Greetings from France

[StuN]

Hi, I've recently joined this forum. I live in the Vaucluse in Provence and have been an enthusiast for many years. I've moved house many times, so there have been compromises along the way, some good, others less so, but always music to listen to.

My current main system is:

Yamaha NS1000ms driven by an EAR/Yoshino amp and a Graham Slee Gram Amp 2SE. Sources are a Philips CD104 (yes, really!) and I'm evaluating a recently purchased Technics 1210 mkV.

My secondary system which lurks in my home office is made up from:

Rogers LS3/5as or JR149s fed by a pair of Quantum 205 power amps (80s vintage) and a Townshend Elite 600CIII preamp. Also occasionally a Rogers LSB1 sub. I have a Townshend Avalon/RB300 (O-L dc power and arm mods) and an SL1200Mk1 with a Grace 727 arm. Cartridges include an Empire 600LAC, a Stanton 681EEE and a Grace F9E Ruby. I also have a Denon 103R with Soundsmith for a new cantilever and elliptical diamond.

Plans for the future probably include an arm upgrade for the 1210. Logic suggests the RB300, but it is such a good match for the Avalon and with the damping trough it really makes great music with high energy cartridges, and then the SL1200/Grace combo is a match from heaven with the F9E..... so I guess it will be mix and match for a while!

Music tastes are mainly classical, especially strings/piano and a smattering of light popular.

I always enjoy reading this forum and hopefully I will also have something useful to contribute.

Stuart.

[Techno Commander]

Welcome Stuart.

[Spectral Morn]

Welcome Stuart to AOS.

Nice set up you have. Can you put some photos of it in our Gallery section. We love to look at nice system photos.

Enjoy the forum and have fun.


Regards D S D L

[Beechwoods]

Welcome to the forum Stuart! I like the sound of your office system. I have JR149s in my main system. I've also been thinking about about the JR Sub-Woofer... how do find it plays with your 149's?

Great intro post, by the way!

[Welder]

Hi Stuart
Welcome to AoS.
I can see you know something about getting a a lovely sound without spending the earth.
I haven’t seen an Elite Townsend Pre Amp for years. Great pieces of kit. How do the Quantums sound with it?
Can’t fault your speaker choice either, two of favorite all time speakers (Yamaha and Rogers)
So how come you picked these combo’s when the sheep were out buying Linn and Naim? ;)

[Alex_UK]

Hi, and welcome Stuart. Some lovely kit there.

I suspect that whilst logical, the RB300 on the 1210 may not be the best match - not tried myself, but others here including Marco are not fans, generally speaking - I can't give you any more than that but of course, you may find it works in your system and the synergy is good. No doubt those better experienced than me can help further.

Enjoy AoS, and some piccies would be lovely if you can manage some time. :)

[radio]

hi there stuart,welcome regards maria,thats a good scottish name youv got:)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Stuart, welcome to AoS chap :) Like John i can't fault your choice of speakers either, love the NS1000Ms, so much so i bought 3 pairs :eyebrows:

All the best & enjoy your stay :cool:

[Jonboy]

Helle Stuart, nice systems you have there and a great place to live

[StuN]

Thanks guys for your kind words. I've never really worked out what lead me to the kit I have, except that when I was a teenager I used to play in an orchestra. Sitting in the middle of all those instruments being fed pure tones and harmonics, with all the immediacy and dynamics of the real thing, was just magic, and seems to have educated my ears and so those are the charecteristics I listen for. I also was fortunate to have a great first system which I purchased from a colleague for very little money - TD124/SME3012/Stanton 681EE/ Linsley Hood ClassA amp and a pair of Richard Allan home-made speakers. The Linsley Hood gave way to a Sugden C51/A51 and a pair of Tannoy Lancasters joined in. From that I quickly learned that 'different' is not necessarily 'better', and so the journey began....

I'll try to get some pics soon, but we have recently moved house and not everything is sorted out yet. I didn't mention that the EAR is the V20. It has 30 valves in total and apart form sounding great, it keeps the house warm too!

My sub is the original rectangular Rogers one to match the LS3/5A but as it has to sit between the speakers and it fires sideways, it is not very house friendly. Internally, it is two separate chambers back-to-back and I frequently contemplate building two separate cabinets to rehouse the units. Anyone come across this unit before or done a rebuild on it?

Stuart

[Barry]

Thanks guys for your kind words. I've never really worked out what lead me to the kit I have, except that when I was a teenager I used to play in an orchestra. Sitting in the middle of all those instruments being fed pure tones and harmonics, with all the immediacy and dynamics of the real thing, was just magic, and seems to have educated my ears and so those are the charecteristics I listen for. I also was fortunate to have a great first system which I purchased from a colleague for very little money - TD124/SME3012/Stanton 681EE/ Linsley Hood ClassA amp and a pair of Richard Allan home-made speakers. The Linsley Hood gave way to a Sugden C51/A51 and a pair of Tannoy Lancasters joined in. From that I quickly learned that 'different' is not necessarily 'better', and so the journey began....

I'll try to get some pics soon, but we have recently moved house and not everything is sorted out yet. I didn't mention that the EAR is the V20. It has 30 valves in total and apart form sounding great, it keeps the house warm too!

My sub is the original rectangular Rogers one to match the LS3/5A but as it has to sit between the speakers and it fires sideways, it is not very house friendly. Internally, it is two separate chambers back-to-back and I frequently contemplate building two separate cabinets to rehouse the units. Anyone come across this unit before or done a rebuild on it?

Stuart

What you replaced all that? :doh: Oh well - I guess you are happier with your present system and that is all that really matters.

Oh - by the way, welcome to the forum Stuart.

Regards

[StuN]

You're quite correct Barry, but it was 30-odd years ago and I wasn't blessed with hindsight then! Even so, one shouldn't always confuse 'different' with 'better'. I've owned and listened to them and a few others of similar quality and it's been a great learning experience. As we develop, so our preferences and priorities change - I just like to do it slowly!

Stuart.

[Rare Bird]

a pair of Quantum 205 power amps (80s vintage) and a Townshend Elite 600CIII preamp.


Very nice, welcome stuart..