A joke?

"Is this blog a joke?"

I can imagine that this will be the first reaction of many who come here. Mobile home and audiophile aren't words you'd usually see in one sentence. Mobile homes tend to be for those who are looking for a cheap place to live. And audiophile equipment is not known for its, er, restraint in pricing.

Past mere dollars and cents, there is often a certain view - putting it nicely - of the sort of person who lives in a mobile home. "Trailer trash" doesn't seem likely to have any interest in anything better than a 1985 rack system, which is complete with an equalizer permanently set to juice the bass up, and a turntable with a stack of pennies duct-taped to the headshell.

All in all, the two worlds seem far apart.

So let's get this out of the way: this blog is not a joke.

I've been interested in quality audio since the late 1980s. Nearly 30 years now. (Wow! That long? Time does fly when you're having fun, I guess!) I've never had the chance to own a very exotic system; however, I have had very good real world systems over the years, with components from companies like Linn, Rega, NAD, Rotel, and Grado. I have had a chance to hear much better systems, too. In the last year alone, I've heard systems with higher end components from Rega, PrimaLuna, Harbeth, and more.

I am currently living in an old mobile home. It is not my dream come true. However, it had some practical selling points. My current cash flow sadly demands low rent, which I can get with the mobile. This mobile also was easily available when I needed to move. That move was one of those that needed to be done ASAP. So ASAP it couldn't be "S" enough! And there are some pluses, like isolation from neighbors. (The mobile is on a piece of regular land, not a mobile home park with a pretentious name, like Gracious Mobile Home Manor Estates.) With isolation, there is no one to complain if the audio system volume is too high!

The place has drawbacks, of course. It is not my dream come true on any number of levels. As far as audio is concerned, the living room is one of the worst rooms I've had. My current cash flow also doesn't support a lot of things I'd like to do with the system. But I am doing the best I can so I can continue listening to and enjoying music. And isn't listening what really matters?