Welcome to the British Audio Forum!
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timminator
New Member
Here are a couple of my 80's amps from lesser known companies.
doctor fuse
Super Member
Amazed that there is no wikipedia page for Mission Electronics.
I use a 775S turntable, and just picked up a pair of small 700 Leading Edge acoustic suspension bookshelf speakers for $40 - very elegant little things they are. Wanted to find some more info on the company than I know, but surprisingly there is not much on the net about them anymore.
I did find Mission founder Farad Azima's wiki page. Turns out he passed away in 2020. RIP, and thank you for the music.
I use a 775S turntable, and just picked up a pair of small 700 Leading Edge acoustic suspension bookshelf speakers for $40 - very elegant little things they are. Wanted to find some more info on the company than I know, but surprisingly there is not much on the net about them anymore.
I did find Mission founder Farad Azima's wiki page. Turns out he passed away in 2020. RIP, and thank you for the music.
JohnnyNapalm
Active Member
Update: Kef Reference Model 1.2's, Kef Reference Model 2.2's, Kef Reference Model 3.2's, Kef Reference Model 4.2's, 2 x Kef Reference 200C's, Isotek Mini Sub, 2 x Musical Fidelity M8 700M's, Musical Fidelity MX VNYL and a Cambridge Audio 851N Streamer oh and a Rega Planner 3 in a box somewhere.
Very little traffic on this forum comparatively. I'm from Kolkata , India and have posted on the intro page also.
I started my journey with DIY kits in London , early 70's. A connoisseur BD1 turntable and an SAU2 arm, a Sinclair stereo 60 kit and a single driver loudspeaker kit designed by the legendary Peter Baxandall. Then a Linsley Hood 75 watter and Transmission line design in wireless world with Kef B139, B110 and T27 tweeter. Then B&W DM17 Ltd's stayed with me for 35 years and a Quad 405 II for about 25 years. The DM17's still work and sound good. Upgraded recently to 805S's and Luxman M2000 which have made my life complete. Need a good preamp to finish my journey. Thorens TD 160 super with Audio Technica arm since 1986, a RPi with Allo Boss Dac for streaming .
I started my journey with DIY kits in London , early 70's. A connoisseur BD1 turntable and an SAU2 arm, a Sinclair stereo 60 kit and a single driver loudspeaker kit designed by the legendary Peter Baxandall. Then a Linsley Hood 75 watter and Transmission line design in wireless world with Kef B139, B110 and T27 tweeter. Then B&W DM17 Ltd's stayed with me for 35 years and a Quad 405 II for about 25 years. The DM17's still work and sound good. Upgraded recently to 805S's and Luxman M2000 which have made my life complete. Need a good preamp to finish my journey. Thorens TD 160 super with Audio Technica arm since 1986, a RPi with Allo Boss Dac for streaming .
Igorevich
New Member
I've started out as a fan of Japanese audio gear, but over time my taste went more and more towards British (and american) brands. Now I have an SME tonearm, a Graham slee phonostage, a Cyrus integrated amp and Harbeth speakers! Almost an all-round British system, save for the turntable (Technics) and the cartridge (Grado)
I find Grado has a somewhat similar approach to sound as Harbeth: expressive, detailed midrange without listeners fatigue and non exaggerated highs. So even if it's an American component it still has great synergy with this system and is by no means out of place
I find Grado has a somewhat similar approach to sound as Harbeth: expressive, detailed midrange without listeners fatigue and non exaggerated highs. So even if it's an American component it still has great synergy with this system and is by no means out of place
Athers-Aud
Active Member
I have Darth Vader's Hifi System here from 1973... Stan Curtis's excellent P100 running R40's
Novachord
Member
The word Tannoy in Britain has come to mean any public address system and company Hoover Vacuum Cleaners, the noun has become a verb i.e. I’m going to Hoover the carpet, meaning any use of a vacuum cleaner to do the cleaning.
The best Hoover vacuum cleaner I ever had was early 1980s flying saucer shaped and the downflow of the air, allowed it to act like a hovercraft so it glided across the carpet.
It wasn’t cheapo plastic but solid metal, and after 25 years of service it gave up….it was battle scarred with dents in the metal where it had bashed into things. I guess it was made in Britain, as they had a factory in Wales, but that closed down and production went somewhere cheaper.
