Gotorama: what's behind a (maybe silly, jokingly given, old-timey) nickname

Maybe I was wrong, folks, as - you'll not believe - I always tried to keep an as serious and understated profile as possible, in audio and life, as well.

Am I shy?!?

... sure I'm worried about being over-wordy, excessively jubilant or redundant and - drums and fifes in the background - using self-statements - i.e. I own the best audio system in the world or I can hear 26.000 hz flat... well, definitely being this NOT the case, I got anyway some time to think about the reason of my quest and the actual degree of satisfaction, pros and cons, and related trivia.

I mean... not many are keeping a Blog, a diary, about their being VW Golf owners, talking to the world about washing their car, lubricating it, paying yearly taxes and insurance or their gasoline of choice... same for skates, bikes, motorbikes... ALL the above and other topics, YES, sometimes the above are the core and topic for (short) discussions among aficionados and users, but is much more intriguing reading (and talking about) a motorbike off-road trip to Tunisia's desert than an essay about a throttle cable, etc. etc. etc.

In my limited experience and knowledge, ONLY audio and music own that "misteriousness" of an indissoluble and apparently fighting duality, an endlessly flowing, fluctuating relationship between shape and function, hardware and software, using and ownership, peace and violence, strength and delicacy, angryness and satisfaction, friends and enemies, analog and digital, music and gears...

Like soccer, where different teams and fans are able to riot and destroy and kill, audio buffs are able to offend and any critic to any given piece of gear or audio system is like being called s.o.b. or motherf...;-)

Critics are - IMO - for-free food for thoughts and best fuel to be pushed toward right direction, period!

Not always easy to digest, a friend hinting or criticizing, is, sometimes, unconfortable to deal with - i.e. "Hey, I spent a lot of money... it cannot sound wrong!" or the like... but, like in investements or health care, better hearing more bells, before deciding this or that... much better (humbly) considering all and every voice.

Bells... like Reinhard righteously suggested, few hours ago... let's think about Church... everybody knows it, but, nonetheless, everyday, everytime, bell-towers ring their bells... to count hours, yes, apparently so... BUT, to a larger, deeper extent, Church reminds you about Its existence... ah!

... so, here I am, Reinhard;-) - not shy, yet aware of the uniqueness of our common passion, music and audio, audio and music, and proudly saying it...

I could - but I'll do not - talk about sacrificies in buying this or that, the hopes and deluges... or give a list of gears... I did something like that in Steve Clarke's The Analog Dept. site, like many others did in this superb Web place... but, again, it's not what I'm for...

Gotorama... when I nicknamed my system this way, it was very natural doing so, as I so STRONGLY felt I reached in years of changes, parts swapping, fiddling around, something being anymore a bunch of gears on shelves, BUT a new breed, a whole, electric/electronic and mechanic new "creature"!

I felt the whole combo was like a growing living "thing", able to feel humidity, and mains (electric) quality, so sensitive... repaying several and several times the cost in money and time with several, endless, infinitely-long moments of musical bliss.

Names... make no or little sense... SchickGarrardLumiereMayerHinterlehnerGotoSG160370DX570TelefunkenRevoxStuder... only names which could be xxxxxxxxxxxxhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjzzzz...

What's most important to me is "that" uncanny, seldom heard capability to embarassingly follow me and my choices, so supremely and humbly human, with highs and lows, and, always, say ALWAYS, after any change in gears, still firmly remaining "Gotorama", my very own music and shivers maker, the extension and follow-up of my very self, the most authentic me.

It sometimes sounds good, sometimes ONLY average and seldomly it's REALLY excellent, depending on the care I put into it and the mood - i.e. also choosing the "perfect" music for any moment plays a role and it's quite difficult, per se and part of the game: like being in open-chakra mode 24/24, 7/7, 365/365.

Needing for a final to something necessarily open-ending... as a late, minimalist Frank Zappa once wrote - "Music is best"... so right and easy... and - I add - every effort to better enjoy it is purest of pure, giving a sense to being alive... like looking at Nature and Its beauties... and to the Stars, in awe.