Not introducing myself but leaping into posting. Mitigated by having been a member from (and I am guessing here) 2000 or so?
I have been into hifi since I was a kid. Started out with one of those flat Sharp music centres, but had separates before I had a job courtesy of the never-never of Kay's catalogue.
Had some basic Marantz gear for a while, when they were all that champagne colour, and a pair of Acoustic Research AR18BX standmounters that I read about in a magazine at a place where I had a work experience placement. Thinking about it, that was for a good few years. Moved on to Cambridge Audio, and started buying WHF from a petrol station near where I worked. It was just two channel then, and I found stuff like Musical Fidelity's X-series' aesthetic rather exotic.
Then an Arcam Alpha 7SE CD and a NAD C370, the latter still used by my brother, the former having been eBayed last year after a long stint in the bedroom (if that doesn't sound too suspect). Speakers were Tannoy Revolution R3s - again with my brother to this day. Had a hifi rack at this point, albeit not a great one.
Not exactly sure about the order, but CD was replaced by an Arcam FMJ CD23T, amp with an A32 and rack, hmm. Can't recall. Oh, yes it was an Atacama jobby, modular and triangular - Equinox? Speakers replaced with Monitor Audio Gold Ref. 20, where they were probably a bit better than the rest of the setup. Cabling got better and mains filter bought - I know some here don't believe in such stuff so I won't elaborate.
Started to get a bit more serious then, and the A32 was supplanted with a P35 to biamp, changed rack to a Townshend VSSS, and another P35 so the A32 was acting as pre-amp. Arcam gear all sold last year after the CD started to reject discs every now and again.
I think the CD23T had been with me for the 18 years, and I'd had no issues with any of my hifi other than a blown fuse in the C370 that the dealer sorted, so I thought b*gger it, I'm going to have a trawl around eBay, with which I am pretty familiar. As I am a darn sight closer to retirement than the start of my working life my main priority is saving, so buying used allows me to keep doing that but also buy gear that' s a worthwhile step up from what I am used to. Could argue it's greener too, but hey ho.
Musical Fidelity M6S CD, then an A3CR preamp, then an A308CR power amp. Loved it all, but the A3 didn't look right with the rest and the volume control seemed to respond in uneven fashion, and I managed to get an A308CR preamp in excellent condition for £650, collection only. I believe that the M6 and 308s cost their original owners the best part of £7.5k in total, but I paid a little over a third of that.
Lots of anti-vibration measures added, and for me this is the area that I think is most neglected. I also have a Philips Pronto remote setup with wifi extenders, so there's a reliable, non-line-of-sight means of control for it all (inc AV, some lighting etc).
Sticking with the FMJ setup for so long was a bit of a mistake in retrospect. My listening had tailed off, but I am right back to being a daily listener and marvelling at what I am hearing. Which is why I am back here, I guess.
Kids got a Bluetooth adapter for Christmas - but I guess I can't have everything!
Also interested in cars, collect meteorites, play the bass, read loads, love good film/drama/comedy and the pub!
I have been into hifi since I was a kid. Started out with one of those flat Sharp music centres, but had separates before I had a job courtesy of the never-never of Kay's catalogue.
Had some basic Marantz gear for a while, when they were all that champagne colour, and a pair of Acoustic Research AR18BX standmounters that I read about in a magazine at a place where I had a work experience placement. Thinking about it, that was for a good few years. Moved on to Cambridge Audio, and started buying WHF from a petrol station near where I worked. It was just two channel then, and I found stuff like Musical Fidelity's X-series' aesthetic rather exotic.
Then an Arcam Alpha 7SE CD and a NAD C370, the latter still used by my brother, the former having been eBayed last year after a long stint in the bedroom (if that doesn't sound too suspect). Speakers were Tannoy Revolution R3s - again with my brother to this day. Had a hifi rack at this point, albeit not a great one.
Not exactly sure about the order, but CD was replaced by an Arcam FMJ CD23T, amp with an A32 and rack, hmm. Can't recall. Oh, yes it was an Atacama jobby, modular and triangular - Equinox? Speakers replaced with Monitor Audio Gold Ref. 20, where they were probably a bit better than the rest of the setup. Cabling got better and mains filter bought - I know some here don't believe in such stuff so I won't elaborate.
Started to get a bit more serious then, and the A32 was supplanted with a P35 to biamp, changed rack to a Townshend VSSS, and another P35 so the A32 was acting as pre-amp. Arcam gear all sold last year after the CD started to reject discs every now and again.
I think the CD23T had been with me for the 18 years, and I'd had no issues with any of my hifi other than a blown fuse in the C370 that the dealer sorted, so I thought b*gger it, I'm going to have a trawl around eBay, with which I am pretty familiar. As I am a darn sight closer to retirement than the start of my working life my main priority is saving, so buying used allows me to keep doing that but also buy gear that' s a worthwhile step up from what I am used to. Could argue it's greener too, but hey ho.
Musical Fidelity M6S CD, then an A3CR preamp, then an A308CR power amp. Loved it all, but the A3 didn't look right with the rest and the volume control seemed to respond in uneven fashion, and I managed to get an A308CR preamp in excellent condition for £650, collection only. I believe that the M6 and 308s cost their original owners the best part of £7.5k in total, but I paid a little over a third of that.
Lots of anti-vibration measures added, and for me this is the area that I think is most neglected. I also have a Philips Pronto remote setup with wifi extenders, so there's a reliable, non-line-of-sight means of control for it all (inc AV, some lighting etc).
Sticking with the FMJ setup for so long was a bit of a mistake in retrospect. My listening had tailed off, but I am right back to being a daily listener and marvelling at what I am hearing. Which is why I am back here, I guess.
Kids got a Bluetooth adapter for Christmas - but I guess I can't have everything!
Also interested in cars, collect meteorites, play the bass, read loads, love good film/drama/comedy and the pub!
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