Haselsh1
17-03-2012, 10:08
I’d like to say ‘Hello’ again if I may…
Shaun Haselden of Pickering, North Yorkshire
This is my short story.
In 2003, my system stood as follows: Arcam Alpha 9 CD player, Alphason Sonata with an Alphason HR100S MCS tonearm and an Ortofon OM30 cartridge. I had an Audion Sterling ETSE EL34 single ended amplifier and Audio Note AZ-2 loudspeakers. I cannot remember which phono stage I was using at that time.
During this same year, the company I worked for and had worked for, for twenty seven years, decided they were going to move the production facility to China and so we were all made redundant. At the same time I had walked out on my marriage simply because I got so sick and tired of waiting for eighteen years for thing’s to get better which inevitably, they never did. I bought a flat with my redundancy and lived on my own for three years. As expected my finances got very bad and getting another job was really difficult so most of the hi-fi had to go to finance a living. Parting No.1.
I met a new woman called Janet who lived in Pickering and decided I would make a completely new start by upping sticks and moving to Pickering to live. My flat sold in my then home town and I bought as an import, an Original 2008F HDCD CD player along with a Yarland Pro 200SE 300B SE amplifier. I also invested money in my own business, an Interflora based florist as that is what Janet did for a living. Within six months the mains transformer burnt out in the Original and was replaced by a genuine UK unit at a cost of around eighty six pounds. The Yarland started to generate bright blue flashes in one of the 300B’s on switch on so I took it to an electrical engineer who said that all of the internal voltages were way over what they should be. I sold it for sixty five quid as the basis of a project. I then bought a Croft Micro 25 Basic and Series 7 power amp.
My business failed after just four years of surviving and everything had to go yet again. Parting No.2. So, at the moment I have: an Original CD player from earlier, an Icon Audio Stereo 20PP and a pair of Celestion F28 floorstanders that have just replaced a pair of Celestion F15 standmounters. Vinyl is courtesy of a Project RPM-4 with standard tonearm and my trusty old Ortofon OM30 cart. The F28’s cost one hundred and fifty pounds as a discontinued line and completely obliterate the F15 standmounters in every single way but especially in terms of stereo imagery which was a definite surprise. The amplifier is very lively and extremely musical with a truly glorious midrange but sounds at its best on vinyl.
The future ?
Who know’s ? I would like to upgrade the vinyl side of things considerably maybe with a low output moving coil and a much better phono stage; the present one is a M/F V-LPS but who honestly knows what is around the next bend ? I would like an EL-34 based valve amplifier, full class A but push pull for that awesome midrange that I remember from years earlier and I would like a Rega DAC. Maybe the amplifier could be triode wired for even better sound quality, who knows...?
Will it ever happen ?
Never say never…!!!
If anyone is up on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway this summer fo a flying visit please send me a PM as I would love to meet up for a beer or two in the market place and talk about music/hi-fi. My current work means that my weekends are in the middle of the week but something is always available as and when.
Take care everyone.
Shaun Haselden of Pickering, North Yorkshire
This is my short story.
In 2003, my system stood as follows: Arcam Alpha 9 CD player, Alphason Sonata with an Alphason HR100S MCS tonearm and an Ortofon OM30 cartridge. I had an Audion Sterling ETSE EL34 single ended amplifier and Audio Note AZ-2 loudspeakers. I cannot remember which phono stage I was using at that time.
During this same year, the company I worked for and had worked for, for twenty seven years, decided they were going to move the production facility to China and so we were all made redundant. At the same time I had walked out on my marriage simply because I got so sick and tired of waiting for eighteen years for thing’s to get better which inevitably, they never did. I bought a flat with my redundancy and lived on my own for three years. As expected my finances got very bad and getting another job was really difficult so most of the hi-fi had to go to finance a living. Parting No.1.
I met a new woman called Janet who lived in Pickering and decided I would make a completely new start by upping sticks and moving to Pickering to live. My flat sold in my then home town and I bought as an import, an Original 2008F HDCD CD player along with a Yarland Pro 200SE 300B SE amplifier. I also invested money in my own business, an Interflora based florist as that is what Janet did for a living. Within six months the mains transformer burnt out in the Original and was replaced by a genuine UK unit at a cost of around eighty six pounds. The Yarland started to generate bright blue flashes in one of the 300B’s on switch on so I took it to an electrical engineer who said that all of the internal voltages were way over what they should be. I sold it for sixty five quid as the basis of a project. I then bought a Croft Micro 25 Basic and Series 7 power amp.
My business failed after just four years of surviving and everything had to go yet again. Parting No.2. So, at the moment I have: an Original CD player from earlier, an Icon Audio Stereo 20PP and a pair of Celestion F28 floorstanders that have just replaced a pair of Celestion F15 standmounters. Vinyl is courtesy of a Project RPM-4 with standard tonearm and my trusty old Ortofon OM30 cart. The F28’s cost one hundred and fifty pounds as a discontinued line and completely obliterate the F15 standmounters in every single way but especially in terms of stereo imagery which was a definite surprise. The amplifier is very lively and extremely musical with a truly glorious midrange but sounds at its best on vinyl.
The future ?
Who know’s ? I would like to upgrade the vinyl side of things considerably maybe with a low output moving coil and a much better phono stage; the present one is a M/F V-LPS but who honestly knows what is around the next bend ? I would like an EL-34 based valve amplifier, full class A but push pull for that awesome midrange that I remember from years earlier and I would like a Rega DAC. Maybe the amplifier could be triode wired for even better sound quality, who knows...?
Will it ever happen ?
Never say never…!!!
If anyone is up on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway this summer fo a flying visit please send me a PM as I would love to meet up for a beer or two in the market place and talk about music/hi-fi. My current work means that my weekends are in the middle of the week but something is always available as and when.
Take care everyone.