Supporting our HiFi cottage industry

[vintage60]

Hi All

I don't know whether I am waging a one-man battle against the giant manufacturers with their mega-bucks marketing budgets, but lately, I have been scouring the net for products made by our smaller HiFi cottage industry to see how good their products are.

First stop was Audiomods, where I bought Jeff Spall's Classic MkII tonearm. For around £500, it punches well above its weight and gave my far more expensive Origin Live Illustrious a good run for its money. I'm glad I took the leap of faith and went for the Audiomods because not only did I save a huge amount of money, but I got to hear for myself just how good this beautifully engineered arm performs against the big brands. Conclusion is that unless you are spending close to £2,000, no big manufacturer's arm will surpass the Classic Mk II in any meaningful way.

Encouraged by that, I took another leap of faith a few weeks ago and bought a pair of Voltaire Reference Zero stand mounts from Robson Acoustics. Robert Hudson at RA was a delight to deal with and when I took delivery of the Zeros, I was gobsmacked at just how good they are. They feature very expensive mid-bass drivers from another English company, Volt Loudspeakers, down in Dorset and some very high quality ribbon tweeters. All beautifully finished off by Robert, the whole thing is handmade from start to finish.

The Zeros excel in the following 4 areas:

(i) superb cohesion between the upper mids/highs from the ribbons and the mid bass/bass from the Volt drivers. There is none of that phasing problem you get with poorly designed/made ribbon tweeter speakers where the lows lag the highs and the whole is just incoherent and not properly integrated

(ii) incredibly transparent, airy and smooth treble and mids without any hint of graininess, glare or harshness.Cymbols really shimmer rather than just splash

(iii) neutral and natural. There is none of the modern trend of emphasising the upper mids/treble to create a (false) impression of detail and resolution which after a while simply becomes fatiguing to listen to because in reality, it is nothing but the treble being made prominent

(iv) musicality. They really do grab your attention and hold it. At the end of the day, no matter the laboratory test results, if hifi doesn't have emotion and feeling in a real world living environment, then (in my book) it has failed the test. If I simply wanted some music in the background, I'd save myself a lot of money by wondering around shopping centres.

In terms of what the Zeros have been up against: Focal Electra 1007S, Harbeth SHL5, Usher X-718, PMC Twenty.22, PMC DB1i, Harbeth M30, Harbeth HL-K6SE, Harbeth P3-ES2se, Audio Note AN-K and Audio Physic Step 25+ (not all at the same time, but these are just some of the speakers I have owned in recent years). All of these are more expensive than the Zeros (perhaps bar the PMC DB1i), but I would choose the Zeros over any of these any day.

I just want to make clear that I have absolutely no connection to Jeff Spall/Audiomods or Robert Hudson/Robson Acoustics in any way whatsoever other than being a customer of their kit and I am not in the hifi industry or media and I'm most certainly not a professional reviewer...I just love hifi.

I wanted to share my thoughts since I don't feel that these sorts of manufacturers of ours get that much recognition since they do not have the marketing budget to paste their wares into every hifi magazine and to maintain snazzy websites. But it is clear to me that here in the UK (and elsewhere), there are some really terrific bits of kit being made by some very talented individuals.

I'd love to learn of anyone else's experiences along these lines as this is the only way we can share information to find our hidden gems.

[southall-1998]

Good thread, Thiha.

You just can't beat a good old bargain!

S.

[IHP]

I'd love to learn of anyone else's experiences along these lines as this is the only way we can share information to find our hidden gems.

Croft amplification is well known here at AoS, indeed this is where I first heard about it and my box swapping ended shortly afterwards. I think the term cottage industry is quite apt should Glenn live in a cottage, the Croft industry just him I believe !

[Bigman80]

Hi All

I don't know whether I am waging a one-man battle against the giant manufacturers with their mega-bucks marketing budgets, but lately, I have been scouring the net for products made by our smaller HiFi cottage industry to see how good their products are.

