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oldius
21-03-2012, 21:50
I have a free morning on Friday 30th until 2.30pm.

Bring your vinyl if you wish and I'll expose my big front end!

Alex_UK
21-03-2012, 23:46
Bit too far for me Geoff, but good luck with it. :)

trio leo
22-03-2012, 00:04
Is this part of another thread? what exactly is on offer here?

regards Al

oldius
22-03-2012, 00:23
Al

Great music, a brew and bacon butties I guess.

Spinning vinyl on a big 401 with 12" Ace Anna and Audio Technica ART-1.

Leema Agena Phono stage, Bryston amps and Shahinian speakers.

Bring your own vinyl or explore mine.

Marco
22-03-2012, 09:56
Hi Geoff,


I have a free morning on Friday 30th until 2.30pm.

Bring your vinyl if you wish and I'll expose my big front end!

I might be up for that! I'll let you know on Monday - just need to sort out a few things first. Can we bring our own turntables, too? I'd love to hear my Techy against your 401 :)

Do you have an MM facility on your phono stage? It's so I can use the step-up tranny, with my SPU - either that or a low impedance setting and variable gain on your MC stage? :cool:

Marco.

Dominic Harper
22-03-2012, 10:01
Hi Geoff, we will be up for that Dom and I. We would love to have a listen to Gorgeous Garrard in that slate plinth and of course the new speakers if you sold those lovely Shahinians?

Natalie;)

oldius
22-03-2012, 10:11
It's all good baby.

Bring what you wish! Leema Agena phono stage:

http://www.leema-acoustics.com/uploads/shop/prod/5_00.pdf

I think it's pretty much compatible with everything but I'm strictly non technical I just dig the grooves!


Looks like it's the three of you. Trio Leo got first refusal on the final space.

10am until 2.30pm good for me. If the groove is good stay longer but I have to nip out.

oldius
22-03-2012, 10:12
Hi Geoff, we will be up for that Dom and I. We would love to have a listen to Gorgeous Garrard in that slate plinth and of course the new speakers if you sold those lovely Shahinians?

Natalie;)

Nat

I sold the Shahinians because I've got..............another pair!

Marco
22-03-2012, 10:36
It's all good baby.

Bring what you wish! Leema Agena phono stage:

http://www.leema-acoustics.com/uploads/shop/prod/5_00.pdf

I think it's pretty much compatible with everything but I'm strictly non technical I just dig the grooves!


Looks like it's the three of you. Trio Leo got first refusal on the final space.

10am until 2.30pm good for me. If the groove is good stay longer but I have to nip out.

Lovely phono stage, Geoff, so it looks like we're all set. Excellent that Nat and Dom can make it - yee hah! PM me you addy and landline number - churz. Bring on da choonz!! :gig:

Marco.

Marco
27-03-2012, 22:00
Hi Geoff,

You need to PM me your addy, dude, as I haven't received anything yet, and I don't have a scooby-doo where you live! :)

Marco.

oldius
28-03-2012, 14:11
Sent it alreadymarco. Will re send

Marco
28-03-2012, 17:26
Cheers, dude - got it! So what time are things kicking off from? :)

Marco.

oldius
28-03-2012, 17:56
Plan is 10am til 2pm.
Vinyl, bacon butties and brews provided.

Bring any records you like though I've got a few!

Marco
28-03-2012, 18:07
Coolio - I'd dust off the Vera Lynn and Max Bygraves ;)

Marco.

oldius
28-03-2012, 18:18
It'll sit beautifully with my bert kaempfert

Marco
28-03-2012, 18:28
Excellent! Are you providing 'special outfits' to wear, at the door? ;)

I'll be coming in my joggers and slippers.

Marco.

oldius
28-03-2012, 18:43
Housecoats and pipes. Maroon only please. Extra bacon provided for one raised trouser leg.

Joe
28-03-2012, 19:46
I'll be coming in my slippers.

Marco.

Let's hope they're washable.

Marco
28-03-2012, 19:48
Yes, I was very careful how I spelled that one... Mind you, if Geoff's system is really good, anything could happen! :eek:

Marco.

trio leo
29-03-2012, 13:04
Hello Mr Oldius,
I would love to attend, I have sent a PM but I'm having trouble with connection to AoS, hopefully you have received the message.
regards Alan

oldius
29-03-2012, 13:22
Four in attendance, good job you have a turntable each!

