Help/ Advice on a start up rig

[Lace'd Taste]

...I regularly ask on one of our local networks if anyone has any old hi-fi for sale (you know the sort of thing "Oh sorry mate but those Garrard 301s are such old technology now, I suppose I could stretch to €5)

Gordon please introduce me to this network of yours! btw lovely carpentry on your Flicker page, my Dad was a carpenter by trade and as a kid i'd watch him in the workshop for hours on end, always had a love and respect for wood work.

Andy, haha, yeh got plenty of balls; big, small, some rusty ones . i'll get that pm to you now - don't want me going off on a tangent about bikes in this thread!

[Oldpinkman]

Just been skimming through and can add an endorsement for the Pioneer (although this is tinged with rose-tinted nostalgia for a french girlfriend in my teenage days). Cannot make out what that ebay add you linked to is talking about with the preamp on the TT, but its hard to see why he would make something like that up. Can't be hard to remove, and you will want to.

I know they have crept up in price but the Nad 3020 (7020) mentioned before punches above its weight, and deserves its legendary status. I have 2 now, have had 5 in total, and the first which I sold to a friend is still used by him. They may not be as retro as her ladyships current device, but you could hardly call them modern - particularly the 7020 receiver if she likes listening to the wireless too.

The Shure cartridge will be fine too (if not worn or damaged). Have fun

[Gordon Steadman]

btw lovely carpentry on your Flicker page, my Dad was a carpenter by trade and as a kid i'd watch him in the workshop for hours on end, always had a love and respect for wood work.

Thanks Jayson. I'm winding down a bit now and retired (officially) Still knocking out the turnings though as its a useful source of cash.

Unusual spelling of your name. Bit more character than the usual without the 'y'

[Lace'd Taste]

Cannot make out what that ebay add you linked to is talking about with the preamp on the TT, but its hard to see why he would make something like that up. Can't be hard to remove, and you will want to.

Yeh i want to get these items early so i have time to inspect them and do the necessary cleaning and removal of random pre-amps - it's a bit of an obsession of mine opening up things. I've had a look at the NAD but really am sold on the A60 now, the more i look at them the more i know it's the right choice.

Still knocking out the turnings though as its a useful source of cash.

- great to hear, i got the impression from the webpage that you'd stopped all together! The name spelling is handy for keeping me off databases, i don't bother correcting people if i don't want to be on their system - people have trouble spelling my second name to which is also handy.

[julesd68]

I picked up a lovely pair of Mordaunt Short MS100's for £30 off ebay recently for a friend - very respectable indeed ...

There's a couple of larger MS's on ebay which have a great vintage look which would suit the A60.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MORDAUNT-S...item19e55a2a2b
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-PA...item2331522e1b

I've not heard these models but maybe someone else can comment ...

BTW there was a very nice matching tuner to go with the A60 - the T21 - had one myself and really enjoyed it.

Have fun putting the system together ...

[Thing Fish]

Holy mother of god...what is that?

[synsei]

Holy mother of god...what is that?

There's a cracking old fella from Hastings who repairs old audio odds 'n' sods and posts videos of his work on YouTube, he calls those things Crap'o'phones...

[RichB]

In what is an entirely predictable move might I suggest saving your pennies for a used Rega deck (P2/3) or even a new RP1 if you can stretch to it (approx £200). I've recently added a P3-24 to my system and I'm seriously in love with it.

Of course the perfect partner for this might be a used Brio amp (around £100?) or a NAD 3020 which could be had for much less than that.

Then maybe add a pair of Missions as has been suggested elsewhere, or a pair of Royds?

[Lace'd Taste]

I picked up a lovely pair of Mordaunt Short MS100's for £30 off ebay recently for a friend - very respectable indeed ...

There's a couple of larger MS's on ebay which have a great vintage look which would suit the A60.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MORDAUNT-S...item19e55a2a2b
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-PA...item2331522e1b

I've not heard these models but maybe someone else can comment ...

BTW there was a very nice matching tuner to go with the A60 - the T21 - had one myself and really enjoyed it.

Have fun putting the system together ...

Cheers for the input Julian - yeh i think those larger MS speakers are just too big for her room - i'm already having to think about making a shelf for the amp as it is. The look of them is right up her street though!

In what is an entirely predictable move might I suggest saving your pennies for a used Rega deck (P2/3) or even a new RP1 if you can stretch to it (approx £200). I've recently added a P3-24 to my system and I'm seriously in love with it.

Of course the perfect partner for this might be a used Brio amp (around £100?) or a NAD 3020 which could be had for much less than that.

Then maybe add a pair of Missions as has been suggested elsewhere, or a pair of Royds?

Richard it is a bit out of my price range unfortunately plus she likes the whole vintage thing so I'm going down that route - I've been reading a couple of threads on a few sites and I'm thinking of getting the A60 but recapping it following this thread - http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/s...88&postcount=1 It's about 5 years old now so i dunno how ideal the recommended caps are in the thread. I'm fairly confident with the iron so i'll give it a go.

Quick question to you all - what do you use for PCB cleaning? I use 99% isopropyl alcohol on computer PCBs but was wondering if there's anything specifically tailored to the audio side of things (i swear i keep reading about a particular spray everyone uses)

[MikeMusic]

Holy mother of god...what is that?

It's like an old Radiogram with the quality taken out !


Good to have another nutjob cyclist around