First stop was Audiomods, where I bought Jeff Spall's Classic MkII tonearm. For around £500, it punches well above its weight and gave my far more expensive Origin Live Illustrious a good run for its money. I'm glad I took the leap of faith and went for the Audiomods because not only did I save a huge amount of money, but I got to hear for myself just how good this beautifully engineered arm performs against the big brands. Conclusion is that unless you are spending close to £2,000, no big manufacturer's arm will surpass the Classic Mk II in any meaningful way.

Encouraged by that, I took another leap of faith a few weeks ago and bought a pair of Voltaire Reference Zero stand mounts from Robson Acoustics. Robert Hudson at RA was a delight to deal with and when I took delivery of the Zeros, I was gobsmacked at just how good they are. They feature very expensive mid-bass drivers from another English company, Volt Loudspeakers, down in Dorset and some very high quality ribbon tweeters. All beautifully finished off by Robert, the whole thing is handmade from start to finish.

The Zeros excel in the following 4 areas:

(i) superb cohesion between the upper mids/highs from the ribbons and the mid bass/bass from the Volt drivers. There is none of that phasing problem you get with poorly designed/made ribbon tweeter speakers where the lows lag the highs and the whole is just incoherent and not properly integrated

(ii) incredibly transparent, airy and smooth treble and mids without any hint of graininess, glare or harshness.Cymbols really shimmer rather than just splash

(iii) neutral and natural. There is none of the modern trend of emphasising the upper mids/treble to create a (false) impression of detail and resolution which after a while simply becomes fatiguing to listen to because in reality, it is nothing but the treble being made prominent

(iv) musicality. They really do grab your attention and hold it. At the end of the day, no matter the laboratory test results, if hifi doesn't have emotion and feeling in a real world living environment, then (in my book) it has failed the test. If I simply wanted some music in the background, I'd save myself a lot of money by wondering around shopping centres.

In terms of what the Zeros have been up against: Focal Electra 1007S, Harbeth SHL5, Usher X-718, PMC Twenty.22, PMC DB1i, Harbeth M30, Harbeth HL-K6SE, Harbeth P3-ES2se, Audio Note AN-K and Audio Physic Step 25+ (not all at the same time, but these are just some of the speakers I have owned in recent years). All of these are more expensive than the Zeros (perhaps bar the PMC DB1i), but I would choose the Zeros over any of these any day.

I just want to make clear that I have absolutely no connection to Jeff Spall/Audiomods or Robert Hudson/Robson Acoustics in any way whatsoever other than being a customer of their kit and I am not in the hifi industry or media and I'm most certainly not a professional reviewer...I just love hifi.

I wanted to share my thoughts since I don't feel that these sorts of manufacturers of ours get that much recognition since they do not have the marketing budget to paste their wares into every hifi magazine and to maintain snazzy websites. But it is clear to me that here in the UK (and elsewhere), there are some really terrific bits of kit being made by some very talented individuals.

I'd love to learn of anyone else's experiences along these lines as this is the only way we can share information to find our hidden gems.I heard one of the Audiomods recently. It was on a slate plynth mounted Garrard 401. The cartridge was a North west analogue jobbie and the combination was very pleasing to the ear. Mine anyway[emoji6]

What did the arm do that made you happy to spend the money? Did you keep the OL arm ?

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[karma67]

i love the fact you can build the arm yourself

[Edward]

:goodthread:

I'm very interested in the Robson Acoustics speakers you tried/have. I could not find prices or distributors in the South East. How does Robert operate when selling speakers? Does he have demo units available?

In terms of HiFi cottage industry I have personal experience with and can recommend Radford Revival, Chevron Audio and Reelaudio.

[Bigman80]

i love the fact you can build the arm yourselfReally? I didn't know that

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[337alant]

I can also vouch for the audiomods arm they are superb and I built and still own the Series 4 version, Jeff is a pleasure to deal with.
Ive used it on various decks and it always sounds great.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5611/15480671122_1dd129aa02_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/pzYubN)LP12 (https://flic.kr/p/pzYubN) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr

I would also like to mention Wilmslow audio, I bought a pair of their Home studio Monitors in the 80s a very solid cabinet and the Excellent Volt BM220.8 bass mid and Scanspeak tweeter which was the 8513 and upgraded that to the D2008/9500.
I also rehoused them later in the floor standing Classique cabinet.
I always had good service from them but not sure if its the same owners now?

