My personal audio journey started long before I knew what “hi-fi” really meant. I was working at Comet when I first heard a Denon Mini System that opened my ears to proper sound quality—something beyond cheap earbuds and tinny cassette players.
Early Audio Journey
Before that, music lived in much smaller boxes. I had a long daily coach ride to school and started out with a Panasonic RQ-SX30 cassette player my uncle gave me. I genuinely wish I still had it. At night, I’d download low-res MP3s from LimeWire and play them back on a mid-90s Technics stereo. Twin cassette, tuner, the works. I’d record Jazz FM shows late at night—Hed Kandi sets and other early introductions to house electronica, disco, downtempo and soul.
THE DIGITAL ERA
Later came portable CD players, then MP3/CD hybrids. Clunky buttons, terrible battery life, and skipping—things I definitely don’t miss. Eventually I saved up for an iPod Mini, and that was a game-changer. Alongside it, I truly loved iTunes.
It was perfect for library management back then. Everything was organised. Then one day I updated it, turned on iCloud sync, and it absolutely obliterated my library. It was chaos—files vanished, album art scrambled, no local control. That one move pushed me away from iTunes for good.
I’ll write another post about the alternatives I’ve tried over the past 17 years, because honestly, managing a digital music collection in 2025 still isn’t seamless—not in the way I imagined it should be. The closest was a Zen Mini server running Logitech Media OS. Drop in a CD and it rips to FLAC, auto-fills metadata and artwork. Bliss—until you throw in rarities or non-standard files. Then it becomes another manual fix-it job. I also tried Roon. It’s beautiful and highly praised in the audiophile world, but I found it unintuitive. Great looks, but it still didn’t feel like the library I wanted.
These days I mostly stream. If I fall in love with something, I buy the physical CD—preferably in-store or through Bandcamp. I straddle two generations: digital and physical media. Finding zen between the two is a constant battle. I collected records for years. I loved crate digging, buying vinyl based solely on artwork. But when I moved house, the sheer weight and space requirements were overwhelming. My collection is boxed up now, waiting for a future dedicated room.
The sweet spot, for me, is CDs. They’re tactile, they offer the best sound quality without worrying about bit rates or OS resampling. CD in, music out. That’s purity. Occasionally I get the itch to tinker—Audirvana, server playback—but too many settings just distract me from the music.
Portable Audio Journey
In my twenties, work had me travelling a lot: road trips, planes, hotels. That reignited my love for personal audio. Check out my other post on portable audio for travellers. Headphones became a world of their own again. I went through Grado, B&W, Fostex, SoundMagic, Sennheiser, Bose, Audio-Technica… not to mention headphone amps like Schiit Magni and FiiO Q1 Mark II. Funny thing is, the more “hi-end” the headphone, the more sterile they sounded. Detail-rich, sure—but too clinical. My favourite? A cheap pair of Marshalls. Warm, comfy, full-bodied. That’s what I chase in sound: depth and thickness, not piercing highs.
My source was often just a phone. I tried a Sony A35—hated the UI. Then came the legendary iPod 5.5 Gen with the Wolfson DAC, old even at the time and an attempt to reconnect with simplicity of a dedicated player, a home for my music collection free of distractions. Glorious sound, but I couldn’t go back to the limitations. Spotify had me by then. As much as I wanted full control over a local library, I gave in to streaming’s simplicity.
Now, I crave minimalism. I’ve tested Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz—even niche classical services. Still, I remain loyal to Spotify. It’s fast, smooth, predictable. The algorithm delivers. I’m still patiently waiting for Spotify Hi-Fi. When I find rare tracks on YouTube, I burn them to CD-Rs and label them with a Sharpie—just like I did when I was 15.
Things change your your personal audio journey, but that feeling—the one you get when the right track plays through the right system in the right room—stays the same.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES..
Over the years, my setups have changed, my gear has evolved, and the formats have come and gone—but the intention has always stayed the same: to slow down and really listen. Whether it’s a pristine CD, a crate-digging find, or a Spotify recommendation that caught me off guard, the goal is connection—not perfection.
If you’ve had a similar journey, or you’re still figuring out what “good sound” means to you, I’d love to hear what setups shaped your listening life. Drop a comment, share your story, or get in touch over on the contact page.
And if you’re new here, explore the rest of Wax Waves—there’s more music, gear, and personal audio reflection where this came from.
