Hi folks
First of all, a big thanks to the Administrators for enrolling me so quickly - much appreciated. And please don’t read too much into my username - it was just some (probably) misguided attempt to add an air of mystery to my somewhat mundane existence.
I live in the Pennine foothills (at approx 850 feet above sea level) and work in local government. It’s so cold up here we use valves not so much for their unique sound quality but more as a source of heat. My employment means I can’t afford the high end of the high-end - instead, to use that oft-quoted phrase, I’m out to get the biggest bang for my buck.
The main parts of my system currently comprise:
1) Beresford Bushmaster - bought on the strength of its enthusiastic reception here on the Forum and fed by an iMac
2) Audio Innovations Series 500 amplifier – the three tap model with the Hinchley transformers
3) JR149 loudspeakers - the Mark 1, gold logo version sat on the ‘umbrella’ stands Jim Rogers designed to accompany them.
Now, however, the twenty plus-year-old Series 500 seems to spend more time at the repairers than it does in my listening area. So, maybe it’s time to leave what might well be diminishing returns territory and head towards modern vacuum tube Nirvana. Hence my decision to join the Forum. I’ll be posting more about my dilemma soon (bet you can’t wait).
Music-wise, my tastes encompass everything from Blue Note jazz via rock (and folk, country & soul) to the latest electronic exotica - par for the course for a fifty-something would-be audiophile, I guess. Weirdly, I don’t ‘get’ the Smiths but think the first two albums by the Blue Nile & the last two by Talk Talk are neglected masterpieces.