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8560495970_9cbcf1a337_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/e3sMd7)xover 9 (https://flic.kr/p/e3sMd7) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr

http://www.wilmslow-audio.co.uk/classique-88-c.asp

Alan

[337alant]

Really? I didn't know that

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

Yes I built mine from the kit and I did a thread about it here
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?28787-Audiomods-Rega-arm-Kit&highlight=audiomods

Alan

[Bigman80]

Yes I built mine from the kit and I did a thread about it here
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?28787-Audiomods-Rega-arm-Kit&highlight=audiomods

AlanThat's very thorough. It looks fantastic. I've noticed a Version 5? Better than an Alphason??? Hmmmm

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[fatmarley]

I would also like to mention Wilmslow audio, I bought a pair of their Home studio Monitors in the 80s a very solid cabinet and the Excellent Volt BM220.8 bass mid and Scanspeak tweeter which was the 8513 and upgraded that to the D2008/9500.
I also rehoused them later in the floor standing Classique cabinet.
I always had good service from them but not sure if its the same owners now?


IIRC the person who designs the crossovers left. - LINK to a long thread about a very disappointed Wilmslow customer
(http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/210627-wilmslow-audio-prestige-platinum.html)

[vintage60]

Good thread, Thiha.

You just can't beat a good old bargain!

S.

+1 on good old bargain!

[vintage60]

Hi Oliver

I bought the Classic II on the recommendation of a friend who bought one for his Garrard 401 to replace the Origin Live Silver MkIII that he had. Said the Classic was a bit better than the Silver MKIII.

I already had the OL Illustrious, but needed an arm for my LP12, so went for the Classic II. I've done many a shoot out between these arms and swapped them between my OL Resolution deck and the LP12.

I thought there was a natural synergy between the Resolution and the Illustrious so paired them.

The Classic is paired with the LP12 and it sounds very nice, perhaps 85-90% of what the Illustrious is capable of but for 30% of the price.

What I like about the Classic is that there is no obvious weakness anywhere. Good, even tone, natural sound, stable image and decent enough bass. The OL beats it in terms of beefier bass (in a good way), pace and wider sound stage.

[vintage60]

:goodthread:

I'm very interested in the Robson Acoustics speakers you tried/have. I could not find prices or distributors in the South East. How does Robert operate when selling speakers? Does he have demo units available?

In terms of HiFi cottage industry I have personal experience with and can recommend Radford Revival, Chevron Audio and Reelaudio.

Hi

I called Robert directly and spoke to him about what I was looking for. He emailed me some specs and prices. They very considerably since he can finish the cabinets with simple matt black paint like mine, with leather or even crocodile skin...if you are into that sort of thing.

He does a no quibble money back guarantee, but so far, none of his customers have sent theirs back for a refund and I'm definitely not going to be the first. I think he may also do home loans, but you'll need to cover the postage. Several customers upgrade through the range so he may have some trade ins going for a reasonable price.

[Edward]

Hi

I called Robert directly and spoke to him about what I was looking for. He emailed me some specs and prices. They very considerably since he can finish the cabinets with simple matt black paint like mine, with leather or even crocodile skin...if you are into that sort of thing.

He does a no quibble money back guarantee, but so far, none of his customers have sent theirs back for a refund and I'm definitely not going to be the first. I think he may also do home loans, but you'll need to cover the postage. Several customers upgrade through the range so he may have some trade ins going for a reasonable price.


Thanks for that. I'll do a deep dive into his website and see what/how he does things.

