And from Warminster

[Labarum]

In recent weeks I have been exploring various HiFi and Audio sites - this one looks promising, and I see Stan Beresford contributes, which is of interest to me.

A History.

I have listened to HiFi for the last 30 odd years on Sugden and Quad kit.

I bought a Sugden A48/T48 in 1978 instead of a Quad 33/303. The Sugden drove a pair of 10" Tannoy Dual Concentrics (Cheviots?) till 20 years ago when (while in Germany) I bought a pair of Quart 980s loudspeakers which I still use in the lounge.

I bought my first CD player about the same time - a Philips CD204, if I remember correctly - and ditched the deck and the LP collection. Too much to carry around the world on army trucks!

In 1996 I bought a Quad 77 CD player and Integrated Amp and shortly afterwards the tuner. I still have that kit.

A few years later the Sugden was in use driving a pair of Goodmans' Maxims attached to the PC (with Audigy card) in the Study.

I have known for a number of years that an Audigy card would outperform the ageing Quad CD player, and I am now moving towards a FLAC streaming solution.

In the lounge I now have a Beresford DAC driving a Quad 405-2 bought on eBay and upgraded by 405man. It drives the Quart 980s tower loudspeakers which still sound extremely fine. The DAC receives input form a Virgin Media Box for TV (clearly) and radio. Cable Radio (128Kb/s at MP2?) is at least as good as the Quad tuner, although I will accept that may not be a fair comparison as the only RF input I can get to the tuner is from the cable (marginal reception area).

Presently I stream FLAC from the study PC to a rather noisy Shuttle PC behind the TV. The Shuttle runs Foobar with ASIO drivers and feeds the Beresford by optical link. The Shuttle will also stream video.

The next step is to buy a Squeezebox Classic for bitperfect streaming to the Beresford. I already have the Squeezecentre server installed in the study and Softsqueeze on the Shuttle PC - just to see how it works.

I will probably buy a netbook (an eeePC1000) to control my Squeezebox setup from the armchair, manage email and do some lazy surfing. I prefer a big screen to congested menus.

The Quad 77 Amp is now attached to the Study PC, and driving the Maxims. I will probably sell the CD player and tuner. The Sugden I sold on eBay to someone who was prepared and able to restore it. He is enjoying ownership.

If I were to abandon my Quart Loudspeakers I guess I would want to go active, but the choice is quite limited. Perhaps the market will shift in that direction, for it makes sense.

If for any reason I needed to downsize speakers I might be tempted by the AVI option.

But as you see, I have not changed HiFi kit often.

[Marco]

Hi Labarum,

Welcome to AOS

I'm glad you've chosen us over other forums after your exploring. It sounds like you've had an interesting hi-fi journey over the years so please get stuck in and contribute to the main discussion areas. It would be interesting to hear your views on some of the topics being discussed.

What's your first name?

Marco.

[StanleyB]

From the various messages I have received, it appears that quite a few of my customers have joined up on AoS.

[Marco]

The cheque's in the post, mate

Marco.

[StanleyB]

The cheque's in the post, mate

Marco.

I would have settled for a few of.

[Marco]

You can have this...

...and like it!



Marco.

[Labarum]

Nice to see you are about, Stanley.

Marco - enough of the thread hijack, and enough of the flashing, which must count as "willy waving" in contravention of the "ethos".

And you an administrator too.

[Marco]

I consider myself suitably reprimanded, sir!



Marco.

[John]

Welcome and enjoy

[Ali Tait]

Have you considered the SB Duet? Nice piece of kit and remote has a screen so no need to set up another monitor next to the hi-fi.