Page 27 - Hi-Fi_News_-_December_2020 video

look at a row of them on the wall RIGHT: Lawrie’s
at Musicraft in London, and think, SME Model
“One day I’m going to have one of 20/2 turntable,
those”. And in 1964, I did. I also got which is fi tted
the Decca Professional arm, and a with an SME
Garrard 301 turntable. Series V arm and
‘I stayed with the Decca FFSS Transfi guration
cartridges for three generations. Spirit 3 cartridge.
When they were working, and the It sits atop his
record was good, they were magical. Finite-Elemente
When they weren’t, like the little girl equipment rack
with a little curl, they were horrid!
In fact, I’m sure I destroyed a lot of
records. But when it was good, my
goodness there was nothing like it.’ BELOW: The
Princess speaker
AN EARLY MISTAKE from boutique
In 1971, Lawrie changed to a high-end Danish
Thorens TD 125 turntable and, manufacturer walked through a soundstage, of bass from my Audio-Technica AT32E
less successfully, to a Transcriptors Peak Consult sorts. The sound wasn’t coming from cartridge. But I thought, when I
unipivot arm. ‘It was at the the speakers, but from behind can afford it, I’ll get an Ittok. Which
time when the Transcriptors them. It wasn’t in an arc, but I then did, followed by an Asak
turntable had appeared in it was detached from the cartridge, and later a Karma.’
the fi lm A Clockwork Orange speakers. And I thought, Lawrie had upgraded the Quad
and I’d read that this was a “Well, one day…”. 303 to a 405, but was then seduced
fantastic arm, fl uid-damped ‘At that time, I’d moved by Conrad-Johnson valve power

and all the rest. But it was a on to Celestion Ditton 25 amplifiers, an MV45 then an MV75A.
pain to use, all fl ippy-fl oppy.’ speakers but they were very ‘It was Jim Dovey, at Acoustic Arts
And not a good match disappointing. They had an in Watford, who got me interested
for the Decca, I take it? ABR [Auxiliary Bass Radiator] in the “whole system” approach. I
‘It was awful. I think that and what they gave you was heard the Krell PAM 7 preamp, which
was what made me give up loads of woolly bass. he’d put on as a reference while we
on Deccas and go for SME ‘The three-way KLH 103 listened to alternative preamps. At
and Shure. When I heard the loudspeakers the end of it, I said
Shure V15, I didn’t think it sounded good, ‘“At the end “I want the Krell!”.
was anywhere near as good so I went with ‘I also got the
as a Decca at its best, but those. They of the demo SD Acoustics SD1
it was consistent. I could had a fantastic speakers, with open-

make it track, and I could finish. I’d had I said ‘I want baffle mid and ribbon
play my records.’ them a long the Krell!’”’ treble. They had a
By then, Lawrie had time before I great depth of bass,
changed his amplifi ers to realised that it but you needed to be
Quad’s transistor pre/power wasn’t real wood. It was a a decent distance away from them.
combination, the 33/303. vinyl wrap! Eventually I got Otherwise they didn’t integrate.
‘I don’t say it was better, Spendor SP1s, and now I ‘And I moved from the Linn to the
I don’t say it wasn’t as did have stereo. No depth Oxford Crystelle. It came with a Rega
good, it was a different to talk of, but there was a RB250, and I used an Audio-Technica
presentation. But at the spread of sound. Like a wall Stilton, a cheap cartridge compared
time, I wasn’t really getting behind the speakers, rather with the Linn Karma. But the whole
what I’d now call stereo. than an open hall, though. set-up sounded much better.’
I had two-channel with – ‘I’d had the Thorens TD
sometimes – something in 125 turntable upgraded CRACKING ARM
the middle! There was no at Metrosound, and it Lawrie’s next step was to buy an
sweep, no soundstage at all. was working well. But the SME IV. ‘I thought it was a cracking
‘And it was years before I pressure to go to the Linn arm, but eventually, in about 1998,
had that. I was always aware Sondek was too great! I felt I the turntable bearing packed up
of two speakers playing, must be missing something. – it juddered and jumped around!
never heard the speakers ‘So when I’d piled up The manufacturer had gone out of
disappear. Until one day, I enough pennies, I got a business, so that was the end of it.’
heard Quad electrostatics. Linn. I used the Mission Lawrie replaced that deck with a
‘That was in Imhofs, near 774 arm, which I’d Michell GyroDec SE, upgrading this
Centre Point in the West had on the Thorens, with an Orbe platter and DC motor.

End. I thought, “Hello, the first arm that I’d He found it better-sounding than the
that’s different!”. I had heard giving thunderous Crystelle – lower surface noise too.

DECEMBER 2020 | www.hifi news.co.uk | 27