I'm looking for something that will beat the PMCs I have in sheer awesomeness* whilst retaining WAF. :)

Any chance you letting me know what prices you got? Feel free to do it via PM. It may be totally outside my ballpark which will save me time.

cheers




* technical term I'm still trying to define. :rolleyes:

[vintage60]

PM sent

[Bigman80]

Hi Oliver

I bought the Classic II on the recommendation of a friend who bought one for his Garrard 401 to replace the Origin Live Silver MkIII that he had. Said the Classic was a bit better than the Silver MKIII.

I already had the OL Illustrious, but needed an arm for my LP12, so went for the Classic II. I've done many a shoot out between these arms and swapped them between my OL Resolution deck and the LP12.

I thought there was a natural synergy between the Resolution and the Illustrious so paired them.

The Classic is paired with the LP12 and it sounds very nice, perhaps 85-90% of what the Illustrious is capable of but for 30% of the price.

What I like about the Classic is that there is no obvious weakness anywhere. Good, even tone, natural sound, stable image and decent enough bass. The OL beats it in terms of beefier bass (in a good way), pace and wider sound stage.Thanks for that. It looks a very substantial bit of kit. I like it a lot from a visual perspective.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Marco]

Hi Thiha,

Excellent thread, and one that very much appeals to my own sensibilities :)


I don't know whether I am waging a one-man battle against the giant manufacturers with their mega-bucks marketing budgets, but lately, I have been scouring the net for products made by our smaller HiFi cottage industry to see how good their products are.


Certainly not a one-man battle, as on AoS we're firmly focussed on championing the best equipment produced by small, specialist manufacturers, and with it, the achieving of the highest sound-per-pound value for the buyer/listener. It's why we also promote use of the best vintage equipment.

You make a good point by mentioning the mega-bucks marketing budget of the "giant manufacturers", which is very much true, so given that fact, how much do you think the cost of that is reflected in the price you pay for their equipment, NONE of which goes towards making it sound/perform any better?

I don't know about you, but when I buy a piece of equipment, I want to be assured that the vast majority of my hard-earned cash has gone on what's been used 'under the hood', where it matters most, than on marketing or the 'prestige value' of the badge, which is another area that bumps up the price of gear.

You like Krell, Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Linn, Naim or whatever? Then be prepared to PAY for the 'prestige value' of the badge, i.e. what price, in that respect, the market will stand (new or used), which just like advertising costs, has no bearing whatsoever on the out-and-out sound quality of the equipment concerned.

Take your average £10k commercial produced amplifier, from any of the industry 'big names'. How much of your £10k do you think is spent on what's used under the hood, and which impacts directly on sonic performance? The reality is that, once you subtract marketing costs, 'prestige value', VAT and dealer margin, only a tiny percentage of the price you've paid has been spent on what should be the most important bit!

And that's why equipment bought DIRECT from small, specialist manufacturers can often outperform its significantly more expensive 'big name' counterparts, simply because free from incurring most of those 'superfluous costs', the designer can spend the money instead on using better quality internal components, and often also allow his or her flair/design expertise to 'run free', thus creating a product that positively excels at fulfilling its primary function: reproducing recorded music to the highest sonic standard.


I wanted to share my thoughts since I don't feel that these sorts of manufacturers of ours get that much recognition since they do not have the marketing budget to paste their wares into every hifi magazine and to maintain snazzy websites. But it is clear to me that here in the UK (and elsewhere), there are some really terrific bits of kit being made by some very talented individuals.

I'd love to learn of anyone else's experiences along these lines as this is the only way we can share information to find our hidden gems.

In terms of your first paragraph above, absolutely! I suppose it just depends what you're after. Some folk like bling, and the peace of mind/satisfaction of buying equipment from established big brands, and that's fine, but there *is* a price to pay - and that price is you're unlikely to have achieved the biggest bang for your buck.

I don't know about you, but I've always been more of a music lover than a hi-fi enthusiast, so for me, it's ALL about using equipment that, first and foremost, has been designed to be as good as it can at fulfilling its primary function (making my favourite music sound superb) - and *that* is what I want to pay most for, not a company's commercial overheads, or audiophile fripperies (such as fancy casings and controls that look like jewellery) :nono:

Add these manufacturers in particular to your list of 'hidden gems', not mentioned here so far:

Tube Distinctions (for the higest quality valve amps)
Longdog Audio (for most forms of hi-fi equipment)
Firebottle (also for valve amps)
Arkless Electronics (for high-quality SS gear)
Paul Hynes Ltd (for various types of quality PSUs)
Mark Grant Ltd (for the highest quality cables, at great prices)

...together with pretty much every registered trader here, as on AoS we only support the good guys! :cool:

Marco.

[Neil McCauley]

Good thread, Thiha.

You just can't beat a good old bargain!

S.

+1

[cre009]

Some manufactures that start small eventually grow to quite large. Most others just fade away when the owner packs in due to retirement or whatever. Support then may be an issue though support from larger companies is not always good either. I have kit from Kinshaw and Lumley Reference where I believe both owners retired and I am still happily using the gear with no view to changing.

[jollyfix]

'Tube Distinctions (for the higest quality valve amps).
I don't own anything by Anthony, but heard his Amps at his place and got to say astounding bits of kit. Very nice guy too.

[Marco]

Some manufactures that start small eventually grow to quite large. Most others just fade away when the owner packs in due to retirement or whatever. Support then may be an issue though support from larger companies is not always good either.

Indeed, Clive, but let's also remember that designing hi-fi equipment doesn't require a degree in rocket science. Most equipment produced can be fixed and/or serviced by any competent, qualified EE, especially if they have access to the relevant schematic diagrams.

Therefore, if your John Wood valve amp (for example) goes tits up, after John has sadly departed this world, immigrated to Australia to become a lumberjack, or whatever, then it almost certainly can be brought back to life by any good EE! :)

That's not always the case, however, with some commercially produced equipment from 'big name' manufacturers, as the circuits can sometimes be overtly complicated, and not necessarily for good reason either...

Marco.

[vintage60]

Thanks Marco.

I'm in agreement with you.

Had not heard of Tube Distinctions or Paul Hynes, but will add them to my list of things to look into.

Since this thread is garnering quite a few views, I'm going to be a bit shameless and make a plug for some speakers that I'm on the look out for in case any AoS members have these and are willing to sell for a reasonable price:

1. LSA 1 Statement Ribbon Tweeter Monitors

2. JMR Offrandes

3. Reference 3a Dulcets

4. Penaudio Cenya

BTW, I like Naim very much, but eventually took the plunge and got my hands on Avondale M130 mono blocks from Les and...lets just say that the Nap 135 monos and Olive Nap 250 were made homeless. Didn't lose too much money, thank God, but had I listened earlier to people who had gone down the same path I would have saved myself £££ plus got to a better state of aural well-being much earlier. Well, you live and learn.

BBTW, some time ago, I visited Simon at Transcription Audio over in Royston, Herts, to listen to his valve amps. They are amazing. Transformers that weigh 10kg and are the size of loaves of bread and massive oil filled capacitors. He stressed to me the importance of the quality of power supply and not just the output level. Very high quality power and current are key to his designs and having heard his amps, something I'll never forget. His workshop is a great place to wonder around in...its basically a very large shed.

[oldius]

It is also true to say though that some of the large companies have Invested considerable sums in R&D, sums which are beyond the reach of cottage industry specialists. Neither is the right route forward, but following your ears is.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Marco]

It is also true to say though that some of the large companies have Invested considerable sums in R&D, sums which are beyond the reach of cottage industry specialists.

Indeed, but all their R&D (and the cost attached to that we have to pay when buying the products) is somewhat fruitless [and for us ultimately a waste of money] if it doesn't result in superior sounding equipment - and I mean superior sounding, compared with that produced by equipment using much older technology....

As you well know with your system, newest and latest technology doesn't always mean best! ;)

Marco.

