Hello Chaps

[Techno Commander]

Best say "hi" after lurking for a few days. :)

Certainly seems a lot more interesting here than many of the other forums I have been reading, hence signing up. I am also surprised to read about many of the Linn / Naim users defecting to tubes.:lol: I was in the "other camp" myself as a confirmed Pink Triangle & JBL man. It does appear as though we are all meeting in the middle though, which is good.

I suppose I had also "fess up" that I need to pick some brains, but I will do that in the appropriate forums.

Cheers.:cool:

[Marco]

Hi matey,

Welcome to AOS. Glad you like what you see! What's your first name? :)

Oh, and what's your current system and music tastes? :cool:

Marco.

[DSJR]

Nowt at all wrong with JBL and a well fettled and working PT - in my opinion that is.....

Welcome - and don't mind the likes of me - we only bite when there's an R in the month...

[Techno Commander]

Names Andy and I'm from sunny Southampton. Well it is today anyway.:)

My musical tastes are predominately rock music orientated, probably from being a teenage headbanger. Also having spent 15 years working in the live event industry as a laser and lighting technician, I am also partial to electronic dance music from the more extreme end of the scale. However, this is balanced by forays into clasical and female vocal.

My system has evolved to capture the excitement and dynamics of live music, although from a studio monitoring point of view. It has pace, detail and authority. But there is no loss of finess and has almost holographic imaging.

To do this, I am using a venerable Teac VRDS10 CD player. I have has this since they were released and it has just worn out its laser carriage assembly for the second time. I dread to think how many discs it has spun over 20 years.

Preamp is home made. Basically an Audio Note kit that have been tweeked almost beyond recognition. It was built without regard to component cost, (i possibly went a bit overboard, but hey!!) although the basic circuit design hasnt been altered.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg116/sillystuff99/Hi%20Fi/AudioNote.jpg

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg116/sillystuff99/Hi%20Fi/AudioNote2.jpg

Power comes courtesy of a Matrix 1500W PA amplifier. Basically standard except for the input op amps being swapped for a pair of Burr Browns. Possibly not the most refined amp (in hi fi terms) but it provides effortless clean power and I have no worries about running out of head room or clipping.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg116/sillystuff99/Hi%20Fi/Matrix.jpg

Speakers were designed and built by the now defunct South Coast Speakers. We spent over a year getting the design right. The culmination of 2 cabinet prototypes, a driver change and 5 crossovers left us with these which are serial number 1. :)

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg116/sillystuff99/Hi%20Fi/Speaker.jpg

The design was based on the old IAS Beaulieu and taken to the next level. Drivers are a VoIlt BM2500, with Visaton mid and ribbon. We were aiming for a monitor quality speaker with exceptional speed and dynamics. I think we achieved out goal. They are beautiful to listen to, very engaging with an effortless sound that captivates you. Even cassettes sound good.:eek:

If you are wondering why the hi fi is in the garden, its because it was getting an annual clean and dust. Tins of compressed air are a wonderful invention, but arent exactly "house friendly".

[retro]

Hello Andy and welcome to AOS :wave:

Regards,

[Spectral Morn]

Welcome to the forum Andy

Have fun and enjoy yourself.


Regards D S D L

[Themis]

Welcome to AoS Andy. :)

[Alex_UK]

Hi Andy - very interesting, and welcome to AoS!

[Beechwoods]

Hello Andy! And welcome...

[Puffin]

Hi Andy. I have got a Matrix PA Amp that I picked up for a song. Are they any good?

[Jonboy]

Hi Andy, pleased to see another Audionote fan, those speakers look interesting

[Techno Commander]

Hi Andy. I have got a Matrix PA Amp that I picked up for a song. Are they any good?

I like them. The 2UA and STR series are excellent and well rated in PA circles. The UKP series were a lot cheaper and not quite so substantial. Fans can be a little noisy, especially when listening at low levels, although this isnt really a worry for PA use. The one I have has the built in electronic crossover, which makes it a far more usefull tool. I used to use this with a Nad 208. The Nad would drive the monitors and the Matrix the JBL subs. :)


Hi Andy, pleased to see another Audionote fan, those speakers look interesting

Thanks, I am really impressed by the Audio Note, although I dont know how it compares with their ready built amps.The soud stage and openess of this preamp is divine. A few years back, I compared it with a Pass X2 preamp. The Pass owner was not happy:lol:

THe speakers as I mentiioned were a long term project. I have always liked the sound of studio monitor speakers. That sense of detail and definition along with exceptional dynamics works for me and the music I listen to. We decided to see what we could come up with using drivers of the quality that many speakers lack. I dont think I will ever sell these as I dont think I could get comparable sound quality for less than £5k. I would liken the sound of these to the Volt loaded PMC monitors.

[aquapiranha]

Nice set-up Andy. Welcome to AoS Steve

[bestty]

Hi all i have just joined and have just droped in to say hello. I have just bought a rotel stereo receiver RX-803 for £15, Do you think i was riped off or not?

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hello Steven.
Probably best to introduce yourself to the fold by a new thread in the Welcome section, rather than on someone else's!

Click this (http://theartofsound.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=15) then go to the 'New Thread' button (there's one at the top & another at the bottom of the page).

Then you can tell us a bit more about yourself, your gear & your taste in music. It's the best way to get friendly with the natives!
Cheers & welcome!

[Techno Commander]

I was wondering why this thread got dragged up. :scratch:

But, to the question in hand, if the Rotel works and has rack handles, I will give you £20 for it if you dont like it. :)

[Reid Malenfant]

I'm actully glad someone did Andy :eyebrows: I got to see the fantastic finish on those speakers of yours :)