Slate Age Ltd: Customer review and wholehearted endorsement.

Marco, wasn't sure the best place to post this as the company involved make stuff one-off stuff to order. Please move as you see fit.

So yesterday I made a trip up the visit John at Slate Age Ltd who is going to constructing my slate speaker cabs, which are currently made from white painted MDF and look like this:

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...s/P1010202.jpg

Let me just start by saying what an absolute gent, amazing craftsman and all-round great guy John is.

After a long drive from London, I arrived early (8am) just as John was setting off on a local delivery run. As his parents live on site in a beautifully converted barn (his Father Peter started the company 37 years ago), rather than leave me hanging around, he took me into the house where his Mum made me breakfast and chatted to me about the company history and the local area while John made the delivery.

I'd brought one of my existing DIY cabs and drivers for discussion and to use as template for the slate versions, and John brought out a sample of a corner construction to demonstrate the joining and finishing he will use.

Susy's taken some snaps (below), but they just don't do it justice as John is a true craftsman and the quality of finish is breathtaking, with the pieces of the sample joined with such perfection that it looks like some alien stone monolith rather than 4 pieces of off-cut slate, knocked up to show to a customer. Having now seen the quality of the work he and his small team produce, I am so excited to see the finished versions that I'm going to find the next two weeks very, very painful.

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...s/DSC_0727.jpghttp://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...s/DSC_0717.jpg


His attention to detail is amazing and he stood and chatted for about 3hrs about both the cabs themselves and some of the ideas John has for other hi-fi related ventures.

I know that another AOS member has been to see John following another posting I made and has ordered a custom two-tier plinth for a Garrard I think, so hopefully he will follow this post with his own views and impressions.

Basically John and the company have a 'bread and butter' business consisting mostly of granite worktops, but they have access to a huge range of materials and love the chance to produce 'interesting' one-off items which appeal to his interest in engineering.

Apart from my cabs, he is also doing turntable plinths, speaker stands and pair of plinths for a customers B&M 801s.

In short, if there is anything you've ever thought about having made from granite, marble, slate or pretty much any other type of stone, including stands, racks etc, I would suggest just giving John a call and having a chat.
Also worth mentioning that John likes to do a 'proper job' and had already planned to supply matching stainless allen bolts for the drivers and is also having some little Slate Audio badges made up. Oh and on seeing the slightly nasty plastic bass port and tube, John decided to cut the tube out of solid rock using 80mm and 75mm core drills, and then drill and profile the hole in the baffle so the whole thing looks like it's been made from solid!

I'm a fussy git and not easily impressed, but absolutely everything yesterday filled my with complete confidence about him and my decision to splash out. That said, for the size and work involved, I still think they are great value for money.

Now I just need to hire Geoff Capes to move them when they arrive....

Hmmmm... Interesting! :eyebrows:

I'll be looking to source a slate plinth for my TT soon... :)

Stunning. With the apparent demise of Slatedeck...what a great option.

Beautiful workmanship. Can't wait to see the end result.

Hi Steve,

Your thread is fine here. This is most interesting as I was disappointed to hear that Darren's (Slatedeck) business seems to have gone tits up :(

So it's good to know that someone else is on the scene now to deal with this type of thing, and John's designs look absolutely fantastic. He will certainly be getting my business when I have a slate plinth made for my Techy later in the year :)

Where exactly is John based? Could you ask him to register on the forum so we can help promote his business, should he be interested?

Great stuff! :cool:

Marco.

Certainly is fine on here! I'm sure theres going to be quite a lot of folks watching this with interest , please keep us updated !

There is something just right about polished slate, I have always liked the colour and texture, and to see it machined so accurately like that is lovely.

Guys your positive comments are very encouraging and John will be delighted. And to answer your question Marco, he's based in the village of Fence, near Burnley Lancs.

Because this would be a sideline to his main business (though one he is keen to expand), there will be no issue of him vanishing. I can tell you his business is thriving because of his attitude, service, quality and price.

Please just contact him direct (just Google 'Slate Age') with any requests and I will speak to John and get him to join the forum. I know he will be very interested and encouraged to hear your feedback and support. My next order will be for a custom equipment stand......

From my recollection of Slatedeck and previously HNE Systems, I suspect that John will be considerably cheaper because of the size of his existing business and the equipment and purchasing contacts.

He will have a stab at absolutely anything, he's even cutting and lining the cabs with acoustic laminate panels as he puts them together to save me a job later.

Just to put you in the picture, this design:

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...aspertoday.jpg

is made from 20mm and 40mm slate, has all the holes waterjet cut, and requires the final polishing and cutting of bevels to be done once the the cab is completed and weighing around 90kg.

Because this is a bit of a test for John to see how hard it may be, the price may be a bit on the low side (even so, he said he would reduce it if it turns out to be easier than expected) so I've promised to keep it to myself for now, but I will say that considering what some well known DIY speaker companies charge for finished cabs made from MDF, it's VERY good value.

Anyway, enough for now, I'll get John to join AOS and will post lost of pics once I have my hands on the finished article.

Hi Steve
was up there myself in the week to sort out my plinth for the 401,John said you were going to be there Friday. Im in the process of getting quotes for speaker cabinets for a commonsence audio design I may get a quote from him,if its not daft money I may go for it myself.
Clive Smith

Have Slatedeck really gone? I would be interested to buy them out? :kiss:

:bag:

Dave

We're not sure what is happening Dave,just that no-one has been able to contact Darren,either by phone or email.This was brought to a head recently when a customer posted asking if anyone was in contact with Darren as he had paid for,but not received,a plinth for a Garrard.Some who were in regular contact with him no longer get any reply.There is a bit of concern about this.I've met Darren and he's a good bloke.I hope he is ok.

Hi Ali

Well, I would pay for the stock and IP's and a bit for goodwill. And promise to carry on in the style that made them what they are. :kiss: I think they are entirely complimentary to what I do?

Or, if they need help, I'm on the end of a phone.

Regards

:bag:

Dave

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dave Cawley

Have Slatedeck really gone? I would be interested to buy them out? :kiss:

:bag:

Dave

---

So rumour has it!

Well after a couple of visits to see John at Slate Age,I have ordered a twin 40mm plinth for the Garrard 401 thats been idle for some time. I have left him my deck and my old plinth so he can sort out templates for future projects.(mine has a modded RB250 arm but John could sort out any im sure)
He says it should be done in 3-4 weeks and I will update with some pics (if I can manage to upload them) when I get it.
Clive

I was talking to John this morning about plinths and the only concerns he had about producing plinths where having the correct dimensions and info for the arm board, but I'm sure there's enough turntable related knowledge on this forum to provide said info to John.

John also has strong links with (I believe) the owner of Hope Technology, who are a very well respected, British manufacturer of high-spec mountain bike parts. I know there products well, and when you think that they were originally an aerospace company, I don't think there's any doubt that they would be able to provide John with any special metal hardware he may need.