Visit to London

HiFi Show and AV Expro, 14 and 15 September may be of interest
Terry

Hi-Fi Shops & Vinyl Don't Mix[/B]

In London Hi-Fi shops do not sell vinyl. They only sell hi-fi equipment. If it is vinyl that you want, then take a stroll along Wardour Street/Berwick Street (Soho Market) area. It's just a stone's throw from Piccadilly Circus. There are quite a few record shops there (and they don't sell Hi-Fi). You can find some nice bargains there. Don't forget to visit "Cheapo Records" both upstairs and the basement. And don't ask too many questions there as the staff/owner think there're doing YOU a favour by having a shop there. [B]YOU

Evan

If, by vinyl, you're interested in turntables, you should stop at Walrus Systems. I think they have something like 6 turntables in the shop at any one time, including Nottingham Analogue, Michell, and some others. They're not a Naim dealer, being more in tune with the tube brigade, but they have some very interesting HiFi.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Evan

London is a total dump compared to NYC. The choice is limited in comparison and the prices are much higher.

Poeple rave about Wardour street, but it is just a cheap run down hovel, in need of redevelopment.
Half the buggers walking around there appear to be on some sort of weed.

The reality is that London is growing as a commercial and banking sector and the industry is desperately short of space, so rents in London are sky high and this has to be passed on to the end customer. Rip off Britain was invented in London.

You would be far better off spending your time looking at the usual touristy things and leave buying vinyl for when you are back home.

Regards

Mick

Grahams do.

Mick
Have you been to many 2nd hand record shops in NY.
The ones I visited are definatly in areas needing redevelopment--surely the nature of low profit margin used record shops.The passers by were on more than weed!! Not a criticism of NYC--but the contrasts are even more than London--these gives it its unique 'Soul'.(I worked in a medical outreach clinic in the Bronx)

Music in the various media is just so much cheaper in the US when new--and this is therfore reflected in secondhand sales.
Visiting shops in other countries gives great opportunities to buy records that aren't available easily at home. I'm sure the prices in London won't be too tricky for the average US wage--esp in one who can afford US Naim prices.

Regards Richard

[This message was edited by Richard Paget on WEDNESDAY 28 August 2002 at 11:15.]

I would recommend a visit to Grahams or Alex S or my place if you want to hear some vinyl, you'd be more than welcome

Dev, thanks for the generous offer. If time allows, I will certainly take you up on it and will let you know in advance.

Regarding hifi shops, I may visit Walrus and Grahams. How's Definitive Audio? Is it in London?

Finally, is the Heathrow show worth visiting? I will be flying into Heathrow from Johannesburg early on September 17th and thought it may be worthwhile.

Evan

Hifi shows are one of lifes great mysteries.

You pay £7 0r £8 to get in and the place is full of spotty faced nerds, each clutching 500 brochures, given to them by some poor knackered Hifi salesman, who has repeated the same stuff time and time again to the endless stream of time wasting nerds.. Also you wander from over packed room to over packed room, hardly able to see anything and they all have the volume knob turned up full whack and hense drown each other out.

No one actually buys anything, they just go to gawp and ask daft questions, so the entire thing is a total waste of time.

If a supplier decides not to exhibit, rumours circulate that they are about to go out of business, so they exhibit even though it costs a fortune and they generate bugger all sales.

The only reason half of them go is that the evenings are devoted to booze and debauchery.

I used to man stands at the Royal Show and also the Smithfield for a Tractor manufacturer and it used to be the worst two weeks of my life.

If you are in London for a visit, a Hifi show should be the last place on the agenda.

Having said all this, I may just pop up and visit the flaming thing and then poodle into London for a decent meal and a bit of shopping.

The Bristol show is far better but that does not take place until February.

Regards

Mick

Cliff

So you have a choice, go to a run down dump in London and pay high prices or go to a run down dump in NYC and pay low prices.

Evan lives in NYC, so why shouls he waste his time and money in London.

Regards

Mick

The wife leads you along to where she wants to go.

Mick

Are in Nottingham England, which is not a suburb of London, England, but a drive up the M1, or a train trip.

Ignore what Mick P says, the place to buy vinyl records in London is Berwick street. There is no other place with such a concentration of good record shops. (well , perhaps Oldham Street in Manchester) I think Mick needs to go the the posh malls and listen to Bang & Olfsen, rather than mix with the real kids on the street!

DS

Grahams is an excellent place to visit but it might be worthwhile calling them first so they can set up some dems for you that are worthwhile. Beware, I found myself parting with cash (and a grin!).

They also carry vinyl which will be worth a look.

