I'm new to the Forum and this is my introduction of myself in the Welcome Area. This forum appeals to me because of my love of music, which in turn drives an active interest in hifi equipment. I've noticed already how much amazing knowledge there is among members - both about many varieties of music and also about hifi equipment. My own musical interests are mainly in opera (I sometimes write programme articles on operas in performance), but in many other kinds of classical music as well - of late years, modern and experimental classical music especially. I like jazz too, especially if I can hear it live.
I live in North London mainly and am retired. But my wife still works, so we keep a small flat near her job, which she could not commute to easily on a daily basis from our London home. Hence two hifi systems; a main one at home, and a second system for the home-away-from home. My main system - preamp and amp at any rate - is old 1990s Krell, which it would be way too expensive to replace with anything of equivalent musical quality. But it has its down sides: in particular a massive amplifier, which can trip the circuit if turned on too fast. (I understand there are such things as dedicated circuits that electricians can run up, but probably this would be an expense too far for me.) My second system is the one I tend to chop and change. I've just sold some old Leak valve mono blocks, and would prefer something more modern and less prone to faults - probably solid state but not necessarily, because both my wife and I love the valve sound (and look). My preamp in that second system is a classic Sansui CA 2000, which worked beautifully with the Leaks. I'm now looking for something else to partner it with, which needn't be too powerful because our living room there is not large. I've just bought on Ebay some Sonus Faber Concertino Domus speakers for that system, together with dedicated stands, to replace a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s.
I look forward to interaction with other members of the forum. All best wishes in anticipation, JonathanW