[oldius]

Indeed, which is why the ears are all important.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Marco]

Absolutely. What's worth remembering too, is that these days, most of what the R&D is about is streamlining and cutting production costs for the manufacturer concerned, not necessarily designing a better (i.e superior sounding) product!

It's all too easy to be fooled into thinking otherwise. The bottom line is that these companies are running a business, ones which have to be profitable, so that will always be their primary focus.

I'm afraid the days of hi-fi equipment being built as a 'cost no object' exercise, to facilitate genuine innovation and create products that truly excel for all the right reasons, are long gone. That ended when companies started being run by accountants, rather than artisans and engineers with a passion for creating the best.

Marco.

[Arkless Electronics]

Hi Thiha,

Excellent thread, and one that very much appeals to my own sensibilities :)



Certainly not a one-man battle, as on AoS we're firmly focussed on championing the best equipment produced by small, specialist manufacturers, and with it, the achieving of the highest sound-per-pound value for the buyer/listener. It's why we also promote use of the best vintage equipment.

You make a good point by mentioning the mega-bucks marketing budget of the "giant manufacturers", which is very much true, so given that fact, how much do you think the cost of that is reflected in the price you pay for their equipment, NONE of which goes towards making it sound/perform any better?

I don't know about you, but when I buy a piece of equipment, I want to be assured that the vast majority of my hard-earned cash has gone on what's been used 'under the hood', where it matters most, than on marketing or the 'prestige value' of the badge, which is another area that bumps up the price of gear.

You like Krell, Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Linn, Naim or whatever? Then be prepared to PAY for the 'prestige value' of the badge, i.e. what price, in that respect, the market will stand (new or used), which just like advertising costs, has no bearing whatsoever on the out-and-out sound quality of the equipment concerned.

Take your average £10k commercial produced amplifier, from any of the industry 'big names'. How much of your £10k do you think is spent on what's used under the hood, and which impacts directly on sonic performance? The reality is that, once you subtract marketing costs, 'prestige value', VAT and dealer margin, only a tiny percentage of the price you've paid has been spent on what should be the most important bit!

And that's why equipment bought DIRECT from small, specialist manufacturers can often outperform its significantly more expensive 'big name' counterparts, simply because free from incurring most of those 'superfluous costs', the designer can spend the money instead on using better quality internal components, and often also allow his or her flair/design expertise to 'run free', thus creating a product that positively excels at fulfilling its primary function: reproducing recorded music to the highest sonic standard.



In terms of your first paragraph above, absolutely! I suppose it just depends what you're after. Some folk like bling, and the peace of mind/satisfaction of buying equipment from established big brands, and that's fine, but there *is* a price to pay - and that price is you're unlikely to have achieved the biggest bang for your buck.

I don't know about you, but I've always been more of a music lover than a hi-fi enthusiast, so for me, it's ALL about using equipment that, first and foremost, has been designed to be as good as it can at fulfilling its primary function (making my favourite music sound superb) - and *that* is what I want to pay most for, not a company's commercial overheads, or audiophile fripperies (such as fancy casings and controls that look like jewellery) :nono:

Add these manufacturers in particular to your list of 'hidden gems', not mentioned here so far:

Tube Distinctions (for the higest quality valve amps)
Longdog Audio (for most forms of hi-fi equipment)
Firebottle (also for valve amps)
Arkless Electronics (for high-quality SS gear)
Paul Hynes Ltd (for various types of quality PSUs)
Mark Grant Ltd (for the highest quality cables, at great prices)

...together with pretty much every registered trader here, as on AoS we only support the good guys! :cool:

Marco.

Well said there Marco:)

As I've noticed some confusion over this in recent weeks, I just wanted to add that I DO deal with valved equipment as well as SS, both in terms of servicing, rebuilds and manufacturing. Hybrid gear is something I'm rather keen on in fact;) Although the likes of no feedback SET's would be something I wouldn't give house room to in my own system, I do still repair such things:) See here for example of rebuild of Radford STA25 http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?50696-Radford-STA25-MkIII-rebuild

[Spectral Morn]

Thanks Marco.

