Hello From the Independent Republic of Pencombe

[vinydobby]

Hello. I am a 71 year old decrepit hippie getting worse daily! 50+ years ago I got my first decent paypacket and decided I needed, what we called then, "a stereo system". I loved music (Floyd, Dead, Joni Mitchell, Roy Harper etc) but had no clue about systems. I went into a hifi shop in Birmingham and asked the man for a system! A couple of weeks later I was mesmerised with what the hifi man had sold me. It was:

Tannoy Lancaster speakers
Goldring turntable
Quad 33/303
Stax SR3 headphones

Now, 4 children and 7 grandchildren later I have decided to try to return to the sound I loved. What I am setting up is:

Tannoy Legacy Arden (sitting in the spare room)
Linn Selekt renderer (keeping speakers company)
Audiolab 3000C pre-amp
Radford Revival STA 25 (being built)
LP12 (in for new motor and service)

I hope I have chosen wisely! As soon as the Radford arrives Audio Affair will help me set it all up. I am also making a unit to house it and I have tried to attach a picture but not sure I have done it correctly. I am using new scaffolding boards rather than reclaimed ones. I got a really talented man to make me a solid walnut plinth for the LP12 to sit on. The plinth will sit on 4 Ukishima 6A - adjustable isolation feet. The only thing that still foxes me is a decent record cleaner as I have hundreds of records that have never been properly cleaned. I am pretty good at research but despite my best efforts I go round in circles. I would love to have a go with a Degritter but spent all my money! Not sure whether to make an ultrasonic unit or make a vacuum unit - either way I need to keep cost down a bit. Apart from music my passions are woodwork and stamp collecting which I have similarly taken up again after a 50 year gap. I doubt that I will contribute much to the forum initially but I am really enjoying exploring some amazing threads and learning so much. Sorry for the ramble - I put it down to disintegrating brain.

[walpurgis]

Hello Terry. Welcome to AOS.

Your new sytem should keep you entertained. You could start a blog for it in the Gallery section to show us how it all progresses.

Join in the chat. The members are friendly and like to hear what folk are up to.


Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[Pigmy Pony]

Good morning and welcome Terry,

I like your music system shelving, you seem to have thought of everything there, including that ingenious irrigation system for your aloe vera plant Most folk would have taken the easy option and bought a little watering jug, but not you, oh no :)

If that's where the 'stereo system' is to be sited, it may sound a bit 'live'. So some soft coverings on floor and walls may be in order. Look forward to hearing more about your set up :)

[Edward]

Tannoy + Radford = pure pleasure. :)

Looking forward to reading about your journey as it progresses.

[vinydobby]

Many thanks for the welcomes. "Tannoy+Radford=pure pleasure" really gave my spirits a lift! I must take issue with Pigmy Pony however. It is well known in my village that the aloe vera plant absorbs all unwanted sonic frequencies. That is why it has fat leaves. The only downside is that it cannot tolerate either wall or floor coverings. I also have an identically tuned plant in my study and both together make one of the best wifi extenders on the planet. I call it a "mash system". I propagate these miracles and can supply any member of AOS at a discounted price of £254.56 per matched pair. By the way, did I mention my brain problems?

[Edward]

Radford revives all healthy brain. :eyebrows:

Has Will given you an ETA?

[Firebottle]

By the way, did I mention my brain problems?

Hello from me, welcome. You'll fit right in here...

Worcester is one of our favourite cities, if you are ever in the vicinity of Dudley you are very welcome to call in.
I visited Radford Revival earlier this year, they are a class act.

[AJSki2fly]

Hello Terry

A man after my heart I after several speakers I ended up with a pair of Tannoy Legacy Ardens, I drive them with a 300B SET, I think your set up should sound very nice indeed. Keep posting as you get it set up.

Welcome to AoS

Adrian

[southall-1998_mk2]

Howdy! Welcome to AOS.

Have fun.

S.

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Terry,

Excellent introduction! We are of similar age, and not surprisingly have similar tastes in music and there is some overlap in equipment we have used (I still have a Quad 33/303 as a 'back up').

Love the 'distressed' look of your equipment/record storage! I would imagine one would have to pay rather a lot for something like that, if bought from a bespoke audio salon.

Enjoy the Forum
Barry

[vinydobby]

Again, many thanks for the welcomes. To respond to a couple of points. I do not have a delivery time for the Radford but have asked Will for a provisional one as my "installer/fitter" needs a rough date. The audio furniture is based on a design I nicked of the interwebly. The man who makes them charges around £580 plus delivery from USA. Probably not a bad price but I have a dreadful affliction - if I see something I like my first response is "can I make it". My grandchildren have a constant list of requests which have included a two tier pirate bed, Lego tables, grand dolls house, dumper truck, Frodo's sword, a Tardis with lights and sounds, a woodworking bench and last week, a Captain America shield! Had to Google Captain America as I assumed it must be Trump Protector. That's how I ended up making the furniture. I will try to post some pics as I progress.

[vinydobby]

Not sure this is the right place but seemingly not allowed to post elsewhere. Following on from my last post, I am still awaiting the amp so to console myself I bought a set of Stax ES headphones! I am progressing well on building the hi fi unit and will post some pics of progress soon. Question I want to ask concerns my environment. Our village does not have gas or street lights but in all other respects is quite modern - we have a road going through, a bus that comes every Wednesday and goes somewhere. We rely on a splendid wood burner and are self sufficient in wood as we usually have a tree fall over every six months. Trouble is the burner does create "dust" and I want to be able to keep my new Ardens clean. I have seen various air blowers on the market but cannot find any sensible suggestion for blowing dust off speaker cones. Some aficionado said he used a vacuum cleaner with a brush on the end but after having discussed this with the Ardens, we feel this is a bit silly. Has anyone got any ideas on effective but gentle air blowers. I want to avoid cans at all costs as they seem to contain chemicals as well as air. Thanks in advance.

[AJSki2fly]

Not sure this is the right place but seemingly not allowed to post elsewhere. Following on from my last post, I am still awaiting the amp so to console myself I bought a set of Stax ES headphones! I am progressing well on building the hi fi unit and will post some pics of progress soon. Question I want to ask concerns my environment. Our village does not have gas or street lights but in all other respects is quite modern - we have a road going through, a bus that comes every Wednesday and goes somewhere. We rely on a splendid wood burner and are self sufficient in wood as we usually have a tree fall over every six months. Trouble is the burner does create "dust" and I want to be able to keep my new Ardens clean. I have seen various air blowers on the market but cannot find any sensible suggestion for blowing dust off speaker cones. Some aficionado said he used a vacuum cleaner with a brush on the end but after having discussed this with the Ardens, we feel this is a bit silly. Has anyone got any ideas on effective but gentle air blowers. I want to avoid cans at all costs as they seem to contain chemicals as well as air. Thanks in advance.

We have a wood burner too, they don’t get that dusty, I use a micro fibre duster on the wood a wax them lightly every couple of weeks. I tend to keep the speaker grills on and again every couple of weeks I use a soft brush attachment on our Miele vacuum and turn the suck down halfway, this works just fine. If I was going to get dust of to cones I would use a very soft brush, like a large artist brush.I would avoid blowing dust around as you will just be putting back in the amp air to settle on speakers agAin’t.