Checking in with Dr. Cameron

I've just received an email form my old and dear friend, Dr. Cameron. For those of you who have read my Perfect Sound Forever articles from the beginning, you'll know that Doc is the retired allergist who bought an amazing audio spread after his wife died back in 1998. She was an accomplished pianist, and she used to play for him every day. When she was still alive, they had a rather modest hi-fi system but a large LP collection. When Mrs. Cameron died, he need a system that could come close to the illusion of live music that she provided.

So he bought an amazing system that consisted of a Wilson Benesch Act ONE turntable (with matching WB arm and cartridge), Avantgarde Trio Speakers and an Audio Note Ongaku integrated amplifier. I've heard this system a total of three times since 1998, and it remains one of the greatest systems I've ever heard.

So here is Doc's email (edited a bit for brevity):

"Dear Marc,

I hope you are doing well and still enjoying records like I am. It's hard to believe but I just celebrated my eightieth birthday. My, how time flies when you are surrounded by music. I still have the same system that you wrote about several years ago, but I have replaced the cartridge with a Koetsu based on your recommendation. It's the Rosewood Signature Platinum and it sounds perfect. Thank you again for steering me toward Koetsu!

At eighty I'm not sure how my hearing is holding up, but everything still sounds fabulous to me. I haven't had one thing go wrong with my system since I purchased it other than having to replace the cartridge when the stylus became worn. God willing I will be able to listen to music like this for the rest of my life. It does more than help me to pass the time, it makes life worthwhile.

I hope you are doing well there in Texas, and if you ever get back to Pasadena I hope you will stop by with some records and we'll have another beer together.

Be well,
Dr. Cameron"

I have to admit that I've been thinking about Dr. Cameron over the last couple of years, and I was reminded of him when I went to CES last month and listened to both the Ongaku (albeit in a newer version) and the Avantgarde Trios.

If you'd like to go back and read my original two articles about Dr. Cameron from the Perfect Sound Forever archives, here they are:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/vinyl6.html
http://www.furious.com/perfect/vinyl15.html