We took a trip to Sheffield yesterday to look at cookers - Smeg - the DBL's of domestic cookers! around the corner we chanced upon Sevenoaks Hi-Fi. I took the chance of going in there on the off chance that they might have a few equipment stands that my wife would find attractive enough to replace the existing furniture that my system is stuffed into. No luck there, the few they had were horrible. Nice shop though, a converted bank, friendly staff and lots of low to mid range equipment to stroke.
However she did start going on about how nice some Ruarks looked. Now this is something from someone who is a loather of all things speaker shaped. They were the sloped floorstanding Ruarks, compact and finished in rosewood priced at £774 - I can't remember the model name.
So, encouraged by this, all I need now is a pair of speakers that look like the Ruarks, sound like Isobariks or NBL's, work tight up against a wall, and fit into my enfeebled credit card!
I replaced my 3 and a half metre NAC5 the other day with 5 metre lengths so that they would fit under the floor boards. They are not run in yet of course but I wasn't expecting the more tuneful bass from my 250/Epos 14's, has anyone else experienced anything similar from relatively small changes in the length of NAC5? Or is it an illusion that will settle down when the cable is run in? (the previous stuff is only a few months old so it's not that it's past it's best or anything)
I put the old cable in the kitchen system (JVC CD, Meridian 101/103 Kef Codas) and wow! louder more body and still sweet. Only thing is that there is so much bass now that the kitchen cabinets they are stood on have become the sub-woofers from hell. Stands are out of the question, but can anyone tell me where I can get some adjustable (off the)wall brackets that do the job at a low price?
I hear that Mana is going to be selling their gear through dealers, so I'll get to see/hear them soon with Naim stuff. They are unlikely to make it to Chez Jez though due to the minus several million WAF.
Finally, Andrew Weekes and I are conducting an interesting experiment on making audio cd's. It's early days, but intial findings are that the quality of the CD writer is most important, rather than which blanks or software is used. We'll let you know.
[This message was edited by Jez Quigley on SATURDAY 14 April 2001 at 08:19.]
Posted on: 14 April 2001 by Allan Probin
Jez,
You need to pop round to my place to have a look at and hear the MusicWorks Quadraspire. I guarantee you will be stunned (sight and sound).
I travel to Sheffield every day - so I'm sure you can arrange a one-off visit to Darlington.
Re. speakers - wait 'till you hear IBLs !
Re. Mana - I've still got some stuff kicking about so you can compare looks with the QS
Allan
[This message was edited by Allan Probin on SATURDAY 14 April 2001 at 12:41.]
Posted on: 14 April 2001 by Jez Quigley
Believe this or believe this not, she doesn't even like the look of quadraspire! (although she has only seen photos in the brochure). I've seen them several times in dealers of course. I'll need to get her back to Image Audio in Leeds somehow and see how she reacts to the reality. On looks they would be my first choice, (the darker wood version) I will be in Durham on Wednesday, but I'm not sure what time I'll be free - email me the phone you will be on on weds afternoon just in case: currie@edginton.freeserve.co.uk
Mike - of all the things I mentioned in the first post I just knew that the first reply would pick up on the mana paragraph!
Posted on: 14 April 2001 by John C
Having just gone through the cooker buying process, I disagree about the Smeg ..more Arcam. Lacanche are the Naim of Cookers, loads of PRAT for that rare rib of beef on Sunday. However you really need the good extraction fan (SBL eqivalent or better)to get maximum benefit from all those KWs of power.There are bigger American cookers, think Krell or the trusty Aga (valve amps) but the French have the cooker thing sussed.
John
Posted on: 14 April 2001 by Jez Quigley
I've had a look on the lacanche site, but so did the cook. Her eyes popped, then she ordered "find out where their dealers are" and disappeared back into the kitchen. I was just about convinced that a cooker could be worth over £2000, now it looks like it might be £4000+
Posted on: 14 April 2001 by John C
Oops Sorry Jez,now you know why I'm languishing at the bottom of the Naim foodchain. You will certainly need a separate spur, preferably an outside wall (which has the advantage of making cheaper extraction, never ever put it up the chimney!) but the real joy of the Lancanche is the easy upgrade with the grill plate (the supercap of cooking acoutrements), the central burner and wok holder (think XPS) for serious stir fry...
John
Now fridges thats another story
Posted on: 15 April 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
Mike - of all the things I mentioned in the first post I just knew that the first reply would pick up on the mana paragraph!
Sorry about that. 
I happened to notice the barbecue that morning, so it was on the top of my mind.
As far as stoves and such go, I've got a personal interest there too. I'm beginning the move into my house in just over two weeks (Hooray!). Currently we have a crapola Jennair rangetop (a.k.a. cooktop). We want to replace it with gas, probably by the end of the year.
So far I haven't really started my research, although I have been nosing about in stores on occasion.
The Lacanche looks nice, but I don't think they do a separate cooktop. Smeg looks very sexy. I like Miele washers, but their cooktops are rather ugly.
In this case, beauty is important to me, becaise I can't hide it in the closet. 
Anyway, I'll keep looking for now.
-=> Mike Hanson <=-
[This message was edited by Mike Hanson on SUNDAY 15 April 2001 at 19:02.]
Posted on: 16 April 2001 by Jez Quigley
I only mentioned the cooker thing to set the background as to why I was wandering around Sheffield and chanced upon an unfamiliar hi-fi shop, but it produced a more interesting thread! It has left me with a problem though as the cook now wants a lacanche, and I still prefer the freestanding Smeg.
I got some 'Ultragrip' wall mounts for the Kef Coda kitchen speakers, they seem well made and were only £18. They even had a picture of the Coda's on the box (cue Twilight Zone theme)
However I'd still be interested in anyone's comments about 3.5m vs 5m of NAC5.
Posted on: 16 April 2001 by Martin Payne
Jez,
it has often been reported that re-terminating an existing set of cables can give a substantial boost in performance. I found that moving from non-Naim connectors to Naim was was a huge boost - no, really!
Also, NAC A5 was re-formulated recently due to supplier problems and apparently it's noticeably better. How old was your old cable?
cheers, Martin
Posted on: 17 April 2001 by Frank Abela
Jez
On speakers, if your lady likes lean-back speakers, you could do worse than Cura CA-21's although they're more expensive at £1000 or so. Very fast, detailed speakers - a bit like mini-SBLs, just not to everyone's taste. Those Ruarks are alright, but I think you'd miss certain aspects of the EPOS's, such as scale.
If you're looking at Lacanche, then you should look at Falcon also. Same kind of thing, same kind of price, but Falcon are renowned in the Pro world (of kitchens, that is) too. Dealers are the John Lewis Partnership (for both products). I believe there's an entry-level Aga at this kind of money (£3500) too.
She-who-must-be-obeyed and I have been waiting for a 'beta' cooker from Prochef for nearly a year. Last we'd heard, it should be getting shipped in May...(Hah, we'll see!).
Before choosing the Prochef, we had decided on the Britannia which is a reasonable competitor to Smeg. We may fall back on it if they keep messing us around. She doesn't like the 5-burner layout of the Lacanche and Falcon (thank God), preferring a 6-burner layout.
Regards,
Frank.
Posted on: 19 April 2001 by Ken Dillon
I have the Ruark Solstice speakers and I really like them , on accoustic material they are fantastic and have a good sense of pace. I find the scale is good with them also.
The smaller ruarks ahve the same characteristics. My friend has them and runs with them about 12 inches from the wall and they sound fine
