Some years ago – 1975 to be precise, I used to hang out with my friend Tony. We shared a similar taste in music – we still do, if the truth is told, and the best things about hanging out at his house was his Dad’s hi-fi. Picture the scene if you will, a be-flared and platformed Richard whose records are played on a dubious BSR deck with a decidedly odd stereo setup (one channel wired through the record player, the other through the amp of an ‘Elizabethan’ reel to reel over the other side of the room – stereo yes, but woefully unbalanced) experiencing his first exposure to ‘proper’ hi-fi.
Tony’s Dad’s hi-fi was something that I had never seen before – separates. Not a ‘Fidelity’ or ‘Steepletone’ hi-fi, this was separates. A Goldring Lenco deck, a Goodmans Module 80 amp and (I think) Celestion Ditton speakers, it was a symphony of teak and chrome and was, I still believe, a piece of installation art.
It was on this hi-fi marvel that I heard – properly, mind – Led Zeppelin 4, and was struck by the fact that there seemed to be patches of, well, nothing. There was no noise between tracks, only what I can describe as a blackness, a void. No sound. The detail of Jimmy Page’s fingers scraping on the strings on first part of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ was completely new to me. I wouldn’t call it a religious experience, but it still stays with me as the first time I properly appreciated recorded music. I’d almost call it a St Paul-type revelation, but you tend not to get too many of those in your teens….
Over the years, I’ve I have been dabbling with hi-fi – I prefer vinyl to CD, but I’m not that bothered about it. Frankly, the prices of vinyl have escalated now to the point where I won’t buy it unless the offending article is in really good condition. To my ear, CDs have always sounded a bit tinny and jar like a dentist’s waiting room. I have a reasonable setup – Linn LP12, NAD amp and a pair of speakers whose name eludes me for the minute. They are referred to, lovingly, by the family as the pillars of hercules. This setup makes me happy enough, but I have this nagging doubt that I’ve not yet achieved the same level as Tony’s Dad’s setup did. That, and the fact that I believe that my ears are on their way out has led me to try and put together a taste-test.
This test should put that nagging doubt to rest once and for all; I have set about recreating that setup that first moved me, and to that end, I’ve acquired a Goodmans Module 80, a pair of Celestion Dittons and these will hooked up to my trusty old Thorens TD150 turntable. I figure that is as close as it gets without absolutely replicating the setup, and I like to think that my old Thorens deck is a match for the Goldring Lenco. The fun should begin soon, after all there is no rush to do this, and I suspect I’ll need a day to set it all up properly. Interestingly, I’m having to make up some cables to connect the amp to the turntable and speakers – DIN plugs are no longer easily acquired.
The two pieces of music will be Led Zeppelin 4, and Shine on you crazy diamond parts 1 to whatever. I shall report back on my aural adventures in another posting. As David Gray (he of the incredibly mobile head) says, ‘see you on the other side’….
richardsandwell 