Greetings from Hong Kong :)

[wombatt]

Greetings,

Just wanted to say hi after deciding to join after reading a couple of posts and enjoying them!

I first started spinning my dad's black discs (and ruining a few in the process) when I was in my early teens, before going on to ruin a couple of my own (plus a few MM carts in the process), before finally starting to get the hang of it all in my late teens :P

Took a short break from spinning them black discs when I went overseas (Australia) to study before picking them back up in my late 20's when I settled down and got married.

Have been spinning them ever since and building up a small collection. Was initially into vintage hi-fi (Spendor BC1s, Leak 12.1s, Garrads 310/401, Williamson monoblocks, etc., you name it) but have now finally settled down with a "wife friendly" solid state system with 2 belt drives :)

I still however prefer "vintage" cartridges over modern ones and love my old EMT, Ortofon SL15s, Supex 900 woody, etc.

Part of my current system can be seen here:-

http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/4803.html

I mostly listen to 80's pop, jazz vocals, small scale jazz and soundtracks.

Cheers,

Anthony

[prestonchipfryer]

Hi Antony and welcome to the AoS. :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Anthony,
Welcome to AoS & thanks for your excellent introductory post.
That's quite a list of gear on that AA page!
So would you mind telling us what your system consists of now?

Cheers

[wombatt]

Hello John and Chris and thanks for the warm welcome.

My current system is as follows:-

a pair of custom made solid state home-brewed monoblocks with balanced inputs driving a pair of AR-3A Limited Edition loudspeakers

a custom made solid state home-brewed power amplifier with balanced inputs driving a pair of Tannoy 10' Reds in original 3LZ cabinet

a custom made home-brewed solid state pre-amp with balanced inputs and outputs driving the aforesaid amplifiers

a custom made home-brewed solid state mm/mc phono stage with 4 x rca inputs and balanced output

a modified Lenco 88 belt drive with a Garrard and a FR tonearm

a modified Sota Sapphire with an EMT and a Garrard tonearm

a Philips CDP (960 I think); and

a Stax SRA-14S driving a pair of Stax electrostatic earspeakers.

[wiicrackpot]

Welcome Ant. :)

Out of your AA equipment list, the AR-3a intriqued me the most being a Ltd Edition, as a ex AR-6 owner and loved them,would love to hear the legendary 3a's someday.

Wee question, why did you convert/cut up a L88 to make a belter?, do you hear any benefits in doing so?, surely using a lesser sought after Lenco would give you the same effect. :)

wii.

[WAD62]

Hi Anthony, whereabouts in Hong Kong do you live, I used to live in Wanchai, then Mid-Levels for a while in the mid to late 90's

[wombatt]

Welcome Ant. :)

Out of your AA equipment list, the AR-3a intriqued me the most being a Ltd Edition, as a ex AR-6 owner and loved them,would love to hear the legendary 3a's someday.

Wee question, why did you convert/cut up a L88 to make a belter?, do you hear any benefits in doing so?, surely using a lesser sought after Lenco would give you the same effect. :)

wii.

Hi Andy

Ah, my AR-3as. I am told that they are , supposed to be rather tricky to drive well and need a good power amp in order to do so, if not the bass will sound flabby and lifeless.

I understand that my pair are from the final batch of AR-3a that were produced for the Asian market using solid wood for the cabinets and "better" drivers. Mine are however somewhat modified (they are fitted with a pair of mid-range drivers from a AR-3A Improved that I used to own) but retain the later edition's treble and bass units, so will sound somewhat different from other AR-3as.

As regards the Lenco 88, it was actually modified by my repair guy who also put together the rest of my "home-brewed" system. According to him, converting it into a belt drive design eliminated any rumble and made it more musical. And I think he told me he chose an 88 to mod because of the special design of the platter and the bearing. And unlike those pics I have seen on the internet, mine only has the words "Lenco" and no "Goldring", so perhaps it is an early version.

And on the topic of unusual turntables, you just reminded me that I also have a Sugden Connoisseur idler drive, although it's taken my repair guy a couple of years to piece back together ... the story is he acquired it in bits and hasn't had the time to put it back together. All I remember is that it had a hammertone finish (like the early Garrard 301s), since I had it professionally sprayed using the same grey finish.

[wombatt]

Hi Anthony, whereabouts in Hong Kong do you live, I used to live in Wanchai, then Mid-Levels for a while in the mid to late 90's

Hi Andy,

I currently live in Siu Sai Wan, which is at the Easternmost point of the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island beyond Chai Wan.

Incidentally, I used to live in the Mid Levels as well in the early to mid-90's :)

[WAD62]

Hi Andy,

I currently live in Siu Sai Wan, which is at the Easternmost point of the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island beyond Chai Wan.

Incidentally, I used to live in the Mid Levels as well in the early to mid-90's :)

Ah I used to play for Little Sai Wan cricket club, although we used to play most of our games at Su Kon Po (can't remember the correct spelling)...close to HK stadium.

My time in mid levels was just off 'Lobinson Doh', I'm trying to remember the name of the pub that was close by, run by a mad american called Pete, used to have a popular pub quiz once a week...my memory is getting worse and worse...:doh: