Bell's Banter 2021

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Colin I think you'll have a lot of pleasure knowing you'll listen to it using a Line Magnetic A class, an Ortofon cartridge with a Van den Hul diamond, Tannoy loudspeakers or Everest or Klipsch la Scala, cables big like that while savoring a glass of cognac Fine Champagne.
But given the "sound" you can use a Grundig kit, pump up the volume like a hooligan and drink beers!
Drum battle could be the name, it relates the music to the brakes!

Ah, Tannoy speakers.

A chap I worked with has a pair of excellent floor standing Tannoys.

I borrowed a demo pair from a Hi-Fi store to evaluate at home and try to persuade Management that they would be a great investment.

Sadly one was faulty so Management was not impressed. Life moved on before I had a chance to rectify the rejection.

Probably just as well. When the kids arrived things like Hi-Fi equipment and the furniture that housed it were quickly eliminated never to return. I still have it. All stored away.

Maybe one day ...

[Gerard C]

The Danish of Ortofon are the most wonderful and sympathetic I ever met. Working for Pioneer in France, I established a subsidiary for Ortofon. They were very surprised to meet a French working like hell, this is how I was. Each first of the month, I gave a phone call to the itn sales manager and asked only one question: how many? I had started a furious competition vs the US team about the high end range we had. They were 30 on the US territory, me alone with only France to explore. Each month during this blessed era I've put them down. The manager in question was Ole Friis, his wife working for the UK embassy. He was amazed by my fighting spirit.

[Gerard C]

If my memory serves my english doesn't Grant. i seem to remember that Tannoys were mainly two way and coaxial. Then if you pump up the volume too far, you damage the coils. Because of my love for those loudspeakers, my friend used to say I was snobby, with an aristocratic hear! When I became responsible for JBL, big laugh. But not a single unit of the Yank things came in my appartement!
OK, a pair of Everest could have. Anyone ever experienced Everest?

[Gerard C]

Thanks for the link, Joe. I left this business around '95, after establishing a subsidiary on behalf of Teac/Tascam. At this time we had in stock the very best combination of CD player and transformer, C1/D1. I got a golden award for those, but in France only! Among your clients, all esoteric stuff fans, we had what we called "people listening to the cables first". You have almost the same effect when Fitting good quality plug wirings to a tuned engine. Happy days!

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Colin McKay

Yeah......pretty grim, probably better set against the moving pictures when you can concentrate on the image rather than the sound. But putting my anorak on for a moment (or rather my Afghan) it's got some very early synth and AFAIK the first laid down recording of Daevid Allen's glissando guitar, a sound I rather like (although I might be the only one who does)
Like I said, it's of its time.

Oh I don't know.

Around 22mins into the video there's a short repeated line later made famous (infamous?) by the Spice Girls. (More or less the same.)

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Me, I will wait until they have been in the air for some time before I step on one. I do trust that the authorities do eventually ensure that our aircraft are safe, and so I have flown on a Comet even after they had crashed many years before.

When its for my beloved half travelling alone. I always thoroughly check the company to chose and the airplane too. But with my theory, she could have been sitting in the Rio to Paris…
Without being cynical a single second, I find that the rate pax/miles/accident of this way of transportation shows how much it is safe.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

If my memory serves my english doesn't Grant. i seem to remember that Tannoys were mainly two way and coaxial. Then if you pump up the volume too far, you damage the coils. Because of my love for those loudspeakers, my friend used to say I was snobby, with an aristocratic hear! When I became responsible for JBL, big laugh. But not a single unit of the Yank things came in my appartement!
OK, a pair of Everest could have. Anyone ever experienced Everest?

Gerard,

I think the units in question (era would be very early 80's) were either Cheviots or possibly Arden - or whatever went before them in that sort of size and style. I know they were really heavy. Responded well to a lot of power.

My Quad 33/303 could only just drive them.

Astonishing bass.

[zefarelly]

I still have a cassette player/recorder , TEAC. very good, must be over 20 years old now. It doesn't get used much these days.

I had a pair of Tannoy monitor gold until recently, very very good, but no bass!

I still have 2 sets of B&W speakers, one pair for TV and a 1975 pair of my grandfathers in the workshop, they are very good.

they all need a good amplifier.

Arcam, and early Mission Cyrus 2 & PSX currently. I have always wanted a valve hi fi amplifier!

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

When its for beloved half travelling alone. I always thoroughly check the company to chose and the airplane too. But with my theory, she could have been sitting in the Rio to Paris…
Without being cynical a single second, I find that the rate pax/miles/accident of this way of transportation shows how much it is safe.

Some time ago I was sent this list of Pilot to ground crew conversations .
This is from Quantas, which has one of the best safety records of all airlines .
http://www.rb-29.net/html/03relateds.../17.qantas.htm

I often send it to people who about to fly somewhere .

[Gerard C]

Sure Grant, listening to the same record and changing the cartridge makes you discover sounds you never even noticed before. I remember we were chasing ERA or Deutsche Gramofon discs because they were "Ã* gravure directe".
Re the loudspeakers themselves, it quite a challenge to "reproduire" what a full symphonic orchestra delivers in live, with only two units in your room. Including the place of each instrument during the recording.

[Gerard C]

Joe the best we had in our Teac/Tascam range was the DAT. I still wonder why it was better sounding than any CD but quite remember that my Sony colleagues were damn jealous!

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

http://www.rb-29.net/html/03relateds.../17.qantas.htm
I often send it to people who about to fly somewhere .

Do you remember that during a real flight, the Captain said "I didn't pick the right week to stop sniffing glue"?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Sure Grant, listening to the same record and changing the cartridge makes you discover sounds you never even noticed before. I remember we were chasing ERA or Deutsche Gramofon discs because they were "Ã* gravure directe".
Re the loudspeakers themselves, it quite a challenge to "reproduire" what a full symphonic orchestra delivers in live, with only two units in your room. Including the place of each instrument during the recording.

Indeed.

It's been so long since I had the rig set up I can't recall the final components.

There had been a Garrard Lab 80 turntable early on. I still have that and the cartridges I used with it. I have a spare head for it. Easy change of cartridge depending on the nature of the music to be played.

Memory is taking while to recall the other details.

In the early 00's I bought a highly rated budget desk - simple direct drive - with a dedicated digital output and recorded nearly all of my vinyl stuff - with variable results.

About 20 albums needed thorough cleaning ... but that project has long been on a back burner.

The deck was pretty good for the purpose but for one problem. My particular example turned out to have a rather noisy bearing for the turntable. Not so much of a problem for most tracks being transcribed to digital but not at all good for any that had quiet sections of music.

The transcriptions also showed up quality issues that I assumed were down to disk wear. However around the same time a lot of the older stuff in my library started appearing on CD at prices that were affordable and with extra material included. And no messing around converting from vinyl.

Listening to the CD's (albeit often through headphones rather than proper kit) it became obvious that the CD quality was not much better - especially for 60's stuff from the USA.

I assumed at the time that the stories of much higher quality recording standards in the UK and other places compared to the US might be the reason - but then it also occurred to me that some of the digital versions sounded just like a someone had played an original vinyl and converted it to digital just as I had done. Possibly without cleaning the disc first.

Or maybe the masters of early 8 and 16 track recorders were simply not all that good to start with and were laid bare as the reproducing technology advanced.

[Gerard C]

Haaaa, memories, Garrard had a base made of a mix of marble and resin. Very tough but still able to absorb the vibes. Direct drive, tangential arm, all was pretty good.
Did you try what we call "lecture humide"? I can't make it in english right now, but you can get it if I say another arm on the turntable, opposite to the real one, and instead of a cartridge it has a soft and humid sponge. Hope it makes sense… The mix we used to use was distilled water and alcohol.
The symphonic version of petrol heads!

[Gerard C]

Anyone had a to the new Pirelli calendar? A good complement to Bob's… What a nice point of view. Curfew at 6PM? WTF, we have the calendar now, let the good views roll!!!

[Peter Mallett]

This talk about speakers etc. reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/_4mPkhohDds

[andy97]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

.......and early Mission Cyrus 2 !

Threw one of those out only a few months ago.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Anyone had a to the new Pirelli calendar? A good complement to Bob's… What a nice point of view. Curfew at 6PM? WTF, we have the calendar now, let the good views roll!!!

I'm not surprised Pirelli cancelled it! The pictures I saw they looked a pretty miserable bunch - nothing like the Pirelli used to be.

Yes, curfew at 6pm. That should make a big difference (not!).

[Gerard C]

Peter I know you're a good Chef. Do you remember the nice collection of "automates et musique mécanique" another Chef had? Paul Bocuse…

[Mike Harte]

In the 1970s, my pride and joy was a Dynatron music centre that included a Goldring turntable and stylus with two large Goodman speakers (which were effective enough for public events). I cannot remember what happened to it, because in the 80s I had installed a Japanese system, although retaining the speakers which I only got rid of when I moved to Spain.

[Tim Falce]

Question for all you retired peeps. My wife has just had £200 paid into her bank from state pension, is this the winter fuel allowance and what would an extra £10 have been in December?

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Question for all you retired peeps. My wife has just had £200 paid into her bank from state pension, is this the winter fuel allowance and what would an extra £10 have been in December?

Yes, Tim, I would think that the £200 is the Fuel Payment, whilst the £10 extra in December was a Christmas gift from the taxpayers which we get each year. Your better half should receive a letter in due course from the Pension Centre advising her about her getting the Winter Fuel Payment, but they never mention the Xmas gift.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Question for all you retired peeps. My wife has just had £200 paid into her bank from state pension, is this the winter fuel allowance and what would an extra £10 have been in December?

Normally we get £100 each separately from the Government.

[MGDavid]

Peter, I had expected you to link to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvswW6M7bMo

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

This talk about speakers etc. reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/_4mPkhohDds

Yup obviously I linked to the following clip.

[midgetman]

I'm just watching a programme about restoring an MG Midget and popping an electric motor in instead of the A Series engine. Looks an interesting project. (Quest +1 ATM, I'm sure the online app will have it too) Apparently it's a whole series about electrifying classic cars.

It's also about cars which are far, far more interesting than radio speakers.

Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk