Any high end Hi-Fi lovers?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Once upon a time as a teenager I was in a band which had some success and toured all over the country.
I very soon learned that I was much more use at the back of the concert hall behind the sound desk than on stage and so began my interest in sound equipment and hifi sound.
From this grew my first business as sound engineer and building my own PA rigs which I would rent to (mostly American) bands on tour in Europe.
It was then I first became a Mercedes owner as the kit was moved in a new 508 van in from 1973.
I worked with artists as diverse as Freddie Starr to Cliff Ricard in venues from village halls to the Albert Hall.
The only gig really regret taking was one in the Marquee Club in London. I was told by the promoter the band were a bit like 10cc. He was right because there were 4 of them, but they were the most unruly punk bands ever (no names!) and it took months to clean all the spit and beer from the equipment.
When my first son arrived in 76, it became a little anti social to be away for up to a month on a European tour, so a took to a day job designing heat exchangers. I was bored out of my head. When Brazilian F1 driver friend rang to say he was starting his own team six months later and would I join, it took about .006 secs to say 'Yes!'
So began my motorsport career as truckie for an F2 team in March 78. By the autumn of that year I found myself as Team Manager doing the Temporada series in Argentina...
I have always retained my interest in music and sound equipment and always had some reasonable hifi equipment.
A couple of years ago, I was asked to go with one of my best friends (and former band member from the late '60s!) in help master his latest album at Abbey Road.
That's the sort of invite you don't turn down and mastering guru Miles (he who has re-mastered all the recent Beatles re-releases and many others!) showed us how good music could sound in the mastering suite.
IMG_1816.jpeg8883a7d7-a1bd-4226-a24f-ac0d052b7b7b.jpeg
I was very taken with the Bryson amps and £80k PMC speakers and decided I needed to try to replicate something similar at home.

With the advent of hi res music files, we now can hear the actual same source material as the guys who produced the music....given you have a 'decent' system to play them on.
I have built mine around Bryson amps and PMC speakers ( but slightly more modest domestic versions!) as at Abbey Road.
My source files are run via Auralic Vega G1 streaming DAC via an active 3 way crossover to Bryston (bass and mid) and Audiolab (hi) amps to each cabled individually to PMC OB1i speakers.
I freely admit that if all the parts had been bought new it would cost way over £20k....but I didn't as I've been buying and selling hifi all my life and now have a system capable of getting to within about 1% of that at Abbey Road for far less money.

I also admit to listening almost as much to my system as to my music, but then it is my hobby which is needing some serious attention with my recent house move to adapt to new surroundings.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

😂😂
 
And right at the other end of the spectrum I've just acquired a Sharp VZ-1550 midi system from the 1980s that plays both sides of the record. Try that on a Linn Sondek LP12! 😂
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20201202-090939_Photos.jpg
    Screenshot_20201202-090939_Photos.jpg
    459.6 KB · Views: 9
And right at the other end of the spectrum I've just acquired a Sharp VZ-1550 midi system from the 1980s that plays both sides of the record. Try that on a Linn Sondek LP12! 😂
And rapid cassette to cassette dubbing too?
 
Sadly not. I say sadly.... 🙄
 
After a couple of months in my new Norfolk home, I now have two of my hifi systems up and running to my satisfaction.
The main lounge system is a tri-amped 1000 watt system.
IMG_0744.JPG

Whilst the breakfast room has a high more modest 500 watt bi-amped system. Both use Auralic streaming DAC's as the main sound source with a 1TB SSD music library in the breakfast room one.

IMG_0747.JPG

You can never have too much good music;)
 
Is that some Tapley 33 wall furniture I spy?
It most certainly is! It has survived very well from being first installed in my Waddesdon home in the early 80's.
One of the few bits of furniture to have made two moves to Norfolk 30 years apart.....
 
Lovely Pmc, is that Bryston amps ?
Yes, Bryston power for the bass and mid, Audiolab for the hi. All fed by a Sublime Acoustic active cross over.
 
After a couple of months in my new Norfolk home, I now have two of my hifi systems up and running to my satisfaction.
The main lounge system is a tri-amped 1000 watt system.
View attachment 108283

Whilst the breakfast room has a high more modest 500 watt bi-amped system. Both use Auralic streaming DAC's as the main sound source with a 1TB SSD music library in the breakfast room one.

View attachment 108284

You can never have too much good music;)

If those speakers in the bottom picture can be turned upside down then I would. The speakers would then be more at ear level and sound better.
 
If those speakers in the bottom picture can be turned upside down then I would. The speakers would then be more at ear level and sound better.
I would disagree based on the musical image being all wrong if the speakers were inverted.
 
Interesting, how would it be all wrong?
 
If those speakers in the bottom picture can be turned upside down then I would. The speakers would then be more at ear level and sound better.
The speakers are actually very height tolerant. The main listening area for these is some 5 meters away and the other side of the dining area which includes high back chairs, so this solution really works best.
Then, of course, practicality and being awarded planning permission by the better half have to be taken into account!
 
To be fair they look like uni q speakers which are far more forgiving with placement anyway so I could see why they are height tolerant.
 
It most certainly is! It has survived very well from being first installed in my Waddesdon home in the early 80's.
One of the few bits of furniture to have made two moves to Norfolk 30 years apart.....
I still have a few pieces, including a fall-front cabinet like the one under your TV panel that houses LP's. I first bought some of their furniture in the mid 1980's and it’s one of those timeless bits of design that just does the job.

Irritating that Beaver & Tapley went through a period of ownership by people who contracted their range to the point of almost destroying the brand in the early 2000's, but it appears they’re back with a full range again. Just hope COVID doesn’t kill their business.
 
I would disagree based on the musical image being all wrong if the speakers were inverted.
Indeed! One wouldn't want the music coming out all down side up....unless it was by Peter Gabriel :dk:
 
  • Like
Reactions: LTD
I still have a few pieces, including a fall-front cabinet like the one under your TV panel that houses LP's. I first bought some of their furniture in the mid 1980's and it’s one of those timeless bits of design that just does the job.

Irritating that Beaver & Tapley went through a period of ownership by people who contracted their range to the point of almost destroying the brand in the early 2000's, but it appears they’re back with a full range again. Just hope COVID doesn’t kill their business.
All my albums are now in the loft and their contents now in hi res FLAC format which takes up much less room. So the fall front cabinet is now a drinks cabinet. Much more fitting for a breakfast room!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom