G'day Gentlemen, ladies and fellow music enthusiasts.
I was wondering whether to post this somewhere in the speakers forum / amps / general audio but it seems like this one takes the cake in all directions...
I was allowed to post this with permission as long as I don't mention specific names or locations; so sit back and enjoy because over the long weekend I certainly did!
By the way, in Melbourne we had a long weekend (4 days off and the economy is still doing alright...) Rugby world cup- the mighty All Blacks won, awesome game! The Melbourne Cup was won by a female jockey, go the ladies! Nice one indeed, infact this gives a wonderful fresh start to a new breed of jockey's in a harsh blokes world of horse racing. Daughter spent her Halloween at home this time, serving eager-eyed little kids over their trick or treating, too much of a sugar rush.
Whiles I was away at a very special place, I have never seen so much awesome gear, mostly vintage and somewhat in working condition, I just had to share this, the brands: (electronics- preamps & power amps) Threshold, Mark Levinson, Pass Labs, McIntosh, Burmester, VTL, Manley, C-J, McIntosh, Cary and Quad. Speakers- both types of panels and dynamic drivers: Magnepans MG20, Apogee Diva, Quad ESL63 & 57, Inner-Sound, VMPS, Infinity Epsilon, B&W Matrix 800, and Wilson Shasa (not working due to a lightning strike in the neighborhood that took out most of the cross-over), chappy never bothered repairing it. Wants to get rid of it for 10 grand... including the B&W matrix 800's.
Most of the stuff was in working condition but there was so much clutter, you'd stop to think how on earth can someone listen to anything properly. Then into another room that is totally dedicated to what he refers to as the "flavor of the month" so this particular system is well set up and runs for about a month, until it is changed over with something else. This change over doesn't take too long, the warm up does- according to him... mr chappy.
So at the time- flavor of the month set up- had the MASSIVE Threshold 800M monoblocks set up with Apogee Diva's; holy ---- what a sound! These amps were designed by the legend Nelson Pass himself, and are probably older than me! These things are so huge they make other amps look like toys. I can fit my entire Classic 60 right into the chassis. The Mark Levinson's were not working, bad transformer on both monoblocks and no parts available either. All the tube gear was working ok, so he says... In another fairly smallish room, were a wonderful pair of Quad stats, an old ESL 57 & 63 driven with an old c-j Premier 11A with a PV12 preamp- wonderful system, which obviously I enjoyed the most.
The MG20 maggies had busted ribbons that required replacing, which he claims he'll do just after his next medical check up. Mainly due to being sober when replacing those dam tweeters- was his firm reply. The VMPS had two busted drivers and three EMIT tweeters and two EMIM midrange units were gone on the Infinity Epsilon's. I can vaguely remember listening to the Epsilon system somewhere in the 80's in the US and UK.
So in summary, only a handful of speakers were actually working, the old Quads (both the ESL63 & 57, the Apogee Diva's and the Inner-Sound), still sounding very classic in all aspects of musicality.
Getting back to the Threshold 800M's and Apogee's, what struck me the most was the dynamism and realism of impact of every note. The impact was so powerful for an audio system that each time there was a drum whack or string being plucked with razor sharpness, it made me jump out of my seat! Very explosive and immediate, totally super dynamic with that powerful ribbon transducer slam. The Diva's are a beast to drive (I know them very well, my old pop's favorite panel speaker), and the Thresholds are rated at 200 watts pure class A- absolutely no sweat in performance here. The imaging and depth were superb, and the soundstage was truly remarkable.
The only draw back to me was that the overall sound was not relaxing. I for one, cannot listen to this level for a long period of time. It certainly is outstanding to go for a spin and experience what this sort of power can do but to me the most satisfying and relaxing of all just had to be the Quads plus c-j system, which he agreed to as well. The majority of sources were all turntables, from old Dual tt's to a classic VPI that I have never seen or heard. May have read somewhere about it in an old copy of TAS 80's issue perhaps... Another glorious tt was an old Linn, completely out of wood and weighed a good 35Kg. Most were tube phone stages from c-j and Manley, there was a Cary phono stage that required a tube upgrade but it was sounding fine to me along with an old Burmester preamp. Completely analog, no remote whatsoever.
Again, what struck me the most was the way he absolutely enjoyed his music, regardless of what worked or not, you just can't help it but actually sit back and enjoy the complete presence of what was in front of you playing. When the Threshold's were turned down, they did sound far more relaxed and listenable. However, at lower playback levels it didn't have that awesome "kick" that it is well capable of, and the Diva's are one speaker that can take that punch in full effect. My Quads would have broken in half if they were driven by those Thresholds at that level.
So, overall here we have it, well renowned gear that was made well back in the hay day of the 80's, is still firing at large, and to those who are still using your vintage gear, all I can say is that I now know why you do enjoy it so much- I certainly did!
Cheers to vintage / classics or whatever you call it- they are truly remarkable.