Look forward to seeing Marco, Dominic Harper, Natalie and Alan (Trio Leo) in Helsby tomorrow morning.

Cheers

Geoff

Marco
30-03-2012, 09:15
Just leaving now! :hotrod:

Marco.

oldius
30-03-2012, 17:56
Thanks to all for coming over. Lovely day, great music, four decks.............bliss!

Dominic Harper
30-03-2012, 18:37
Thank you for having us Geoff, and the bacon buttie was lovely!

Marco
30-03-2012, 18:59
Hi Geoff,

Brillant day, mate - superb! Loved all your T/Ts (Thorens TD125, Garrard 401 and Lenco G99), but in some ways the Lenco stole the show (after the bacon butty :D)! With a better arm and cartridge on it, it's going to be something very special indeed :eek:

Also, nice to go to a bake-off where the host is a genuine music lover, into a wide selection of music (like I am), which has not always been the case at meets I've been to with people from other forums ;)

Nice meeting Nat and Dom, again, and Alan (Trio Leo) for the first time - great chatting with you, mate. Keep the Albarry fires burning!

Geoff, we'll need to do it again - next time at my place :cool:

Marco.

oldius
30-03-2012, 19:11
Interesting thoughts on the g99. Licensed to goldring but designed in the day to compete with 124 and 301. They're a rare beast but well worth seeking out and were made from about 1965.

The bearing on it is a high quality affair from redbeard analogue. The slate plinth is always a good thing. The carts had doms retip magic so there's just the arm to go.

Loved Marcos teccy too and nice to hear all four side by side.

Music is the key to it all of course. A great system playing rubbish is a turn off. A great system can make great music sound even better but it cannot turn Westlife into wonder (Stevie) or battersby in to Joplin (Janice)!

Reid Malenfant
30-03-2012, 19:12
Loved all your T/Ts (Thorens TD125, Garrard 401 and Lenco), but in some ways the Lenco stole the show (after the bacon butty :D)!

Marco.
The Lenco stole a bacon butty :rfl:

What model Lenco was it out of interest, just asking as I have a G99 here & I'd like to keep it from possibly devouring any of my food :D


Appears you all had a good time, bravo :)


E2A:- Ah, I see it was a modded G99... I'll keep mine away from the freezer :eyebrows:

Marco
30-03-2012, 19:16
Lol... The Lenco stole the show (in terms of 'sound-per-pound value'), *just*, ahead of the bacon butty, which was superb (on a different level)! Both were class acts!! :eyebrows:

Just having some munchies - will comment more later....

Marco.

The Black Adder
30-03-2012, 19:29
Any pics of the day?... Shamown!

oldius
30-03-2012, 19:47
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy332/oldius/aceanna001.jpg

http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy332/oldius/thorens003.jpg

http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy332/oldius/PICT0873.jpg


No one took any pictures on the day, too busy listening, eating and drinking!

chelsea
30-03-2012, 19:52
That thorens looks superb.

oldius
30-03-2012, 19:58
Thank you. It's a lovely deck, a nice lilting contrast to the drive and dynamics of the two idlers. I got it for a song and had a solid plinth built around it. Other than the plinth it is "stock".

Back in the day the TD125 was one of "the" turntables to have and it is a very well made deck, featuring many of the "improvements" that have been made to the LP12 to bring it to it's current £10k specification.

Marco
31-03-2012, 06:42
Loved Marcos teccy too and nice to hear all four side by side.


Indeed it was - what a joy to hear four excellent turntables, side by side. A rare treat indeed! Glad you liked me 'ol Dansette... It's amazing how far you can take these little 'DJ decks' ;)

Your Garrard is a class act, and you can hear the typical sonic benefits Dom's superb slate plinths bring to the party, underpinning music with a wonderful grip, solidity and stability. His plinths really do bring out the best in Garrards, and IMO, should be considered a mandatory upgrade for all 401s and 301s, if you really want to hear what these old motor units can do!

The Thorens is a real looker (as the pics show), and I loved the combination of the Audiomods heavily-modded Rega RB300 and Denon DL-S1 cartridge. I'd say that the Audiomods is easily the best 'souped up' Rega tonearm I've heard, and the DL-S1 is an utterly gorgeous sounding cartridge - truly high-end MC magic at a distinctly non-high end price! I enjoyed listening to the Thorens, but ultimately found its sonic presentation a little too soft, for my tastes, in comparison to the drive and solidity of the other T/Ts present. However, it's certainly better than most LP12s I've heard! As belt-drive T/Ts go, its up there with the best.

