Hi-Fi turntables - Valve amplifiers - Reel to Reel - Minidisc

macvisual

macvisual

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Peter
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Anyone into hi-fi turntables...? Valve amplifiers...? Ribbon loudspeakers....? Reel to Reel players.....?

I've had a few tt's over the years, a Michell Orbe SE with SME V - Townsend Rock - Pierre Lurne Romance tt but sold these on to buy something else etc, I've now a very basic Dual 504 but would love something like a Roksan Xerxes or the TMS3. I've owned in the past Quad II valve power amps, McIntosh MC275 mono amps, Audio Innovations S1000 mono's, Krell, Magnaplanar 0.6 ribbon speakers, Quad ESL 57's etc...

Been to many hi-fi shows and love auditioning hi-fi kit.

Apart from my photography obsession audio plays a LARGE part in my life also.

Any other keen hi-fi guru's here.....?

Thanks;
Pete
 
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macvisual said:
Anyone into hi-fi turntables...? Valve amplifiers...? Ribbon loudspeakers....?

I've had a few tt's over the years, a Michell Orbe SE with SME V - Townsend Rock - Pierre Lurne but sold these on to buy something else etc, I've now a very basic Dual 504 but would love something like a Roksan Xerxes or the TMS3. I've owned in the past Quad II valve power amps, McIntosh MC275 mono amps, Audio Innovations S1000 mono's, Krell, Magnaplanar 0.6 ribbon speakers, Quad ESL 57's etc...

Been to many hi-fi shows and love auditioning hi-fi kit.

Apart from my photography obsession audio plays a LARGE part in my life also.

Any other keen hi-fi guru's here.....?

Thanks;
Pete
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I used to be a reasonable hifi geek but fell out of it after getting neighbours and learning that environmental factors (the room) has so much more effect on the sound than the kit itself, that and moving all of my music to MP3 (or whatever the modern version is), for a while I used FLAC but I rarely do the critical listening to warrant it and nowadays just prefer to listen to music than listen to hifi. By example I have my lounge wired up with a near top of the range Pioneer AV amp with auto EQ setup, PMC speakers and Airplay built in, sat behind me as I type is an un-used Krell amp...

Anyway, recently I got a small bonus and seeing as I didn't need any camera kit (did I just say that?!?) I wondered about some new speakers and jeez, I'd forgotten how expensive that could be. In the camera world you're generally wondering if £1 or 2k is a bit much to spend on a top of the range lens but looking at top of the range speakers will set you back £10s of thousands!!!
 
I wouldn't bother with the Roksan Xerxes. They fall to pieces. A friend had one from new. Some part of the innards (blobs I think they were called) just collapse and it renders them practically scrap as you can't get the parts easily or cheaply at all. The power supply was also ropey a lot of the time so it wouldn't keep to the correct speed or it made weird noises.

I went around Quad and Mission factories in the 90s. Fascinating places.
 
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I build valve guitar amps from time to time, but that's a slightly different bucket of thunder to a hifi amp. At some stage I'd quite like to make a stereo amp for live use of some of the stereo effects I use, but weight is a problem these days.
 
Hi Ned;

Yip, quality hi-fi kit can be MEGA money these days.......!

I now digitally stream via a cheap Netbook with 3TB HDD, Audioplan Kontrast floor standing speakers, connected to a A&R Cambridge Arcam Alpha amp, Sony minidisc, Dual 504 turntable etc...
I've love a clean pair of Audio Innovations 2nd Audio valve mono amplifiers at some stage.

I've a hi-fi friend living in N-Ireland who's a system well over £100k, flippin mental......!
 
I have a vintage system that I put together over a few years when I was a lot younger. I'm sure it could be improved with modern equipment - at a price. The ageing line-up is.....

Linn LP12 for Vinyl
Naim CDS for CD - the newest piece of kit and the only one to give any trouble!
Meridian 101 & 105 Amps - the oldest equipment, circa 1978
Linn Isobarik speakers - 1983/4

I was always interested/curious about valve amps, but the Meridians just kept on going - a fine pair of amps to drive the Isobariks.

Visiting the shows was great fun, I think my favourite was at the Last Drop near to Bolton.

It may be old, but still sounds great - expensive at the time, but given that it's all around 30 years old, the system was great value for money.

Chris
 
I think you're right Simon, hence hanging onto it for so long.

Not sure how long you have been around the Stoke area, you might just remember Purkiss HiFi. I knew the owners son and got free credit, allowing me as a young apprentice to build a once in a lifetime system.

Chris
 
simon ess said:
I reckon you would have to spend a not so small fortune to better it.
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Me too, one of the things I started to recognise is that magazines are designed to drive consumerism of hifi (and electronics in general) because of course this years model is night and day different form last years. Actually, the technology has barely moved on in 50 years and something that was well designed decades ago is still a valid design.

For example T/S parameters are still used to design speakers and we still can't make anything sound better than a valve amp or a class A transistor amp and the typical modern mastering techniques leave dynamics and detail at the door.

Once the penny dropped for me (part of which was running my own double blind experiment) I stopped believing most of what I read about hifi I trusted my ears instead.
 
Foxbat Flyer said:
you might just remember Purkiss HiFi.
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I've been up here about 20 years, but this might have been before that.

What a fantastic opportunity to build a system! You clearly took full advantage.

BTW, my speakers, Pierre Etienne Leon, are also isobarik and from the 80s.

Awesome speakers.
 
I think I might have bought my missions from purkiss if they were in hanley. They shut down not long after I think.

Ah. Nope. It was active audio. Purkiss were the other ones!
 
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srichards said:
I think I might have bought my missions from purkiss if they were in Hanley. They shut down not long after I think.
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Steve Purkiss opened a small shop in one of the Arcades in Hanley, then moved to a larger shop in Picadilly, before disappearing in the late 80s - way before you arrived in the area Simon. Their main shop, owned by Steve's father was in Porthill, more focussed on TVs and low end music stuff.

My first purchase from him was a pair of Mission 770s - happy days.

I agree Ned, about the endless upgrade path. I had a target of what I wanted and then stopped buying and just enjoyed the system - still do.

Chris
 
Linn Isobarik's..........wow, iconic.

I had a factory tour of Linn (Glasgow) a few years ago, fantastic place, the tour included a live music gig (Fiona Mackenzie) along with free lunch, a signed vinyl album and USB stick etc... Sublime
 
I built a pair of mono valve amps and matched them to make stereo, they use EL34 for the output four on each amp in push-pull configuration and ECC82/83 pre-amp valves two on each amp.
It hasn't been run for years, I need to service it and check the bias voltages on the output valves.
 
macvisual said:
Linn Isobarik's..........wow, iconic.

I had a factory tour of Linn (Glasgow) a few years ago, fantastic place, the tour included a live music gig (Fiona Mackenzie) along with free lunch, a signed vinyl album and USB stick etc... Sublime
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That sounds like an amazing factory visit, the closest I ever got was a visit to their trade hospitality lounge at one on of the shows, Harrogate, I think.

I'm hanging on to the Isobariks, they are in lovely condition, apart from the foam/sponge covers, they are showing signs of crumbling.

Chris
 
Foxbat Flyer said:
That sounds like an amazing factory visit, the closest I ever got was a visit to their trade hospitality lounge at one on of the shows, Harrogate, I think.

I'm hanging on to the Isobariks, they are in lovely condition, apart from the foam/sponge covers, they are showing signs of crumbling.

Chris
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I think you can get new sponge covers for them. I took the ones off the Saras I have as they were just turning to dust but I don't tend to leave them on anyway.
 
Rob 80386 said:
I built a pair of mono valve amps and matched them to make stereo, they use EL34 for the output four on each amp in push-pull configuration and ECC82/83 pre-amp valves two on each amp.
It hasn't been run for years, I need to service it and check the bias voltages on the output valves.
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Are they hard to build..? What's the power output etc..? Just curious. I'd love to have the talent/skills to do that, respect!
 
macvisual said:
Are they hard to build..? What's the power output etc..? Just curious. I'd love to have the talent/skills to do that, respect!
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Not difficult at all if you understand electronics and know your way around a schematic and soldering iron.
My amps are 90W each.
 
