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View Full Version : Hello from almost sunny Suffolk



starbuck
13-09-2015, 07:51
Hi.

New to this forum although there are familiar names I see from other forums I have been active on over the years. I'm Chris and have loved all things music since I was young, initially getting my influences from an older brother who was into rock and heavy metal. As a teen I got into rap/hip hop which, through following up on all the stuff being sampled, led onto all sorts of funk, soul and reggae. I worked in live music venues for a few years and was exposed to all sorts of stuff, and now I will (and do) listen to pretty much anything.

Set up wise I am at a bit of a junction, having sold my main speakers (Tannoy Arundels) a year or so ago due to a then on the cards house move (which didn't happen), I have also recently sold my turntable of the last few years (a Basis Debut with SME V). I have a TV room/lounge system of a Sony blu ray player into a DIY passive pre, with a Heybrook P2 power amp and Kef 203 speakers. I also have a Garrard 401 motor unit which will form the basis of the replacement for my recently sold turntable, and this may end up in the TV room system, or it may stay in a dedicated music room upstairs along with a Sony CDP-X55ES CD player, Yamaha CA-2010 amp and some speakers that are yet to be chosen. I have a few other bits of presently unused kit in the house including a Kinshaw Perception SA phono stage and Perception Pre amp, a Sound Associates (Quad) 520C power amp and a Teac PD-H01 CD player -some or all of these could end up in a system at some point. I look forward to reading up on stuff here and maybe getting some ideas of which way to go.

Eisener Bart
13-09-2015, 08:11
Hi, Chris,

welcome!

starbuck
13-09-2015, 13:15
Thanks! I should upate the title to "...now definitely not sunny, mostly wet Suffolk".

Barry
13-09-2015, 15:14
Welcome to AoS Chris,

That's some interesting kit you have there. I hadn't heard of the Quad 520C before, so did a bit of research and found it is a Quad 520 without level controls supplied to Sound Associates. For those that might be interested, they are the two units at the bottom of the rack:

http://www.film-tech.com/uploads/uploads0503/Quad.jpg

I have a Quad 520f and a pair of Quad 510 monoblock amplifiers, and I have to say they are all superb.


We would love to see some photos of your kit, especially the Kinshaw Perception gear; a name not known to me - and of course your Garrard 401 when you get it up and running (what arm will you use with it?).

Enjoy the Forum

Regards
Barry

starbuck
13-09-2015, 17:53
Thanks for the welcome, Barry.

The SA 520C is a lovely bit of kit (as I bet your 520f and 510s are) and can sometimes slip under the radar when being sold, especially if the Q word isn't mentioned in the advert, though mine could do with a bit of a service due to some slight buzzing heard through the tweeters when in use. Have been debating about sending it back to Quad as they are happy to work on them (assuming they are unmodified) and are pretty reasonable price wise, I think. I will try to add some photos when I get a chance to dig things out from the various cupboards in which they are presently stored. The Kinshaw stuff is great and doesn't go for much money relative to performance in my opinion, with the phono stage in particular being a bit of a sleeper. I believe there are a couple of people on the forum here who have had them in the past, too, if my memory of names from other places is accurate.

The 401 project is in its infancy but I intend to take pictures and maybe document it as I slowly progress with it. I am looking at a layered birch ply plinth with a countersunk 401, and likely some nice veneering if I can persuade my partner's brother (a cabinet maker) to assist. I recently saw the photo that petrat added to the idler drive picture thread, and think I now have something to aim for as far as what I would like myself. The tonearm is currently in the process of being purchased, so I will update with details of that when I actually have it in my hands (don't want to jinx the purchase before I've got it, if you see what I mean).

Again, thanks for the welcome.

Macca
13-09-2015, 19:16
Welcome Chris - enjoy the forum.