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Post by julesd68 on Apr 21, 2018 22:32:07 GMT
Hope to get some of my pics up Monday evening ...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2018 0:33:53 GMT
What a great day, great to put faces to names too. Viv and I had a great time. Look forward to seeing the pics.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2018 6:23:18 GMT
A very enjoyable day, with some very impressive sounds given the cobbled together nature of the systems.
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Post by SteveC on Apr 22, 2018 7:41:29 GMT
A great day!
Many thanks to the organisers who worked so hard to bring this (now) annual event to fruition.
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Post by steveeb on Apr 22, 2018 8:22:07 GMT
A special thanks to TonyC for turning out again, bringing so much equipment and his professional insight. Appreciated the opportunity to meet Stan Beresford at last. Doc, I could have listened to your turntable and valve combo with Martin's revamped Gale's all day, every day.
The relaxed, chatty vibe felt like a club meet and was balanced with a buzz of activity, although even then I think there was quite a lot of equipment we didn't have the time to explore and compare.
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Post by MikeMusic on Apr 22, 2018 9:59:03 GMT
This year was even better, building on last year I guess.
The overriding theme for me was the kit sounding so much better than it ought to given the price tag. The small speakers in particular surprised me with their quality of sound.
Alphabetically, the higlights Stan's DACs and that amazing new power supply. Tony's under £5000 system. Doc's valve monos Steve B's excellent Blackwoods. Alans great Phono Pre The Pi and Those wonderful little black speakers. (Remind me of the name) Martins ancient, bought for a song Gale speakers. The SMSL ! Who did I forget ?
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Post by Firebottle on Apr 22, 2018 10:12:31 GMT
Just got back 30 minutes ago, what a fabulous day. Really great to meet and put faces to names of fantastically knowledgeable and passionate folks.
Just in case you are wondering why it took 13 hours to get back, we spent the night in the motorhome at the venue, much better driving back in the sunshine. Matin, just for future reference the phono pre is the Vivant, glad it went down so well.
I really liked those black floorstanders of Tony's, couldn't remember the name of them last night so there is no chance today :-{
Definitely on the calendar for next year.
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Post by steveeb on Apr 22, 2018 10:37:58 GMT
You'll be working with a different alphabet than the one I know then...
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Post by stanleyb on Apr 22, 2018 11:03:39 GMT
I was a bit disappointed not to have had more time to listen to the phono preamp from Simon. He showed up just before I had booked time to listen to those speakers from Steve in the other room and discuss business with him. By the time I came out of that session Simon had gone. I was amazed at the quality of the sound from those speakers from Steve though. They punched well above expectations and their size. I was pleased with the reception of the SEG power supply. For those of you who weren't there: the expression on the faces of some when I took it out of my bad was one of somewhere close to polite disbelieve that it could be any good, further compounded by the weight of it when passed around. But that all changed within seconds (literally) of the first notes coming out of the speakers once the SEG power supply was plumbed into the system. And that was through the preamp section of the DAC. It sounds even better through the fixed outputs...
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Post by stanleyb on Apr 22, 2018 11:06:16 GMT
What a great day, great to put faces to names too. Viv and I had a great time. Look forward to seeing the pics. I loved that 401 of yours. Magnificent sound.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 22, 2018 11:28:49 GMT
Thanks to everyone for coming and making it a really interesting day. Take the same two rooms and somehow make them sound better than last year! My sincere thanks to those who brought gear, I hope we had the chance to listen to most of it. It was great to see Stan (Beresford), Steve (Electric Beach), Tony (Coherent), Alan (Firebottle) there and thanks to them for all the hauling of equipment. Highlights for me were Stan's supercap power supply demo, Doc's Art Audio monoblocks driving my Gale GS-401C speakers and really controlling them, Doc's Garrard 401 into Alan's phono stage, Tony's reasonably priced system. The stars of the show just have to be Steve's Blackwoods speakers in the small room being driven by a tiny SMSL Q5 DAC/Amp from a Pi. They sounded magnificent, and all for much less than a grand. That has become my reference inexpensive system that I could live with.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 22, 2018 11:32:32 GMT
I was pleased with the reception of the SEG power supply. Stan, you have no idea. My paradigm has changed again; I really thought lead-acid batteries could not be improved upon when driving the SEG DAC. What your supercap PSU did was breathtaking. Much more about that on another day when I've had the chance to evaluate it properly.
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Post by stanleyb on Apr 22, 2018 11:40:22 GMT
Just be super careful with the input and output wiring in view of the lack of any identification labels. I should really have stuck some on.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 22, 2018 11:46:27 GMT
Input on the right, output on the left in both cases?
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Post by Firebottle on Apr 22, 2018 11:49:28 GMT
Great to meet you Stan and keep up the good work.
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Post by stanleyb on Apr 22, 2018 12:27:23 GMT
Input on the right, output on the left in both cases? Big black one is IN. Small chrome one is OUT. Switch down is OFF. Switch up is ON.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 22, 2018 12:29:14 GMT
Thanks, Stan.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 22, 2018 14:15:03 GMT
Here are a few pics from yesterday. First up, the ‘budget’ room including Stan’s Caiman SEG and the SMSL Q5 Pro fed by a Raspberry Pi into some Wharfedale Diamond IV’s Then Steve gets in on the action with his Electricbeach Blackwoods, which sounded outrageously good with the Q5 Pro. Prior to some serious listening in the main room, Stan gets down to business explaining the science behind his new PSU … Time for the big guns … Chris B’s lovely Radford Mike’s Pass XP-20 preamp and psu … Tony’s streamer Martin T’s Gales getting cosy with Tony’s Quadrals Doc getting busy with the 401 - that Yello lp sounded epic The 401 in action - a beautiful thang Doc’s **stunning** Art Audio power amps - these grip like a bastard! Some of the best Led Zep I've heard - me wants … Heavyweight phono stages - Simon’s Paradise and Alan’s Vivant. Both sounding superb on the day, a joy to listen to, congrats gents! Martin’s Gales do bass, and I mean PROPER bass. I was blown away by their qualities. And finally, Mike explains to Tony how to drink a can of pop …
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Post by MikeMusic on Apr 22, 2018 15:35:06 GMT
Great photos Jules I have a high target to aim for taking pics Surely the last one is Finalists in best looking bloke competition
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Post by MartinT on Apr 22, 2018 16:13:08 GMT
Great shots, many thanks Jules!
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