The Oracle, Golden Nectar & the ballad of Lin Gomez

It was the day my JBL Century speakers wheezed and lost a lung. Well, a tweeter actually. I was spinning an LP by (a guilty pleasure, I admit) Electric Light Orchestra and as Jeff Lynne was singing about turning to stone, all the highs in the right speaker dissipated. It was presaged by some static rasp, which I thought at first was some ole ELO studio trickery.

Heck, these things are to be expected of vintage audio gear. I was quite happy at first with modern, mid-fi British-made amplifier-and-floorstander combo for a couple of months until I heard my brother Dennis’ powerful-sounding Sansui 9090 receiver paired with, of course, JBL speakers — 4311B studio monitors, the type used by Steely Dan and Frank Zappa in the recording studio in the mind-expanding Seventies. You could practically imagine Babylon Sisters or Inca Roads blasting from those speakers and those legends brooding over an errant bassline (in the case of the Dan) or perfecting a 5/4 or 7/8 groove (in the case of the electric Don Quixote) under wacky phrases about a “booger-bear.”

Plain and simple, when I listen to records I want rock music to sound like rock music (from Led Zep to Greta Van Fleet) and for jazz fusion to sound like vertical invading, romantic warring, sapphire bullets of pure love. And nothing less. I realized early on that I was not into airy, analytical, clinical, restrained, soundstage-and-imaging-to-die-for stereo system bandied about by some audiophiles whose favorite album is usually “Best Female Audiophile Voices Vol. 2.” Seriously?!!! Probably the same guys who buy Clair Marlo’s “Let It Go” record for P20,000 a pop. Well, to each his own.

Larry Roxas and Wendell Rupert Alinea at Music Box II.

Thus, when my JBL Century got “injured,” I asked my friend — vintage gear collector/seller as well as Manny Pacquiao’s official photographer — Wendell Rupert Alinea as to where to have my speakers repaired.

“Lin Gomez,” Wendell said. “No one else.”

In the local audiophile community, there are people who are astoundingly brilliant at what they do and — despite being so damn busy in their respective fields — take time to answer questions from me: a man who has a thousand queries about audio. For acoustic treatment, there is Tony Rodriguez (who is so generous in sharing his knowledge about acoustic absorbers and diffusers); Boy Bustamante (his Woodstocks workshop is a treasure trove of audio racks, isolation platforms and speaker stands made of elegant, upcycled hardwood — the man is an artist); Leonard Co (for all things digital [whether DACs, FLACs, CXNs or SACDs], he is the go-to guy, knows where the best restaurants are in Q.C.); Robert Tuazon (Backspacer Records) for brand new LPs and Caloy Diaz (Caloy Manila) for audio accessories as well as fellow hard rock/heavy metal fan Wendell, whose music room is a virtual audio nirvana of powerhouse Marantz, Sansui, Kenwood and Fisher receivers. (Yes, Mongski, the classic 800-Bs will soon be mine.)

Lin Gomez is the authority when it comes to JBL (and other vintage speakers), since he was one of the exclusive distributors of the iconic American brand way, way back.

For beyond driven: Audio candies at Lin’s shop in Dau, Mabalacat — Pampanga, including the JBL L220 Oracle with its cat eye tweeter.

“Nobody can equal Lin when it comes to restoring vintage speakers — excellent sound, excellent craftsmanship,” said Val Villanueva, The STAR’s resident audio enthusiast who works with Lin during November Hi-Fi Shows. “He even built my three-way speaker system, based on my design.”

According to Wendell, he goes to Lin for speaker cabinet and driver repairs, re-foaming, anything speaker-related as well as for stylus re-tipping. “Lin’s work is superb, the best in the country, definitely world-class,” shared Wendell. Lin is the expert when it comes to drivers and electronics, while master wood craftsman Larry Roxas works on the cabinets. The collaboration has resulted in astounding creations of wood and wires on plinths or platforms — possessing both beautiful carpentry and euphonious beats. Val told me Lin and Larry are known in audio circles as “Batman & Robin.”

“We have to go to Dau in Mabalacat, Pampanga,” said Wendell. That’s where their Music Box II shop is. So, off we went on a road trip with my girlfriend Avee asleep in the backseat and the defective Century speakers cocooned in the trunk of Wendell’s car.

