Another vinyl stalwart

[Audio Al]

Hi Tim

The black stuff is all good , I'm a vinyl fan.

Also Have Albarry kit . AP4 Ap11 and a pair of M608 , I would say the AP11 is the way to go as it has a built in phono stage

I had spoken with Neil ( Mr Albarry ) at several hifi shows before he passed away he stronly recommended using matched items as they are designed to work together

Have fun

[Primalsea]

Nice write up, Tim. Good vintage gear you have in your setup. Yeah, some photos when you have the chance please.

[Spectral Morn]

Welcome to AoS Tim

[Spicoli66]

Hi Tim

The black stuff is all good , I'm a vinyl fan.

Also Have Albarry kit . AP4 Ap11 and a pair of M608 , I would say the AP11 is the way to go as it has a built in phono stage

I had spoken with Neil ( Mr Albarry ) at several hifi shows before he passed away he stronly recommended using matched items as they are designed to work together

Have fun

Hi Audio Al

Indeed the passing of Neil Burnett is sad. Not even his 3 score and 10. I just love the Al+Barry story - once I read it I knew I had to get some Albarry gear. It seems clear Neil Burnett never got the wider recognition he deserved.

Yes, the AP11 is high (if not first) on my list of possibles. They just don't come up very often. There's one on ebay right now with a couple of M1108 monoblocks but all units look pretty dinged up. I'm after one in excellent condition and preferably with the original box. Also, mid-life, the AP11 was upgraded (a lot of people moaned about the price rise when it happened) but I don't know how you identify the earlier model from the later model - is it by serial numbers? Somebody must know.

I would also need a head amp with the AP11 as all my cartridges are LOMC and the phono stage in the AP11 is MM I believe.

I think somebody on here is selling a EAR 868PL - this is very expensive (3200 GBP plus shipping, insurance and taxes for me) - probably AUD 7k all in for me. Trouble is, it's a valve preamp and some folks believe this is a poor match for the M608s (which I will be keeping). Does anyone else have views on that?

Otherwise, does anyone have views on SS preamps with an MC phono stage that is (say) GBP1500 - GBP300 second hand?

There's a Gryphon Elektra on sale in Australia presently but it's too expensive (for me) … guy wants AUD 8500.

Cheers

Tim