Just a thought...!

[Haselsh1]

I have just moved into a rather large Victorian town house back in my hometown of Grimsby here in Lincolnshire and I am in the process of fitting out the original Art Nouveau fireplaces ready for log fires this winter. The lounge has the usual massively high ceilings and full floor to ceiling bay window when all of a sudden it struck me; I have suddenly gone full circle from a ‘Legoland’ modern bungalow to an old, romantic town house in need of serious TLC and then I started to think, the Hi-Fi is now all sat on a large pine table in the bay with the pride of place being taken up by the Thorens TD160 Mk II. I find it truly amazing sitting here listening to vinyl replay with the central blind raised to illuminate the room and the deck and this got me again, maybe it is just romanticism this listening to vinyl…? Maybe there is just a certain harking back to when I was a kid and the family had a Dansette Tempo to play our seven inch singles on…? The Kinks ‘Tired of Waiting’ and The Yardbirds ‘Shapes of Things’ and a whole host of others.

Could it be that we tire so easily of the latest technology because we just get bored as a race of beings…? Could it even be that this latest technology is indeed no better than that which it supercedes…? Maybe it is infinitely better but we just don’t want to know because we love living in the past…? What is it about us that makes us herald the latest thing only to give up on it a few years later because we yet again want to re-invent the past…?

There is something truly romantic about the house I now live in as there is something truly romantic about spinning the Thorens and sitting back with a glass of London Pride listening to a piece of black plastic. The house is going to take a massive amount of work to renovate it and is going to take every ounce of patience just like the turntable takes all of my patience to get the best from it. If I just wanted convenience I would not have moved into this house and if I wanted convenience I would only listen to compact disc or some Godawful digital file that doesn’t even exist in a tangible way but there you have it; we all make our choices and for some of us, the draw of that romance is simply way too strong…!

Just a thought.

[MikeMusic]

Best of luck with the work. Doing it yourself or getting someone in ?

I'm happy with CD or LP. LP better quality for me if I have both
Sound quality is the driver for me. Age of the kit not bothered.

Don't care on the age of property. I like to live in comfort so appreciate modern insulation
Prefer 1 floor to many, but currently live in an extended house with 3

[Haselsh1]

Best of luck with the work. Doing it yourself or getting someone in ?

A bit of both really cozz I am well aware of my limitations. I have a disability as a result of a motorcycle smash many years ago so I do have to be a bit careful with what I take on myself. Looking forward to a major challenge though.

[Macca]

I must admit the SQ issues aside there is something about taking an album out of its sleeve and putting it on a record deck and cuing it up. For a while there I thought it had become and was always going to remain an anachronism but recent developments would seem to indicate that there is a younger generation who are just as fascinated with this method of playing recordings as I am.

Whilst I'd love a modern house for the cleanliness and the efficiency if I had my way I would go for some old rambling Georgian place with back stairs and a scullery. More soul.

[Haselsh1]

I must admit the SQ issues aside there is something about taking an album out of its sleeve and putting it on a record deck and cuing it up. For a while there I thought it had become and was always going to remain an anachronism but recent developments would seem to indicate that there is a younger generation who are just as fascinated with this method of playing recordings as I am.

Whilst I'd love a modern house for the cleanliness and the efficiency if I had my way I would go for some old rambling Georgian place with back stairs and a scullery. More soul.

Yeah, I actually have an old pantry to keep my food and spices in. How bloody good is that..?

[Haselsh1]

I must admit the SQ issues aside there is something about taking an album out of its sleeve and putting it on a record deck and cuing it up. For a while there I thought it had become and was always going to remain an anachronism but recent developments would seem to indicate that there is a younger generation who are just as fascinated with this method of playing recordings as I am.

Whilst I'd love a modern house for the cleanliness and the efficiency if I had my way I would go for some old rambling Georgian place with back stairs and a scullery. More soul.

Yes OK, I agree, I hadn't thought about all of those young kids getting hooked on playing vinyl. Maybe there is more to this than I first thought.