It was the Lenco GL99, however, which made me smile most when listening to music, as it has an addictive 'fun-factor', rather like the Techy, which just makes you want to play record after record - what a tune demon! Hampered only by the stock Rega RB300, which of course wasn't in the same league as the tonearms (Audiomods and 12" Nottingham Analogue Ace Anna) used on your other T/Ts, and less so, by the Audio Technica AT33PTG, which is an excellent cartridge (and even more so, since a re-tip by Dom), but not up to the level of the Denon DL-S1, or AT ART-1, fitted to the Thorens and 401, respectively.

However, the Red Beard bearing has elevated its performance to a level which I've never heard before from any Lenco turntable... This G99 has a wonderfully tight, weighty and powerful sound, mixed with a lithe and lucid sonic presentation, in the process injecting music with a vim and vigour, which cannot help but be smile-inducing. The Lenco has soul, baby, grooves like a bastard, and as such never fails to stimulate one's aural pleasure zones. It's a real party animal, and produces *just* the sort of sound that I love! :hairmetal:

I would urge you, when you have the necessary funds, to fit a top-notch arm and cartridge to it (and a NWA slate plinth), as the Lenco has the potential to be utterly stunning. If it were me, I'd fit one of the excellent new tonearms from Audionote, shown here on Hugo's superb TD-124:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9702

I've heard Hugo's ARM-1, and it was very impressive indeed. Apparently the silver-wired version is phenomenal! The Audionote is certainly one of those products that punches WAY above its weight, price-wise - a veritable 'giant-killer'...

Cartridge-wise, I think something like a Shelter 501 II, would be superb:

http://www.needledoctor.com/Shelter-501-Phono-Cartridge?sc=7&category=1107

I've heard a number of Shelter cartridges (including Martin's superb 9000) and they never fail to impress with a beautifully judged balance of sonic virtues. The 501 II certainly offers lots of 'bang for your buck'.

Anyway, mate - just a few suggestions to keep you going! Thanks again for a wonderful day :cool:

Marco.

oldius
31-03-2012, 07:44
Thanks for the kind words,it was my first "multiple guest" music session but won't be the last.

Just a couple of notes. The notts arm is the ace Anna rather than the ace space and the slate plinth on the goldring is definitely not one of doms, more like a rough sawn part pool table!

See you soon at your place Marco and thanks to Alan, dom and nat for making the trip to Cheshire.

Marco
31-03-2012, 07:50
Ah, thanks for the clarification, matey... Amendments made. I didn't look too closely at the plinth. Jeez, if the Lenco sounded that good on a 'cheapo' plinth, then what's it gonna sound like on one of Dom's!! :eek:

I can now understand why the G99 has such a fan club! :eyebrows:

Marco.

oldius
31-03-2012, 08:40
The plinth is a big ol' lump just not as aesthetically pleasing as one of Doms. I agree regarding the arm, without doubt the deck is capable of even more. If I stopped growing my TT family I could perhaps afford one!

Marco
31-03-2012, 08:46
Lol - indeed! :eyebrows:

Yup, TBH, the AT cartridge could be left in situ, as I think that it would go to another level, sonically, used on a better arm.

Btw, I forgot to mention, that Leema phono stage of yours is one of the best solid-state phono stages I've heard - defo up there with the Whest PS.30R, to my ears, and with all that adjustment flexibility, too!

It's a fabulous thing, and no doubt a joy to own :)

Marco.

Marco
31-03-2012, 12:27
Here's a nice pic of a Shelter 501 II cartridge (which I mentioned earlier), fitted to a Jelco SA-750D tonearm, on a Lenco L75:


http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/4131/shelter501iiinjelco.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/shelter501iiinjelco.jpg/)


The Jelco would be another (less expensive) tonearm option for your G99. Looks pretty good on the L75:


http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/438/jelcoonl75.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/jelcoonl75.jpg/)


I used one for 2 years, before I bought my Ortofon arm. You can pick up the Jelcos for around £350 new (and it's way better than an RB300). I've also heard an AT-33 PTG on one, and it sounds fab! S'ok, I'm great at spending other folk's money! :D

Marco.

