Chad Michael
Dissonant Rhino
Would like to put together an all Rega system one day:
- cart
- ttbl / arm
- Brio amp
- RS series speaks
:yes:
- cart
- ttbl / arm
- Brio amp
- RS series speaks
:yes:
What surprises me about British gear
- Thread starter joebingo
- Start date
Art K.
The Voodoo You Do!
I had an all Rega setup one time. Mira 3 amp, P3 turntable with Elys 2 cart, Apollo CD player and R5 speakers. Traded in the P3 for a P5 with Dyn 10x5 but stayed mostly Rega for 2 or 3 yrs.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Say that about Leak. What about Quad? Are they made in China like the current Wharfedale reincarnation?
JimPA
Distinguished Member
Gang Twanger I do not think that Pandovski will be responding to your question on this forum. :wave:
trhee
ㅇtㅈyㅅr
Ummm... yes, the current Quad ESL's are made in China in a 1.5 million square foot state of the art facility. Quad is owned by IAG, a Chinese group that also owns Mission, Wharfedale, Audiolab and Castle to name a few. All of these were originally British companies.
If you're inferring that the current Wharfedale speakers are not up to par because it's made in China, I beg to differ. The Diamond series are great bang for the buck and the Jade series are very fine speakers within their price bracket.
If you're inferring that the current Wharfedale speakers are not up to par because it's made in China, I beg to differ. The Diamond series are great bang for the buck and the Jade series are very fine speakers within their price bracket.
Quadman2
Lunatic Member
Good reading, m8's! And hear I thought that I had the only Brit Quads left on the planet, eh?
Some Quads made it across the "pond"...and I ended up with the a 70's- 33/303 combo. I was gonna the get little plain Jane Quad tuner, but couldn't afford it at the time. Student loan only went so far.
However, as time went by...and many great parties took place, I finally wore out the 330, which had been a trooper. This was the time when "too loud" wasn't part of the scene. That 303 sure ran hot at times! And...when I had a chance to pick up an almost new 405 years later, I jumped at the chance.
I've had so many audio types come in and check out that pre-amp that can dial in an LP depending upon condition or uniquely recorded source. Other than that unique "thump" when I turn the unit on, they appreciate the small gain that results in a mellow sound.
Other than replacing a din socket, the Quads have worked flawlessly over the years, unlike so many other audio units that have ended up on the scrap heap years ago.
Mind you, I still must also give credit to home built speakers that house 12" Wharfes from that same time period...and they are still going strong as well.
From that I can gather, there are also kits to upgrade the 405. Has anyone done this? Is if a good thing to do...or just let sleeping dogs lie?
Tara, from the former colony,
Q2
Some Quads made it across the "pond"...and I ended up with the a 70's- 33/303 combo. I was gonna the get little plain Jane Quad tuner, but couldn't afford it at the time. Student loan only went so far.
However, as time went by...and many great parties took place, I finally wore out the 330, which had been a trooper. This was the time when "too loud" wasn't part of the scene. That 303 sure ran hot at times! And...when I had a chance to pick up an almost new 405 years later, I jumped at the chance.
I've had so many audio types come in and check out that pre-amp that can dial in an LP depending upon condition or uniquely recorded source. Other than that unique "thump" when I turn the unit on, they appreciate the small gain that results in a mellow sound.
Other than replacing a din socket, the Quads have worked flawlessly over the years, unlike so many other audio units that have ended up on the scrap heap years ago.
Mind you, I still must also give credit to home built speakers that house 12" Wharfes from that same time period...and they are still going strong as well.
From that I can gather, there are also kits to upgrade the 405. Has anyone done this? Is if a good thing to do...or just let sleeping dogs lie?
Tara, from the former colony,
Q2
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Tiggerlator
New Member
My fave English hi-fi is Meridian Audio.
impeculies
Member
It is interesting how this started off with very positive enthusiasm and quickly became a “that’s not British enough in my book…” argument. I supposed my Chinese manufactured KEF R300’s will not qualify as British gear, nor my Chinese manufactured Musical Fidelity M1 SDac. These fine pieces are what I could afford and interestingly enough they kick the living crud out of many Chinese manufactured American products I used to own (Klipsch & Polk Audio). I love my Japanese made Marantz PM15S2. It has taken me a few years to acquire this level of gear and I imagine it will take my well more than twice as long to obtain a UK manufactured pair of KEF’s. One always has to pay an additional fee for snobbery. :nono::thumbsdn:
Bass is owned by Coors... The once famous bass tower in the center of Burton upon Trent... The center of the world of great beer is in Staffordshire and that mighty icon now has a Coors logo atop of it.. signifying that the once mighty brew is now owned by the purveyor of watered down horse piss.. not even real horse piss... It's watered down...
