ABOUT THE DOCTOR

It is not so important where one starts out in life but where one finishes. Starting to get heavily addicted to the Hi-Fi lifestyle from a toddler what possible hope did I have at being a 'normal' Sony Mini-System type guy...? NONE.

Constantly being encouraged by my enthusiastic Hi-Fi obsessed father to experiment with different equipment configurations and being trained to isolate the differences in each component with regard to major changes in soundstage, sound coloration and frequency separation at every waking moment.

I continually look back on my younger days spent with my father, listening together to his extensive vinyl collection till the small hours of each morning in my early childhood with total awe and amazement. As young children go I was no exception, and was always full of questions about what things did and how they worked. Never once do I recall him turning to me to say that he was too busy or he didn't have the time to explain things to me. When he was busy he found the time, when he was tired he found the energy and when he was distracted he found the patience.

Nothing mattered except the music, time & space stood still when we we totally consumed with the fantastic sound of those great albums.

Each and everyday learning more and more about electronics and being continually challenged with the latest technological developments of the day. Looking back upon everything it is staggering to see how far have we all progressed.

I highly recommend this approach to all parents out there that are looking for a healthy and educational activity that both parents and children can actively participate in together. Involving young children in this fantastic quest of sonic perfection has many more rewards both sonically and emotionally then you may first ever think possible.

Taking over my father's Hi-Fi business (Dr Hi-Fi House Calls) in 1995, I have been immersed and committed to this delightful industry for as long as I can remember; from childhood through to today.

In my later years I was heavily influenced by a close friend who I have known since I could crawl and who is an eccentric Electronic Engineer and as luck would have it is extremely experienced with vacuum tube based audio products. I first remember my father taking me into his Hi-Fi shop when I was a young boy to say hello and have a chat on a Saturday morning (life moved more slowly back then) and apart from being scared out of my pants by his freaky personality I was totally floored with all the equipment he had on hand. It was the world's best toy store for me as a young kid to explore and look through.

Years latter this same fellow felt sorry for me and my system. He gave me a good quality valve amplifier to take home and play with for the weekend with the words, "Do you want to hear some real music now James...?". Needless to say I never gave it back to him and I'm sure he knew that well before he lent it to me. He's one smart guy. This man had long ago mastered the essential art of public relations down to a tee. He knew he could have told me the 'Facts' 1000 times over but things have a much stronger impact when you discover them yourself. No man likes to feel that he is being sold something or told to do something, myself included. We all much prefer to feel that we are buying of our own accord or acting on our own free will.

Knowing what I do today, I remember being so upset with myself at the time from when I first heard an old valve amplifier (my jaw dropped to the floor, I was stunned) from wasting so many years which can never be recovered at any price from listening to such inferior rubbish I wished heaven & earth someone had shown me a higher path earlier. It was a bitter sweet lesson learned at 'The School of Hard Knocks' which I will remember all my life. Often the lessons hardest learned in life are the ones least forgotten.