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Thread: Hello from the Isle of Wight

  1. #1
    Join Date: Aug 2013

    Location: Isle of Wight, UK

    Posts: 73
    I'm David.

    Default Hello from the Isle of Wight

    Hi, I'm not a big forum poster but would occasionally like to buy something in the Exhibitions area so as required I'm posting here first in anticipation.

    I have been a music lover most of my life, originally starting with The Beatles when I was 8, then "pop" in the broadest sense while at school and university. I started listening to Jazz when I first went to London to work and have been a fan ever since. Now in my 50's I've started to appreciate Classical music more and more, so much so that it probably represents the majority of my listening now. I want the music I listen to to have "soul" whatever genre it is.

    My "hi-fi" has changed over the years, although not to the extent of many on this and other forums. With my first pay packet (and a loan from my dad!) I bought myself a Pioneer integrated amplifier, tuner, PL512 turntable and Celestion Ditton speakers which lasted through university, bedsits and shared houses. When I was reasonably settled I looked for something better and got a DNM pre/power amp driving some SD Acoustics OBS loudspeakers with a Mission turntable. When the DNM turntable came out I switched the Mission for that and was very pleased with the improved sound. I was a relatively late adopter of CD (except on a portable for when I was travelling) but eventually bought a Micromega Duo with Duo DAC which I had modified by Audiocom.

    That system lasted some time but when my son started walking the flimsy DNM stands were regarded as unacceptably dangerous so I took the opportunity to "upgrade" to a valve system - CAT SL1 Signature preamp and Jadis Defy 7 power amp, both bought secondhand. I also changed the turntable to an SME 20 and speakers to Avalon Ascents. I thought the sound was fantastic and was very happy although my wife hated the look of the speakers. Unfortunately when we were away with inlaws one Christmas everything other than the speakers was stolen. I think they were too heavy to move! After a very long argument with my insurance company I found I had a serious amount of money to spend on hi-fi so I did. I ended up with another CAT preamp, the SL1 "Ultimate", CAT JL1 power amps, a Wadia 860 CD player and a Clearaudio Master Reference turntable. Serious "Hi Fi". Sadly although the sound was stunning with the best recordings most of my collection of records and CD's were almost unplayable so the system was rarely played - a total waste of money so I sold it all except the CD player. This was in 2004.

    Looking for something different I came across the low power SET scene on the internet and bought on spec a Supratek Cortese pre amp and a pair of Merlot power amps (Supratek were all the rage in the US at the time) as well as a pair of Avantgarde Trios - we had a big house then! Unfortunately before I could get it all running properly I lost my job and we had to downsize dramatically. With regret I sold the Trios (which I still think are amazing) and bought some Cain & Cain Abbey's which matched the Suprateks, sounded OK and most importantly fitted into our new home. In the new set-up didn't have room for a turntable so put all of the records away in the shed in boxes and limited myself to just CD's. It was OK, at times very good, but I wasn't enjoying it so in 2007 I put it all away in the loft.

    Between 2007 and 2016 I didn't listen to hi-fi at all although I did rip many of my CD's onto my laptop so I could listen to them through headphones or on my iPod. However in 2017 I decided it was time to set up a hi-fi again. I didn't fancy the Suprateks and Abbeys because of the space they take up but I did have a Quad 34 and 405 I had bought for a home office in the loft as well as a Threshold S200, Garrard 401, Lenco G75, various tonearms, cartridges, etc. After a bit of research I sent the Quads to Dada for a service/upgrade, the Garrard to Martin Bastin for a plinth and bought a Mac Mini and a Mytek Brooklyn to play my ripped CD's. I set it all up playing through some Reference 3A Episode Be loudspeakers I bought from Simon at Absolute Analogue and really enjoyed it straight away. Since then I've replaced the Quad 405 with the Threshold which was a big improvement, much more than I expected and, because Threshold power amps are sensitive to capacitance in speaker cables, added some NVA cables which dramatically improved the sound. I'm now very happy. I will probably change my pre amp and phono stage (I have a Graham Slee Jazz Club (which I use for MM and older records) and Dynavector P75 for MC) at some stage but otherwise am probably done.

    David Whistance

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Hello David. Welcome to AOS.

    That's quite a Hi-Fi journey you've been on. If you're still using the Quad 34 with the Threshold, I can only imagine the huge improvement in sound if you upgrade your pre-amp. I found the 34 a bit dull. I suspect a good TVC unit would sound superb here. You made a nice choice with the Reference speakers, they always sound lovely.

    You may not be a big forum user, but this is a friendly, laid back place, so feel free to join in. There's some great knowledge here.


    Enjoy the forum,
    Geoff.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Nov 2012

    Location: Oadby, Leicestershire, UK

    Posts: 311
    I'm Manny.

    Default

    A warm welcome to AoS David

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