Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 22:44:15 GMT
Hifi of some variety has always been in my life but took off big time around 1992 when I was 14 years old.
My Dad had just completed his MBA and as a treat for passing had his sights firmly on an Audiolab 8000a amplifier after having his Hifi eyes re-opened by a good friend who had a Sugden Amplifer and Mission 700 Loudspeakers.
We used to listen to Dad's system (Yamaha CR-600 Receiver, Technics CD Player, Dual 601 Turntable and IMF ALS40 Loudspeakers) on a reasonably regular occurrence, but on one particular day whilst listening to Enya's album Watermark, track 8 I remember vividly, something sounded amiss with the speakers, they sounded almost flappy in presentation which was somewhat off their usual sound… anyway to cut a long story down to a few words, the foam surround midrange driver on the left speaker had disintegrated in front of our very eyes… just disappeared and had left the speaker with this flappy sound which was rather unpleasant.
Unwilling to repair the speakers, Dad used it as an opportunity to 'upgrade' them, so we both twaddled off to Uxbridge Audio and listened to a series of systems, but what we weren't fully aware of then but I guess I am now, the shop had a certain company pushing their products, Linn, so Dad ended up with a pair of Linn Nexus LS250 Loudspeakers and an Audiolab 8000a (new 1992 model)… The Audiolab easily did away with the contenders, apart from one, an Exposure X but that was second hand and more expensive so the Audiolab won the day.
So anyway, onto my story… I was given Dad's Yamaha CR-600 and paired it with a Marantz CD65IISE which I purchased from the friend above who had the Sugden Amplifier and 1, yes, 1 working IMF ALS40…
Next up, for Christmas, my parents bought me a pair of secondhand Wharfedale Diamond II Loudspeakers, although I harked after a pair of Diamond IV (See later system!).
Dad upgraded to an Exposure pre and power combo with Epos ES-14's (See my later system) and he gave me his Audiolab 8000a for my 16th Birthday present which I mistakenly partnered with a pair of Rega Kyte Loudspeakers (replacing the Diamond II) having saved for them through a Saturday job, for a very short time, with the reasonably neutral Audiolab and bright sounding Marantz it just didn't work…. anyhow, my Dad at this point hadn't sold on the Linn's so I was keen to hear them in my system and room… ironically, the Linn's sounded better in that 10'x6' firing across the room than they ever had in the Lounge but Dad insisted on my buying them for £250 which was a lot of money I eventually saved up and was very happy.
In around 1998-99 Dad decided to 'upgrade' once again to Naim amplification so I asked if I could buy the Exposure's from him, by this time having a full time job and being given one of them as my 21st Birthday present I managed to get the money together for the other reasonably quickly… then I upgraded the CD player to a Sony that again Dad had replaced with a Naim CDI (not the one I have now) and I enjoyed that system until the day Dad once again decided to upgrade the speakers to Kharma models and I was given the Epos on the condition any funds I got for the Linn's went to my sister, which seemed more than fair.
In the early 2000's, I bought a second Exposure XVIII amplifier to bi-amp the system and my own Naim CDI which was in a lot better knick than Dad's and then went about gradually upgrading the cabling…
Most recently I have bought a couple of Logitech Squeezebox's for streaming duties and 3x Beresford DAC's from Stan, Caiman Plus with additional Gator board initially, then a Bushmaster II and finally a Caiman II which is in my current system.
So my current primary system which resides in the lounge is:
Naim CDI
Logitech Squeezebox Touch (EOD Module)
Beresford Caiman II
Exposure XVII Pre Amplifier
Exposure XVIII Power Amplifier (Treble)
Exposure XVIII Power Amplifier (Mid & Bass)
Epos ES-14 Loudspeakers
Cable Talk & Chord Cables throughout
TCI 6 Way Power Block
Merlin Kettle Cable (CDI)
My second system which is used in my home office is:
Apple iMac
Beresford Caiman Plus Gatorized
Amptastic Mini-1 (arrived today and already loving it
Wharfedale Diamond IV (I got them eventually )
QED & Chord Cables throughout
My Headphone system which is primarily used in the bedroom is:
Logitech Squeezebox Classic
Beresford Bushmaster II
Grado PS-500
My Portable system which will be used whilst I'm travelling as a IT Consultant
Apple iPod Nano
Grado SR-325 (recently purchased from Shane)
To be purchased - Portable Headphone amplifier
Pictures to follow.
