Submitted by The Computer Au... on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 01:11
Computer Audiophile is proud to celebrate its second birthday! I want to thank all the readers from around the world. The loyal and very bright readers have made Computer Audiophile more than enjoyable for me. The site is now my full time career. Many people didn't know I also worked at Ameriprise Financial headquarters in Minneapolis until very recently. Near the end of October I transitioned from working 40-50 hours in an office plus 40-50 hours on the site to putting all my time and energy into Computer Audiophile. This site is my passion and I have big plans for it in the future. Read on for some interesting site stats and a new feature just launched here at CA.
Again, thanks to the readers who visit and contribute to the site day-in day-out. The personal emails you send with such kind words about CA are really wonderful. In addition to the readers I want to thanks the Computer Audiophile advertisers. Your support has been great over the last two years. Some of you took a chance on this site in the very early days and I certainly hope everyone is supporting you in return.
One new feature launched simultaneously with this article is called Computer Audiophile Page Two. This is a section of the site with more frequent updates than the home page and less in depth articles. The first two entries are about a new music server and a software update. Not much in depth research, but timely information about what's currently happening in the world of music servers and computer based playback. Look for a link on the right side of the page and I hope everyone enjoys Page Two.
Now that the big (behind the scenes) site upgrade is complete, more features will be brought to the site soon. In the next couple days a Private Messaging feature will be enabled. Some readers have been clamoring for this for a long time. Sure other sites have had this feature for years, but CA isn't like other sites :~) In addition I am working on some social networking features that will enable readers to establish groups based on location, favorite components, operating systems, and anything else imaginable. I'm also working on a feature that allows readers to have their own page on which they can leave status messages or whatever is on their minds. The Podcasts should also be starting up once again as well as the instructional videos.
Last, I'll leave everyone with a couple snapshots about the site's increasing popularity. The first shot displays the sites increase in traffic from the first day to today. The second shot displays the sites popularity by country. CA almost has readers in every country. Hopefully this year inroads will be made with the remaining countries :~) Thanks again to all the readers. I look forward to an even bigger and better year ahead.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
__________________
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
for the hard and dedicated work. I have a suspicion 2010 will pass by even faster. I hope to run into you this January during the CE Show.
Best regards,
Tim Marutani
Emeryville, CA
Congrats and thank you for these informative learning grounds. While ripping I spent many hours reading old posts, just 'cause there's so much knowledge in them. It made me change my way of doing things a few times now. Thanks and cheers.
Ruud :)
(I'm listening like this: MacBook>> iTunes>> AIFF>> Ray Samuels Apache>> AKG 702>> and the best stage yet, my ear/brain combo... I'm happy)
We are almost the same age.
Many thanks for your great work!
Best Regards from Germany
www.digital-highend.com
www.digital-highend.com
Still the best site around by a long way.
Congratulations for your site. It's a great platform about computer audio.
Looking forward meeting you in person at the upcoming CES in Las Vegas.
Juergen
It's awesome to hear you are able to make this your full time gig Chris. Well done.
May CA have a long and happy future, which I'm sure it will.
Happy Birthday!
Best
James
proac response 5, perreaux r200i, naim cd5xs, naim dac, mac book pro, rega p24.
Congratulations Chris, to be able to turn one's passion into one's career is commendable, CA is the source, long may it continue, very best,Keith.
http://www.puriteaudio.co.uk/
I am egoistic about this. If you were not going this route, we wouldnt have the best run forum in the world. ;-)
Greetings from Germany
Claudius
Amarra 1.2, I-Tunes, Mac-Mini (4GB) SSD, Transparent Cables USB, Ayre QB-9, Octave HP-500SE, all PCs Lessloss Signature, HMS Sestetto, ADAM Pencil MK2 (active)
Lessloss blackbodies (3)
and thanks for all the work you've put into this interesting and useful site.
Ron
Congratulations Chris !
It would have been a long and painful road without CA.
Can't wait to play with the new features, and read new articles.
Now you really are a full time consultant in computer audio.
How cool is that (I'm jealous right now) ;)
Elp (from France)
And long may it continue!
Bob
CAPS(EssenceST)-->Tact 2.0s-->Audio Reseach 100.2-->Martin Logan Vista
...and many happy returns!
My favorite site and a reflection of what a good guy you are.
Best,
Jeff
This is a site I came upon about a year ago and it has been a pleasure keeping up with. It gave me confidence in music server as the way to go over cd player. I show all my friends my iPhone controlling my entire cd library and its quite a hit. So I know this is the future!
May I suggest adding a second hand/exchange market place. I have noticed that being a computer audiophile, it is difficult for me to sell second hand equiptment like sound card, DAC etc. Some of the soundcard that we values are considered non-audiophile by the main stream forums.
Hi Chris
Sincere congatulations not only with the second birthday of Compuer Audiophile, but even more so with your decision to go 100% for it, leaving a steady job in economic circumstances of today.
Dirk
Awesome! Congrats Chris, thanks for the best audiophile site on the, best in 2010....
Jeff
G5->LynxAES->Berkeley Alpha DAC->Groneberg Interconnects->Odyssey Strattos Mono Block Special Editions ->Groneberg Speaker Cables ->Odyssey Lorelei floor standers
www.beresford-dac.com
Congrats, Chris, and cheers to you for following your dream. This is a great site with lots of potential in the heart of audio's future. Enjoy your new day job! :-)
Al
Congrats Chris, and thanks for helping me get educated by means of your great site!
QNAP 439 (raid5) → MacMini (PureMusic, iTunes, AIFF) → HiFace (BNC) → BADA → KAV280p → Nemo's → Hales T8
Now that the site, and the technology I suppose, has matured and grown, I find your site every informative. I am coming in to this part of audio without knowing much about it but I do have an extensive audio and IT background and I was surprised at how much I had to learn. The internet is my friend when I need to learn, and a surfing I went. I have to say that after much content ingestion and browsing I find your site to be a wealth of information. Nice job of combining a forum, blog style updates, reviews, recommended components and of course the Academy. I have not seen this this mix before and it works very well. It is unique and really works.
My only gripe is I find the forum lacks a lot of viewing functionality and I have a hard time working my way thru and following a thread.
Dedicated 240V balanced power, Torus RM20-BAL. Mac Mini/Ayre QB-9. LSA Group Signature integrated. Eminent Tech LFT8B speakers. Real Trap and GIK bass traps.
Chris, Is this a reference to something like your local newspaper? I don't get it. When I first saw it I thought you made a mistake with a site update and had the wrong name. To me it doesn't "pop"! Maybe you can convince one of your sponsors such as BAD to give away an Alpha in a naming competition :-)
Dedicated 240V balanced power, Torus RM20-BAL. Mac Mini/Ayre QB-9. LSA Group Signature integrated. Eminent Tech LFT8B speakers. Real Trap and GIK bass traps.
Happy "B" Day!
In the coming days when your thinking of what to add please don't forget about the manufacturers and resellers:)
Also, if there is anything I can do please let me know!
Best Regards
Jesus R
Sonore Fanless Music Player W/Vortexbox Engine -> Playback Controlled from iTouch or Web GUI-> no Mouse, no Keyboard, no Monitor....no Problem -> Lynx L22 & Lynx AES16
I can't add much to what has already been posted, except to say that I am delighted to have stumbled onto this site. I am sure it will only grow in popularity in the coming years.
Hats off to you Chris.
Happy B-Day, Chris/CA!
Chris is The Man and Computer Audiophile is THE Site!
Rascal
Both to Chris, and to the many posters who uphold the spirit of the site,
your friendly neighbourhood idiot
I sincerely hope you succeed. Way to live the dream!
Jonathan
-------------------
Still finding my way, but soaking it all up like a sponge!
and thanks for making this the best site on the web for computer audio information. The combination of the wealth of technical information being provided not only by yourself but also with the contributions of so many incredibly knowlegable experts in this new field, and all following your patented (well, it should be patented) "laid back" style, makes this the go-to site for anything computer-audio related.
I'm still very much a neophyte in this area, but I learn something of value and interest every day thanks to your efforts.
Thanks very much, and many happy returns.
All the best,
Martin
Congratulations Chris for being the first to have the idea od something that will become BIG in the next few years!
martin
www.bluedy.com
Thankyou, Chris, for your pioneering efforts to bring attention to high resolution music to audiophiles of all ages. There is a new generation of music lovers out there that you are addressing and I applaud your continued efforts! We are frequently sending high rez newbies to your site for an introduction to this new world of listening.
I want to thank you, also, for the several mentions of our label, Blue Coast Records. Your inclusion of our first 96kHz audio release (threehoursfromperformancetodelivery) in CA drove so many people to our website that we made the decision to focus on 96 24 downloads for the future. We have not regretted that decision.
We're looking forward to the high rez journey with you, CA and your followers!
take care,
Cookie Marenco
founder and producer
www.bluecoastrecords.com
Hi Cookie - Than you, and everyone else, very much for the kind words. The reader response has been overwhelmingly wonderful. Nothing motivates me more than reader appreciation of what we have going here at CA.
P.S. The new release with I Bid You Good Night is really neat.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Hi Chris,
I saw that only today you are a member for two years yourself ! So, happy anniversary with that !
All the best for the future ...
Peter
Lead developer XXHighEnd
Ha! I love it Peter!
P.S. I switched usernames after a few days of the site being created. Thus it looks like I actually joined the site after I created it! Using the original username I created the site with is insecure.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
For raising the level of understanding about computer audio.
For improving sound systems around the world.
And for setting a new benchmark for online communities.
Well done Chris!
James
Congratulations, Chris. You definitely have something to be proud of. I hope that CA continues to grow exponentially!
Lee