[Macca]

I do wonder what their motivation is. They live in a world where they can obtain pretty much any recording out of the ether onto their computerized device. They can do this for free as well providing they are not too worried about the ethics of it. In the same way as low income teenagers in the '80s you would tape all of your friends LPs onto TDK SA90 cassettes and he would tape all of yours, thus doubling both your collections at minimal cost. I don't have my tapes any more because with the arrival of full-time work and proper income I was eventually able to replace them all with vinyl or CD. Why? Because I considered myself to be serious about my music and I wanted the original, not a copy. So maybe so many of today's youth are embracing vinyl because it differentiates them from the mass of their generation and makes a statement about their love of music?

[Ammonite Audio]

Acoustics is my business and I do try to offer straightforward advice on home listening environments (often ignored), but the most important thing is that the room has to be a nice place to spend time in, then you're more inclined to relax and enjoy whatever tunes waft over from the stereo system. I think you've just discovered that for yourself, but it certainly helps to have nice high ceilings and big windows to let plenty of light in. Most modern British shoeboxes are horribly claustrophobic and that's not a good start when it comes to enjoying music!


I have just moved into a rather large Victorian town house back in my hometown of Grimsby here in Lincolnshire and I am in the process of fitting out the original Art Nouveau fireplaces ready for log fires this winter. The lounge has the usual massively high ceilings and full floor to ceiling bay window when all of a sudden it struck me; I have suddenly gone full circle from a ‘Legoland’ modern bungalow to an old, romantic town house in need of serious TLC and then I started to think, the Hi-Fi is now all sat on a large pine table in the bay with the pride of place being taken up by the Thorens TD160 Mk II. I find it truly amazing sitting here listening to vinyl replay with the central blind raised to illuminate the room and the deck and this got me again, maybe it is just romanticism this listening to vinyl…? Maybe there is just a certain harking back to when I was a kid and the family had a Dansette Tempo to play our seven inch singles on…? The Kinks ‘Tired of Waiting’ and The Yardbirds ‘Shapes of Things’ and a whole host of others.

Could it be that we tire so easily of the latest technology because we just get bored as a race of beings…? Could it even be that this latest technology is indeed no better than that which it supercedes…? Maybe it is infinitely better but we just don’t want to know because we love living in the past…? What is it about us that makes us herald the latest thing only to give up on it a few years later because we yet again want to re-invent the past…?

There is something truly romantic about the house I now live in as there is something truly romantic about spinning the Thorens and sitting back with a glass of London Pride listening to a piece of black plastic. The house is going to take a massive amount of work to renovate it and is going to take every ounce of patience just like the turntable takes all of my patience to get the best from it. If I just wanted convenience I would not have moved into this house and if I wanted convenience I would only listen to compact disc or some Godawful digital file that doesn’t even exist in a tangible way but there you have it; we all make our choices and for some of us, the draw of that romance is simply way too strong…!

Just a thought.

[twotone]

I lived in two Victorian flats and an Edwardian stone terrace for about twenty years, the house was a complete shambles when we bought it, the previous owner who had lived in it from 1958 to 1992 turned it into a seventies wimpey house complete with seventies fyfestone garden walls and skipped out all of the sandstone copes and most of the garden walls.

We spent twelve years putting it back together and spents thousands on it then moved:D

Hated the street so had to move, we now live in an 1936 detached bungalow which is quite small but we have a huge drive and back garden and we love it, been here now for nine years and the only way we will be leaving is in a box, hopefully.

Current house is hopeless for music/hi-fi though, I wasn't really into hi-fi in the previous house which would have been perfect for hi-fi.

Enjoy your house BTW.

Tony

[MikeMusic]

A bit of both really cozz I am well aware of my limitations. I have a disability as a result of a motorcycle smash many years ago so I do have to be a bit careful with what I take on myself. Looking forward to a major challenge though.

Plan plan plan
Research all sorts or areas so you don't get bullshitted by any builders.
We learned so much after out big refurb was done

[MikeMusic]

Current house is hopeless for music/hi-fi though, I wasn't really into hi-fi in the previous house which would have been perfect for hi-fi.



Some tweakery will get the sound better surely.
Start with mains and move on through

[twotone]

Some tweakery will get the sound better surely.
Start with mains and move on through

Thanks Mike, my listening room is really bad, typical 1930s size front lounge with a fireplace a door and a large bay window but I'm lucky now as I don't have neighbours either side but I'm not really into loud volumes anyway, do listen loud occasionally which is nice to be able to do that from time to time.