The best Hoover vacuum cleaner I ever had was early 1980s flying saucer shaped and the downflow of the air, allowed it to act like a hovercraft so it glided across the carpet.
It wasn’t cheapo plastic but solid metal, and after 25 years of service it gave up….it was battle scarred with dents in the metal where it had bashed into things. I guess it was made in Britain, as they had a factory in Wales, but that closed down and production went somewhere cheaper.
Faze Linear
New Member
I'm new here.
My stereo bits span several decades and continents. I cobble them together in different ways for different uses from time to time.
The Brit pieces? Well, there are quite a few, it turns out. I didn't know NAD was Brit when I bought my NAD pieces. Neither did I know Focal was British when I purchased a Focal DAC and a preamp. Then there's KEF. I love their speakers. Thought they were Danish or something. Live and learn.
My mostly-Brit AV system was assembled into a system in late 2022:
It's a NAD 758 AV receiver (Abt Electronics close-out) with a set of 5 KEF thin-line speakers (KEF.com closeout) and an ELAC 3010 sub (BestBuy closeout). This pure-Brit-by-chance system has gained an Advance Paris streamer recently. Sac de bleu!
Separately, I've just scored a sweet pair of KEF 103.3 Reference speakers from the days when KEF only made high-end speakers. The veneer needs a bit of TLC but otherwise, they're sterling. They're likely going to be paired with a properly British Cambridge Audio streamer and an embarrassingly good restored Sansui 771 receiver (40 wpc) from Sansui's golden age (early 70's).
Currently in limbo is a NAD 100 wpc stereo brick powering a quite nice Focal preamp. There's also a pair of shamelessly American, 1-owner (me) Large Advents waiting for something to do. These orphans may wind up part of another system or be traded off. I had a 75 wpc NAD receiver too. It's missing. I still have the remote.
A Nakamichii CD player sends its digital information via fiber into the Focal DAC I purchased a decade or so ago. The analog signal then goes either to the Focal preamp with NAD brick or to the Sansui 771. Currently, the Sansui is winning the sonic race here....Bloody embarrassing!
Not to worry, the 771 also destroys the Yamaha 1020 receiver I bought in my 20's to get the sound of a friend's Sansui 881. I'm using the 1020's amp section with a small analog mixer to sing through....What jolly fun that is.
Cheers!
My stereo bits span several decades and continents. I cobble them together in different ways for different uses from time to time.
The Brit pieces? Well, there are quite a few, it turns out. I didn't know NAD was Brit when I bought my NAD pieces. Neither did I know Focal was British when I purchased a Focal DAC and a preamp. Then there's KEF. I love their speakers. Thought they were Danish or something. Live and learn.
My mostly-Brit AV system was assembled into a system in late 2022:
It's a NAD 758 AV receiver (Abt Electronics close-out) with a set of 5 KEF thin-line speakers (KEF.com closeout) and an ELAC 3010 sub (BestBuy closeout). This pure-Brit-by-chance system has gained an Advance Paris streamer recently. Sac de bleu!
Separately, I've just scored a sweet pair of KEF 103.3 Reference speakers from the days when KEF only made high-end speakers. The veneer needs a bit of TLC but otherwise, they're sterling. They're likely going to be paired with a properly British Cambridge Audio streamer and an embarrassingly good restored Sansui 771 receiver (40 wpc) from Sansui's golden age (early 70's).
Currently in limbo is a NAD 100 wpc stereo brick powering a quite nice Focal preamp. There's also a pair of shamelessly American, 1-owner (me) Large Advents waiting for something to do. These orphans may wind up part of another system or be traded off. I had a 75 wpc NAD receiver too. It's missing. I still have the remote.
A Nakamichii CD player sends its digital information via fiber into the Focal DAC I purchased a decade or so ago. The analog signal then goes either to the Focal preamp with NAD brick or to the Sansui 771. Currently, the Sansui is winning the sonic race here....Bloody embarrassing!
Not to worry, the 771 also destroys the Yamaha 1020 receiver I bought in my 20's to get the sound of a friend's Sansui 881. I'm using the 1020's amp section with a small analog mixer to sing through....What jolly fun that is.
Cheers!
Christophe59
New Member
Just stumbled over this thread: lots of Brit gear her as well.