I used to be and lusted after a quad set up including their wonderful ESl electrostatic speakers but they need a lot of space around them to work well and thats something thats always been at a premium.

These days my disabilities forced me to rethink everything and downsize, so its just a Naim unitiquite 2, hardwired with cat 7 ethernet cables to a 6tb nas loaded with 16 & 24bit ALAC files, controlled via the Naim remote app on an iPad mini, played through a pair of PMC 20/21's on dedicated stands.

Its turned out to be the perfect solution for my small 14ft x 10ft room.
 
srichards said:
I think you can get new sponge covers for them. I took the ones off the Saras I have as they were just turning to dust but I don't tend to leave them on anyway.
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Thanks Suz, a good idea. At the moment the covers are ok, providing I don't go near them - I may have to source replacements at some point.

I was so close to buying a pair of Sara's - lovely speakers, but they were the wrong shape, said the other half - so Isobariks is was!

Chris
 
Totem Acoustics seem to make isobarik designs as well. They make some great sounding speakers. If mine ever die beyond repair I think they're about the only modern speaker I've heard that I like.
 
I still have a pair of Magnaplanar speakers in the loft - can't remember which ones they are, but about 5ft tall and 18" wide, and my old Beard valve pre and power amp is in daily use by the friend I lent it to 20 years ago..
Are the maggies worth doing anything with ?

At one stage I had half a dozen CD players, several modded, and the best was an Avondaled Naim. TT was a Linn LP12 then a Michell Orbe with SME5, some absurdly expensive cartridge and phono stage into a couple of (again) Avondaled Naim amps and even a mains conditioner. Dozens of different speakers came and went...
Eventually the record collection went, as did all the gear to be replaced with a few hard drives full of FLAC files. Not the same, but suits family life better.
 
Hi Steve,

Can you get those Maggie's carefully out of the loft and try resurrect them again? Amazing speakers! I had the Magneplannar 0.6 model myself which I bought new from Cloney Audio (Dublin) in the early 1990's. They do require space behind them alright with a large cushion or two behind them to balance the sound depending on your room size/acoustics etc...

It would be great to find out the model of them at some stage. Keep me posted..... That Beard pre/power would be an excellent combo for the Maggie's, can you retrieve it back from your friend I wonder?
 
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Peter

You're close enough to Audio Emotion in Leven to be able to pay them a visit, so it might be worthwhile keeping an eye on their used items listing. http://www.audioemotion.co.uk/pre-owned-150-c.asp They are certainly not in the bargain price category, but I reckon I got a fair deal a couple of years ago when trading in a valve amp for a better one. They do have megabucks gear and speakers the size of small wardrobes, but they seem happy to sell at the cheaper end as well.

I was in Falkirk last week and popped in to HiFi Corner, but they've gone upmarket and it was mainly new Linn and Naim kit. I think the only secondhand thing they had was a pair of speakers, but their Edinburgh shop has more.
 
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Thanks for that Peter. Yes I've visited A.Emotion before, they stock lovely (serious) kit alright, that's who my mate in N-Ireland has spent a clean fortune with them over the years, probably in/around 150k plus on exotica hi-fi.

I must call into Falkirk as it's not that far from me and take a we look. Thanks.
 
macvisual said:
Hi Steve,

Can you get those Maggie's carefully out of the loft and try resurrect them again? Amazing speakers! I had the Magneplannar 0.6 model myself which I bought new from Cloney Audio (Dublin) in the early 1990's. They do require space behind them alright with a large cushion or two behind them to balance the sound depending on your room size/acoustics etc...

