As sales manager at Audio Affair, I get to listen to a fantastic variety of equipment, but I’ll always have a special place for my first system and how its changed over the years. This “Diary of a system” series will chart my beginnings in hi-fi from the very start up until now. There aren’t many photos of the early years, but bear with me, your patience will be rewarded as you read about the changes in my system and hopefully you’ll pick up a few good tips or points for discussion when I speak to you on the phone or by e-mail about your own system.
Starting at the beginning…For as long as I can remember Audio has been a passion, right from an early age I was always intrigued with sound, music and sound reproduction – my grandfather was a huge music fan – but key to my passion, a huge Hi-Fi fan – Quad, B&W, Linn, he owned various kit often swapping between systems, notable products he owned included the B&W DM70;
I never got to hear these and spend my time on eBay looking for the perfect pair, regardless of the fact I cannot accommodate them! It was from my Grandfather I inherited a modest system, my first and like your first love, you never forget. In this blog I will aim to cover from my first system right up to the present day – and everything in between, such as tweaking, DIY and various musings about all things Hi-Fi!
As mentioned my first setup was inherited – it consisted of a Trio KA-54 amplifier (I still have this hiding in the cupboard!)
A Trio amplifier, Japanese styling at its finest.
Trio (part of the Kenwood company) offered made in Japan Hi-Fi quality amplifiers, featuring Elna caps and a high quality power transformer, the record deck was also a Trio, rocking a floating plinth and Ortofon Blue cartridge – moving coil from memory, at the time I guess I was to young to really understand the notion of vinyl playback and sadly this turntable fell into disrepair, the very nature of turntable design means that sometimes finding parts is difficult. The package also included a pair of Realistic loudspeakers with solid metal cabinets – this said, I had my eye on a pair of RAM 150 my grandfather used in his main system – his declining health and age meant a move into smaller accommodation, sad but this is life and happens to us all, I would be pleased knowing my speakers are going to be enjoyed after I had finished with them and I know he felt the same – in time I also inherited these, this was the moment I heard what a true quality speaker could do:
Ram 150 Loudspeakers, loving crafted in Norwich
The 150 featured Audax tweeters and Bextrene woofers from Dalesford – high quality drivers from France and the UK respectively, I really like the DIY element of this hobby – I re-wired these speakers with a higher quality speaker cable – this made quite the difference, this home made modding has become something of a trademark for my later systems! Horror of horrors, one of the tweeters blew later that year, however considering they where nigh on 30 years old at the time (a testament of quality drivers!) I simply replaced them with a set of Vifa tweeters, Sadly this system was at time when cameras where not in phones – in fact a didn’t even have mobile phone, the RAM speaker above is one of the original pair but I only have cabinets left now.
This system (the main components mentioned above) went through many changes of sources, from various lower end CD players to MiniDisc players and even tape decks. For a time, as I am sure the majority of people my age would tell you they wanted to be a DJ, keeping this system to one side I changed up to a pair of PA style speakers, a mixer and poweramp – so with my 15″ woofers, trance collection and horn tweeters I could really shatter some ear drums, the problem was this system sounded pretty awful, I was spoilt in comparison to the previous kit – regardless of the lower end sources. The sound from this system was brash, harsh and not Hi-Fi at all. It soon went along with my dreams of being a international DJ superstar, Kevin and Perry don’t go large!
My DJ system was not quite as developed as this, also I certainly was not shirtless or have light display, shame.
Once I was focused on attaining a real Hi-Fi I could focus on the sound I was looking for, I knew there was more out there than what I have currently had, at this time it was finding the cash – which is why I believe I looked into vintage kit with serious intention, it was more affordable and in my opinion looked better – although I am sure many wouldn’t agree with me! For my next true system it would be a serious upgrade – to a brand synonymous with British high end, QUAD – 303’s 34’s and ESL-57’s to name a few, I will cover next time…
Watch this space for the next installment “Diary of a system: Part 2, Hi-Fi Awakening”
As always happy listening and stay tuned!
Richard.