In my office room, my Thorens turntable adores its SME 3009 arm, holding a Satin MC cartridge, which feeds a Quad 66/306 pre/amp combo, when the Quad 66 CD player isn't playing. My little test setup (when I fixed a friend's gear) consists of a pair of KEF speakers fed by a pimped Quad 405 amp (halfway a 606); preamp and phono-pre are DIY, CD player is Philips. My ex-main system (now in my mediterran retreat) if again a Quad 66/606 combo this time, with a Philips CD player and a DIY streamer/DAC. Two more 405s in the basement waiting for renovation and improvements.
The 405s and the 606 work very well with the Focal speakers I own.
Sorry, no British Cars, nor motorbike.
In my office room, my Thorens turntable adores its SME 3009 arm, holding a Satin MC cartridge, which feeds a Quad 66/306 pre/amp combo, when the Quad 66 CD player isn't playing. My little test setup (when I fixed a friend's gear) consists of a pair of KEF speakers fed by a pimped Quad 405 amp (halfway a 606); preamp and phono-pre are DIY, CD player is Philips. My ex-main system (now in my mediterran retreat) if again a Quad 66/606 combo this time, with a Philips CD player and a DIY streamer/DAC. Two more 405s in the basement waiting for renovation and improvements.
The 405s and the 606 work very well with the Focal speakers I own.
Sorry, no British Cars, nor motorbike.
Wow, old thread revival! I first posted on this thread back in July of 2016, when I had been into KEF speakers for less than a year. Now here we are almost 10 year later and it's still alive.
My focus changed over that time from having a KEF R series home theater kind of setup in our living room, to downsizing that and building a dedicated 2-channel music room. In that I now have one of the few KEF speaker models actually still assembled, tested, and shipped from their factory in the UK...with drivers made in China.
Heck, I've also got a new motorcycle from a British company too. It's a 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800...built in their factory in Thailand.
My focus changed over that time from having a KEF R series home theater kind of setup in our living room, to downsizing that and building a dedicated 2-channel music room. In that I now have one of the few KEF speaker models actually still assembled, tested, and shipped from their factory in the UK...with drivers made in China.
Heck, I've also got a new motorcycle from a British company too. It's a 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800...built in their factory in Thailand.
ernieS
Well-Known Member
How much fun is that. I still have 107/2. Also restring a KEF 104/2 for a guy. I rebuild/restore speakers From Canton, KEF, JBL, Klipsch, EV, RBH,Polk SDA etc. I’ve a mouse full of speakers. I’ve also fell into restoration of Gerrard Zero turn tables. Tough but fun.
Attachments
I've restored two pairs of 104/2's and one pair of 105/3's. I never wish to deal with the 105/3's NT25 tweeters again, or any of them that have the B200 woofers with foam surrounds and the donuts.
Kendogg619
New Member
Hey guys, just joined the group and wanted to share a weird piece of history I have right now.
I’ve got a mint, consecutive-serial-number pair of Mordaunt-Short MS902s. The silver faces and cones are completely flawless, and they sound awesome.
But check out the back terminal plate.
We all know these are engineered in England and usually built overseas, but this specific early batch (July 2000) has the factory "Assembled in USA" badge with the American flag stamped right onto it.
From what I found out, these were part of a super limited run put together over here during their brief distribution deal with Marantz America back in the day—basically an assembly workaround to dodge import tariffs for the initial US launch.
I love listening to them, but I’m actually getting ready to let them go to a new home soon.
Has anyone else here ever run across a US-assembled pair from this era, or do I have a total unicorn? Let me know what you think.
I’ve got a mint, consecutive-serial-number pair of Mordaunt-Short MS902s. The silver faces and cones are completely flawless, and they sound awesome.
But check out the back terminal plate.
We all know these are engineered in England and usually built overseas, but this specific early batch (July 2000) has the factory "Assembled in USA" badge with the American flag stamped right onto it.
From what I found out, these were part of a super limited run put together over here during their brief distribution deal with Marantz America back in the day—basically an assembly workaround to dodge import tariffs for the initial US launch.
I love listening to them, but I’m actually getting ready to let them go to a new home soon.
Has anyone else here ever run across a US-assembled pair from this era, or do I have a total unicorn? Let me know what you think.