Newbie from kent

[Nerfbat]

Hello all, and thanks for having me here.

I've had a break from the world of hifi for a while now, but am now able to start dabbling again. I've a rather unusual mish-mash of gear as my Roksan Kandy mk1 amp and cd player has been joined by some gear inherited from my dad, which includes a (faulty) Gyrodec with Alphason H100S arm, Audio Innovations series 500 amp, and his vintage gear which consists of a Garrard 301, SME 12" arm and Ortofon SPU cartridge together with a Leak stereo 20, varislope preamp and troughline tuner.

I'm just trying to decide which gear to go forwards with, and whether to get the vintage kit serviced and brought back into use. The Gyrodec seems to have a faulty motor so I'm waiting to hear from Michell about having that sorted.

Music tastes are eclectic, from punk to classical !

[walpurgis]

Hello Roy. Welcome to AOS.

You have some nice gear in your collection. Some of which I've owned. What speakers are you using?

If you're planning any changes to your system, we'd like to hear about them. Plenty of Michell fans here, so if you need advice, I'm sure somebody can help.

Please post some pictures in our Gallery section. Photos are always popular.


Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[synsei]

Welcome to AoS Roy, that is a very nice collection of gear you have there sir :)

[struth]

Welcome to AoS Roy. 2 top TT's ,lucky you! When you get some time open a thread in the gallery section and let us see your kit. We love pics here.
Any problems just ask.

[Nerfbat]

I'll post some pics up soon then - I'm currently using some Monitor Audio RS6 speakers, but also have Dad's Quad bookshelf speakers tucked away.

[Sovereign]

Welcome mate, where in Kent are you as I'm in sunny Maidstone?

[Nerfbat]

Welcome mate, where in Kent are you as I'm in sunny Maidstone?

Not far away, I'm in Rainham.

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Roy.

That's some nice vintage gear you have there! :) We would love to see some photos.

The Audio Innovations 500 is an excellent amp, so too is the Leak Stereo 20. The Leak Troughline is well thought of in some quarters, but the Leak Varislope preamp is now very dated (as are all preamps of the mid '60s). I would recommend you replace it with one of the Croft range of preamps, or, since the Stereo 20 has a high sensitivity, you could investigate using a passive device such as the Music First transformer volume control units.

Welcome again - enjoy the forum.

[jollyfix]

Hi Roy, welcome to AOS. Enjoy the forum.

[The Black Adder]

Hey Roy.

Welcome matey... Very nice kit you have there. Certainly get the vintage kit serviced, For the Leak I'd suggest Classique Sounds. Top bloke and reallym knows his leaks and onions. :)

[Nerfbat]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice - I'll have a word with Classique Sounds about the Stereo 20. I thought the varislope wasn't much cop, so I won't do anything with that.

I've made some inquiries about getting the Garrard serviced, but other than Audio Grail who are currently too busy, my other emails have gone unanswered so far..

[The Black Adder]

Yeah, the Varislopes aren't great in stock form. Again, Paul at Classique may be able to help you with that too... I once had a Leak pre amp from him that was converted to a passive, great sound...

Not sure about the Garrard but ask Paul, he might be able to help.

[Floyddroid]

Great system. I always fancied a H100S tone arm. Welcome aboard.
Hello all, and thanks for having me here.

I've had a break from the world of hifi for a while now, but am now able to start dabbling again. I've a rather unusual mish-mash of gear as my Roksan Kandy mk1 amp and cd player has been joined by some gear inherited from my dad, which includes a (faulty) Gyrodec with Alphason H100S arm, Audio Innovations series 500 amp, and his vintage gear which consists of a Garrard 301, SME 12" arm and Ortofon SPU cartridge together with a Leak stereo 20, varislope preamp and troughline tuner.

I'm just trying to decide which gear to go forwards with, and whether to get the vintage kit serviced and brought back into use. The Gyrodec seems to have a faulty motor so I'm waiting to hear from Michell about having that sorted.

Music tastes are eclectic, from punk to classical !

[Rush2112]

Hi and welcome some great kit you have don't remember much adopt the Roksan kit but the Gyro and HRS 100 I know well. Is it the van den hul MCS version ? The leak is a fine tuner for its age and the other leak gear is well regarded too!

[Spectral Morn]

Lot of nice gear there. Welcome to AOS Roy

I would get the Gryodec repaired (arm is a very good one), keep the Series 500 (get it serviced), much better than a Roksan Kandy amp, the Leak pre is not that good, so flog it on but certainly the Leak power amp is a good one, so worth getting serviced and modernised slightly. However only do this if you want to go down the separate pre power route, you will need a modern pre that's compatible with the Leak though.

Troughline tuner is a stunner, one of the finest but it may well need serviced too to bring it up to date but once done its one of the best ways to listen to FM radio. Is your's a mono or a Stereo version? If its mono, one can buy a Stereo decoder to make it stereo. Mk2 and Mk3 worth working on MK1 a curiosity only and not worth keeping except as an ornament.

The Garrard will probably need serviced but its a very good turntable, though you wont be able to use the Ortofon cart into the AI 500 as its a moving magnet only phonostage, though if you get a step up transformer you can, assuming the cart is still in good nick.

Monitor Audio speakers, will not be the best of picks to get the most from any of the above imho.


Regards Neil

[Eagle owl]

Hello and welcome Roy.

Geoff. :wave:

[Roy S]

Hello Roy, great name :D

[Nerfbat]

Hello Roy, great name :D

Absolutely, not many of us around these days !