HiFi systems

[mart]

Congrats WillieBo. Don't often hear of people using ESLs.
Quad are no longer British owned although I believe they are still located in the UK.

Mart

[WillieBo]

Yes, I think Quad are now owned by the International Audio Group, a US company but the R&D and Design is still carried out in deepest Cambridgeshire. The customer service given by Quad and Meridian are second to none, often done for free.

Which Quad set-up have you at the moment ?

[Marblehead Johnson]

First decent turntable I bought was a Sansui 222 MkII in 1979, then caught the bug and bought Linn/Meridian. After 2 years realised that the Linn "sound" was not what I was looking for and so, after gradual upgrading the current set-up is:

Pink Triangle Anniversary turntable/ SME Series V arm/Koetsu Urushi Cartridge

Meridian Pro-MCD Compact Disc Player

Sony Professional Walkman

Pink Triangle PIP II Pre-Amplifier

Meridian M2 Active Loudspeakers.

Have to praise Meridian no end as their service department has managed to keep the Pro-MCD going despite it being 18 years old.

The system's not perfect by any means, but the amount of information coming off vinyl and cd is, at times, staggering.

Next serious upgrade would involve me getting 6 numbers on the Lottery!!

[WillieBo]

I've heard the Pink Triangle in demos and was very impressed with the bass, which I thought superb. But I also thought its treble recovery was only average and for the type of music I listen to it seemed a bit of a mis-match for my needs. Listeners to music in need of bass and heavy rhythm would surely love it.

My first good turntable was an old Michell Reference. Wonderful but very temperamental. I've tried a Linn Sondek which I reckoned very good. The last turntable before the Wilson Benesch was a Well-Tempered which I had for some time. Beautiful sound but I wanted something a little more robust. The Wilson Benesch is sensational. I used to have a Graham arm with it but replaced it with Wilson Benesch own make and cartridge.

My first good cd player was a Mission PCD and then I bought a Pro-MCD like you. It was a great player. Apart from a flirtation with a Micromega, I've always used Meridian cd players. The next upgrade may be to the Meridian 800 series which looks and sounds the real deal.

God, this sounds terribly like a hi-fi anorak-speak which is something I've strongly avoided over the years. After all, it's what's in the groove that counts.

[Marblehead Johnson]

You're right, the music is the most important thing and having a good hi-fi should just be a means to an end. Not a status symbol.

I always remember one article in a hi-fi mag where they visited a readers home to review his system. He'd obviously spent all his money on the hi-fi because he only had about 6 LPs, and three of those were by Dire Straits!!

[mart]

FM4 tuner, 34 pre-amp and 306 amp. I bought the tuner and pre-amp from Richer sounds for ?40, a silly price, but there was something dodgy about them, no Serial Nos.
I bought the CD67 on ebay after almost giving up the search. Prices had got ridiculous and there was the risk of ending up with the additional cost of an overhaul and possibly a new lazer. But I struck lucky and got one at a reasonable price that had just been serviced by Quad and the seller was visiting a friend in S. Wales where I was living. Couldn't have worked out better.
Btw, how do you clean your vinyl? I can wholeheartedly recommend this
I bought it without the liquid and use distilled water with a tiny drop of washing up liquid.

Mart

[WillieBo]

The FM4 and CD67 are classics of the hi-fi world. Prices for secondhand 67s are still pretty high.

The cleaning method shown looks excellent. I used to take mine to a man who lived on Dartmoor who had a fabulous cleaning machine. He was renowned for restoration of old vinyl. I traded some old jazz 78s in with him. He was called Robert Parker but I think he emigrated to Australia. I've got a supply of Electrotec and it's very good.

But I'll admit that some lps rarely get played, especially if I've also got the cd version, e.g. old and rare Blue Notes.

[woodgnome]

assuming that you use flat view when visting, click on 'Reply To This Message' to ensure that your post appears below the post you're responding to. it helps to keep things legible for those using the threaded view (like me!). thanx.

[Deano!]

I have a NAD C370 integrated amp with a NAD 541i CD player and DynAudio Contour 1.8 Mark 2 speakers. NAD stuff is a British company but actually made in China. The Dynaudio speakers are the best thing about my set-up and sound gorgeous.

To avoid pissing my neighbours off, I use headphones. I have Sennheiser HD600s which are quite good, but really need a headphone amplifier to sound their best. I have a pair of HD 590s which are too harsh and an old pair of Stax electro-static 'ear speakers' ( as Stax call them ) which have a beautiful sound but lack the bass thumpiness I crave when listening to Holly Valances excellent State of Mind album.