Paul.
My Dad had just completed his MBA and as a treat for passing had his sights firmly on an Audiolab 8000a amplifier after having his Hifi eyes re-opened by a good friend who had a Sugden Amplifer and Mission 700 Loudspeakers.
We used to listen to Dad's system (Yamaha CR-600 Receiver, Technics CD Player, Dual 601 Turntable and IMF ALS40 Loudspeakers) on a reasonably regular occurrence, but on one particular day whilst listening to Enya's album Watermark, track 8 I remember vividly, something sounded amiss with the speakers, they sounded almost flappy in presentation which was somewhat off their usual sound… anyway to cut a long story down to a few words, the foam surround midrange driver on the left speaker had disintegrated in front of our very eyes… just disappeared and had left the speaker with this flappy sound which was rather unpleasant.
Unwilling to repair the speakers, Dad used it as an opportunity to 'upgrade' them, so we both twaddled off to Uxbridge Audio and listened to a series of systems, but what we weren't fully aware of then but I guess I am now, the shop had a certain company pushing their products, Linn, so Dad ended up with a pair of Linn Nexus LS250 Loudspeakers and an Audiolab 8000a (new 1992 model)… The Audiolab easily did away with the contenders, apart from one, an Exposure X but that was second hand and more expensive so the Audiolab won the day.
So anyway, onto my story… I was given Dad's Yamaha CR-600 and paired it with a Marantz CD65IISE which I purchased from the friend above who had the Sugden Amplifier and 1, yes, 1 working IMF ALS40…
Next up, for Christmas, my parents bought me a pair of secondhand Wharfedale Diamond II Loudspeakers, although I harked after a pair of Diamond IV (See later system!).
Dad upgraded to an Exposure pre and power combo with Epos ES-14's (See my later system) and he gave me his Audiolab 8000a for my 16th Birthday present which I mistakenly partnered with a pair of Rega Kyte Loudspeakers (replacing the Diamond II) having saved for them through a Saturday job, for a very short time, with the reasonably neutral Audiolab and bright sounding Marantz it just didn't work…. anyhow, my Dad at this point hadn't sold on the Linn's so I was keen to hear them in my system and room… ironically, the Linn's sounded better in that 10'x6' firing across the room than they ever had in the Lounge but Dad insisted on my buying them for £250 which was a lot of money I eventually saved up and was very happy.
In around 1998-99 Dad decided to 'upgrade' once again to Naim amplification so I asked if I could buy the Exposure's from him, by this time having a full time job and being given one of them as my 21st Birthday present I managed to get the money together for the other reasonably quickly… then I upgraded the CD player to a Sony that again Dad had replaced with a Naim CDI (not the one I have now) and I enjoyed that system until the day Dad once again decided to upgrade the speakers to Kharma models and I was given the Epos on the condition any funds I got for the Linn's went to my sister, which seemed more than fair.
In the early 2000's, I bought a second Exposure XVIII amplifier to bi-amp the system and my own Naim CDI which was in a lot better knick than Dad's and then went about gradually upgrading the cabling…
Most recently I have bought a couple of Logitech Squeezebox's for streaming duties and 3x Beresford DAC's from Stan, Caiman Plus with additional Gator board initially, then a Bushmaster II and finally a Caiman II which is in my current system.
So my current primary system which resides in the lounge is:
Naim CDI
Logitech Squeezebox Touch (EOD Module)
Beresford Caiman II
Exposure XVII Pre Amplifier
Exposure XVIII Power Amplifier (Treble)
Exposure XVIII Power Amplifier (Mid & Bass)
Epos ES-14 Loudspeakers
Cable Talk & Chord Cables throughout
TCI 6 Way Power Block
Merlin Kettle Cable (CDI)
My second system which is used in my home office is:
Apple iMac
Beresford Caiman Plus Gatorized
Amptastic Mini-1 (arrived today and already loving it
Wharfedale Diamond IV (I got them eventually )
QED & Chord Cables throughout
My Headphone system which is primarily used in the bedroom is:
Logitech Squeezebox Classic
Beresford Bushmaster II
Grado PS-500
My Portable system which will be used whilst I'm travelling as a IT Consultant
Apple iPod Nano
Grado SR-325 (recently purchased from Shane)
To be purchased - Portable Headphone amplifier
Pictures to follow.
Paul.