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26K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  Wardsweb 
#1 · (Edited)
Me
My name is Dale. I am a bit of an obsessive sort. I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together and have a genuine 'need to know' how things work. I am a musician, songwriter, producer, tech-type and the kind of person others call when they need problems to go away.

Background
I grew up in Clear Lake Shores, Tx (about 30 minutes south of Houston) in a little island community. Now, when I say island I mean that it is technically surrounded by water but not a Gilligan type of scenario. I started playing guitar when I was seven and eventually started my own band by the time I was fourteen. After high school I travelled for several years with my band and released a couple of CDs on a local label but I eventually grew tired of the egos (mine own included) and I grew even more tired of being on the road and eating ramen noodles every night so of course I went into IT! I still write and record music and often serve in a producer capacity for local bands. While I never attended Julliard or Berkley, I have studied under and worked with some of the best guitarists in hard rock and heavy metal including Joel Gregoire, Shannon Hamm (of Death and Control Denied) and last but certainly not least Rusty Cooley.

I started in IT on the support desk and quickly moved to desktop support and within another year was into the server group but it was not until I got an opportunity to move into network engineering that I really started to feel fulfilled in my career. The challenges involved with network troubleshooting large LAN/WAN environments can be almost addictive. Of course once I started leading the teams and eventually directing the entire enterprise infrastructure and media services group that I really needed to find an outlet for my technical 'need to know' that has been with me all of my life. Luckily home theater was there to fill the void and while it is not identical to my pro-audio experiences, it was close enough that I could jump right in and start taking things apart. :T

Family
I have been at my current company for 12 years and still enjoy being part of the 'family'. It is the type of place where everyone is genuinely concerned about everyone else and where the company values actually mean something. Of course my success in my career came only after I met my one true best friend and the love of my life, my beautiful wife Tina. Together we have raised two beautiful children into fine young adults that I could not be more proud of. Tina and I are a team and the roles are simple. I build it and she makes it beautiful.

Hobbies and Interests
I get a kick out of bringing things back to life. I like to take things and tweak them until they are as perfect as can be but I never feel like anything is completely finished. I have fallen asleep many times at the mixing console while mixing and mastering music I have recorded because I just cannot walk away. I also enjoy cooking very much. I was recruited at the age of five for my dads barbecue team and have been hooked ever since. I do not participate in cook-offs anymore because it is too much work and not a lot of payoff, but I am usually grilling or smoking something on the pit every weekend so be sure to stop by if you are in the area!

HTS
I started reviewing Blu-ray movies at Home Theater Shack back in 2010 and was able to do my first equipment review by the end of that year. In 2011 things really started to take off and since then I have been able to get my hands on all types of gear and have my way with it. Now that The Sub Zone has gotten off the ground things are looking brighter than ever here at HTS!
 
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#2 ·
My name is Erin H. I am 30 years old. I have a small family with two big dogs. I currently reside in North Alabama in a rental house that doesn't permit for a mancave... so I'm relegated to a garage with no insulation. Makes for a very hot "Daddy time" in the garage during the summer. I have a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Huntsville in Alabama. I currently work as a Systems Engineer for the Missile Defense Agency. I previously worked for NASA as a Propulsion and Components Engineer.

I have been in to audio since I was a little kid dancing on the couch to Michael Jackson's Thriller (I have the pictures to prove it). During my childhood I was exposed to all sorts of music through my Mom which birthed my passion for music. I don't play any instruments but I do enjoy music. With my technical background, it seemed natural for me to pursue the technical aspect of music reproduction. I would not call myself an audiophile, however. I am simply a fan of the reproduction of audio and I seek to learn why we as listeners enjoy what we hear, hear how we do, and how objective data can provide us with further insight in to these matters.

I own and operate my own website: www.medleysmusings.com. This is where I go to post my driver test data and sometimes discuss audio topics outside of specific products (such as how time alignment can be used). I've been testing for roughly 4 years now and a couple of years ago I was provided the opportunity to test for diymobileaudio.com with their Klippel analysis hardware (imagine a Dyno machine but for speakers). I enjoyed the gig but it was sometimes very stressful and I missed sleep some nights in an effort to provide data quickly. I resigned from that position. With some encouragement from my wife and fellow hobbyists, and the help of Klippel, I was able to acquire my own Klippel and about $50,000 worth of modules to use for my own site. This has allowed me to test as I needed; taking breaks in between to enjoy life.