Dominic Harper
31-03-2012, 12:41
A great day out which is a rare experience for Dom and I. Those turntables sounded superb all 4 of them. I loved the Thorens with the Audiomods, a match made in heaven imho. I also liked the new arm on your Garrard very nice indeed. That little Lenco G99 was lovely sounding and very clear. Marco, you have brought out some real bass to your technics, those mods you have had done have really done your deck proud. Can't wait to have a listen to it here at Northwest Analogue towers lol. By the way thank you for the kind words regarding the Garrard slate plinth. Geoff's slate plinth was the first one we did and it still looks and sounds superb. I have to comment on Geoff's phono stage, that was amazing and brought out the best from all 4 of those turntables. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and listened to some great music which I have made a list to try and get some of those fab albums with exception to the one with the four guys and the song was called Float on:spew:I'm sure you put that in to deliberately get a response from me :lol::lol::lol: Gits. But overall a lovely day out and some fabulous turntables and music. One more thing before I forget, those Shahinian Speakers. Really good. Thanks Geoff for a good day out and the bacon sandwich.

Natalie;);)

oldius
31-03-2012, 14:48
Thanks for the kind words! The leema Agena is simply the best phono stage I have heard and there's a lot on that list. The flexibility is a bonus.

Shahinians driven by Bryston is a love thing for me and probably my permanent combo.

So nice having everyone round too. Cheers!

Marco
01-04-2012, 09:56
Hi Nat,


Marco, you have brought out some real bass to your technics, those mods you have had done have really done your deck proud. Can't wait to have a listen to it here at Northwest Analogue towers lol.


Churz - it's defo perking me booty more than ever now! :dance: :D

For details of the mods that have been done (if Dom's curious), see this thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16963

The regulator mods have really added weight and gravitas to the Techy's bass, driving rhythms along with tremendous venom and alacrity, thus underpinning music with more palpable authority, whilst simultaneously reducing the noise floor to vanishingly low levels. I'm lurvin' it!

Yup - looking forward to the next sesh at dressing-gown towers. Maybe try a peach one this time? :eyebrows:


By the way thank you for the kind words regarding the Garrard slate plinth. Geoff's slate plinth was the first one we did and it still looks and sounds superb.


Yer welcome... Superb products deserve championing!!

Marco.

trio leo
01-04-2012, 12:41
Hi Geoff,
I would like to add my thanks to you for a smashing listening session, it was well worth the journey.
It was a pleasure to meet you, Natalie,Dominic and Marco for the first time, all of you are passionate about music and obviously knowledgeable about all things HiFi and so keen to get as much as possible from the vinyl we listened to.
Listening to your system was a lovely analogue experience, mixed with plenty of artists I haven't heard of, which I find enlightening.
Super to see the 3 t/tables side by side looking grand in their purpose built plinths, the phono stage is brilliantly flexible to allow you to swap decks so easily. I know looks aren't as important as the music but I did like the look of the Thorens 125 with the snazzy Audiomods arm.
The first time I've heard the Shahinian Obelisks as well, a lovely, sweet delivery wherever I sat.
It was interesting to hear Marco's heavily modded Technics deck as well, the Ortofon arm and transformer look so well engineered, I enjoyed listening to it as I do have a soft spot for the Ortofon SPU.
Yummy doorstep bacon butties as well, what more could one ask for, good folk, good food, good music, good grief we had a smashing time!
Thanks again Geoff, a great afternoon.
Keep spinning the black magic.

Kind regards Alan

Dominic Harper
01-04-2012, 12:50
Hi Alan, it was a pleasure chatting to you too, and very interesting about the Albarry connection.
Have been looking at that cart you gave me. Still has signal on both channels but so quiet.
Suspension is very stiff. Need to open it up if possible, but this may be troublesome.
Tip looks very nice, possibly a VDH tip?

oldius
01-04-2012, 19:42
Cheers Alan it was nice to meet you. If you're early next time just knock, no need to go to costa coffee, I'll make you a fresh one!

trio leo
01-04-2012, 20:35
Hello Dominic,
I was fascinated with your knowledge and passion about what you do,Natalie seems to share that passion, what an interesting lady.
now you mention the VDH tip it may be possible we had this cartridge sent to VDH or the firm that made it dealt with them, I remember selling the very expensive system to the customer and this would not have been an average cartridge, someone sent me a picture of an Argent cartridge and it looks identical, but I don't know much else about it.
As it doesn't work now I have nothing to lose, have a go, see what you find.

regards Al