Lest we forget, November 22nd was the 1st anniversary of the death of Julian Martin, aka Joolz, and to mark his all too brief stay on the Wam, I shall be undertaking some 'travels' with his Technics SP10, and conducting a little tour highlighting not just the qualities of said front end, but the qualities of the systems of fellow host Wammers within striking distance (and my reach is loong..).
First, what is partnering Joolz's Technics SP10?
I chose Graham 67's Phonomac'd Micro Seiki as the arm, partly because I knew I had a (suitable) Rega armboard (ta Wizmax) and partly because of the status of the modifier. That was 300 and I plumped for the Expert Stylus retipped Cadenza Bronze of Martinplx @ £700. The plinth I had already picked up from eBay and had it delivered to a mate in Manchester. I picked it up on a recent Wam Taxi. I funded these components out of my own pocket, hoping to try and make the whole package more desirable to a prospective buyer. Not difficult as the incumbent plinth was a dire Moldavian jobbie!
First outing was to mein host and hostess Julian and Diane's bake off in Eastwood (or Lawrencetown as Bigrod prefers to call it, being a well read man, natch..). We had a good showing there and, together with Jessica and Hap Hazzard, managed to put together a pretty good system. It was an opportunity to meet up with some Wam regulars and enjoy the company. Bigrod is a star and his get togethers a rallying point for the faithful. (Long day, though loads of fun - I could have sold everything I brought!)
Next port of Call? Speedracer in Dorset. Brook and i have shared a trip or two (one a drive to the family home in Sheffield and the other to buy the white Toy Towers in Yeovil) but I havent visited for a while and I was eager to hear the Notts Analogue Spacedeck in situ (er, now a Hyperspace since yesterday) and a lovely NZ Unipivot the Analog Instruments Sigwann. Brook attends to detail and he wouldn't let us play Joolz's deck till he had touched up the plinth which had received a knock or two on the road trip to Bigrod's. Nice system with the Art speakers, and Line Magnetic amp and Bigbottle BB3. The latter has multiple loading opportunities and it was fascinating to hear the Cadenza Bronze playing at 120, 230 and 350 ohms. We both preferred the middle setting.
Wizmax and Speedracer 'set a date' today for a meeting of a pair of SP10s, as Wizmax has one partnered with a Stax arm and a Koetsu Gold Blackline. We hit a snag when my Technics started exhibiting a cyclical 'graunch' which was worrying..The three of us put our heads together and worked out how to get the platter off and see what was what! Brook found a little bit of stray something or other, we gave the inside a going over with isopropyl alcohol, and topped up the oil reservoir using the little hole provided. Initially, we had hypothesised that the Rubato Cu aftermarket platter mat belonging to the 'home' SP10 was too much weight for the bearing, but that was dispelled when the copper mat was tried back on without an issue. (I, er, want one of dem..)
Next stop? Orbscure, who also has an SP10 but with an Audiomods 6 and a senior Cadenza - the Black! It will be my first time in Caterham to see Pete - looking forward to it..
Who said retirement was boring!
Jack NSM
(I am still in the process of selling Joolz's vast hifi collection and have won Cathy, his widow, in the last 12 months, roughly around £6,000, and I may have found a buyer for his Westminster (simonms build) clones which are taking up a whole room at her house! Keep an eye out in the classifieds for more equipment coming your way. Hopefully we can bag another £6K for her! (And give her some space!)) We still have the Silvercores to check out..
First, what is partnering Joolz's Technics SP10?
I chose Graham 67's Phonomac'd Micro Seiki as the arm, partly because I knew I had a (suitable) Rega armboard (ta Wizmax) and partly because of the status of the modifier. That was 300 and I plumped for the Expert Stylus retipped Cadenza Bronze of Martinplx @ £700. The plinth I had already picked up from eBay and had it delivered to a mate in Manchester. I picked it up on a recent Wam Taxi. I funded these components out of my own pocket, hoping to try and make the whole package more desirable to a prospective buyer. Not difficult as the incumbent plinth was a dire Moldavian jobbie!
First outing was to mein host and hostess Julian and Diane's bake off in Eastwood (or Lawrencetown as Bigrod prefers to call it, being a well read man, natch..). We had a good showing there and, together with Jessica and Hap Hazzard, managed to put together a pretty good system. It was an opportunity to meet up with some Wam regulars and enjoy the company. Bigrod is a star and his get togethers a rallying point for the faithful. (Long day, though loads of fun - I could have sold everything I brought!)
Next port of Call? Speedracer in Dorset. Brook and i have shared a trip or two (one a drive to the family home in Sheffield and the other to buy the white Toy Towers in Yeovil) but I havent visited for a while and I was eager to hear the Notts Analogue Spacedeck in situ (er, now a Hyperspace since yesterday) and a lovely NZ Unipivot the Analog Instruments Sigwann. Brook attends to detail and he wouldn't let us play Joolz's deck till he had touched up the plinth which had received a knock or two on the road trip to Bigrod's. Nice system with the Art speakers, and Line Magnetic amp and Bigbottle BB3. The latter has multiple loading opportunities and it was fascinating to hear the Cadenza Bronze playing at 120, 230 and 350 ohms. We both preferred the middle setting.
Wizmax and Speedracer 'set a date' today for a meeting of a pair of SP10s, as Wizmax has one partnered with a Stax arm and a Koetsu Gold Blackline. We hit a snag when my Technics started exhibiting a cyclical 'graunch' which was worrying..The three of us put our heads together and worked out how to get the platter off and see what was what! Brook found a little bit of stray something or other, we gave the inside a going over with isopropyl alcohol, and topped up the oil reservoir using the little hole provided. Initially, we had hypothesised that the Rubato Cu aftermarket platter mat belonging to the 'home' SP10 was too much weight for the bearing, but that was dispelled when the copper mat was tried back on without an issue. (I, er, want one of dem..)
Next stop? Orbscure, who also has an SP10 but with an Audiomods 6 and a senior Cadenza - the Black! It will be my first time in Caterham to see Pete - looking forward to it..
Who said retirement was boring!
Jack NSM
(I am still in the process of selling Joolz's vast hifi collection and have won Cathy, his widow, in the last 12 months, roughly around £6,000, and I may have found a buyer for his Westminster (simonms build) clones which are taking up a whole room at her house! Keep an eye out in the classifieds for more equipment coming your way. Hopefully we can bag another £6K for her! (And give her some space!)) We still have the Silvercores to check out..
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