RJ
I was wondering whether to post this somewhere in the speakers forum / amps / general audio but it seems like this one takes the cake in all directions...
I was allowed to post this with permission as long as I don't mention specific names or locations; so sit back and enjoy because over the long weekend I certainly did!
By the way, in Melbourne we had a long weekend (4 days off and the economy is still doing alright...) Rugby world cup- the mighty All Blacks won, awesome game! The Melbourne Cup was won by a female jockey, go the ladies! Nice one indeed, infact this gives a wonderful fresh start to a new breed of jockey's in a harsh blokes world of horse racing. Daughter spent her Halloween at home this time, serving eager-eyed little kids over their trick or treating, too much of a sugar rush.
Whiles I was away at a very special place, I have never seen so much awesome gear, mostly vintage and somewhat in working condition, I just had to share this, the brands: (electronics- preamps & power amps) Threshold, Mark Levinson, Pass Labs, McIntosh, Burmester, VTL, Manley, C-J, McIntosh, Cary and Quad. Speakers- both types of panels and dynamic drivers: Magnepans MG20, Apogee Diva, Quad ESL63 & 57, Inner-Sound, VMPS, Infinity Epsilon, B&W Matrix 800, and Wilson Shasa (not working due to a lightning strike in the neighborhood that took out most of the cross-over), chappy never bothered repairing it. Wants to get rid of it for 10 grand... including the B&W matrix 800's.
Most of the stuff was in working condition but there was so much clutter, you'd stop to think how on earth can someone listen to anything properly. Then into another room that is totally dedicated to what he refers to as the "flavor of the month" so this particular system is well set up and runs for about a month, until it is changed over with something else. This change over doesn't take too long, the warm up does- according to him... mr chappy.
So at the time- flavor of the month set up- had the MASSIVE Threshold 800M monoblocks set up with Apogee Diva's; holy ---- what a sound! These amps were designed by the legend Nelson Pass himself, and are probably older than me! These things are so huge they make other amps look like toys. I can fit my entire Classic 60 right into the chassis. The Mark Levinson's were not working, bad transformer on both monoblocks and no parts available either. All the tube gear was working ok, so he says... In another fairly smallish room, were a wonderful pair of Quad stats, an old ESL 57 & 63 driven with an old c-j Premier 11A with a PV12 preamp- wonderful system, which obviously I enjoyed the most.
The MG20 maggies had busted ribbons that required replacing, which he claims he'll do just after his next medical check up. Mainly due to being sober when replacing those dam tweeters- was his firm reply. The VMPS had two busted drivers and three EMIT tweeters and two EMIM midrange units were gone on the Infinity Epsilon's. I can vaguely remember listening to the Epsilon system somewhere in the 80's in the US and UK.
So in summary, only a handful of speakers were actually working, the old Quads (both the ESL63 & 57, the Apogee Diva's and the Inner-Sound), still sounding very classic in all aspects of musicality.
Getting back to the Threshold 800M's and Apogee's, what struck me the most was the dynamism and realism of impact of every note. The impact was so powerful for an audio system that each time there was a drum whack or string being plucked with razor sharpness, it made me jump out of my seat! Very explosive and immediate, totally super dynamic with that powerful ribbon transducer slam. The Diva's are a beast to drive (I know them very well, my old pop's favorite panel speaker), and the Thresholds are rated at 200 watts pure class A- absolutely no sweat in performance here. The imaging and depth were superb, and the soundstage was truly remarkable.
The only draw back to me was that the overall sound was not relaxing. I for one, cannot listen to this level for a long period of time. It certainly is outstanding to go for a spin and experience what this sort of power can do but to me the most satisfying and relaxing of all just had to be the Quads plus c-j system, which he agreed to as well. The majority of sources were all turntables, from old Dual tt's to a classic VPI that I have never seen or heard. May have read somewhere about it in an old copy of TAS 80's issue perhaps... Another glorious tt was an old Linn, completely out of wood and weighed a good 35Kg. Most were tube phone stages from c-j and Manley, there was a Cary phono stage that required a tube upgrade but it was sounding fine to me along with an old Burmester preamp. Completely analog, no remote whatsoever.
Again, what struck me the most was the way he absolutely enjoyed his music, regardless of what worked or not, you just can't help it but actually sit back and enjoy the complete presence of what was in front of you playing. When the Threshold's were turned down, they did sound far more relaxed and listenable. However, at lower playback levels it didn't have that awesome "kick" that it is well capable of, and the Diva's are one speaker that can take that punch in full effect. My Quads would have broken in half if they were driven by those Thresholds at that level.
So, overall here we have it, well renowned gear that was made well back in the hay day of the 80's, is still firing at large, and to those who are still using your vintage gear, all I can say is that I now know why you do enjoy it so much- I certainly did!
Cheers to vintage / classics or whatever you call it- they are truly remarkable.
RJ