Hi from Yorkshire [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

willie garvin

26-11-2011, 01:38

Hi,

I've always liked music but marriage, raising a family & work never allowed me to afford any hifi & to be honest it never entered my head back then to get back into hifi.

But early retirement at 50, now 10 years ago & my kids leaving home made a financial difference.

It must be going on for nearly 3 years now since I drifted into hifi again & to be honest it's the one topic that is in my head every day.

So having obtained some hifi in completely the wrong way, buying equipment without listening to it, I started to join various hifi forums for info & advice.

My current set up which has evolved over this time is as follows,

Harman Kardon PA2400 X 2, Tag Mclaren PA20R, Esoteric SA60, Technics SL1210, DPA DSP 200S phono stage, Lumley Reference II Signature Monitors.

Having just recently added another Harman Kardon PA2400 power amp to my system I decided to try bi-amping & at first I used 1 HK amp per speaker, but having read about it on other forums I decided to use 1 HK amp for the highs & 1 for the lows & to date I'm enjoying what I hear.

I'm open minded about music but I don't like heavy rock & never liked punk & do not like opera & I'm not a huge fan of classical!!

My musical tastes take in Diana Krall, Sade, Eric Clapton, Yello, Santana, Faithless, Dire Straights, Moby, Duffy, Adele, Rod Stewart, William Orbit, Simon & Garfunkel, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Dayna Kurtz, Andrea Bocelli, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Gipsy Kings, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, 60's music, Bruno Mars, Nitin Sawhney, Soul, Jazz (some of it) & R&B & just recently The Civil Wars as shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgNqe7m5kK4 & this list is far from complete & growing daily!!

I have also just got back into vinyl & I'm loving it & I'm now always on the lookout for vinyl albums.

Also I'm ashamed to say that I've only just discovered John Martyn & Nick Drake & I'm desperately trying to hear & buy their music.

I'm always asking seemingly naive questions re hifi that have probably been asked before, but if I don't know I'll ask people who do, so be warned!!

Other than that NEVER be afraid to make comments, good or bad, I'm too long in the tooth to be offended & I'm here to learn anyway.

Anyway thats enough about me & my typing finger is begining to ache. :lol:

Cheers,

willie G

Wilbur

26-11-2011, 01:45

willie garvin

26-11-2011, 02:12

Hi Willie/Mick
Welcome to AOS-great taste in music you have there!
As for Nick Drake and John Martyn,2 of my favourite artists!
The 3 main Nick Drake albums(5 leaves left,Bryter Layter and Pink Moon) are the ones to go for,and John Martyn's best stuff(to me anyway) is Grace and Danger,backovers.The first track I heard was Small Hours from "One World",took me years to find out who and what it was,but after that...wow.
Which JM/ND albums do you have?
:)

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the reply.

So far I have these John Martyn on vinyl, Solid Air, The Tumbler, Well Kept Secret, Grace & Danger, One World.

I have these on cd, Ain't No Saint, And, BBC Live In Concert, Bless The Weather, Classics Live, Cooltide, Couldn't Love You More, Germany 1986, Glasgow Walker, Glorious Fool, Inside Out, Heaven & Earth, London Conversation, On The Cobbles, Piece By Piece, Sapphire, Stormbringer, Sunday's Child, Sweet Little Mysteries, The Apprentice, The Church With One Bell & of course I'd like all these on vinyl too!!!

Re Nick Drake, I only have two of him on cd at the moment, Five Leaves & A Treasury (SACD) & once again I'd like them on vinyl too.

Too be honest I've been overdosing on John Martyn & Nick Drake lately, making up for lost time, just cannot get enough of them.

I also watched a documentary on John Martyn on the TV here in the UK recently & it's here I discovered that he had his leg amputated above or just below the knee & he took it in his stride...................what a guy he was.

Cheers,

Mick aka willie G

Wilbur

26-11-2011, 02:28

Was lucky enough to see him in concert once at Newcastle Opera House,great night that was!
The Nick Drake stuff is available on LP,but originals go for daft money,although there was a 180g issue of the main 3 a few years ago.

willie garvin

26-11-2011, 02:36

Hi Paul,

It's funny that, I first saw Faithless in Newcastle.

I just missed this on Ebay, Nick Drake Fruit Tree 3x LP box set complete with booklet http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220892283057?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Mick

Wilbur

26-11-2011, 02:43

Got that,still sealed! Cant bring myself to open it! Especially now it looks like its going for silly money. If you want a copy of the Bryter/Pink Moon discs,pm me your address..Your John Martyn list is about the same as mine I think

willie garvin

26-11-2011, 02:55

Paul,

Thanks for that offer re Bryter/Pink Moon but I have already talked my kids
into buying these for me for Christmas, your offer is very much appreciated though.

Cheers,

Mick

Wilbur

26-11-2011, 03:13

Youre in for a treat!
Pink moon is a very short album though,so dont get comfy!!

Rare Bird

26-11-2011, 05:40

Welcome Mick from a fellow Yorkshire man (where all the good looking blokes are from)

John

26-11-2011, 05:42

Great intor Mick
Welcome to AOS

Alex_UK

26-11-2011, 07:23

Welcome aboard Mick, looks like you have great music taste - think I have just about everything on your list, but of those Faithless is my favourite I must say.

Enjoy AoS. :)

The Grand Wazoo

26-11-2011, 08:28

Hi Mick
Welcome from me!

Cheers

Haselsh1

26-11-2011, 14:00

Hello Mick, I'm in North Yorkshire and share your passion for Nick Drake. I also share your passion for vinyl. I think we'll all get along just fine.

Spectral Morn

26-11-2011, 16:05

Welcome Mick to AOS

Regards D S D L

jazzpiano

26-11-2011, 19:15

Welcome Willie,

Nick Drake was so far ahead of his time; I'll listen to one of his early 70s albums and I feel like I'm hearing something just made yesterday. Do you have a favorite Nick Drake tune? My favorite might be 'Black-Eyed Dog' - not a happy tune but really rivets me for some reason. (Speaking of great artists who can be a bit down but insightful, are you familiar with the late David Blue and his album 'Stories'? - look up the tune 'Sister Rose'.) Also, it's been years since I heard John Martyn, is there a killer tune I should Spotify to get me back in the loop?

Best,
Barry

Reid Malenfant

26-11-2011, 19:32

Hi Mick, a warm welcome to AoS from me to :)

Some great kit you have there I must say ;) Those Lumley speakers look superb & sound great to, I'd be worried about moving them about though so it's probably a good job you don't need to :lol: Cranes spring to mind with that weight :eek:

Hope you enjoy your stay & all the best :cool: