Appassionata

He wasn’t raised in Spartan ways, but he wasn’t fed with a silver spoon either. Born into a political clan, he saw and experienced firsthand his parents’ passion for life, work and the poor. It came as no surprise to those who knew him when, at an early age, he took over from his father the Herculean task of serving the nation’s downtrodden.

First elected to Congress five years ago, audiophile Michael John “Jack” Duavit, 37, has represented his constituents in the first district of Rizal with the same fervor that his father, Gilberto “Bibit” Duavit, did. Unassuming and soft-spoken but highly articulate, Jack finished postgraduate courses of database construction and management, and was a recording engineer at Full Sail in Orlando, Florida. He abandoned his plan to work in the same capacity at GMA-7, where his family owns considerable shares of stock, to heed the more urgent call of public service.

Armed with the valuable academic skills he learned from schools such as Xavier, Ateneo and De La Salle, Jack executes with chutzpah his duties as vice chairman of the House committees on appropriation and trade and industry. He has authored several House bills in succession in the short time that he has been serving his term: an act creating the national council for education, an act strengthening the education service contracting for basic education, an act providing for professional standards for paramedicine; and an act restoring the tax exemption of privileges for local water districts, among others.

I met Jack through Wiredstate, a forum for audiophiles, where he has been a member of long standing. To other WS members, he is simply known as “JackD201,” an acknowledged audiophile guru who unstintingly shares his audio knowledge with any member who needs help.

“I started out spinning for parties and was hooked by professional audio stuff like JBL compression drivers, the big 18” Junior earthquakes, and early high-power Mosfet amplifiers by Fostex. I quit the hobby when I entered college and migrated to home theater when surround sound became fashionable,” Jack narrates. “But the pull of pure audio was hard to shake off. To partly finance my hobby, my cousin Keith and I decided to handle the dealership of Von Schweikert Audio in the Philippines.” The endeavor has opened up a new avenue for Jack to widen his network of friends in and out of WS.

Jack’s ideal audio gear is one that can stir an enthusiast’s most primal instincts and emotions, which can only be truly awakened by visceral cues. This is why his ideal system has to dish out a full-range performance, from the deepest bass to the highest of highs. A self-confessed classical junkie, full orchestra and dance floor anthems just don’t excite him much, especially if a system playing them is unable to reproduce frequencies at their extremes.

“I enjoy both tubes and solid state, digital and analog,” Jack confides. “What might surprise us is how a properly set-up analog system can surpass digital in the upper frequencies while getting scarily close to digital in reproducing deep bass. There are things that digital can do better but yes, from a holistic point of view, a well-cared-for LP played on a proper turntable has an advantage in letting the magic through. I feel that I’ve reached a point where I like what I hear from my systems, but I also admit that tinkering with side projects is also a lot of fun.”

He swears that his hobby doesn’t get in the way of public service because he has enough passion for both. Jack is now preoccupied with research to identify viable water sources, convinced that in three to five years the country will be feeling the impact of a potable water crisis. “Lack of available data from government entities makes the work harder, but it has never dampened my interest in the subject,” he says.

But even if he were not in politics, Jack declares that he will still serve the people in a personal capacity. “While I’m in Congress, however, I always keep in mind the servant-leader concept. I believe that I am not here to exercise power over the people, but to set an example through my lifestyle and work ethic in the hope that others will follow.”

To be true a representative of his constituents, Jack says he is ready to set aside his own interest. “It is their views that I should voice, not mine. That is why I am their representative.” A passionate man, indeed!

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To all audiofile readers who are hooked on this corner every other Saturday, WS members and most especially my wife, Milette, and our only child, Michelle: A blessed and joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com for quick answers to audio concerns.