And bass in the States tastes and has never even tasted close to what it tastes like back in Staffs...
jcamero
Who are you people anyway?
I truly love my B&W speakers, and will not be parting with them. They were made in England, solid as a rock and sound wonderful. I paired the DM-5's with my HK330c and my DM-12's with my KA-8300. When I use well recorded source material, I close my eyes and only hear the music and not the speakers I am in AUDIO NIRVANA.
Art K.
The Voodoo You Do!
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
I know.... I caught that shortly-after the fact... Kinda' miss 'em though.
D
Don't get me started on.....
Actually, I think I'll shut up now.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
What surprises me about British SPEAKERS is how little they seem to care about low-bass compared to the frequencies above it. Or perhaps it's EXTENSION I'm talking about. I get it now. It's about where most music lies in the frequency spectrum (Upper-bass on up through 16hz or so... A speaker for most music can have a range like that and still sound great.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
If I can find one that jives well with my W90's and can run off my Fisher's ;"center channel" speaker output, I would love it (I assume I could use that center-out for a NON-powered sub, right?), but I've never run a sub in a vintage system before, and I worry how well it will integrate with my W90's (1963 - Alnico drivers). Those speakers don't extend worth a damn, but they still sound nice and deep without any hyped frequencies. The woofers are running full-range (receiving all frequencies) and are allowed to roll off naturally. You lose some extension, but you get a VERY-natural, lifelike bass response.
I listen to lots of Hendrix, Isaac Hayes, Stones, and James Brown, and the Wharfedales I have are perfect for that stuff.
Got any suggestions for subs with a super-smooth response? It wouldn't have to be huge, I suppose. A couple of tens, maybe. Back when I was into car stereos, JL Audio had a 3x10 box that was really-popular, and I do like the smooth sound of multiple tens (like 4x10" guitar amp enclosures).
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NaimNut
Member
Mostly Naim, I presume...
I do love the Naim sound.
and you would be correct Sir (;
My kids are in University now but when they finish I'll be looking at an LP12 new. I know there are a lot of great turntables for less money but I just love the synergy with Naim.
Maybe I'm going thru a midlife crisis, who knows.
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Pythonman
Active Member
I very much like British hi-fi. It's terrible that I can't find new print copies of their great hi-fi magazines any more since Borders and other bookstores that carried them are gone! I loved reading their views and opinions about sounds and equipment as well. Being a long time geetar player I do like some big ballsy punchy american/japanese amps and recievers but when it recently became time to upgrade I got my hands on the Rega Brio-r and oh boy, this is the stuff. So many strengths sonically I don't know where to begin but one thing I've learned about British hi fi is the quality of vocals is off the charts. Playing anything from Queen to some old Moody Blues vinyl through the Brio-r the vocals really make the hairs on the back of the neck stand up. I mean literally, the realism of some vocalist actually performing the piece live in front of you, that's what I'm experiencing on just about everything I listen to through the little Rega amp. It's shocking and shockingly absent from any McIntosh, Sony, Aragon etc that I've ever heard. The closest I've heard to this was lossless files loaded into my Ipod played back through....wait for it....Bowers and Wilkins P3 headphones! Go figure.
Another quality is the separation and depth and the cohesiveness to the sounds of large scale symphonic pieces. Again, the sound is one of actual live performance, a large open window to the unfolding events taking place in the orchestral hall. I thought I was pretty up on the concepts of great sound but I was wrong. Bad wrong. But what I knew was that everything is on the mastering tape and that it was already eq'd and all you need is a high resolution amp and a preamp with a volume control. Other switches and pushbuttons and tone circuitry common to lower fi gear ultimately gets in the way of all the glory that's been recorded. Most all of the great British hi-fi gear is extremely minimalist on the outside while maximizing the quality of playback which is job #1. And that quality is something I absolutely crave from my music whether hard rock, jazz, bebop, classical or whatever.
Another quality is the separation and depth and the cohesiveness to the sounds of large scale symphonic pieces. Again, the sound is one of actual live performance, a large open window to the unfolding events taking place in the orchestral hall. I thought I was pretty up on the concepts of great sound but I was wrong. Bad wrong. But what I knew was that everything is on the mastering tape and that it was already eq'd and all you need is a high resolution amp and a preamp with a volume control. Other switches and pushbuttons and tone circuitry common to lower fi gear ultimately gets in the way of all the glory that's been recorded. Most all of the great British hi-fi gear is extremely minimalist on the outside while maximizing the quality of playback which is job #1. And that quality is something I absolutely crave from my music whether hard rock, jazz, bebop, classical or whatever.
