The following submissions are for the 'Readers Who Want to be Writers' Contest. The authors are not Staff members of Positive Feedback.

An Intro to Chuck Lee

Let me begin my first formal entry in writing for an audio publication with this bit of disclosure, my jaw has never hit the floor after hearing any audio system, cost no object.

Add to the that, the fact that I've never heard a "neutral" component, and I guess I just pulled the plug on any chance of my name seeing the light of day on any audio list of contributing authors.

But, what the heck, stranger things have happened. I once met the Beach Boys when I was a young lad playing in a rock band. After I introduced myself as a fellow road warrior (my roads were much dustier and less golden than the ones they travelled) I asked them if they had read the latest Rolling Stone review of their LP Sailor, I believe. When they said they hadn't, I seized the opportunity to have my mag autographed and rushed up to my room, grabbed the mag and presented it to them in the hotel restaurant. One of them said" Mike's gotta see this" grabbed my mag and that was the last I saw of it or the Beach Boys.

Now, that I've gotten that off my chest, and perhaps out into the public domain, I'll proceed with some of my audio adventures back in the "real" world.

I've been at this hobby almost as long as I've been a musician, and to be honest, it's been mostly as a means to fill the gap that exists when I am not playing music.

So, my sights have always been to try and recapture the excitement and feeling of a live musical performance, not from Row 8 or 16, but from up close and personal to Mr. Zildgian cymbal and the snare and kick of the other musician next to me.

Cymbals play a major role in how I evaluate a music reproducing system. Because that's what's been closest to my ears over the years. I know how complex they can sound, and how poorly they can be reproduced.

Rain falling on a tin roof is not that bad a description of what I've heard trying to be passed off for as recorded cymbals. For some folks that's as good as it gets. And for some folks, that's the way they approach this hobby. They are the passive souls, not passionate enough about the music (as much as they scream "it's all about the music") to really do anything to try and improve their musical enjoyment.

I wish I could say that there's nothing wrong with that.

I really wish I could.

But I can't.

I know better.

I've found ways and things that do work, if you are willing to do a bit of work and spend a bit of money.

Mostly, I've found that power issues are at the heart of most of what ails your system.

"A fuse can make no difference" or so they say.

Well I've argued that one many a time, sometimes I've been thanked, mostly ridiculed, but in my experience it's the culmination of a lot of little upgrades like fuses, power cords, dedicated lines, that has taken my system closer in sound to that of my friends system, which is an over the top dream set up, only a win of the lottery away.

It's a system that gets out of the way of the music and brings me closer to my dream of being transported back on stage with the band.

So there you have it, a bit of a preamble that I hope has piqued your curiosity, I've much more to say, about life on both sides of the music scene, the live and reproduced sides.

The tip of the iceberg, the first draw from the well, the ravings of a....

Chuck Lee