It is not so important where one starts out in life but where one finishes. Starting to get heavily addicted to the Hi-Fi lifestyle from a toddler what possible hope did I have at being a 'normal' Sony Mini-System type guy...? NONE.

Constantly being encouraged by my enthusiastic Hi-Fi obsessed father to experiment with different equipment configurations and being trained to isolate the differences in each component with regard to major changes in soundstage, sound coloration and frequency separation at every waking moment.

I continually look back on my younger days spent with my father, listening together to his extensive vinyl collection till the small hours of each morning in my early childhood with total awe and amazement. As young children go I was no exception, and was always full of questions about what things did and how they worked. Never once do I recall him turning to me to say that he was too busy or he didn't have the time to explain things to me. When he was busy he found the time, when he was tired he found the energy and when he was distracted he found the patience.

Nothing mattered except the music, time & space stood still when we we totally consumed with the fantastic sound of those great albums. Each and everyday learning more and more about electronics and being continually challenged with the latest technological developments of the day. Looking back upon everything it is staggering to see how far have we all progressed.

 

I highly recommend this approach to all parents out there that are looking for a healthy and educational activity that both parents and children can actively participate in together. Involving young children in this fantastic quest of sonic perfection has many more rewards both sonically and emotionally then you may first ever think possible.

Taking over my father's Hi-Fi business (Dr Hi-Fi House Calls) in 1995, I have been immersed and committed to this delightful industry for as long as I can remember; from childhood through to today.

In my later years I was heavily influenced by a close friend who I have known since I could crawl and who is an eccentric Electronic Engineer and as luck would have it is extremely experienced with vacuum tube based audio products. I first remember my father taking me into his Hi-Fi shop when I was a young boy to say hello and have a chat on a Saturday morning (life moved more slowly back then) and apart from being scared out of my pants by his freaky personality I was totally floored with all the equipment he had on hand. It was the world's best toy store for me as a young kid to explore and look through.

Years latter this same fellow felt sorry for me and my system. He gave me a good quality valve amplifier to take home and play with for the weekend with the words, "Do you want to hear some real music now James...?". Needless to say I never gave it back to him and I'm sure he knew that well before he lent it to me. He's one smart guy. This man had long ago mastered the essential art of public relations down to a tee. He knew he could have told me the 'Facts' 1000 times over but things have a much stronger impact when you discover them yourself. No man likes to feel that he is being sold something or told to do something, myself included. We all much prefer to feel that we are buying of our own accord or acting on our own free will.

Knowing what I do today, I remember being so upset with myself at the time from when I first heard an old valve amplifier (my jaw dropped to the floor, I was stunned) from wasting so many years which can never be recovered at any price from listening to such inferior rubbish I wished heaven & earth someone had shown me a higher path earlier. It was a bitter sweet lesson learned at 'The School of Hard Knocks' which I will remember all my life. Often the lessons hardest learned in life are the ones least forgotten.

 


2.6m x 3.6m Office

 

LOUDSPEAKERS :

B&W Nautilus 800

   
LINE STAGE :

VTL TL-7.5 Reference Series II

   
POWER AMPLIFIERS : VTL MB-450 Signature Series II  Monoblocks
   
PHONO STAGE : Acoustic Signature - Tango Ultimate
   
TURNTABLE : Acoustic-Signature - Thunder
   
TONEARM: SME Series V
   
CARTRIDGE : Ortofon Jubilee MC
   
D/A CONVERTER : Cambridge DacMagic  
   
TRANSPORT : Dell Precision Laptop
   
POWER CABLES : Furutech Custom Power Leads
   
POWER FEED CABLE : Shunyata Research - Cobra ZiTron
   
POWER CONDITIONER : Shunyata Research - Hydra Talos
   
LOUDSPEAKER CABLES : Furutech U-2T
   
S/E INTERCONNECTS : Neotech Single Ended
   
BAL INTERCONNECTS : Industry Standard - Zero Noise Balanced

 

This has now become my main system. Just finished my little weekend project. As do many of us today, I spend a considerable amount of time in front of my computer each day answering all your e-mails and performing other tasks. I just wasn't using my Reference System # 2 enough to justify only having one system.

Therefore I have developed a second Reference System for music in my office. Just to make the working day fly-by a little faster it is amazing what can be achieved even in very confined spaces. I'm not kidding when I say 'confined space'; try a 2.6m x 3.6m office.

So I have proven for a Reference System you do NOT have to have a massive purpose built room with the ultimate in sound acoustics to create a very pleasing listening experience.

Hooked up to my Laptop in addition to the Cambridge Audio iD100 which is my main source component, the systems also doubles as a computer speaker system for multi-media requirements.

If using your Computer / Hi-Fi system for serious audio performance I strongly recommend using an external music server (in my case a Cambridge Audio iD100) rather than your computer as the source. No loss of Audio will be the advantage if you have to Restart or you are using other demanding programs at the same time. Ripping all your music to your computer in Apple Lossless format then using the Cambridge Audio iD100 into a good DAC gives you a great starting point for a compact system configuration.

 


3.4m x 4.3m Listening Room

 

LOUDSPEAKERS :

Martin Logan Odyssey

   
LINE STAGE :

VTL TL-6.5 Signature Series

   
POWER AMPLIFIERS : VTL MB-450 Signature Series Monoblocks
   
PHONO STAGE : Acoustic Signature - Tango Ultimate
   
TURNTABLE : Acoustic-Signature - Storm
   
TURNTABLE : Acoustic-Signature - Challenger MK.II
   
TONEARM: Rega RB700
   
CARTRIDGE : Ortofon Rondo Bronze MC
   
D/A CONVERTER : Cambridge DacMagic  
   
TRANSPORT : Cambridge Audio iD100
   
DIGITAL SOURCE : Apple iPod Classic - 6th Generation
   
POWER CABLES : Furutech Custom Power Leads
   
POWER FEED CABLE : Shunyata Research - Cobra ZiTron
   
POWER CONDITIONER : Shunyata Research - Hydra Talos
   
LOUDSPEAKER CABLES : Furutech U-2T
   
S/E INTERCONNECTS : Neotech Single Ended
   
BAL INTERCONNECTS : Industry Standard - Zero Noise Balanced