/Goldring Electra. Before he died, TAS' HP finally admitted the V-15vMR comes closer to replicating the sound of a master tape than anything he had ever heard. And I have several extra V-15vMR bodies and several extra NIB styli for them when they are needed.
Streaming Source: Innuos Pulsar, Bluesound Node II (two)
Ethernet: Asus GT-AXE16000 Long Distance Router, English Electric Ethernet Network 8Switch, Stack Audio SmoothLAN Network Filter, Multiple iFi LAN iSilencers, Multiple iFi HDMI iSilencers,
Speakers: QLN Prestige Five on ISO Acoustics GAIA Footers, QLN Prestige One on Solid Steel SS Series Stand in LCR Configuration, 4 Polk LS/Fx’s for Dolby Surround, 4 Braun L300’s for Dolby Atmos.
Subwoofer: 2 REL 212S/X
Power: Boltshield FSPD 140-kA House Surge Protector, 2x Dedicated 30 Amp Breaker, PS Audio DirectStream Power Plant 20 Mains Regenerator.
Audio Cables: All Speaker Cables and Interconnects were manufactured by Worlds Best Cable in Japan using Mogami wire
Video: 77" Samsung S95D OLED.