Lurches 60th Birthday, South Coast Bake Off, Sunday 3rd Feb 2019 {PO19)
- Thread starter Lurch
-
Start date
- Views 13,240
Big Bottle Packing. A mate of mine Glen is assisting me I hope it's OK if he tags along.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
We’re up to 17 ‘bodies’ now John. This ain’t a bake off, it’s CES. Hope you got the lanyards printed.
There had better be fish fingers - you ken mate
Safe journeys all, esp Colin and Barrington
There had better be fish fingers - you ken mate
Safe journeys all, esp Colin and Barrington
Back home late after a stop off for a chat, more music and some welcome supper at Jack’s on the way back.
A very enjoyable day at John’s as always, and a fitting celebration too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a busier bake off. Somehow we all managed not to fall over each other or the mountains of kit present, with some very good sounds and music being heard in both rooms through the day.* Friends known and some new faces for me, both always a pleasure.
Of the wide selection of gear available, Joolz’s sleek Charios were superb not only with his own exotic 28W Italian Aloia 6L6 prototype valve power amp and Brook’s minimal, very dense Audiozone T1 passive pre, but also a compact, punchy Plinius integrated from Carl. Fast and big-sounding but with finesse; definitely no Shoutonga! David brought his beautiful Sonus Faber Electa Amator IIs, a speaker I have a soft spot for and sounding excellent today in the ‘playroom’ - never an easy room acoustic. All of this was underpinned by Robin’s superb SP10/Origin Live/Ortofon Rohmann front end. A special mention also for Barrington’s appropriately big-hearted Big Bottle MC phonostage; a truly compelling sound on multiple musical genres in both systems with two very different front ends. It clearly gives amazing bang for the buck, and not too many of those required either.
Our host’s system continues its successful, nay relentless quest for growth and improvement and will achieve sentience in a few months if measures are not made to curb it. I’m not entirely sure if Lurch is fully at the reins or how long it will take for the surprise birthday bonus sale of a motorcycle to an attendee today to be ‘converted’ — Cyberman style — until the centre of the high-end hifi universe shifts from Munich and coach parties of Bavarian audiophiles start clogging a certain cul-de-sac in Chichester, crazy for those strange orange fingers of fish.
Nice one John, keep ‘em coming :^ :^
* Except perhaps the sound of 14 Wammers spontaneously bursting into ‘Happy Birthday’. We even had a barber present - just not the shop. Next time we’ll have a whip round and get Stevie Wonder in, shall we? Songs in the key of - I don’t know, all of them?? ;-)
A very enjoyable day at John’s as always, and a fitting celebration too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a busier bake off. Somehow we all managed not to fall over each other or the mountains of kit present, with some very good sounds and music being heard in both rooms through the day.* Friends known and some new faces for me, both always a pleasure.
Of the wide selection of gear available, Joolz’s sleek Charios were superb not only with his own exotic 28W Italian Aloia 6L6 prototype valve power amp and Brook’s minimal, very dense Audiozone T1 passive pre, but also a compact, punchy Plinius integrated from Carl. Fast and big-sounding but with finesse; definitely no Shoutonga! David brought his beautiful Sonus Faber Electa Amator IIs, a speaker I have a soft spot for and sounding excellent today in the ‘playroom’ - never an easy room acoustic. All of this was underpinned by Robin’s superb SP10/Origin Live/Ortofon Rohmann front end. A special mention also for Barrington’s appropriately big-hearted Big Bottle MC phonostage; a truly compelling sound on multiple musical genres in both systems with two very different front ends. It clearly gives amazing bang for the buck, and not too many of those required either.
Our host’s system continues its successful, nay relentless quest for growth and improvement and will achieve sentience in a few months if measures are not made to curb it. I’m not entirely sure if Lurch is fully at the reins or how long it will take for the surprise birthday bonus sale of a motorcycle to an attendee today to be ‘converted’ — Cyberman style — until the centre of the high-end hifi universe shifts from Munich and coach parties of Bavarian audiophiles start clogging a certain cul-de-sac in Chichester, crazy for those strange orange fingers of fish.
Nice one John, keep ‘em coming :^ :^
* Except perhaps the sound of 14 Wammers spontaneously bursting into ‘Happy Birthday’. We even had a barber present - just not the shop. Next time we’ll have a whip round and get Stevie Wonder in, shall we? Songs in the key of - I don’t know, all of them?? ;-)
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi John,
Many thanks for your hospitality & a very enjoyable day, good to meet everyone, and nice to get the confirmation that my Charios are as good as i though they were - with the amount of photos taken of the external crossovers i expect to see some pictures here soon !
Really taken with Carl's Plinius Houtonga, Brook's Audiozone & Jamie's Modwright, and the extra entertainment laid on at Jack's on the way home was an added bonus.
Many thanks for your hospitality & a very enjoyable day, good to meet everyone, and nice to get the confirmation that my Charios are as good as i though they were - with the amount of photos taken of the external crossovers i expect to see some pictures here soon !
Really taken with Carl's Plinius Houtonga, Brook's Audiozone & Jamie's Modwright, and the extra entertainment laid on at Jack's on the way home was an added bonus.
Thanks to John for hosting yet another excellent bake-off. It was great to see everyone again, and meet the new faces. As usual there was some excellent gear to be heard, and really interesting chat in the kitchen (to cold for the garden). Not much I can add over Jamie's excellent write-up. Looking forward to the next one.
As said above another big thank you to John for hosting this bake off/event. Great to see faces old & new & hear some truly great kit, too much to mention really but I must say both pairs of Sonus Fabers were stunning to look at & had sound to match, & I thought Robins SP10/Encounter/Ortofon Rohmann was superb all day.
As is becoming regular John's own system took another step forward, more subtle this time with a modest outlay but I thought it was the most balanced & enjoyable I have ever heard it.
One thing John, if it gets any bigger you may have to put up a marquee in the garden in place of the greenhouse!
As is becoming regular John's own system took another step forward, more subtle this time with a modest outlay but I thought it was the most balanced & enjoyable I have ever heard it.
One thing John, if it gets any bigger you may have to put up a marquee in the garden in place of the greenhouse!
Thankyou John for a wonderful bake off and a big thankyou to all who brought systems. Some look so heavy I worry for your backs.
Just to add my thanks to John for another enjoyable bake-off. I never got to hear the Sonus Fabers due to the amount of male humanity crammed into the room but very much agree with Jamie on the Charios. Barrington's phono stage sounded excellent in John's own system producing a level of clarity and detail that I wouldn't have expected from something at that price point. A bit of a bargain.
Big thanks to John for an excellent Bake Off all I can say is, 'Oh Chario, Oh Chario Baby!'
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
John thanks for hosting a great bake-off, even if it was a 450 mile round trip. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, the drive home not so much
It was great to put names to faces, although I have forgotten most of them already (that's the problem when you are older than John), some great conversations in the Kitchen when the music rooms were full, due to the fantastic turnout.
The star of the day for me were the Charios, and here I am normally singing the praises of active speakers, and these had the largest OTT off board passive crossovers I have ever seen. Robins SP10 was superb, and I was giving it envious glances all day.
Barrington and his co pilot, Glen if I remember correctly, brought the wonderful Big bottle MC phonostage, which really shone in Johns wonderful system. The Plinius was also another star, bringing the best from the charios, to my ears, I only wish I had time to put my old Snell type J's with it.
A long drive but well worth it, thanks again John for hosting :^
It was great to put names to faces, although I have forgotten most of them already (that's the problem when you are older than John), some great conversations in the Kitchen when the music rooms were full, due to the fantastic turnout.
The star of the day for me were the Charios, and here I am normally singing the praises of active speakers, and these had the largest OTT off board passive crossovers I have ever seen. Robins SP10 was superb, and I was giving it envious glances all day.
Barrington and his co pilot, Glen if I remember correctly, brought the wonderful Big bottle MC phonostage, which really shone in Johns wonderful system. The Plinius was also another star, bringing the best from the charios, to my ears, I only wish I had time to put my old Snell type J's with it.
A long drive but well worth it, thanks again John for hosting :^
Hello mate - didn't spot you at the bake off yesterday, hope you enjoyed it, at least in spirit?
M
Millennium
Guest
I don't drive friend. Hope you enjoyed it. Would be great to do something not much in term of London Wam perhaps let's swait
Arrived to find John standing between his own speakers. Beamed at him not just because it was good to see him again but because the sound I could hear was simple amazing, certainly the most beautiful integration of heavy bass into the rest of the sound. Just filled the room with gorgeous sound. That is one hell of a system. Ian put on some Augustus Pablo reissue vinyl later – tracks I know and love – and it sounded so much better than I have ever heard it, a superb soundstage with the bass drivers being given a thorough workout. So I’m down £28 already.
Now for the kindergarten. Jammed full of people and kit. People clambering over, around and under kit (this season, arse cleavage is mostly being hidden behind proper underpants, although there were one or two traditionalists on view).
My Sonus Faber Amator IIs sounded great after a bit of a warm up, they had the soundstage and the rather unexpected bass that I get at home. Then Joolz swapped in the Charios – a name that I had not even heard before – which proceeded to trounce them in every respect other than looks (imho). What a sound – so beefy and fun. External crossovers were hilarious, they reminded me of those white life-support suitcases that Apollo astronauts used to have to plug into and then carry as they walked along the gantry to the capsule.