It would be great to find out the model of them at some stage. Keep me posted..... That Beard pre/power would be an excellent combo for the Maggie's, can you retrieve it back from your friend I wonder?
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I think they are MG1c 's Peter - the loft is at my mums in London and I am in Cornwall, but I am up there in a week so will take a look.
As for the Beard (P100 ?) my friend spent a lot having new valves and an overhaul so I doubt I can get it back.
They (the Maggies) did need a massive amount of room to breathe, but were magical with the right sort of music.
I got them from Subjective Audio who were in Camden, London. At the time I drove a very battered old Mini Van (and was a scruffy builder and a bit of a lad) and got a call from Subjective Audio one Saturday afternoon, asking if I wanted to borrow them and the amp for the weekend, as they knew what sort of stuff I liked. Like I said no......
Picture the scene - there I was, at about 6.00pm at the back of the shop, the staff having all left, loading up this gear that wouldn't even fit into my van in the dark, when who came around the corner but a policeman.
I explained that I had been lent this gear so couldn't prove anything. Took a couple of hours before Howard Popeck of SA could corroborate my story.......
 
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Took a drive to Falkirk this afternoon and spent a while at The Hi-Fi Corner shop. Very friendly guys to chat with, they even made me a coffee as I tyre kicked their hi-fi bits n' pieces inside. There was a demo on so I couldn't get into the main demo room etc...

They stock audio products like;
Linn - Focal - Marantz - B+W - Sonus Faber - Project - Arcam

They didn't have any used audio products on display and no valve amplifiers etc. I spotted the top of the range Linn speakers costing a whopping 50k, and Linn's top turntable showing an eye watering price tag of over 22k........YIKES!!!!
 
macvisual said:
Took a drive to Falkirk this afternoon and spent a while at The Hi-Fi Corner shop. Very friendly guys to chat with, they even made me a coffee as I tyre kicked their hi-fi bits n' pieces inside. There was a demo on so I couldn't get into the main demo room etc...
They didn't have any used audio products on display and no valve amplifiers etc. I spotted the top of the range Linn speakers costing a whopping 50k, and Linn's top turntable showing an eye watering price tag of over 22k........YIKES!!!!
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Told you they'd moved upmarket! :eek: (n)
 
Anyone into Reel to Reel tape recorders/players....? Tascam - Akai - Philips - Revox etc.....??? Spent a few hrs last night youtubing all about them, I love the 10.5 size reel holders, awesome.

Proper analogue source transport.
 
macvisual said:
Anyone into Reel to Reel tape recorders/players....? Tascam - Akai - Philips - Revox etc.....??? Spent a few hrs last night youtubing all about them, I love the 10.5 size reel holders, awesome.

Proper analogue source transport.
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In my younger days I was fascinated by reel to reel machines, especially the Revox B77, but eventually realised that they were impractical - no pre-recorded tapes etc. so my attention and funds went into the LP12 and associated arm and cartridge.

I also liked the idea of a Nakamichi cassette deck to make recordings for the car, but it was around this time when buying a house had to take priority - never did get a Nakamichi!

Chris
 
macvisual said:
Anyone into Reel to Reel tape recorders/players....? Tascam - Akai - Philips - Revox etc.....??? Spent a few hrs last night youtubing all about them, I love the 10.5 size reel holders, awesome.

Proper analogue source transport.
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Yep, still got a fully working mint condition "Tandberg 9000x", still sounds awesome at 7.5 ips.
 
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G.K.Jnr. said:
Yep, still got a fully working mint condition "Tandberg 9000x", still sounds awesome at 7.5 ips.
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George, I'm jealous.... Sounds fantastic I'm sure. I've never properly heard one in the flesh, I'd love the likes of a Technics RS1500 or a Tascam BR20.

:)
 
macvisual said:
George, I'm jealous.... Sounds fantastic I'm sure. I've never properly heard one in the flesh, I'd love the likes of a Technics RS1500 or a Tascam BR20.

:)
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Peter, I believe Tandberg used to make two versions of each model, one with a power amplifier, and one as a deck that was just pre-amped. Mine is the pre-amp version which obviously has to be used with a power amplifier but gives you more dubbing facilities like sound on sound and AB monitoring where by you can monitor the actual recording as apposed to just the input signal and by switching from A monitoring to B monitoring you can compare the two in real time.

My turntable is a Thorens TD160C, and my amplifier is a Denon PMA 560 (sadly not tube). All this is played through a pair of Spendor BCIII speakers. They're a little on the cumbersome size but still sound pretty good and produce a good flat sound. They probably don't these days but at one time the BBC used to use these speakers for programme monitoring.

George.
 
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