Yes the colour decision was challenging. The original grey is a bit unexciting ... Will offered me the choice of any RAL colour so I bought a swatch and swithered between Mad Scientist's Laboratory Green, assorted coppery / orangey colours, various silvers/champagnes and even lipstick red. All this in flat, metallic or even two-tone with the lid being darker or lighter depending.
Sent me quietly mental for weeks before I settled on a mid-grey sort of colour, neither a dark grey/ shiny near black nor the original flat grey, but something more neutral but still a bit stronger than the original colour, I'm pretty happy with the pics so far it seems to have worked out.
Hmm. Purple 'metalflake' with orange highlights could have been interesting!
Hope to have a listen soon.
Tom, hope you still up for having a side by side shoot out with my Sugden amp.
Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
Of course. Having had a couple of quality solid state amps up against it I have a reasonable idea what to expect - one of the strengths of the STA100 is that it has most of the attributes of a solid state amp in terms of frequency response and distortion (measuring as good as or better than many solid state amps) while at the same time retaining the musical capabilities of a pentode valve amp. I would expect the Sugden - which comes at things the other way round - to run it close, but the Radford will be more enjoyable into the Tannoys.
I could arrive armed with my Lampi AND 211s and give this Radford a spanking... or maybe not.
It would be interesting I have no doubt.