I have to echo Jack in terms of what was to me the most impressive aspect of Toms system, the swell and power of crescendo's to tracks was amazing, yet in following quiet passages there was no lack of authority and grip. One thing that strikes me about mono recording is there seems to be a natural "atmosphere" ingrained in the music, that is rarely present in stereo records. The jazz recording Tom chose for us to listen to really did give the sense of being at the venue, as well as a huge sound stage the back to front imagery was nothing short of draw dropping.

It is interesting you mention the size of the drivers Tom, never having seen let alone heard big Tannoys, I had taken for granted that they were 15 inch, but as I sat listening & looking at the cabinets I thought they looked more like 12 inch instead of 15 inch, but I thought it was an optical illusion caused by the size of the cabs.

One reason I particularly was looking forward to visiting Tom was I have an interest in having a mono deck for my increasing pile of mono records, and have been getting fed of of constantly changing cartridges every time I wanted to listen to one, so I was hoping for some tips on which way to go. Tom was very obliging but as always with these things it wasn't as straight forward as I thought. I mean, we listened to four (!) mono cartridges, and I had no idea the different size tips were required for different sized grooves. I am sure I have over simplified that but I am sure you get my drift.

Tom, the Bowie record was the "new" No Plan EP and you played thew title track. I have three copies of this as I play it a lot, yet I had never heard the scale and dynamics present in the grooves to that extent. I mean, my own system is pretty good and I have no complaints about how it sounds at all, but I heard Bowie as I have never heard him before on record, only in person, as I have seen him about a dozen times all told. Anyway, the song moved me to tears, I am not ashamed to say, and I hope to hear that level of emotion again soon. One other little thing Tom, David Live is a fantastic LP, it fairly crackles with electricity, atmosphere, call it what you will, but is also a favourite of mine too; thank you for inviting us, it was eye opening and inspirational, and you are a great host.