Westyman
12-01-2013, 17:54
I hesitate to join another forum, but from a quick browse this one seems friendly, some…err….aren't!!
I found AOS when looking up some info on a Leak Troughline 11 tuner which I need to put up on eBay along with a Quad mono pre-amp. These were found in my Mother's house, clearing out after her death. That clear up included shifting a Quad 33/303/FM3 Garrard 301/SME/Shure M95 outfit that was my Dad's a long time ago. There's also a pair of Jordan-Watt Juno speakers that I am resisting selling at the moment.
OK, me? I'm 61 and a retired Chartered Engineer (Mechanical) and live in Derby after a career in Railway Rolling Stock engineering. My introduction to good sound was my Dad who was an electronics engineer during WW2 and then moved into teaching metalwork; he was a very practical guy and made all sorts of stuff.
So I was brought up on Quad 11/22 and EL57 speakers as stereo grew into the public arena. He was friendly with a guy called Peter Griffin of Griffin Audio on Bristol Road, Birmingham. The company is still going but moved into the AV area. Though my Dad died prematurely in 1969, Peter is apparently still going.
With the slight impracticality of the EL57s in modern homes, Griiffins were marketing the Jordan-Watt loudspeakers and I made a Juno from some spare Mahogany timber we had. I have no idea where this went. As university approached I wanted some better sound than a cheap tranny would give and I got a Tandberg Series 15 (I think) reel-to-reel tape recorder with a mono 10w amp internally and a 6x4 elliptical speaker inside a teak cabinet. Later I added a Trio amplifier, a Connoisseur BD1 kit t/t and it may have been a Connoisseur arm with an ADC cartridge. With a couple of cheap speakers from a Tottenham Court Road shop (I was at Imperial College in London) and a B&O portable radio this saw me through uni. For my 21st birthday I had a pair of B&W DM3 speakers and threw the TC Rd. boxes away. I later built a pair of Tabor speakers from a HiFi News design which are, presumably, perishing away in the loft. At the time I got into crossover design, roll-off rates and stuff. I also found the mechanical side of vinyl interesting, matching cartridge compliance to arm mass.
Equipment since then has been varied and now consists of basically a Cyrus biwired/bi-amped CD system feeding a pair of Ruark Talisman speakers. I still have vinyl capability in the form of a Systemdek t/t with a Linn Basik/K18. I love vinyl sound but getting up every 15 mins is a pain :-(
I regret not getting a Linn Sondek when I bought the Systemdek and sort of hanker after one now but a) I find all the names of mods totally confusing, and b) I cannot justify the cost for the fairly limited use it would get, unless the lottery numbers come up….
Music; varied. My sixties youth background shows, but I like classical stuff, some opera too. I buy CDs, I like having physical media, and the last three were Adele - 21, Nicola Benedetti - Fantasie and Sandy Denny - Like an Old fashioned waltz. So as you see, varied.
Radio; it's on a lot and am worried about FM switch-off. Don't use DAB.
Other interests: I built a kit car a few years ago (engine noise was the music!) but that has now gone to Spain. We caravan quite a lot (the sound system in there is a bit non-standard for a caravan) and this year we are having a narrowboat built (again sound system is more than your average NB) which will be called Aida - see? Opera connection! We have three gorgeous Cocker Spaniels, one of whom is across my lap as I type!!
So we'll see what contribution I can make to the forum
I found AOS when looking up some info on a Leak Troughline 11 tuner which I need to put up on eBay along with a Quad mono pre-amp. These were found in my Mother's house, clearing out after her death. That clear up included shifting a Quad 33/303/FM3 Garrard 301/SME/Shure M95 outfit that was my Dad's a long time ago. There's also a pair of Jordan-Watt Juno speakers that I am resisting selling at the moment.
OK, me? I'm 61 and a retired Chartered Engineer (Mechanical) and live in Derby after a career in Railway Rolling Stock engineering. My introduction to good sound was my Dad who was an electronics engineer during WW2 and then moved into teaching metalwork; he was a very practical guy and made all sorts of stuff.
So I was brought up on Quad 11/22 and EL57 speakers as stereo grew into the public arena. He was friendly with a guy called Peter Griffin of Griffin Audio on Bristol Road, Birmingham. The company is still going but moved into the AV area. Though my Dad died prematurely in 1969, Peter is apparently still going.
With the slight impracticality of the EL57s in modern homes, Griiffins were marketing the Jordan-Watt loudspeakers and I made a Juno from some spare Mahogany timber we had. I have no idea where this went. As university approached I wanted some better sound than a cheap tranny would give and I got a Tandberg Series 15 (I think) reel-to-reel tape recorder with a mono 10w amp internally and a 6x4 elliptical speaker inside a teak cabinet. Later I added a Trio amplifier, a Connoisseur BD1 kit t/t and it may have been a Connoisseur arm with an ADC cartridge. With a couple of cheap speakers from a Tottenham Court Road shop (I was at Imperial College in London) and a B&O portable radio this saw me through uni. For my 21st birthday I had a pair of B&W DM3 speakers and threw the TC Rd. boxes away. I later built a pair of Tabor speakers from a HiFi News design which are, presumably, perishing away in the loft. At the time I got into crossover design, roll-off rates and stuff. I also found the mechanical side of vinyl interesting, matching cartridge compliance to arm mass.
Equipment since then has been varied and now consists of basically a Cyrus biwired/bi-amped CD system feeding a pair of Ruark Talisman speakers. I still have vinyl capability in the form of a Systemdek t/t with a Linn Basik/K18. I love vinyl sound but getting up every 15 mins is a pain :-(
I regret not getting a Linn Sondek when I bought the Systemdek and sort of hanker after one now but a) I find all the names of mods totally confusing, and b) I cannot justify the cost for the fairly limited use it would get, unless the lottery numbers come up….
Music; varied. My sixties youth background shows, but I like classical stuff, some opera too. I buy CDs, I like having physical media, and the last three were Adele - 21, Nicola Benedetti - Fantasie and Sandy Denny - Like an Old fashioned waltz. So as you see, varied.
Radio; it's on a lot and am worried about FM switch-off. Don't use DAB.
Other interests: I built a kit car a few years ago (engine noise was the music!) but that has now gone to Spain. We caravan quite a lot (the sound system in there is a bit non-standard for a caravan) and this year we are having a narrowboat built (again sound system is more than your average NB) which will be called Aida - see? Opera connection! We have three gorgeous Cocker Spaniels, one of whom is across my lap as I type!!
So we'll see what contribution I can make to the forum