My personal goal in being a reviewer at HTS is to provide you with data. Not just data that looks neat, but data that can be used to provide you with meaningful data and analysis of the implications of that data. If at any point you don't quite understand what I've posted, please ask for clarification. When I don't know the answer, I will tell you and we can work to figure it out together. My number one goal is to help the you be better armed with knowledge. The kind of knowledge that makes you think more critically and ultimately make the purchase that's right for you.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Me
Hi. I'm Peter, but my friends call me "Peterman" (think Office Space). I love listening to music and I'm a big geek. Literally, a 6'9" geek. But don't ask if I play basketball - I'm terrible. Shame, I know.

Background
I was born and raised in New Jersey and headed to Ohio for college in 2002. I graduated from Cedarville University in 2007 with a mechanical engineering degree. After college, I spent about four years in the automotive industry, designing suspension parts for an OEM supplier near Columbus, OH. In 2011, I moved to Houston and made the transition to oil and gas.

Family
About a year after starting college, I met the young lady who would become my wife, and we have been happily married since 2006. We moved to Houston in 2011 and have settled in nicely. We are members at a great church in NW Houston where we volunteer in the student ministry. We have been immensely blessed by the relationships developed within our congregation. Speaking of blessings... we welcomed twin baby girls to our family in March 2013! Life is good!

Hobbies and Interests
I am a tinkerer by nature, and love to know how things work. I am fascinated by anything from audio electronics and musical instruments, to bicycles, to cars. I enjoy live music, whether it be a pipe organ recital or a rock concert. When the weather is nice, I like cycling, going to car shows/races, and watching baseball. Oh, and I love good food!

Home Theater Shack
I was given the opportunity to join the HTS review team in 2012. Since then I have been focusing on speaker, subwoofer, and A/V receiver reviews, which you can check out here: Peter's Review Archive
 
#4 ·
re: Reviewer Bios - Reviewers

About
Harold Dale is a 27 year old stay at home dad. He grew up all over the place including Florida, Alabama, and Arizona. His nicknames throughout life have been Doug, Dougie, Dougie Fresh and likely many others.

Family
In 2003 he met his now Fiancee Diana online at a Yahoo Pool game. In 2004 he moved from Alabama to Pittsburgh, PA to be with her. They now reside in Ohio and have two kids ages 4 and 5. They plan to get married in 2013.

Hobbies and Qualifications
Since he was a child around the age of 5 Harold has constantly been taking things apart and building things. Always interested in the more technical of toys such as Lego's and Electronic test boards his interests grew as he got older. In high school he took several technology classes and 2 Electronics Circuits classes. After that he has been self taught on most things and continues to learn more every day. He's also always been interested in audio. While living in Flagstaff, AZ his common hang out was the install bay at Sound Pro car audio. He picked up countless knowledge there and even helped on many occasions with installs in many cars. He's also taken a strong interest in building DIY home speakers. He's got 2 builds under his belt so far and will very likely be more in the future.
 
#5 ·
re: Reviewer Bios - Reviewers

Me
My name is Mike, I've been a film nut every since I can remember. Watching Star Wars at 6 years old is my first memorable film and I swear I've watched those movies at least 20-30 times over my life time. I'm also a computer technician so I'm the guy everyone calls when there's something wrong with their computers

Background
I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and have pretty much lived here my whole life. I went to George Fox University, up in Newberg, Oregon, where I gained a bachelors degree in Business and Information systems. I've been a tech nerd since I was in high school, but never had the desire to go into programming. While up there in Oregon I met and married my lovely wife Carol and once graduated moved back down to Tucson. Being the kind of guy who likes to tear things apart and rebuild them I gravitated towards the hardware end of the IT environment after spending years in the help desk and call center tech support environment. Finally I branched out and started my own contracting business as a computer technician. Basically I'm the guy you call when you can't get your computer working, or just need help on how to use technology.

Family
I've been married to my wife since 2004 and adore her to death. I grew up here in Tucson arizona and my family is centered here as well. I'm always with my parents or my wife and brothers, just hanging out or repairing something with them (DIY is an addiction I swear). My wife is a theater actor so her love of film and plays is nearly as large as my own (which helps you come home with a stack of movies in hand and that guilty look on your face).

Hobbies and Interests
I'm a tinkerer at heart. I love computers, home theater tech and the like. I'm always tearing apart my setup and re-organizing them trying to tweak the most out of my system. If it stays in one place too long I get this wild urge to start re-arranging (even if that means after days of re-arranging it goes back to the original setup). Same thing with my computer, if I have a piece of software on there too long I gotta find something different. I am also an avid exercise enthusiast. I work out daily and have been a martial artist for over 15 years.

HTS
I started Reviewing at HTS back in early 2012 when I responded to a call for more Blu-ray film reviewers. I'm a wild film fan and have been ever since I was a child. My collection ranges in the thousands and I love pretty much all genre's, old, new, comedy, romance, action you name it. I believe it gives me a more rounded edge as a film Connoisseur and allows me to give a balanced view on any review I write.
 
#6 · (Edited)
re: Reviewer Bios - Reviewers

Wayne Myers
AudiocRaver


Little Tyke
I was born in Idaho and have lived all over the states. My first love was music. As a little tyke, I drove Mom nuts while discovering what strange sounds I could coax out of the piano by banging on as many keys as I could at once. It sounded like music to me. Later on, piano and organ teachers would show me how to play properly, but my tastes always leaned toward the dense and dissonant.

Teenager & College
As a teenager and college student, I played in rock bands and quickly became fascinated by the technology of music and sound reproduction. My path through college made its way to a degree in Audio Technology by way of Music Composition and Electrical Engineering majors. At school, I had a blast while making minimum wage setting up sound reinforcement for concerts, recording in the school's 16-track studio, and - my favorite - doing sound design and support for the drama theater. The Music Department's Arp 2500 synthesizer was a never-ending source of fascination.

Professional & Family
There were jobs servicing consoles and tape decks for studios in Nashville, then with various audio and computer companies designing products and managing quality systems - most of it was a fun way to support a growing family. At home I continued writing music and coaxing strange sounds out of synthesizers and guitars. My wife of many, many years (do the math) patiently puts up with my shenanigans. Together we have four children and five grandchildren, all talented and wonderful, now scattered across the country.

Music & Other Stuff
There have been explorations into the realms of hypnosis and energy healing. I enjoy cooking, writing, reading, checking out bands at local clubs, coaxing more strange sounds out of synthesizers and guitars, recording original music - to date, I have 24 hour-long albums of original experimental music completed - and, according to my wife, stringing audio and computer cables everywhere. Thanks to wireless technology, our marriage has hope for a future. We actually have a lot of fun, have written plays and musicals and performed together, and have worked together professionally as Engineer (me) and Forensic Anthropologist (her).

Audio & Home Theater Shack
My main audio fascinations these days include finding ways to get the best sound out of a pair of speakers, especially the biggest, deepest soundstage possible with the most precise, laser-sharp imaging imaginable, through a combination of innovative placement, room treatment, and equalization techniques. And Home Theater Shack has provided a home for headphone reviews using my own Objective-Subjective evaluation and scoring approach. Finally, I am having a barrel of fun learning and contributing to the field of audio with a great bunch of Audio/Video/Music/Movie enthusiasts here at the Shack. Life is good.


 
#7 ·
Re: Reviewer Bios - Reviewers

I am Texas born and raised with a few detours around the world, as an Air Force brat. My father finished his 20+ year enlistment as an electronics instructor. He was also a musician, so I grew up immersed in electronics with a soldering iron in hand and listening to music.

After college, I spent 25 years in high tech electronics. Working R&D I had the opportunity to work on some really cool things; deep space satellites, satellite tracking and surveillance, combat DF, automotive active suspension systems, networking and telecommunications security, to name just a few. This background, along with a love of wood working, has served me well with my passion for music, audio and home theater systems. It has all been fun including building speakers, tube preamps and amplifiers, even being able to bring a piece of broken gear back to life.

I have been married to Rose going on 20 years. She is a wonderful wife, mother and my best friend. She also gets kudos for putting up with my audio obsession. We were both married before and I think that helped us to appreciate each other, what we have and determining what’s worth fighting for and what to just let go of. We are like two high school kids locked in old people bodies. We cut up, have fun, laugh a lot and just like being near to each other. We have four grown children; two boys, from Rose’s previous marriage and a boy and girl from mine. We also have a 10 year old grandson that is the light in my wife’s eyes.

My love of audio started early. I built my first stereo console in 9th grade wood shop with JBL drivers no less; a contribution from my musician Dad. I did a custom sound system in my hemi Satellite during high school, decades before it was the norm. My gear was pretty simple, as a broke college student. I worked full time to put myself through school but still managed to have a Marantz receiver, Pioneer turntable and JBL speakers. Somewhere around 40 I started collecting SAE (Scientific Audio Electronics). It was something I couldn’t afford in college. I was now reliving my younger days assembling racks of high end gear. My hobby became passion, evolved into obsession and ended up in lunacy. All the while, Rose has taken it all in stride.
 
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