Welcome to the British Audio Forum!

Hi. I am a new contributor to this forum but I have loved lots of British gear over the years.

I've owned several Garrard TT's (SP25 mark 3,4 & 5 and a GT35). Wharfedale speakers
(a pair of Denton 1's and a pair of 2XP that are still in use) a pair of Glendale XP3 & 3XP speakers. My Current system is based on a Cyrus III amplifier and a CD8SE cd player (both with PSXR's) playing through a pair of beautiful Mission 990SE speakers.

My Son also has a British made system consisting of a NAD 3020, a Rega RP1 TT a pair of Mission 780 speakers and a Cambridge audio CD player.

i also have a Cyrus DAD7 and a Cyrus DAD3 Q24 CD players floating around somewhere.

I also love the 70's vintage Japanese amps and cassettes but only when coupled to British speakers.

I am currently looking for a TT for my main system and I've got my eye on a nice Linn Axis with a Linn Basik plus arm and a Q9 cartridge, has anyone got any experience of that TT? i'd love an LP12 but i think my wife would certainly kill me if i shelled out for one of those!
 
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Hi. I am new to British audio. Just bought a Cambridge audiolab 8000A.
It works great with my loud speakers.
Can someone help me to check when my 8000A was produced. Its serial number is: 207B76503.
Many thanks,
 
ahhhhh British audio (& sports cars)...warm fuzzy thoughts.....

..hmmmm...this thread inspired many things,......first lets see,Do I qualify?

1.Baptized Anglican....check.

2.Family ties back to the Battle of Hastings,1066,check.

Oh & we roared around Southern Vancouver Island in a 60's Sunbeam Alpine Ragtop,then after blowing a head gasket,bought-n-rebuilt the top end,tuned it up and Thoroughly enjoyed(but not the speeding tickets!) a Yellow 70 Rover 2000TC,(10:1 compression),Midas wouldn't guarantee any exhaust kit they installed!
....Eat my exhaust Mr. MGB-GT,ha,ha....

......Lets see,British speakers over many,Many years,Wharfedale's(sand filled),WDsmall bookshelf with Purple tweets(?),vintage/corner WD 15 inch & Kelly-Decca ribbon combo(miss those),Rare old bookshelf Goodmans,Celestion,Kef C-90s,Castle Clyde's Durham,many Mission's,Richard Allen,Rega,IMF,Tannoy & Linn(Scottish)speakers,sadly the one I regret selling a J.A.Mitchell Gyrodek/Alphason/Sumiko Blue-point....Linn Axis.

........then came the British Integraded Invasion,well it invaded our house,Thanks,Steve Glickman,London Audio,Mission Cyrus II/power supply & CD player/Audiolab,Creek 40/40,Rega iintegrated,Onix(liked that one too)and...the one that never got a chance....a. Sugden....Integrated..

I ended up buying the Audiolab integrated(and later its pre-amp(both early Green models)
I played,fixed up drums,and 'at the time',preferred the Audiolab's forward Ballsy presentation,later moving to an Audiolab 8000C Pre-amp/Robertson 4010(the AL pre had its own built in Headphone amp),however,also really liked the Creeks warm phat bass of the 40/40,but the one that ran a VERY close 2nd to the Audiolab,and was unavailable for a take home audition at the time(actually the truth was I got too impatient to wait),however,as of today,25? years later,I regret not buying the Sugden,and by total chance yesterday traded some Mirage 760,Canadian Sleepers,I traded those Classic Rockers for a lowly,tiny,barked up British sleeper,a Sugden A25 mosfet Integrated Amplifier....

......Agreed,absolutely by far not the 'Very' Best of Sugden's many Fine offerings over the years,however I must add,this Lil guy really shines on Jazz and vocals,especially since I paired it with my Son's Tannoy Reveals(passive),on steel stands...along...with a custom CD/DAC combo,its warm Phono stage works well with my Kenny KD500 DDTT with near new MP-11 Gold Nagota/Mayware Formula 4 arm........ lets just say the old LP collection will be catching hell all weekend long,and all because of a lil integrated that gives so much of itself,its honestly beyond comprehension,how much enjoyment can be had from such a tiny little box?...just sayin,don't pass up one of these,they're especially decent for a 2ndary system/cottage/bedroom,small room....Guaranteed you will not be disappointed!
oh,I almost forgot it has a Headphone Jack,perfect for late night tunes,what more could a budget audiophile ask for!
.....Altec Concert Kenny:currently playing Brian Ferry,As Time Goes by,followed by KD Lang,hymns of the 49th parallel,then Shadowland!
 
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In addition to this post http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=9020123#post9020123
I use a pair of MS10s (not i's) as the rear speakers in my surround sound. I've tried various newer things, but none so far have come close to doing as good a job.

Also have a Linn Basik playing through the Nytech amp in the link above, which goes through the MS10s.
Oh, & not MS I know, but, also a very early Planar 3 which is sadly mothballed atm as the anti skate band in the RB200 arm has gone.
 
Have a Rega P3-24/PSU, NAD C325BEE, C422, C521BEE, C372 (U/S), Ariston RD40. Had a 63 Mini woody wagon, 69 Mini, 75 Mini and a 66 Sunbeam Alpine. My PSB Sync 2s were sold to me by a salesman with an English accent.

Can I join ?
 
CREEK CAS 4140/ 3140 FM Tuner WARNING:....You may want to LISTEN to more Music!

For some Unknown reason,I'm going backwards in Audio,likely budget related mostly,and I'm not impressed with current reliability issues of new gear,the cost of repairing it,or it not being worth it(landfill).. or worse,the Designer will not repair it.

Seems lately,a few people I've recently come in contact are too,choosing to restore vintage and High end Audio.
Saw my first pair of Duntech Soverign,Biggest speakers I have ever been in a room with!...Holy Crap,400 lbs ea.,too!
Unfortunately their woofers need re-foaming,so no chance of a Listen.Bummer!

I had a local opportunity to grab a vintage Creek pair.

Approximately 25 years ago,shortly after moving to Ontario CANADA,I listened to this Lil Creek CAS 4140 Integrated,with some special edition Tannoy Mercury's,& a Linn Axis,and all I remember it had a moving coil cartridge,and that combo blew me away!

I went back the following week to buy the Demo Creek,but it had been sold,and a newer version was coming out.

I waited & read a review of it in Stereophile,and it was not well received,it bombed,so I passed on ordering the new Model,and kinda forgot about Creek for many long years.

Even,after 25 years I remembered,and cherish the memories of the then owner of London Audio,sharing his personal speakers and setting up such a high quality budget Turntable system,one quiet evening for a recently arrived B.C boy to audion,Thanks Steve!..so,as you've likely guessed,I jumped all over this used Creek CAS pair.(These have White lettering,not Green.

Well,I was a little apprehensive upon setting them up,wondering whether this would turn out to be a personal version of an Audio Urban Legend,or really if what I had heard many years ago,was as great as I remembered?

Turns out even the FM Tuner is Absoultely Stellar,turns out this is the best tuner I have ever owned,giving good Bass and a rich full-bodied sound,even though I'm using just a simple T aerial.
Its Green digital display gets brighter as the signal is stronger,how cool is that!......definitely both Keepers,all ways wanted a matching FM only tuner!

Fired up the Cas 4140,running through my Altec(Z-19 crossover mod/cloned Birch plywood cloned cabs),and popped on a Canadian dvd I'd just picked up,Natalie MacMaster,Live in Cape Breton.If you have never heard of her she is Canadian,and Boy can she Rock a Fiddle,my Daughter came down,and said Wow,can she ever play,look at her go!
Love it when that happens!

Later that night ran MANY cd's,Female vocals,mostly,light Acoustic,then put on a cd called Enigma,AMAZING,I have never heard this cd sound so damed good,this amp is so very detailed,and considering their are no Tone controls(minimalist design,I like that too,)I felt it was perfectly suited to my needs,and older ears too,as well showing that my cd/dac combo was capable of better sound,Wow,now that was a Big Surprise!

My opinion,if you have Altecs,or for that matter any other horn speaker,and are on a limited budget,don't pass this VERY SMALL Integrated by,its looks are total opposite its tonal character,it has lots of reserve power too,and without a sign of brightness on my horns,and w/out tone controls,just a Balance control. Whoda Thunk!

I feel this unit may work well with just about any horn speaker,but can't say for sure,anybody else try out this combo?

If you were thinking of buying/building a tube amp for your horns,or need to wait till your kids get older,and want a Musical,warm,detailed,get up-n-dance solid state on for size,it may provide everything you wished for?

Don't say I didn't warn ya,if you partner grabs you for a Dance!

They don't go for to much on the bay,but they're getting hard-n-harder to find,however you can fix em!

Just saying audio Boys-n-Girls this amp works 'Very Well' with my modded Altec19's.
.....AND it has a Killer Phono stage,I think there is a switch or it can be converted to moving coil inside the unit,sorry I've forgotten,and don't have a manual?.....Tell me what more do you need!!!

Tonights concert......The TREWS,Acoustic
Altec Concert Kenny
 
Cool,another British Integrated,this way comes,this time its a REGA Brio,the early Clam-shell version.

I know,I know,the Brio-R has taken the Audio Reviews by storm,but don't pass up an opportunity to 'LISTEN'..................,these old school Integrated s present themselves very well,just have to find the right speakers,and of course,the BEST Source you can afford.
.....................................seems this thread is dying,however,would like to add I'm quite enjoying Listening to this Lil Brio,currently CD,Tangerine Dream,220Volt....LIVE...through some vintage 3-way Isophon,another Surprise!

Man what a solid build & runs cool as a cucumber too,especially when compared to my earlier Sugden,a co-worker is now enjoying with his ever growing Vinyl collection.

I'm now gravitating towards the Rega's lively,but subtle Musical presentation.
I haven't done a shoot-out with the Creek,not likely to happen as both will be staying here.

I heard one of these Rega shortly after Listening to the Creek Integrated,after the CAS that bombed on Stereophile.

...I brushed off the Rega as being too laid back at the time,and bought the more assertive Audiolab. Obviously I should have given the Rega a much longer audition!

Anyone looking for a great Budget Integrated that will do your Vinyl collection good,should have a Listen to one of these,if you ever come across an opportunity to do so.

It will likely be speaker sensitive?.....but with sensitive speakers like my Altec-Z-19's this is plenty of power,and like the Creek,has watts in reserve when the presentation needs a boost,which in my opinion makes total sense from a design standpoint.
Simply put,if the Vocals,or an Instrument solo/b-ground vocals are prominent in the Song,then they should be presented through your speakers that way,front & center,as in when a Vocalist is singing,you will hear it full bodied,with any subtleties,slightly behind,but also at a volume to hear them.
........well I guess a Rega Brio-R,audition is now in order,should prove very interesting!
Altec Concert Kenny
Tonight's Concert......PHISH... IT
 
A Brit who has combined some best of 70's US gear (1973 with best of British - Marantz 2245 and 1060 (checking in here for recap information) Yamaha Cr 800 and Quad 34/405-2 (whoops crept into the 80's), playing from an raspberry Pi + IQaudio DAC through Ar3a, with Celestion Ditton 44's, great in their way, but just a COMPLETE contrast to the AR3a's!

So I'm not not sold on hi fi jewels from one country but I am keen to compare the superb AR3a's with a large (old) tannoy (12 or 15 inch DC) and would love to hear some opinions on the sound of New England vs England.
 
When I was in my early 20s in the early 80s, I first heard a quad 33 paired with a quad 303 driving JBL L26s. I was blown away! Then, a couple of years later, a stereo salesman friend blew me away with these massive Tannoys. The next time I visited him, he had a pair of Kef 104/2s being driven by a class A monster amp, and I thought they sounded even better than the Tannoys.

I bought an NAD 7240PE in the late 80s and my audio experience improved measurably from the Marantz driving Legacy speakers from before. I later on upgraded to a NAD C350BEE.

Fast forward 30 years later and I got drawn back into audio by a chance purchase of a MAC1900. I immediately wanted to hear "The Sound" that so impressed me in my youth. So I bought a pair of Celestion Ditton 66s. Unfortunately, I didn't get the sound I was looking for. How little I knew then. So my search continued, with me trying Ditton 44s, Tannoy Mercury 4s, B&W DM10s, Wharfedale Dovedale 3s, and started to hear it when I got a pair of Kef Concerto with a Kenwood Supreme 500! I was starting to understand the importance of matching speakers to the amp, a concept I had no idea of before!

Since then, I have tried Missions, more Dittons, more Tannoys, and more Kef's in my second system, and reached audio Nirvana after buying a pair of Kef 104/2 and shortly after that, some Kef 105s. Throw in a few more NAD amps in the mix, and a Wharfedale W70 pair, and that has been my British experience.

I'm using the Kef Concerto in my casual listening room(where I do most of my listening at lower volumes), and the 105s in my critical listening room, and loving it!

I hope to one day complete the circle and have a quad amp and pre to add to my experiences. Almost did it a few years ago, but the deal went sour.

I'm happy to see this forum, and hope to contribute over time! Thanks!
 
As I write this I'm running a Meridian Director DAC to a Cambridge Audio CXA60 which powers a set of B&W DM600i's. Sounds pretty darn good. Clean open and well balanced.
 
New guy, somewhat a fan of British/UK gear though don't know if any of my current stuff actually qualifies. By brand, yes. By country of manufacture, perhaps no.

KEF R500, R200C, R100, ProJect RPM1. Other items too, but Canadian, Japanese or US brands also of offshore build; NAD, Sony, SVS, Bluesound
 
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