[Door opens and creaks as it is knocked upon]
Me: Uhhh... Hello?
I hear this is where the tapeheads live?
I was reading the application and noticed that there was no "Honorary" membership checkbox? Is this a typo? I don't have some of the prereq's.. but, I am a true believer!
It happened like this...
I have the honor of working in this fine establishment (Decware) which affords me certain benefits. One of these benefits is that Steve is now one of my high fidelity experience train conductors. Over the last several months during our listening sessions we have been inching further and further up the source quality spectrum. The first notable step was in the direct comparison of four release versions of "Aja" by Steely Dan.
I preface this with my personal history of this album. I am not in love with this album. However, it is a primary point of reference for audiophiles, so I decided to familiarize myself with it for reference purposes. I did not know or expect this situation to occur as it did. I figured I would mosey into a hifi shop and at least be able to speak fluently enough on the album to convince someone I almost knew what I was talking about. Suddenly, I am in a room with true high fidelity gear and a spattering of these albums. I believe it was the 1977 AA release/ 1977 Mofi/ 20XX remaster/ UHQR. It was eye opening, but that is for another thread.
A few weeks later, Steve busted out some sample acetates. Nothing to note on the subject matter, just an initial observation of the medium. There are some interesting observations to be made here... again, for another time. Of note in the conversations we had on the subject came the topic of preserving the media from an acetate, as there are very limited plays available for this format at its initial fidelity. A digital dsd copy could made, but a tape backup would be a prime setup.
Tape.
My initial intro to rock and roll came from my older brother digging out my dads old R2R and tapes when I was young enough to not have permission to touch it... Dad was a DJ on an aircraft carrier in the Navy and copied the records he had access to onto reels which sat in the bottom of a closet for a very long time.
One evening as things were slowing down and there were only myself, Steve, and our friend Tim bopping around the shop, Steve got out a tape he said sounded really good. I have debated listing the tape subject, but, ultimately it does not matter. It could have just been some guy down the street recording a jam session with his buddies... but, the presentation of the recording blew my mind.
Occasionally you will hear people talk about sound so good that it it sounds as if the band or instrument are in the room with you. I love this. It makes me happy just to experience it... There is another level to this phenomenon. When the source/system is soooo good that the room you are in is almost overwritten with magical sound qualities that transform your room into the room that the recording was made in.
Next.
Level.
There is an effect of the various sensory systems of the body to be noted here (and frankly in almost all conversations about the Decware experiece, but I digress)..
synesthesia—when people hear colors, taste sounds, or feel numbers—tells us that in some cases the (sensory) crosstalk can be intense. Even though we're not always aware of it, the crosstalk between our senses is constant, and it significantly informs our experiences.
[from:
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/senses/worktogether#:~:text=Examples%20o...f%20synesthesia%E2%80%94when%20people,it%20significantly%20informs%20our%20exper
iences.]
It happens. I believe this is one of the key features of high fidelity.
I almost (still weeks later) cannot put this experience into words. It fully, emotionally seemed that this gentleman, was in fact playing this song for ME in 2024. I was clearly sitting right next to this tape recorder capturing this first hand live experience. This tape was possibly recorded before I was born. The reproduction of the moments of time from another place recreated at will in the Decware listening room ( maybe it should be nicknamed TARDIS) was a pivotal hifi experience for me.
I kid you not... the emotional connection to the recording was visceral. Intense. There were several notable moments in this experience, but the most notable happened almost synchronously with the realization of dimensional shift happening in the room as I could so easily visualize myself being projected there feet from the artist. It could only be likened to something like a magical mushroom-esque peak experience ( from what I have heard from the internet).
I do not have a high end tape machine. I do have an old Akai. It came with a tape I have not figured out how to play yet (could be a 4 track tape on a 2 track machine?) and a donated copy of a Cher album. I am not a tapehead, currently, but figured this might qualify me for the newsletter or an 'Honorary' membership. I guess I really don't need an official Tapehead card... it would be cool though. lOl
This is it. My aforementioned tape experience thread. I am so thrilled to be able to finally relate to some of these concepts on a personal level. I am thankful everyday for my Decware high fidelity experience.
Thanks for sharing your time to read my crazy ramblings.
Phill