John.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Hifi shows are one of lifes great mysteries............You pay £7 0r £8 to get in and the place is full of spotty faced nerds....................... the entire thing is a total waste of time........If you are in London for a visit, a Hifi show should be the last place on the agenda.........Having said all this, I may just pop up and visit the flaming thing

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Mick
I note your intention to go to the Show. Another young laddie (from Aberdeen) will also be there. You may only have to pay £7 - I have to pay an air fare on top of that (£113). Am I off my head?
Terry

Yes, some kind of advance warning suits Grahams, lest you are made to feel like somewhat of an imposition for arriving without calling ahead, expecting to have a look around. You will likely find a much warmer reception for the price of a phonecall. This is not limited to new custom either! They're closed on one of the weekdays too. www.grahams.co.uk

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:

No one actually buys anything, they just go to gawp and ask daft questions, so the entire thing is a total waste of time.
Mick

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Mick, at the NY high end show companies and shops which rented a room were selling demo gear at the end of the show. For some of the high dollar but unknown companies, I got the impression that selling their demo gear might be the only sales they ever made.

--Eric

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:

So you have a choice, go to a run down dump in London and pay high prices or go to a run down dump in NYC and pay low prices.

Mick

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Mick, you may not realize that for much of the catalog--Brit bands, golden era classical on EMI, Decca, UK Columbia, the UK issues are much more desireable and often much better sounding than the US issues. What's more they are very scarce in the US and fetch very high prices from dealers.

I'd love to take a record buying trip to England to scarf up UK pressings.

I'm a New Yorker (7 years) and record vacuum (3500 lps) and I buy way more vinyl when I leave town, and mail order, than I do in retail shops here, because prices are so high. For foreigners, the prices are cheaper than at home, for me they are more expensive than Chicago, or Boston, or Detroit etc.

--Eric

Eric

Business is booming in London for normal commercial organisations and there is an acute shortage of office space. This means that shops and restaurants have to pay ridiculously high rents and this makes anything purchased in London very expensive.

Wardour Street is slap bang in the middle of a former red light district and the developers are keen to flatten it and build new office blocks. The Landlords can charge an absolute fortune as they can play tennant off against developers.

Wardour Street is a dirty run down dump and needs a bomb dropping on it.

If you do venture there, take a cannister of flea powder with you. Also stay out of the local pubs, there are some dubious characters hanging out around there.

Regards

Mick

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Wardour Street is a dirty run down dump and needs a bomb dropping on it.

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Says a man who lives in Swindon!

Regards
Steve

Steve

I have never suggested that anyone should visit Swindon. I am not a total bastard.

Regards

Mick

Actually Mick, you suggested I should live there.

As one of the dubious types who hangs around in Soho pubs, I can't decide if this is revenge, or a longing for local colour

throb

Mick

no-one's suggesting you are a total bastard.

However, it appears you are indeed rather well acquainted with Wardour Street. Next time you're down that way trolling for "local colour" , do take some time to pop over to Berwick Street, where you'll find the best assortment of record shops London has to offer. You'll be able to locate albums with such groove, they might make you wish you'd bought an LP12 after all.

Try Daddy Cool, Reckless, Selectadisk, Sister ray Records, Music Exchange - to mention but a few.

Might I suggest a fine haircut at It's Marvellous while you're at it.



Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

I've thoroughly enjoyed my forays into Soho in pursuit of vinyl! There are some great bargains to be had - picked up a Beatles anthology triple LP on vinyl for under £10 new! The selection of new vinyl is superb and the place though a bit scruffy has a certain colour!

Definately worth a visit. Had a good wander around there the other week, breakfasted al-fresco in a little cafe off Oxford street - brilliant.

As for the show I always love Bristol but haven't enjoyed London at Hammersmith. Now its back at Heathrow I think it will be a great show and a good opportunity to hear lots of weird and wonderful hi-fi as well as meeting up with a few of the regulars here over a pint.

Incidentally, this months edition of Hi-Fi News has a free ticket to the show so basically for £3.25 you get into the show and get a free mag as well.

Have a great trip,

Jonathan

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Steve

I have never suggested that anyone should visit Swindon. I am not a total bastard.

Regards

Mick

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I really enjoy Mick posting on the issue. In the way it reflects a sense of honesty and down play people high expectation on the city. I would beleive that the situation is the same for most of all major places in Europe.

Evan,

You're going to miss the show - it's on 14-16th.

Last year's show was an absolute disgrace, both in terms of sound quality and attendance. And yet I find myself wanting to go this year, "just in case there's somethig new and amazing".

On average, I find there are maybe two or three good sounding rooms at a show, but I keep having to go. One reason is to check out the broad scope of things on the market. After all, I don't often get to hear and see stuff in the tube/horn brigade. Their stuff is so out of this world that it just warrants a look-in - and on occasion I'll find a really singing system.

Definitive Audio is run by a very nice chap called Kevin Scott who also owns and runs Living Voice. As said earlier, it's in Nottingham which is a not inconsiderable 100 miles or so from London. Very interesting kit, much of it tube/horns as you'd expect.

Eric, what you say is true from a NYC point of view as there are a huge number of titles where it's the American pressing which is much sought after over the British ones in this country. Depends on the label of course. But I've heard of one or two cases where the pressing to have is the pressing from the other side of the Atlantic, whichever side the quote comes from.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.