Checking in

[littlest hobo]

Hi All

Joined today as I'm planning to upgrade the Hi-Fi I've owned for the last 18 years - nearly half my life! I have no idea where to begin, but I'm looking for an affordable valve amp to compliment a pair of Castle Kendal floorstanders I recently purchased off ebay (I bought them because many years ago I was forced to turn down a gifted set because it was against work policy and its bugged me ever since).

I'm embarrassed to list my other kit on here, but what the hell:

- Rotel integrated amp ra920ax - a 'tide me over' amp I got one Christmas 16 years ago when a lovely old NAD amp caught fire, a big disappointment.
- Pioneer x520 CD player - now on its last legs
- Arcam duo bookshelf speakers
- Scandyna 2:1 set up for tv
- Castle Kendal

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Claire, nice to see a lady member joining up, welcome to AoS :)

It really doesn't matter what equipment you have at the present in all honesty, the thing is you know you'll be upgrading gradually (always best :eyebrows:).

So what are your musical preferences? Or are you like a good few on here that listen to just about anything?


All the best to you & I hope you enjoy your stay here :)

[keiths]

Hi Claire - welcome to AoS :wave:

Nothing to be embarrassed about with that kit - we've not all got mega-buck systems by any means.

Anyway, enjoy yourself here and don't be afraid to ask any questions.

[littlest hobo]

Thanks Guys and It's nice to get a welcome as a female member, when I went to collect the Castle speakers the guy was genuinely concerned I'd bought hi-fi speakers for my clock radio!
As for music taste, pretty diverse I suppose - lots of mid 90's indie music, electronic, some dance, latin, hip hop, folk and classical. I guess I'm a victim of the download generation but I still love CD as a format and hope to eventually dig my record collection out.
For now, I'm focussing on an integrated valve amp and replacement for the cd player. I'm really interested in the Croft amps but admit to be lured towards the glow of naked valves (that sounds quite rude). Erring towards second hand in the hope of picking up better quality kit.
How do I work out what amp will suit my speakers? It's a bit of a minefield hence why I thought I'd join AOS

[Reid Malenfant]

I haven't come accross any Castle speaker that was a difficult load. I'm pretty sure Glenn makes a valve power amp with a mosfet output stage if you are worried about possible problems.

In reality I don't think you'd have any ;)

I'm sure there will be a few opinions though so simply wait & see :)

Nice one with the varied musical tastes to! I'm sure you'll be encouraged to dig out that record collection in the not too distant future :D

[John]

Welcome Claire
We not snobs about hifi gear here
Perhaps if you post your question in blank canvas you get a bigger response, we have a few members who know the Castle range quite well and will be only pleased to advise

[Beechwoods]

I'm embarrassed to list my other kit on here, but what the hell:



Balderdash! No-one deserves to be embarrassed of their kit, embarrassment should only be reserved for the music they play on it ;)

Welcome to AOS. If you love music and the means to play it, you're in the right place!

[Marco]

Hi Claire,

Welcome to AoS! :)

It's refreshing to see a lady showing such an interest in hi-fi and music. You've got a nice little system there - far better than a lot of people have, so don't ever be embarrassed discussing any aspect of your hi-fi system. We're a friendly bunch and here to help!

You should make friends with Natalie (who posts here under her husband's account of 'Dominic Harper'). She's very friendly and will offer you some female camaraderie to help temper some of the resident male testosterone! :eyebrows:

Anyway, I hope you enjoy yourself here and become a regular part of our friendly little community :cool:

Marco.

[greenhomeelectronics]

I don't normally come here to plug my wares but our Apollon Audio EL34 based valve amp was largely tested on Castles. We used a pair of Pembrokes in the early stages of development and got superb results with them. We moved over to B&W DM2's in the latter stages but the Castles always gave great results. We had a pair of Howards in at one time but one of them had a nasty accident - I could have cried. Do a search for Apollon Audio if you are interested in our amp, you should find a listing on our usedhifishop web site. I don't want to turn this forum in to my shop front - I am sure Marco would have something to say about that anyways:) Welcome to the forum, there is always good advice in here.
Dave.

[Marco]

Absolutely no problem, Dave. I was actually thinking of your amp when reading Claire's post! :)

Marco.

[Alex_UK]

Hi Claire, and welcome from me too. I would disagree with Nick (though his comment was only tongue in cheek!) - don't ever be embarrassed by either your kit or your music - and hopefully you'll not be "judged" here for either. Mind you, my music taste is notoriously poor, and my skin unbelievably thick! ;)

Hope you enjoy the forum. :)

[Beechwoods]

:thumbsup: Spot on, Alex!

[snapper]

Hi Claire

Welcome to the forum.



For now, I'm focussing on an integrated valve amp ... but admit to be lured towards the glow of naked valves (that sounds quite rude). Erring towards second hand in the hope of picking up better quality kit.
How do I work out what amp will suit my speakers? It's a bit of a minefield hence why I thought I'd join AOS

As well as the Apollon Audio EL34 that Dave sells, maybe someone could advise you about this (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14457) valve amp in the classified section.

Happy hunting.

:cool:

[Jonboy]

Hello Claire and welcome, i've had a couple of Rotel amps and have fond memories of them, Castles have a good following, i now theres a few people on here that have experience with them:)

[Dominic Harper]

Hello Claire and welcome. Natalie will no doubt be in touch I'm guessing! ;)

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS from me as well Claire.

Nice to have another female member - it's always good to have a woman's perspective on things, especially Hi-Fi. :)

(An expanding female presence on the Forum will tend to temper the testosterone-fuelled 'laddish' humour sometimes prevalent here! :eyebrows:)

Welcome again
Regards