Scalford show 6th March 2011

[Alex_UK]

Dean (SCIDB) Room 43.

Avid, SME V, Border Patrol pre 300b power & PSU, A pile of CDP DAC's, Marantz PM4, Living Voice OBX-R.

Dean is clearly a music fan first and foremost - piles of records and CDs. I can't remember exactly the track that was playing - some sort of reggae I think? (Mark may be able to help here?) - it was a very old recording, might even have been mono? That made it difficult to be objective about the system, but it certainly sounded fine, and that Avid is a lovely looking turntable.

[Jonboy]

.... who was the guy you were with who seemed pretty much dazed and gobsmacked by the sound of the Mini-T?!

If i told you i would have to kill you, lets just say he's a legend in the valve world and currently works for a very high end firm, he has a very good set of ears and we tend to agree on most things,

I just found the Mini T very enjoyable and made a complete mockery of some so called high end kit, i know its not perfect and ultamately lacks a bit of bottom end but what do you expect it's only 60 bloody quid, i've had 20k plus amps here that don't sound so musical, its probably going on the end of a Audio Note Valve pre amp going into my Tannoys, we shall see what happens, time will tell if i can live with one though

This is pocket money hifi for which i get a lot of enjoyment from, thanks Jerry for the enlightment and it was a pleasure to meet you

[Jonboy]

Stuart ( Russ Abott Royds brother)

Voyd, Helius, Ortofon, Sony CD, Audio Note DAC, Audio Innovations s500, Snell Type E/II.

I spent a bit of time in this room as well, very nice sounding system these amps are very good with these speakers, i've had there bigger brother 2nd Audio 2A3's here on my Tannoys which worked really well for me

[Tarzan]

Jerry, took his Mini-T, l bit that ruffled a few feathers, awesome amp grab one before it is too late.

[jandl100]

.... who was the guy you were with who seemed pretty much dazed and gobsmacked by the sound of the Mini-T?!

If i told you i would have to kill you, lets just say he's a legend in the valve world and currently works for a very high end firm, he has a very good set of ears and we tend to agree on most things,

I just found the Mini T very enjoyable and made a complete mockery of some so called high end kit, .....
This is pocket money hifi for which i get a lot of enjoyment from, thanks Jerry for the enlightment and it was a pleasure to meet you

Thanks Jon - nice to meet you, too.

Yup - the 'legend in the valve world' as Jonboy called him, who was so impressed by the sound of my Mini-T into the Tannoy Lancasters, told me he worked for some obscure company .... ummm .... lemme think ..... I seem to recall it was an anagram of "o tune idea" ....

Wadyya reckon Pete/ISC? !!!

[Big Vern]

Dear All,

Just wanted to say a big 'thank you' to those who took part on Sunday. It was my first Scalford experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it I have now settled on my 'show' fixes; Whittlebury at the end of the year and Scalford at the start. Judging by the numbers in attendance, it certainly seems to have the legs to continue. I like the AoS idea of trying different things, different themes...

Some of the sounds to be heard were remarkable; my first experience of Tannoys 'in the field' was revelatory; first room and what a benchmark! I popped into the AoS room in the afternoon and was highly impressed with the Celestions and the kit feeding them - Marco, the Technics looks stunning and is exceptionally quiet - the Mike New mods have worked beautifully...and as for the Nagra...

Loved Adam's retro room - you could sense his passion for what he does and the sounds were delightful, especially from the Cambridge CD1. I'm sure I read that Stan Curtis cast the mechanism himself in his kitchen (okay, I made the kitchen bit up, but I'm sure he did it )

Loved the AR turntable; sounded wonderful and looked beautiful - stunning veneering job.

All in all, a great show. I'm not so good at cold introductions, so apologies for not introducing myself However, I look forward to next year...a great concept and a thoroughly enjoyable day out. Thank you.

Paul.

[Gromit]

Echoing all of the positive comments about the day, it was indeed a 'Grand Day Out' and I had a total ball, as I have for the previous 2 years of this Show.

I managed to grab a 5 mins natter with Marco at the start of the day, and was really disappointed to not get time to have another quick listen to the 66's later in the day. Still, they were sounding very good indeed at 9.30am on the Sunday. I've a real soft spot for these speakers - an old school mate's dad had a pair of these and I was always in awe of them.

As to 'my day' I had great fun again - tried to spin as much different sorts of music as possible, from Debussy Images to AC/DC and the little Royds didn't let me down. I adore these wee speakers, and sincerely can't ever see me parting with them. The 401 also behaved itself all day, holding its speed pretty much spot on once it was warmed up (about 30 mins from cold) and despite what must have been some pretty badly polluted mains in the hotel, it ran steady as a rock.

Looking forward to next year.

[Alex_UK]

Echoing all of the positive comments about the day, it was indeed a 'Grand Day Out' and I had a total ball, as I have for the previous 2 years of this Show.

I managed to grab a 5 mins natter with Marco at the start of the day, and was really disappointed to not get time to have another quick listen to the 66's later in the day. Still, they were sounding very good indeed at 9.30am on the Sunday. I've a real soft spot for these speakers - an old school mate's dad had a pair of these and I was always in awe of them.

As to 'my day' I had great fun again - tried to spin as much different sorts of music as possible, from Debussy Images to AC/DC and the little Royds didn't let me down. I adore these wee speakers, and sincerely can't ever see me parting with them. The 401 also behaved itself all day, holding its speed pretty much spot on once it was warmed up (about 30 mins from cold) and despite what must have been some pretty badly polluted mains in the hotel, it ran steady as a rock.

Looking forward to next year.

Your system was fab, Richard - one of my favourites, and you should rightly be pleased! If you do ever decide to part with the Merlins, please add my name to the waiting list - I'm sure there are plenty of other people who have offered to take them off your hands before me!

[Gromit]

Your system was fab, Richard - one of my favourites, and you should rightly be pleased! If you do ever decide to part with the Merlins, please add my name to the waiting list - I'm sure there are plenty of other people who have offered to take them off your hands before me!

Thanks Alex - you're very kind.

I've always maintained that system matching is a somewhat inexact science so have always relied upon my ears to tell me everything about what does and doesn't 'go'. Fortunately I've managed to hit a sweet stop every so often - it's not always worked out but gladly, at the moment, the rig is in a fairly settled phase.

As to selling the little Merlins - you'll have to join a long queue I'm afraid.

[Beechwoods]

Steve Toy has written up some thoughts on Scalford, and has posted a few pictures as well, over on AudioFuture - http://www.audiofuture.net/showthrea...Hall-Show-2011