About Us

Editor

Rich Teer

Rich is a life-long music lover, who is passionate about vinyl. He grew up listening to all sorts of gear, courtesy of his dad’s audio dabblings. Rich’s eyes (and ears) were opened up to how great a high-end audio system can sound when he attended his first hi-fi show, in the UK, and he has been hooked ever since.

Although he worked Saturdays in a hi-fi store while he was in college, Rich spent most of his working life as a computer consultant, programming computers and administering UNIX systems. To paraphrase John Miles, music was his first love, so Rich decided to persue his love of music and high-end audio. To that end, Vinylphile was launched in 2009.

Contributors

Atane Ofiaja

Atane is a music lover, and a passionate jazz fan, hard bop jazz in particular. His family is Nigerian, so he grew up listening to a lot of afrobeat and highlife music. His tastes aren’t limited to jazz and African music. He also enjoys blues, funk, soul, and R&B.

He got into hi-fi and records in college, when he visited Stereo Exchange in NYC. Amazed by what he saw and heard, he vowed to one day have a stereo of his own. It’s been a love affair ever since that eventful day.

In addition to writing for Vinylphile, he’s currently a writer for Elements of Jazz and Stereo Times. He was also the Social Marketing Coordinator of a large, independent consumer electronics retailer in NYC, where wrote many articles and covered music events, concerts and festivals.

Outside of the world of hi-fi, he’s a passionate about attending live shows and concerts, football, fine dining, photography, reading, mid-century modern furniture, and Blu-ray movies.

John Adrian Spijkers

John was born in The Netherlands and bought his first LP, Beatles ’65, in 1967, and his first turntable in 1970. Over the years he’s owned a lot of different equipment (some high-end, but mostly mid-range stuff), and listens to vinyl nearly every day. He likes buying new and used LPs: he’s a big progressive rock fan and loves listening to female singers.

He’s been in sales and marketing his whole adult life, including a three-year stint at Polydor Records in his early youth, and 25 years in publishing as a regional sales manager. He currently works in marketing for a major wholesale club retailer.

In addition to amassing a sizable LP collection, John is in the process of building up his concert Blu-ray collection, and has a fixation towards football (soccer) jerseys. His personal motto is “Live Life. Leave A Legacy!”.

Annie St. Jean

Annie grew up in a family where singing was part of life. She credits these early experiences for her picky ear! Although she didn’t have the opportunity to take piano or guitar lessons as a child, she started playing trumpet in high school. Annie went on to play the trumpet in the militia, and performed the changing of the guard in Quebec City in the early 1990s.

When she is not teaching, Annie enjoys playing piano and guitar at home. Although she’s no Chris Botti, she enjoys playing trumpet while Sting and Sarah McLaughlan CDs are playing on their audio system!

Annie has been enjoying visiting the local audio store for the last 15 years, learning much about great sound and equipment, as well as some very interesting artists. Annie’s writing adds a light, humourous touch to our reviews.