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February 2006 Audio & Music Bulletin Volume 12 Issue 1 Official Newsletter of the Audiophile Society of New South Wales |
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February 2006 Audio & Music Bulletin Volume 12 Issue 1 Official Newsletter of the Audiophile Society of New South Wales |
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Our Last Meeting: Vintage Audio + Christmas Party
The Vintage Audio meeting was supposed to be a joint effort of John Murt and Eddie Lee. But Eddie had family obligations so it was up to John to set up the two systems for the day:
The 1950’s system: · Garrard 4HF 4-speed turntable with a Shure 44 cartridge for 78’s · an early Leak Varislope II pre-amp with settings for 6 equalisation standards making it one of the most versatile pre-amps of its days and costing 16 pounds · Leak TL/10 0.1, 10-watt, KT61 amplifier, the first amplifier to incorporate an ‘ultra-linear’ output stage and costing 27 pounds · a pair of Goodman’s Axiom speakers.
And the 1960’s system: · Thorens turntable with a Shure V15 cartridge sourced from Greg Rudd. · rebuilt Quad II power amp · matching Quad 22 preamp · big Advent speakers.
The first half of the meeting was devoted to music on 78 rpm discs from the 50’s, as played through the 50’s system. John was the presenter, playing a selection of 78’s from his own collection, which he started, well, in the 50’s.
John has great knowledge of both the equipment and the music of the 50’s era; and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation. I also heard some great music: great performances by great musicians Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Cloony, Ella Fitzgerald, Artie Shaw and Duke Ellington, to name just a few.
The “1960’s” second half didn’t start well. One of the valves on the Quad II popped and had its output on one channel cut by half. John was quick to decide to continue using the far more efficient Goodman speakers instead of the Advents. John reckoned that if we did not push the amp too hard, the system would still sound OK.
It was my turn to be the DJ and I played about half an hour of early sixties (pre-Beatles) pop on LPs, with an emphasis on Elvis. I would rate the sound out of the “typically 1960’s audiophile system” to be very good and very enjoyable. And at the same time I recognize that the sound would be a lot better with a “typically 2000’s audiophile system”.
After my turn as DJ, I had to leave the meeting reluctantly. ASoN’s 2005 Christmas Party was to start in two and a half hours and I had to get things organized in a hurry.
In conclusion, I was grateful for the opportunity to experience 50’s and 60’s music just as the music sounded in its day. And I would like to thank John Murt for the opportunity.
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The 2005 Christmas Party was a joyous affair that was distinguished by the excellent live music performed by members and their families and friends. The talent was in fact staggering for such a small-scale party. Performing for us were two members of the Sydney Symphony, four members of the Balmain Sinfonia, plus young talents Doretta Balkizas (daughter of ASoN member Chris) and Kia Aoki (daughter of ASoN member Hiroshi).
I would like to thank all the musicians for putting on a great show, especially SSO members Gu Chen and Shuti Huang and ASoN member Philip Chow, who brought in most of the musicians and performed as well.
The 2005 Christmas Party was easily the best organized and most “incident free” Party in recent memory. There was no gate crasher, i.e. no one showed up without prior booking. There were only a couple of no-shows. And there was no shortage of food or seats. I hope that all future Christmas Party will run as well.
All indications were that everybody who attended the Christmas Party had a great time, and contributed to a good cause as well. We held a charity raffle as usual and raised $1000 for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Justin Lam
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