Audiophile Notes: Mr. Juan from Mexico

Solidsteel interviews Mr. Juan from Mexico to feature his great Hi-Fi system (with a wonderful Solidsteel HF-4 High-End Audio rack in gloss black) and his passion for music.

– Mr. Juan, how did you become passionate about high fidelity?

I have to say that this Is something that came late to my life. Even though my father loves music, I never found a passion during my days at home. My real passion begun when my father-In-law told me about this amazing music system he had back In the 90s and the same he lost during a robbery to his house. He had an amazing collection of LPs, mostly classical music, but real jewels from the 40s, the 50s and 60s, most of them In perfect condition and all of them imported from Europe and the US. He was the one that Introduced me to McIntosh world. Then, I started to become passionate when buying music systems, first with American systems, very regular and just for starters, then to Nordic brands that I find beautiful but never as mind blowing as McIntosh. I bought my first McIntosh system last year, with the Intention to bring my in-law to listen It; unfortunately he couldn’t make It and passed before being able to listen again a McIntosh. He let us his music collection and now we enjoy listening those beautiful LPs every time we can.

– Describe your Hi-Fi/ AV System and tell us more about your components. Is there something from your equipment that you would never substitute?

My system has a C2600 tube preamplifier, a MC312 Power Amplifier, a XR100 Loudspeaker system, a MT2 Precision turntable and a MB50 streaming audit player; all of this connected with McIntosh premium cables. And, of course, a key element of my system is the Solidsteel Hyperspike HF series. For sure, I’d never substitute a tube preamplifier, this makes music so silky!

– What is your favorite music genre? Which are your reference albums you generally choose for “testing” your system?

I’m still an amateur trying to make my own collection; I love classical music but my heart breaks with blues and jazz, love to play Nina Simone, the piano of ‘My baby just cares for me’ or the darkness in ‘Wild is the wind’. But to test my system and show it off I always play Hilary Hahn performing the Violin Concerto No. 5 In A by Mozart. Never disappoints!

– Which is your favorite “moment” of the day for listening music with your audio system?

Sunday afternoon for sure.

– Which audio format do you listen most? Digital or Analogic? Can you tell us why?

Both, but If Im In the mood of enjoying music, analog for sure. Digital music I really enjoy Tidal, a premium streaming system with very good quality that really makes the trick with the system. As for analog music, what Ive found Is that you really need to dig into the search of good quality LPs since there’s a lot of trash out there that Is not good quality at all.

– When you first heard about Solidsteel brand?

Searching through the web and asking which was the best stand for the new equipment. I browsed on the webpage and I fell In love of the Hyperspike style. It really goes well with my furniture and décor. Besides, Its performance Is outstanding.

– In which terms have you noticed benefits in using Solidsteel products? (Audio quality, Design, smart components positioning) What would you recommend to other music lovers?

As I said, It is beautiful, It really goes great with the McIntosh system, the positioning is perfect, the performance superb and the looks astonishing! In Mexico we don’t have a distributor of the system, so I had to handle directly the purchase from Italy, just before summer break! It was really easy and smooth!

– Considering your attention for any aspect connected to your components, which advice do you feel to give for those who are approaching the Hi-Fi world? What is “essential” for creating a first audio system?

Honestly speaking, if you’re really Into Hi-Fi, my recommendation Is to go all the way! Starting small could be an option, but a scalable system is usually more expensive than investing In you dream music system. Of course, If starting small Is a must, try to buy a good bulb preamplifier plus a an amplifier and a reasonable set of loudspeakers. With that and a streamer you can begin.

– What’s your feedback about emotions in music? Do you like attending music concerts, live shows and events?

We love opera and used to go to the Lincoln Center In NY. It Is a shame that these event were the most Impacted by the pandemic. We really hope we can go back again to concert halls newt year.