So much good kit. Some attempts at scientific comparison using the same tracks but generally both rooms were a blur of people putting on music primarily to enjoy rather than to audition. I don’t have good sonic memory and could barely make comparisons with kit I had heard a few hours back, unlike certain others who said things like “this DAC sounds similar to the xxxxx in Room 18 at the last Scalford, no I tell a lie it was the year before and probably Room 17. . . “. A few standouts for me: Carl’s Plinius amp just grabbed hold of the music and presented it to you the way I feel it was supposed to be. This was on the wish list until I swerved suddenly and kept on the valve path, I can’t help feeling that this might have been ‘the one that got away’. Barrington’s Big Bottle phono – I didn’t get much of a listen when it was swapped into the house system but it seemed to make a huge impact in the kindergarten. Difficult for me to find the words, the music just felt easier and more natural. Would love to try that out in my own system. Robin’s Technics deck was stunning, just dealt effortlessly with everything thrown at it. Went like a racing yacht, perfectly composed regardless of the genre of music.
Random thoughts:
· Met some old friends, many of whom had helped me in my own hifi journey (even though I never seem to take their advice)
· Met some new folk, talked bollocks about chemistry and philosophy with a very interesting chap
· Heard some great African jazz (Dollar Brand) then realised that I have that album, but haven’t played it for 20 odd years
· Ate some competition-standard chips (and went back for more), even though I was concerned about expectation bias.
· As I left I followed two guys loading up their kit to take to Non-Smoking Man’s after-party. Wam stamina! I could barely drive back home, let alone listen to more music.
John, thanks again for the invite. It was obvious to me that you have a great many true friends - in that currency you are a very rich man indeed.
Now for the kindergarten. Jammed full of people and kit. People clambering over, around and under kit (this season, arse cleavage is mostly being hidden behind proper underpants, although there were one or two traditionalists on view).
My Sonus Faber Amator IIs sounded great after a bit of a warm up, they had the soundstage and the rather unexpected bass that I get at home. Then Joolz swapped in the Charios – a name that I had not even heard before – which proceeded to trounce them in every respect other than looks (imho). What a sound – so beefy and fun. External crossovers were hilarious, they reminded me of those white life-support suitcases that Apollo astronauts used to have to plug into and then carry as they walked along the gantry to the capsule.
So much good kit. Some attempts at scientific comparison using the same tracks but generally both rooms were a blur of people putting on music primarily to enjoy rather than to audition. I don’t have good sonic memory and could barely make comparisons with kit I had heard a few hours back, unlike certain others who said things like “this DAC sounds similar to the xxxxx in Room 18 at the last Scalford, no I tell a lie it was the year before and probably Room 17. . . “. A few standouts for me: Carl’s Plinius amp just grabbed hold of the music and presented it to you the way I feel it was supposed to be. This was on the wish list until I swerved suddenly and kept on the valve path, I can’t help feeling that this might have been ‘the one that got away’. Barrington’s Big Bottle phono – I didn’t get much of a listen when it was swapped into the house system but it seemed to make a huge impact in the kindergarten. Difficult for me to find the words, the music just felt easier and more natural. Would love to try that out in my own system. Robin’s Technics deck was stunning, just dealt effortlessly with everything thrown at it. Went like a racing yacht, perfectly composed regardless of the genre of music.
Random thoughts:
· Met some old friends, many of whom had helped me in my own hifi journey (even though I never seem to take their advice)
· Met some new folk, talked bollocks about chemistry and philosophy with a very interesting chap
· Heard some great African jazz (Dollar Brand) then realised that I have that album, but haven’t played it for 20 odd years
· Ate some competition-standard chips (and went back for more), even though I was concerned about expectation bias.
· As I left I followed two guys loading up their kit to take to Non-Smoking Man’s after-party. Wam stamina! I could barely drive back home, let alone listen to more music.
John, thanks again for the invite. It was obvious to me that you have a great many true friends - in that currency you are a very rich man indeed.
David,
Good meeting you, even if i may have been using a wrong name most of the day, if you decide that your Sonus Faber stands are no longer of use to you, i have a home for them
Good meeting you, even if i may have been using a wrong name most of the day, if you decide that your Sonus Faber stands are no longer of use to you, i have a home for them
Where are the photos, if only of traditional underpants?
I get back to chichester, having had to miss all the fun and not even an mp3 of John's happy birthday, let alone flac.
Sounds like my vast size was well absent
Belated birthday greetings John
I get back to chichester, having had to miss all the fun and not even an mp3 of John's happy birthday, let alone flac.
Sounds like my vast size was well absent
Belated birthday greetings John
Similar threads
Share this page
Forum statistics
Latest Articles
-
Review Chord Electronics 2go/2yu 2 - Mea CulpaChord Electronics 2go/2yu - (£1,445) Introduction In May 2023 I...
- Mr Underhill
- Updated:
- 6 min read
-
Review Triangle Comete 40th AnniversaryTriangle Comete 40th Anniversary - £1,499 (Premium Finish) Martin Virgo...
- Mr Underhill
- Updated:
- 6 min read
-
Review Denafrips Ares 12th-1 ReviewDenafrips Ares 12th-1 DAC – S$1,549 Denafrips Iris 12th DDC - S$899...
- Mr Underhill
- Updated:
- 10 min read