May 10, 2024

Thanks, Giles

Giles and I had a long-overdue lunch on Friday during which we mostly discussed audio equipment—specifically how I could reasonably get back into the hobby. Based on just a cursory fact of a few YouTube videos, I see that much has changed in the audiophile world since I had my last system. While one can still spend a fortune, those of modest means (i.e., moi) can still put a nice system together for a lot less. Yet, I had kind of dismissed the idea since there’s nowhere in our current house to even consider putting an audio system.

Well, Giles suggested getting a custom-built shed. He had mocked up a 10x14 shed that could do the trick. I did some more exploring today, it seems that a shed that would comfortably hold a desk, maybe a bookshelf, and the all-important audio system would be around $10K. There are companies that make more finished looking “backyard offices” for over-$20K, but they would look much nicer, like this one, or even more higher-end like these. I really like this one, and the company apparently takes care of everything for $50K. Choices abound, but the logistics and price concern me a bit. While Autumn supports this idea, and it would solve a couple of big issues, we obviously can’t spend too much. I’m going to talk with Robert tomorrow to see if he has some insight.

So, thanks, Giles, for getting me thinking about this again.

On a similar subject, I installed Roon Rock on my homelab. It was pretty simple to do, and now I have a Roon trial. I say “trial,” but this might just be the coolest music program I have ever seen—check out this walkthrough. It easily integrated my music library with Tidal (thanks for this one, too, Giles) and found my Sonos setup. I was listening to music in minutes. It’s pricy at $150 a year, but probably worth it.

Giles also turned me on to the Heaven11 Billie hybrid, integrated amp. After watching a few reviews, this one’s at the top of my list. I still want to hear some Børresen X1s and the Axxess Forté Amp. Choices abound, of course. At least I have time to consider. I think a place for my audio is the first step.