I'm in agreement with you.

Had not heard of Tube Distinctions or Paul Hynes, but will add them to my list of things to look into.

Since this thread is garnering quite a few views, I'm going to be a bit shameless and make a plug for some speakers that I'm on the look out for in case any AoS members have these and are willing to sell for a reasonable price:

1. LSA 1 Statement Ribbon Tweeter Monitors

2. JMR Offrandes

3. Reference 3a Dulcets

4. Penaudio Cenya

BTW, I like Naim very much, but eventually took the plunge and got my hands on Avondale M130 mono blocks from Les and...lets just say that the Nap 135 monos and Olive Nap 250 were made homeless. Didn't lose too much money, thank God, but had I listened earlier to people who had gone down the same path I would have saved myself £££ plus got to a better state of aural well-being much earlier. Well, you live and learn.

BBTW, some time ago, I visited Simon at Transcription Audio over in Royston, Herts, to listen to his valve amps. They are amazing. Transformers that weigh 10kg and are the size of loaves of bread and massive oil filled capacitors. He stressed to me the importance of the quality of power supply and not just the output level. Very high quality power and current are key to his designs and having heard his amps, something I'll never forget. His workshop is a great place to wonder around in...its basically a very large shed.

Reference 3A Dulcets are nice speakers, but I think the current versions with the Beryllium tweeters aren't an improvement over the original conventional tweeter version. I own a set of original Dulcets and compared them, new ones not for me. I know the distributor sometimes has older Reference 3A speakers available, trade ins, so worth firing Simon (Absolute Analogue) an email, nice guy to boot, but he can talk for not only Britain but the whole world.

[vintage60]

Hi Neil - Thanks for that input. I probably would not have gone for the BE version of the Dulcet, but good to know that you think the original is better.

Hi Jez - I like hybrid gear also. My LSA Statement integrated amp is a hybrid. Very nice sound indeed, although I used to have a Unison Research Unico which I thought was pretty plain and didn't float my boat.

On a separate note, here's my top award for extreme hyperbole:

http://www.hifi-forsale.co.uk/moreinfo.php?prod_title=ZU_LIBTEC&p=speakercable&prod_id=49008&offset=

In case the link doesn't work, it's from Stef at Zu Audio and it says: "Just so you know, I built and tested this cable before your jaw hit the floor"

Now I've tried out a couple of their cables and my jaw remains firmly fixed to my head. I'm sure the advertising guys at Saatchi & Saatchi or whichever Ad company Zu Audio used charged handsomely for that strap line.

[anthonyTD]

Me too,:)
Which is why I produced the Soul Power amps.


Hybrid gear is something I'm rather keen on in fact;) Although the likes of no feedback SET's would be something I wouldn't give house room to in my own system, I do still repair such things:)

[Marco]

Well said there Marco:)

As I've noticed some confusion over this in recent weeks, I just wanted to add that I DO deal with valved equipment as well as SS, both in terms of servicing, rebuilds and manufacturing. Hybrid gear is something I'm rather keen on in fact;)

No worries, mate - and noted! :thumbsup:

Marco.

[topoxforddoc]

More British Cottage Industries, which I enjoy in my system

Hadcock - now run by George's son, Charles
Decca London cartridges - John Wright
TRON amplifiers - Graham Tricker

All tiny operations with a worldwide following

[Yomanze]

Looking at my kit list, the following is cottage industry: preamp, amp, DAC, cables, rack, speakers. I support it because it offers much greater SPPV and a lack of meddling from marketers and accountants. Also, it's nice to have something a bit different... Ultimately though, it's all about sound for me I don't ever have people around to show my kit to. :P

[vintage60]

[QUOTE=Yomanze Ultimately though, it's all about sound for me I don't ever have people around to show my kit to. :P[/QUOTE]

Me too.

The only person I ever have around to listen to my kit is my father and that's because he got me into this whole hifi thing in the first place. Most kids spend their school holidays messing around with their mates.....I just visited one hifi shop after another with my father.