We met Lin and he turned out to be the one of the nicest guys you could spend an afternoon with — just talking about speakers, horns, woofers, tubes, solidstates and what-have-you while drinking coffee and snacking on cashew marzipan (by Aiza’s). The thing about Lin is that he tells you one story by telling you six. The man has led quite a kaleidoscopic life. He got out his photo album and shared his adventures: his Motocross days, buying-and-selling muscle cars, the beauty of Clark Air Base back in the day, providing the sound system for famous musicians who visited Clark to play for the GIs (such as Billy Joel), setting up JBLs and Sansuis for night clubs in Olongapo during its heyday. Lin had long hair then and wore groovy threads, but his taste in audio systems was (and still is) impeccable.

“When people visit me, they usually listen to music 20 percent of the time… and the other 80 percent, to my voice,” said the self-deprecating Lin. He is like a quintessential jolly old grandpa — except his sound system is 200 times better than yours or everyone else’s. On the corner of the upstairs room of Music Box II were DIY speakers powered by JBL and Altec Lansing drivers; a pair of Klipschorn beauties stood imperiously in one area; and the JBL L220 Oracle speakers (which Avee wanted to bring them home ASAP) jutted out from a garden of cables and drivers.

Ted Lerner and wife Aurora in one of the must-try bars/cafés in Angeles City.

Lin and Larry promptly played tracks to show us the capability of the speakers. Not Stacy Kent’s or Halie Loren’s sleep-inducing little ditties, but the hard, intoxicating, hair-raising stuff: Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Tin Pan Alley, and — Lin’s personal favorite — White Wedding by Billy Idol. And they were played loud. But not like “Michael J. Fox in Back of the Future standing in front of those giant speakers” loud. SRV’s guitar solo sounded loud yet mellifluous, a blossoming of Fender single coils. Idol with his Jim Morrison-esque pipes sounded like the “lodi” of old.

Lin and Larry surely know something about speakers that we don’t. These guys don’t clown around. They don’t resort to gimmickry or incessant self-promotion. Thus, it is quite unfortunate that Lin is closing shop at the end of the year. 

Val is saddened by all this. “Music Box II has been iconic and it pains me to even think that this is happening. It is the only place in the Philippines where you can find a treasure trove of mint vintage speaker systems with Lin being the maestro (and the only one in the country) of speaker restoration. It’s really sad that online sales and inexperienced audio sellers have put it out of business.”

Wendell agreed, “I’m sure the whole audio community is sad. Lots of fond memories in that room upstairs where Lin has his audio setup with giant speakers. Aside from audio knowledge, Lin has taught me a lot about life, too. He is like a father to me.”

Alinea’s DIY horn speakers composed of JBL D130, JBL 2404H and Altec 902 drivers put together by Lin Gomez, Larry Roxas and Tony Tecson.

Before we headed home to Manila, Wendell, Avee and I hung out at ring announcer, sports commentator and Pac-Man fan Ted Lerner’s place in Angeles City (it is called CPI Call Shop & Business Café) where the German craft beer is ace. Over pizza ciabatta, salmon-and-cheese bagels, and mugs upon mugs of Golden Nectar and “Kiss Me Hardy” English Bitter beer (everything is a must-try at Ted and Tita Au’s place), Lerner had observed the changing landscape of the city. His café once offered a breathtaking view of the old Clark road and the Angeles skyline. Not anymore as skeletons of high-rises are starting to cover the sky, green fields being converted into concrete. A world turning into stone. The old is making way for the new in this city filled with sounds and stories.

We then told Ted about the man in nearby Dau who has to give up his beloved Music Box enterprise. The man with golden ears and a roomful of pending projects. He who transforms ordinary magnets, coils and boxes into objects that sing with every inch of love, loss and magic.  

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There is an ongoing clearance sale until the end of December at Music Box II, 182, MacArthur Highway, Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga (for information, call  [045] 331 2874). CPI Call Shop & Business Café is at the front of Hotel Euro Asia Don Juico Ave. (three blocks up from Checkpoint, just past the America Hotel) Malabanias Angeles City, Pampanga (+639089886891). Val Villanueva has an audio exhibition at Room 734 for the November Hi-Fi Show at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City on Nov. 10 and 11. Expect to see some DIY wonders by Lin Gomez and Larry Roxas to be featured prominently.