Fishfood

VIP/Donor
Jul 11, 2020
537
541
255
44
View attachment 100463



View attachment 100464

Brian Berdan, the beloved proprietor of Audio Element in Pasadena, California, and his colleague, Ian, delivered my used VTL Siegfried IIs, with a new set of KT-88s, and my new current production VTL TL-7.5 Series III, to the listening room and the equipment room, respectively, last night. We think it makes sense to keep everything wrapped and safe for the time being until the loudspeaker crates arrive, and the speakers are erected.

Brian displayed nearly infinite patience and grace by storing my amplifiers for years after I told him originally it would be a matter of months.

Audio Element’s great brands include AMG, Boulder, Cardas, Clearaudio, D’Agostino, dCS, Grand Prix, Koetsu, Lyra, Transparent, Tri-Planar, VTL and Wilson Audio.

In this age of digital Brian and Ian still mostly sell analog playback systems. They have developed a series of turn-key, modestly-priced, entry-level systems for young music-lovers seeking better sound.

If you find yourself in Southern California you must meet Brian, who has been a titan in the industry, both as a respected dealer, and as a set-up expert, for many, many years.

Brian Berdan
Audio Element
117 East Union St.
Pasadena, CA 91103
sales@audio-element.com
(626) 793-7229
Really miss Brooks.
 

Hi-FiGuy

Member Sponsor
Feb 23, 2015
2,241
762
385
Really miss Brooks.
Hard to believe its been 11 years. I discovered the store right after he passed, what an awesome place!

Took a couple friends to Brian's place as non believers about good sound, "it all sounds the same" they said...
They were blown away and the conversation we had when we left Brian's left me smiling, a fantastic store, fantastic people!
If I still lived in Ca I would be a client.

Back to Ron and his kit. I know its a sad state of affairs that this thread and the other one are an actual anticipation of my day checking for the updates.

Good stuff!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lee and Ron Resnick

Fishfood

VIP/Donor
Jul 11, 2020
537
541
255
44
So you never got to see Brooks's museum? About 3 months before he passed I was bringing my table in for something and he handed me the key to go check it out. It was heaven. Mind blowing, if you like vintage gear.
 

Hi-FiGuy

Member Sponsor
Feb 23, 2015
2,241
762
385
So you never got to see Brooks's museum? About 3 months before he passed I was bringing my table in for something and he handed me the key to go check it out. It was heaven. Mind blowing, if you like vintage gear.
I did
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Today a bit more progress. The record/tape storage unit is being built.


7A6A090C-4E7D-4BEE-945D-E06BFFFDB660.jpeg


I had the fun of unboxing records which have been in storage for up to seven years.



CF1C5DF4-4325-4206-99FD-C2BD6B74C21A.jpeg
 
Last edited:

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
3,616
2,625
1,860
Sydney
Dear Mike,

A separate moving team is needed to move the crates to the listening room. The large crates weigh 630 pounds, the small crates weigh 300 pounds. There is disagreement on the strategy to move them down the relatively narrow staircase to the living room and listening room level.

And even once the crates are moved to the listening room, I will not be setting up the speakers until Rune Skov from Gryphon Audio in Denmark is on site. presently, Rune is traveling in Asia. When Rune arrives we will need a team to lift the towers out of the crates.

Even after the speakers are un-boxed and erected it will be some time before the turntable arrives. Finally I do not know when the Io will be ready.

So today was just one small, albeit important, step in a still long process.

Rune is a really nice guy. I had a few beers with him in Manila two weekend's ago @ the hifi show.

Enjoy Ron, I am sure it will be worth the wait.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Rune is a really nice guy. I had a few beers with him in Manila two weekend's ago @ the hifi show.

Enjoy Ron, I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Yes, Rune is an angel of this industry. Literally everybody who knows him adores him.

He is going to arrange a trip to LA in January or February to visit Joseph Cali, and to un-box and to erect the Pendragons with me and a moving crew.

Thank you for your kind words.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Why do I have eight (8)* copies of Sarah McLachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy?

A1D1EAEB-BEAF-4AB6-8042-B4E43FC42D4A.jpeg


*The copy I actually play is not in the cabinet at the moment.
 

Lagonda

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2014
3,502
4,802
1,255
Denmark
Why do I have eight (8)* copies of Sarah McLachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy?

View attachment 100793


*The copy I actually play is not in the cabinet at the moment.
A more pertinent question is, why have you doubled up on all those Madonna albums ? :eek:
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
A more pertinent question is, why have you doubled up on all those Madonna albums ? :eek:

I knew some eagle-eyed member would spy those records! :D

I have loads of sealed 1980s rock and pop albums from the Tower Records (on Broadway, in Manhattan) $1.99 and $2.99 and $3.99 record bins.

Wait till you see my lifetime supply of Rick Springfield records!

Why are you making fun of me? Those records probably have been a better investment than my stocks and Bitcoin! Wait, I’m not even kidding. For fun, I just checked. Who’s That Girl sealed LP is asking $15 to $20 on eBay!
 
Last edited:

Kingrex

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2019
2,914
2,393
350
i would really like to know how the lighting wires are run inside that cabinet
I have been on a few jobs where the cabinet has wire holes boored or routed, then laminated over, through the the shelf. Low voltage lights only. Keep the shelf bracket behind the groove as the shelf has lost significant strength.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
what are those lamps in top of the shelves? really nice

The one advantage of having to repair this entire house is that we were able to do things that satisfy our idiosyncratic preferences. I promised myself that if I ever have a built-in, dedicated record storage unit I would figure out a way to obviate the need to crawl around the floor on my hands and knees with a Maglight struggling to see the tiny writing on the spines of record jackets.

An LED light in the ceiling of each cubbyhole was my main innovation here. I hired Wendy Bremer of California Closets for this project. We worked within the California Closets design parameters and measured carefully to make sure that the front top edge of the records would not obscure the lights. I also made the cubbyhole sections tall so that it is easy to insert and remove the records. An inside ceiling height only millimeters taller than the record jackets themselves is another pet peeve of mine about traditional record storage units.

Wendy did an amazing job designing this record/tape storage unit! We worked with Wendy also for our clothes closets and storage closets in our house. I wish I had engaged Wendy to design our garage storage unit as well, but I hired a crappy company — Closet World — before I met Wendy and learned about her incredible work at California Closets.

Wendy also works with Chi, of California Closets, who is incredibly careful and detail-oriented when installing the cabinets which Wendy designs. They make a great team!

If you are building or re-doing closets or bathroom vanities or garage storage units be sure to speak with Wendy!

Wendy Bremer
California Closets
1627 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA
wbremer@calclosets.com
818-395-9526

2F221186-38E3-4572-8741-397C7E16BF10.jpeg


48F250CA-A8A7-4A6A-B781-F9AC469E1541.jpeg


0174F3AA-675A-419B-B4BC-ED81B671B51E.jpeg
 
Last edited:

dan31

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2010
1,016
365
1,653
SF Bay
I can second California Closets. They do great work and have solved lots of storage conundrums. We used them for our bedrooms closets. Each is different depending on the requirements.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Resnick

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,185
13,612
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
It’s funny but what’s also funny is you’re the only one who is surprised by it.

:D Well, yes, eight copies was a surprise to me!
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,807
4,700
2,790
Portugal
:D Well, yes, eight copies was a surprise to me!

As long as you are not upset by the bizarre Freudian theories on collecting, no problem! :D
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing