Hi from littlestwoo

[Littlestwoo]

Hi all, pleased to be part of the forum, stumbled across you all whilst looking for info on my vintage amp.
I'm not someone who is on the continues upgrade path and I'm quite happy with my current setup
My hi-fi spans 60 years from valve to streaming, I'm sure my setup can be improved upon if money and ambition where given free reign. Probably mainly thanks to the Radford, it all sounds like I always hoped hi-fi would sound.
So here is what I'm listening through,
Radford Sta 12 - this amp found me about 6 years ago, I can't see any reason why I'd ever move on
Musical Fidelity 'The Preamp' 2a - needed a pre-amp, found this, it sounds fine
Marantz CD63mk11 ki signature - couldn't afford this player in the 90's, was initially disappointed when I got hold of this but then I got my Radford, now it's everything I hoped it ever would be. I'm sure there are better more modern CDP's but I'm happy with this one.
Castle Severn 2 floor standers in light oak - Mrs Littlestwoo demanded some decent looking speakers that didn't overpower the room (aesthetically speaking)
And, new purchase is
Bluesound Node 2i (the new updated version of the Node 2). Spent a long time thinking about this one. Took a long time to get my head around integrating streaming into my setup, ended up going with Tidal (CD and MQA / hi-fi subscription) and this player, which is about as much money as I could justify spending. Really pleased with it, sounds great and also provides an optical input for my TV (freeing up an amp channel).
The future,
Looking for a new vinyl player at some point, probably a Rega 3 or similar (maybe a project, not sure)
Listening to -
At the moment - Foy Vance
Fav's - The Delines, Public Service Broadcasting, Chris Stapleton, Paul Cauthen, Yola, Willie Nelson
Bethel Music, Forerunner Music / IHOP

[Lawrence001]

Welcome to the forum Steve. Nice system you've got there, and it's good to see someone who hasn't got the upgrade bug like many of us. You'll find several fellow happy Radford owners here.

I know you don't want to make any major changes but I can say from experience that the MF Pre, while quite nice at the time, has been surpassed quite convincingly since, including both valve and passive alternatives. I had one a few years ago. Some Radford owners will be able to say which work best with your amp.

If you're the sort of person who sits there analysing the sound and wants to improve it then you should give it a go. If on the other hand you just enjoy listening to the music, and an improvement in the (subjective) sound quality is low on your list of priorities, then don't worry about it and just keep on enjoying the music!

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[Littlestwoo]

Here's my little Radford for anyone who's interestedhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190903/900982896973478b5222a76e2f0f512a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190903/04d661197026d7bd3151f643856b795d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190903/632a5e71ff11f8e8bcbcb2b10ade54d2.jpg

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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190903/4f4545deb32b8da732c2cb371e00d1bd.jpg

[Littlestwoo]

I know you don't want to make any major changes but I can say from experience that the MF Pre, while quite nice at the time, has been surpassed quite convincingly since, including both valve and passive alternatives. I had one a few years ago. Some Radford owners will be able to say which work best with your amp.

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OK, so I said I'm not interested in upgrading, you find me out :-))) I agree that the MF is likely the weakest link, just wouldn't be sure what to replace it with (without spending a fortune). At first I simply had the CD player straight into the power amp and used it's variable output, could do the same with the Bluesound but would lose some flexibility in the system.

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[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Steve.

It's always good to learn of someone who is happy with their system and is not really interested in any further upgrades. A nice position to be in! :)

There are several Radford valve enthusiasts here (I'm one of them).

Enjoy the Forum
Barry

[Lawrence001]

OK, so I said I'm not interested in upgrading, you find me out :-))) I agree that the MF is likely the weakest link, just wouldn't be sure what to replace it with (without spending a fortune). At first I simply had the CD player straight into the power amp and used it's variable output, could do the same with the Bluesound but would lose some flexibility in the system.

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Ha I knew it [emoji1] If a member or two local to you are willing to bring a few different preamps round to try then you can have a play around with no risk. Or maybe try a loan of a small passive like a Tisbury by post, although I'm not sure if it would suit the Radford which is what I meant earlier about matching. I'd send you mine but it's not in the same place as me at the moment.

I think the Marantz CDP had a digital volume so that the bit rate declines at lower volume affecting sound quality. At normal listening levels it would probably therefore not sound as good directly into the Radford. Even if it was analogue, the quality of the attenuator stage will be low compared to a dedicated pre.

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[Edward]

I ran a Radford with a MF "The Preamp" for ages. Whilst perhaps not the last word in transparency the pre sounded great. Still have thst pre, the last time I used it about a year ago I was impressed with what it does.

§

[southall-1998_mk2]

Howdy! Welcome to AOS.

Have fun.

S.

[walpurgis]

Hello Steve. Welcome to AOS.

You have an interesting selection of equipment.

There's a lot going on here, so join in the chat and get to know the members.


Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[Alex_UK]

Hi Steve, and welcome to AoS. Nice kit you've got there. Always had a soft spot for Castle speakers and still on my "one day" list. Problem is I'm not an upgrader, I'm a hoarder, so they'll have to wait until I've cleared some of my hi-fi graveyard!

Hope you enjoy the forum, and careful you don't get the upgrade bug! (I did, but the treatment worked in the end and now I just happily listen to tunes and experiment with stuff!)

[Lawrence001]

I was going to bring up the speakers but didn't want to scare Steve off [emoji38]

If he likes Castles I think a nice pair of Harlechs or even Howards are the logical next step [emoji1]

If they're too big I heard a pair of Chesters (transmission lines) the other day and, although the drivers were distorting a little, I could hear they were very nice speakers as I expected.

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[Littlestwoo]

I was going to bring up the speakers but didn't want to scare Steve off [emoji38]

If he likes Castles I think a nice pair of Harlechs or even Howards are the logical next step [emoji1]

If they're too big I heard a pair of Chesters (transmission lines) the other day and, although the drivers were distorting a little, I could hear they were very nice speakers as I expected.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using TapatalkThe Severns are already to big according to Mrs Littkestwoo ;-)

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[Lawrence001]

My strategy in the past was to get some ridiculously large speakers and then agree to sell them and get something a bit more suitable. But still substantially larger than the ones I started off with [emoji38]

If you don't want to go through all that hassle maybe a trip to a dealer and start looking at some of the big ones before settling on what you really want. Alternatively a trip to a member here with some big speakers will help put yours into context.

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[Littlestwoo]

Fortunately I really like theSeverns, look very classy and have got a weighty and revealing sound. When Mrs Littlestwoo decided that the TDLs where to ugly I immediately set about finding a set of castles which happened to be a little larger in height and depth.

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[Littlestwoo]

Exploring the sonic efficiency of folagehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190904/4e95078d3d7a03f70724991951679681.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190904/db433e95201381b95550662e0158d944.jpg

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[Lawrence001]

They're bigger than I thought. Look like they have the port in the base like the Howards I used to have. Which TDLs did you have? I rather liked the Studio series.

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[Littlestwoo]

They're bigger than I thought. Look like they have the port in the base like the Howards I used to have. Which TDLs did you have? I rather liked the Studio series.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using TapatalkI had TDL RTL 2's, the single driver version (the bigger ones had 2 mid/bass cones), given that they where never very expensive stpeakers they have good sound, bass was excellent (transmission line cabinet) for such a small floor standers. These have more moved on to my friend's system
You're right about the Castles, port at the bottom and the speaker sits on its own plinth.

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[Spectral Morn]

Welcome to AoS :cool: