It's early 2023. And with the new year, a new amplifier has arrived at Tannoyista. And this time, it isn't valve based. This 250wpc British-made amplifier is from a company with an excellent heritage in live sound & professional studio circles that some in the Hi-Fi world may not have heard of.
Nonetheless, it is a heritage that has been highly regarded in professional audio worldwide and has recently added a Hi-Fi arrow to its bow, Ultrafide.
In 2014, I added a Khozmo volume attenuator to my Croft preamplifier and found it to be one of the most worthwhile upgrades I'd ever done. Fast forward to 2022 and things have certainly developed. Khozmo has developed one of the best passive preamplifiers I've heard.
The Entreq Tellus II Infinity Line is one of the most intriguing additions to the Tannoyista system I've ever had the pleasure of owning. It has no moving parts, no mains cable and is encased in beautifully finished solid wood.
Trident Studios was a recording studio in London. During the late 60s and all through the 70s and 80s and 90s, Trident Studios was one of the most unique recording studios in the world. The legacy of this studio is now legendary. Today the studio is no more, in fact, it's now a very upmarket townhouse which is sad to see.
But the ghostly reverberations of the studio still ring loud in our music and culture today, and in many ways just as loud as Abbey Road.
Within a small window of time from 1968 to around 1977, Tridents control room setup included 4 Lockwood Major monitoring loudspeakers for hearing back mixes. That amazing window in time included some of the most prolific artists using the studio such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Queen, Lou Reed, T-Rex and others.
This is the story of two of the actual loudspeakers used to make those amazing albums.
There's nothing like hearing BIG speakers. The amount of energy and spatial energy is totally immersive. Back in the early 90s, I used to work in a small studio where we used such speakers. The sound was totally astonishing. Of course, a studio control room is treated to a vast degree but even with a typical living room space, you can still get a lot of the magic.
So, in 2013, my love for large loudspeakers began. At that time, I was using some Lockwood Universal loudspeakers which were pretty good but when I had the chance to move to the ultimate beasts, I just had to do it. So in 2015, I sold the Lockwood Universal cabinets to go bigger and, yes... much better. Bring on the Lockwood Majors.
In 2009, I bought a Thorens TD-124 turntable. Since then it's become a highly regarded and converted turntable. It's certainly earned its noted soubriquet 'legendary'. It stands out as one of the top audiophile decks in sound and design. Needless to say, this little deck consistently captures the hearts of many including myself.
This review is a look back at my experience of owning the TD-124.
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