View Full Version : Bill Beard
Floyddroid
26-09-2012, 21:24
Has anyone heard from Bill Beard lately? He designed and built some amazing amps.:):
He also ruined many of his earliest designs before going deep underground, never to be heard from again!
Rare Bird
27-09-2012, 23:07
i kina owned a BB30/60 amp was good imho! however i'll always love the Leak 'ST20' as my fav toobe amplifoire'
Floyddroid
28-09-2012, 08:00
I have owned a few Beard amps loved them all. The down side to them is moving them around physically. Following a back injury made worse by the aging process i had to give up the ghost on them. My far the most musical though.
The best phono stage i have ever owned was the one that Bill built into the CA506 pre amp which was totally awesome. The early Beard designs could never be loved for their agricultural appearance but they did have some serious grunt. My P100 firmly gripped B&W 801's with ease. Bill's later designs were a little easier on the eye and getting Chris Found on board was a master stroke. Testiment to this is the BB101.
Bill and his partner Rosemary once came to Teesside to visit me with lots of BB30-60 amps for me to place with local dealers and spent some time socialising with him. He is a larger than life character and had some great stories to tell. That was many years ago and i often wondered what happened to him after his retirement. I know that he spent a lot of time abroad on his Catamaran. Whether you love him or dilike him Bill's contribution to British Hi-Fi can not be questioned. He brought High end Hi-Fi to people who couldn't afford mega expensive American designs.
I heard the gold coloured ones (a later series?) and agree they were good.
Did you get my email last night Steve? You should be receiving a box today :)
hifi_dave
28-09-2012, 15:27
I hate to say this but a couple of years ago, someone told me that he had died. I'm not saying that is correct but it would be good to know.
I had the KT88 p100 version which is built like a tank and very heavy and ran most speakers as it was reportledly rated at 100 watts, it sounded best to my ears when i used it on a pair of quads ESL 63's, played around with it and rolled the valves but didn't really float my boat so it went.
The P35 version with 12 EL 84's sounds a lot better and worth looking out for
Ali Tait
28-09-2012, 19:39
Never heard a bad el84 amp.
I hate to say this but a couple of years ago, someone told me that he had died. I'm not saying that is correct but it would be good to know.
I spoke to Chris Found who's in charge of repairs and www.beardaudio.com via email last year and he implied that Bill Beard was still alive (and didn't want to be bothered by enquiries!).
The beardaudio.com website says Bill Beard is currently cruising around the world in his yacht but the site is pretty old now, and it could be a euphamism.
He also ruined many of his earliest designs before going deep underground, never to be heard from again!
Sounds interesting... what do you mean? After-market modifications to his own designs?
I'm the lucky/proud/foolish (delete as you see fit) owner of the P1000 !
It's mentioned in some Ken Kessler reviews of around '89 as something he had at home to compare things to.
Appears to be a one-off (s/n 0001) and never sold but reputedly, from those Ken Kessler mentions, a great amp but which ran very hot.
It's a long term repair project (power supply side I hope! - is missing a power transformer and all smoothing caps) but Chris Found refuses to help with it - emails with him suggest that the P1000 project left some bitter resentment behind, towards M Colloms and some others I think, as if lots of effort was put in and then the backing abandoned or too much control from others or something..
Nonetheless an interesting thing - do any dealers from the time know anything about it? Steve?
i used a P35 for many years. a satisfying amplifier if a little fat and rosy..... one day all the EL84s glowed a bright red and smoke appeared around the amp....followed by a mushroom cloud:rolleyes::doh: i retired it. replaced with audio innovations 1000s monos that lasted 6 months before exploding...great amps ..... i miss the p35 though :cool:
Never heard a bad el84 amp.
No me either :D
Jonathan (Bigmoog) i might be able to help you with the Audio Innovation amps if you want them repaired, just drop me a line
hifi_dave
29-09-2012, 16:29
Never heard a bad el84 amp.
Well I have - several.
You can't just cobble any old thing together, use some EL 84s and expect it to sound good. There's an awful lot more to amp design than that.
Ali Tait
29-09-2012, 16:43
Yes I'm well aware of that, however the EL84 is such a musical valve it will lift an otherwise mediocre amp IMHO.
No me either :D
Jonathan (Bigmoog) i might be able to help you with the Audio Innovation amps if you want them repaired, just drop me a line
very kind offer, but the AI's went 3 years ago.....they were awesome amplifiers. i still search for a reliable replacement.
What about the XA200's you used to own?
Now you're back in work, what about looking out for some EAR 509's - they'd see all of us out :)
What about the XA200's you used to own?
Now you're back in work, what about looking out for some EAR 509's - they'd see all of us out :)
xa200s now used as door stops;)
im currently using nothing while i assess buying one last amp......509s do tempt me :stalks:
Has Bill got a beard?
Marco.
The Grand Wazoo
30-09-2012, 12:36
Yes & Tim's got an Ear
And Glen's got a little farm in the Highlands
Yeah, it's obvious, innit?
Marco.
What about David Hart?
His loudspeakers are a bit too deer..?
Its a pun (Hart - Deer) . Pearls before swine in this place sometimes. Good job it's beer o'clock :)
Lol - sorry, I'm fick. I don't geddit... What's Hart got to do with Deer? :scratch:
Marco.
A hart is a type of deer.... never mind we'll go with yours instead :)
Lol...
A hart is a type of deer....
Didnae know that - dae now! :)
Marco.
Ali Tait
30-09-2012, 18:58
Not a type of deer, it's an archaic name for deer in general.
The Grand Wazoo
30-09-2012, 19:00
Have you never seen a pub sign like this:
http://www.architecturalantiques.com/924pubsigns/The%20White%20Hart%20Pub%20Sign%2040.25%20h%2032.5 %20w.jpg
hart
Pronunciation: /hɑːt/
Definition of hart
noun
an adult male deer, especially a red deer over five years old.
Origin: Old English heorot, heort, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hert and German Hirsch
Probably, dude (although I don't usually pay much attention to these things)... I'd have been far more interested in what was inside the pub (beer) than what was pictured on the sign outside! :D
:cool:
Marco.
its certainly an education this place
Floyddroid
30-09-2012, 20:30
Never heard of this amp. Bill never told me about it. It sounds fasinating though. Well worth phoning Chris Found about. Thanks for letting me know. Do you have any pictures you can show me?
Floyddroid
30-09-2012, 20:33
Bill didn't have a Beard when i knew him.
I have it on good authority, however, that his wife has a moustache.
Marco.
A hart is a type of deer.... never mind we'll go with yours instead :)
:lol:
(I didn't know about hart = deer either Marco)
I was wondering if he had a heart but it should be the deer thing afterall.
Never heard of this amp. Bill never told me about it. It sounds fasinating though. Well worth phoning Chris Found about. Thanks for letting me know. Do you have any pictures you can show me?
You mean the P1000? I'll take some photos (it's in basic condition, needing a base plate, missing a power transformer and no valves).
I did ask Chris Found about it back when I bought it last year but he got very err... angry about it (via email, so hard to tell) and refused to help. He may have had constant emails of course by prospective buyers which might have annoyed him. I took the biggest chance on it I guess. £250 for a lump of metal but I thought it was certainly worth getting sorted in the long run.
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