Welcome - A Introduction

OK, here we go! Welcome to Rich’s HiFi Blog… Some of you may already know me and are wondering what the heck I’m up to now, but for those of you who are here for the first time, let me introduce myself and what this “blog” is all about. I am Rich Brkich, Owner (chief cook and bottle washer - the big galoot in the pic at right) of Signature Sound. Signature Sound is a fairly small HiFi shop that I have been running out of my home (on a full time basis) for over 10 years. Basically, I sell what is known as really fancy HiFi gear to a small segment of the general public (generally called audiophiles) that are, well, a wee bit enthusiastic about the reproduction of music in the home! I keep my shop small (and home based) so I can better cater to this market and its unusual needs. So, while I do sell what is essentially “consumer electronics”, the stuff I sell caters to market whose performance requirements are generally not met by the kind of gear you find in your local Best Buy or Circuit City store. For example: I do not sell TV’s (of any kind); I do not install or sell car stereo gear; I do not sell or install multi-room music/lighting systems; I do not build or sell home theater systems; I do not sell receivers; I do not repair 10 year old CD players or 20 year old receivers. So you must now be thinking, “What the heck does this guy sell then?!?!?!?”

The answer is, really cool, often hand crafted, beautifully designed, really great sounding stereo gear. What is “stereo gear”? Equipment that does a really good job at playing back good old 2 channels LPs (yes, those old black vinyl spinny things) and CDs too to the best fidelity possible. We are talking about turntables, CD players, amplifiers, preamps, tuners, integrated amps, speakers, cables, power conditioning gear - all designed to get the best off what is recorded on you favorite LP or CD. This stuff ranges from items that are a few hundred dollars each to items that can cost more than a new car (on the extreme end of the spectrum). The typical audiophile can have more than $10,000 (yes, ten grand!) invested in their HiFi system (this does not happen overnight…. you are talking about a cumulative investment over a number years). That does not mean you need a second mortgage to get a good HiFi rig. With some good guidance from your friendly dealer (i.e. me), a very nice sounding system can be put together for a just over a thousand dollars. Then if you like to make things better, you can always gradually trade-up/upgrade over they years. Sometimes the latest digital technology is used and sometimes old fashioned solid state and vacuum tube technology is used…. its NOT about using the latest technology, but using the technology that delivers the BEST in sound reproduction in service of the music. So, sometimes the gear is very old school (like the cool looking Ars Sonum Filarmonia vacuum tube integrated amp shown above) and sometimes gear is the latest technology can offer (like high resolution audio files recorded on a Blu-Ray disc). These systems are generally dedicated to music reproduction and often you won’t find a TV set or DVD player connected to it and if possible, that video stuff is not even in the same room.

OK, now that I have given you a brief introduction about what we do and what we sell here, let me give you a little more background on who I am and what this blog will be used for. I am a former Aerospace Engineer and long time audio/HiFi nut. My dad was a mechanic and audiophile as well and I got this passion from him. I went to my first HiFi show when I was about 12 years old and was reading HiFi Mag’s from about that age. This lead to a interest in electronics, vocational ed in electronics in high school during the late 70’s, then technical college in the early 80s (2 years tech degree in Electronics Technology from SI Ward Tech College at the University of Hartford) , and then onto engineering college for a few more years (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Hartford College of Engineering). I worked for GE Aerospace (now Lockheed Martin) around 8 years doing Systems and Project Engineering on test equipment for military combat systems. It was fun work, but my passion for HiFi lead to the founding of Signature Sound around 15 years ago as a part time business. When the defense biz wet through a downsizing in the mid 90’s. I took that opportunity to get work on my masters degree (in Engineering Management) and then take Signature Sound full time. So, as you probably can guess, we approach things a little differently here at Signature Sound. We work for you here and work hard to recommend what will work best for you and your system.

This blog is an attempt to better communicate whats happening at Signature Sound, make announcements about new products, pass along thoughts and listening impressions about various gear, and make the occasional rant or insight to this quirky hobby we call High-End Audio. In the past I have not been the greatest when it has come to keeping the website (http://www.sigsound.com/) up to date, but the blog software is easy to use and should make it much more easier to keep you folks (my customers I hope) interested in what we have to offer and up to date on what is happening.