Merry Xmas All ..

[Vinyleyes]

Hi everyone .. I just found this forum today and it looks like the place to be .. I am completely useless with anything hi fi and have no knowledge how to do anything other than plug things in .. so I'm afraid I won't bring much knowledge to this forum.... but I love vinyl replay, valves and great music ..
I have just pulled my vinyl collection and turntable etc out of the attic after a 15 year hibernation and even after a brief listen am just gobsmacked that I left it there so long !! .. :scratch: So I have a bunch of 15 to 20 year equipment that I want to renovate, replace, improve and generally mould back into a sweet listening system and any help and advice to this numbskull will be greatly appreciated ..

All the best

Brian .. :cool:

[Beechwoods]

Welcome to the forum Brian, and Happy Christmas to you too! What does your system comprise of, and where in the world are you?

From your profile picture I'm suspecting you're a Grateful Dead fan... am I warm?!

Hope you enjoy things here - get stuck in!

[Rare Bird]

Nice one brian..Welcome

Andr'e

[DSJR]

Welcome, Happy Solstice to you - and can we have some details and pics please? :)

[Vinyleyes]

Thanks for the welcome .. I am right now at work in Siberia .. -35C and falling .. ;) ... Will be out of here for New Year though ..

System is ----- SME 20/2 Mark One (ser # 269) ---- New Lyra Argo --- Radford STA25 --- Kinshaw Perception 2 box phono ---- McCormack "mod squad" line preamp ----- Castle Howards that need renovation and JBL L110,s that need reconing ... Also Nakamichi 730 Receiver that is being repaired right now ..

I have looked at getting the SME updated but cannot afford it yet !! .. The Radford is probably a bit tired and needs looking at .. The phono stage I do not see anywhere at the moment and Kinshaw have so far not replied to a request for update information ... ..

So .. I think I may change out the Radford for some newer 2nd hand Tube gear and also the phono stage might need replacing .. and that is before I get to the speakers :eek: ....

I bought most of the gear 2nd hand over 15 yrs ago and got a very good deal then .. .. But where to start now hahaa .. Cheers ...

[hifinutt]

brian , welcome and enjoy!!

[Spectral Morn]

Thanks for the welcome .. I am right now at work in Siberia .. -35C and falling .. ;) ... Will be out of here for New Year though ..

System is ----- SME 20/2 Mark One (ser # 269) ---- New Lyra Argo --- Radford STA25 --- Kinshaw Perception 2 box phono ---- McCormack "mod squad" line preamp ----- Castle Howards that need renovation and JBL L110,s that need reconing ... Also Nakamichi 730 Receiver that is being repaired right now ..

I have looked at getting the SME updated but cannot afford it yet !! .. The Radford is probably a bit tired and needs looking at .. The phono stage I do not see anywhere at the moment and Kinshaw have so far not replied to a request for update information ... ..

So .. I think I may change out the Radford for some newer 2nd hand Tube gear and also the phono stage might need replacing .. and that is before I get to the speakers :eek: ....

I bought most of the gear 2nd hand over 15 yrs ago and got a very good deal then .. .. But where to start now hahaa .. Cheers ...

Nice set up Brian. Old does not mean bad or needing to be replaced. However recapping the Radford would be a good idea and checking other components too.

Are you Russian or an ex-pat working in Russia ?

-35:eek::eek::eek: I thought it was cold here.

Anyway welcome to AOS, thanks for joining and have fun. It would be nice to see some photos of your set up. I have an SME 20 of similar vintage to yours, mine is serial no 082.


Regards D S D L

[Rare Bird]

Which Castle 'Howard' are they the original Mk.1, 5 ways or later?

[DSJR]

KEEP THE RADFORD FOR GAWD'S SAKE!!!!!!!!! The trannies inside were reference grade - even now - and a few caps and NOS valves won't totally break the bank IMO..

A good modern valve preamp (I can think of one which sells for "beer money" hehe) will update the phono stage and, I think, drive the Radford input better too..

Castle Howards? If your room is the size of a stately home, you'll get away with them. they BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM everywhere else..

The Gerbils? Some are very good indeed (L150?) and some highly characterful (L100). I'm not sure about the L110, but you'll get plenty of info from the Lansing Heritage site.. I think they have a lighter bass IIRC - are these the ones with metal-finished dome tweeter?

Regarding L100's and their pro parent. The problem was in the crossover. The bass unit was amazingly well behaved and so could the mid driver and tweeter be. The crossover slopes wouldn't let them work optimally, so they took off in the lower tweble and "squawked" in the mid. there was an article someone posted online discussing the new crossovers he made and the significant improvement in behaviour this brought about...

[Rare Bird]

Castle Howards? If your room is the size of a stately home, you'll get away with them. they BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM everywhere else..


Your refering to the Mk.II 3 way version ;) Mk.I are the best (later with the ports)

[Vinyleyes]

Thanks for the comments so far ... and yes DSJR . I would like to keep the Radford .. who can look at it these days to get it checked out .. I did hear of a place in London a while ago. However some of these new tubes do look very nice indeed .. and I could be tempted 2nd hand ..

The Howards are series 1 ... lots of crackling ..and one speaker blown I think .. I am going to take them to a place in the Midlands for fettling .. The JBL's the 110's I have had for about 25 yrs I think .. along with the NAk receiver .. which is a brute .. the JBL's are quite sharp .. and they have the adjustable scres next to the mid and tweeter .. but they did sound good .. The Howards were softer .. and I did not notice too much excess bass with the Radford driving them .. I will hook the NAk up to them though once it comes back ..

I was thinking about the Icon preamps .. but the radford is integrated so how would that work ,, and do I still then need the phono stage ..

[Ali Tait]

Yep was going to say,keep the Radford,they're lovely by all accounts.Never heard one myself.On the other hand,you would get quite a few shekels if you did decide to sell it,which could be used to buy some nice new kit.I don't think it can be vastly better than a WAD KEL84 for instance,which you could probably acquire for about a tenth of what you would get for it!

Welcome by the way. :)

[Vinyleyes]

Nice set up Brian. Old does not mean bad or needing to be replaced. However recapping the Radford would be a good idea and checking other components too.

Are you Russian or an ex-pat working in Russia ?

-35:eek::eek::eek: I thought it was cold here.

Anyway welcome to AOS, thanks for joining and have fun. It would be nice to see some photos of your set up. I have an SME 20 of similar vintage to yours, mine is serial no 082.


Regards D S D L

Hi DS ... I am expat .. sorry ... :( .... but I have plenty of Russian friends ... :) ...

I dont have any photos at the moment .. I just had a couple of weeks last time home putting everything together .. the most satisfying thing was blowing away my son when he heard the system ( even as ragged as it is now ) .. I played him Tubular Bells all the way up an he had never heard music replay to compare with it .. (I am blessed to have a 17 year old son who has decent musical tastes haha) .. and he cannot wait till I get back to bring his mates round to listen to Led Zep on 'Dad's record player :ner:

Did you have any mods done on your SME ..

[Rare Bird]

The Howards are series 1 ... lots of crackling ..and one speaker blown I think ..



Hi people get the 'Howard' variants mixed up, they always think your on about the floorstanders.

The original Mk.I 'Howard' were a 5 way design approx 1974 on, in a very large cube shape cabinet (approx 2 foot square), 5" bass/mid units, had a very low metal stand bolted to the underside, the input terminals were also on the bottom..btw: upgrade units were Wharfdale 'Diamond' units. ;) Early Mk.I were sealed box design, they later added a port approx 3" diameter..I took mine upto castle in the 80's to have the ports fitted.

I replaced these for Spendor 'SP-1' they were boomy in my room.

Mk.II version was a more upright 3-way design, still has a low metal frame bolted to the bottom aswell as the output terminals still. The bass unit if i remember was round 10" Wharfdale unit, 4" soft dome mid & your usual Castle tweeter.



The later castle 'Howards' are totally different modern design tall floorstanders.

[Spectral Morn]

Hi DS ... I am expat .. sorry ... :( .... but I have plenty of Russian friends ... :) ...

I dont have any photos at the moment .. I just had a couple of weeks last time home putting everything together .. the most satisfying thing was blowing away my son when he heard the system ( even as ragged as it is now ) .. I played him Tubular Bells all the way up an he had never heard music replay to compare with it .. (I am blessed to have a 17 year old son who has decent musical tastes haha) .. and he cannot wait till I get back to bring his mates round to listen to Led Zep on 'Dad's record player :ner:

Did you have any mods done on your SME ..

No, just changed the arm to a Graham Phantom B44 .1. The SME 5 is a good arm, but it sounds better on my Oracle Delphi mk4 than on the 20. Sadly SME 20s of that vintage can't be upgraded, just traded in against a new one. I had a long chat with a guy at SME a year and half ago and that was his prognosis. Even at trade price ( I was in the trade then) it was not worth it in my opinion to change the motor-unit.

I would not bother changing to an Icon Audio pre. Good as they are, your Mod Squad Line-Drive is much more transparent imho (I regret not buying one at the time or a few years ago when I saw one in a Scottish Hi-Fi shop). However I fear it may not be driving the input on you power amp right. Passive pres are hard to get right (in terms of design and system matching) and in my opinion an active one is much better or a transformer coupled one if you want a passive (the Line Drive isn't one of those)..though I still would opt for an active pre-amplifier.

No...don't apologise for being an ex-pat...though Siberia is a pretty extreme choice of place to live and work....hard does not cover it...hell on Earth but cold instead of hot.

What kind of music do you like ?....any Prog for instance...you mention Mike Oldfield....


Regards D S D L

[Vinyleyes]

Whoops .. just to clear up the Howards .. They are floorstanders with ported bass at the bottom .. 3 way with 1 upward firing speaker .. I think opinion was quite divided on them !! But I liked them .. quite warm .. But I also still like the old JBL's but they preferred the 100 watt Nak receiver.

For music .. I was reading the forum before i signed in and I do not know if I should admit to ANY liking of prog .. !!:eek: .. haha .

But I just bought Pictures at an Exhibition to replace my worn out copy ... I also bought In the Court of the Crimson King .. to replace my worn out copy .. But I couldn't never get into Yes or Genesis !! ... My first loves are Sandy Denny and early Fairports, Grateful Dead, The Allmans .. .. I love the latest Alison Krauss with Robert PLant .. ... and Celtic music .. and all Jerry Garcia's acoustic stuff .. ..

I must admit I'm a bit lost on the aspect of using a preamp with the RAdford .. I thought 25 was an integrated amps and didn't need one .. But I am all ears how I can beef it's sound up ... and getting it fettled somewhere ..

And ... Yeh .. it is bloody cold here haha .. but most of the people have warm hearts ... :)

[Spectral Morn]

Whoops .. just to clear up the Howards .. They are floorstanders with ported bass at the bottom .. 3 way with 1 upward firing speaker .. I think opinion was quite divided on them !! But I liked them .. quite warm .. But I also still like the old JBL's but they preferred the 100 watt Nak receiver.

For music .. I was reading the forum before i signed in and I do not know if I should admit to ANY liking of prog .. !!:eek: .. haha .

But I just bought Pictures at an Exhibition to replace my worn out copy ... I also bought In the Court of the Crimson King .. to replace my worn out copy .. But I couldn't never get into Yes or Genesis !! ... My first loves are Sandy Denny and early Fairports, Grateful Dead, The Allmans .. .. I love the latest Alison Krauss with Robert PLant .. ... and Celtic music .. and all Jerry Garcia's acoustic stuff .. ..

I must admit I'm a bit lost on the aspect of using a preamp with the RAdford .. I thought 25 was an integrated amps and didn't need one .. But I am all ears how I can beef it's sound up ... and getting it fettled somewhere ..

And ... Yeh .. it is bloody cold here haha .. but most of the people have warm hearts ... :)

Chris (The Grand Wazoo) is our resident Radford guy so he may have some suitable pre-amplifier suggestions. The ST25 is a power amplifier not an integrated. I had to check....I was doubting myself for a few minutes there.


Regards D S D L

[Ali Tait]

Vinyleyes (what's your name BTW?) If you would like to have your Radford looked at,and fettled to work as new or better,I know someone who would be happy to.PM if interested.

[Vinyleyes]

Chris (The Grand Wazoo) is our resident Radford guy so he may have some suitable pre-amplifier suggestions. The ST25 is a power amplifier not an integrated. I had to check....I was doubting myself for a few minutes there.


Regards D S D L

Crikey DS !! .. I warned you I knew nothing ... :lolsign:

If I am losing some beef somewhere then I would love some suggestions .. But I guess I still need my phono amp ... unless my pre was to have a phono stage in it ...... It is making me think of changing all that out for some juicy valve integrated then with a good phono stage ..

[Jonboy]

Hi Brian and welcome, if your uk home or place of escape is on the south coast Brighton way i have a man that can service you Radford.

[DSJR]

I'm referring to the originals - uggghhh ;) measured badly in the bass too (humungous bass humps)

[Rare Bird]

I'm referring to the originals - uggghhh ;) measured badly in the bass too (humungous bass humps)

Originals were sealed cabs, the upgrade was port hole/x over mod..;)