SOUND TRAVELS

In this issue we visit a British audiophile who has acquired a veritable museum’s worth of classic UK audio gear.

In this issue, we visit a British audiophile, ex-Hong Kong, domiciled in Australia, whose home is like an audiophile’s Aladdin’s Cave.

ST: Do you have a first memory, a first unforgettable impression of your very first musical experience?

PS: When I was a young kid my dad had a beautiful Telefunken valve radiogram, purchased in the very early 1960s. It had that wonderful warm dynamic sound that has led me to own valve amps today. The turntable/cartridge was a bit of a ‘nail-onthe-vinyl’ combo, but it had a great sound as a complete system… and it never needed any repairs in the 20 years we had it. ST: How old were you then? PS: I remember being about three or four years of age.

ST: What ‘hi-fi equipment’ impression started you on your quest for hi-fi gear?

PS: It was the fabulous equipment and wonderful sound quality at the many hi-fi dealers in Hong Kong where I was living at the time… Radio People Ltd and Excel Hi-Fi, who had JBL Paragons, Magneplanars, Audio Research amps, Thorens and Garrard turntables with exotic arms and cartridges, Nakamichi cassette decks, Mark Levinson amps… oh those were the days!

ST: What’s the best audio system you’ve ever heard?

PS: An amazing guy in Bretagne, France who builds hi-fi equipment and also builds working steam trains. His reference system featured his own turntable with an air parallel tracking arm and specially built EMT cartridge. These fed into his own valve preamp and power amps, and then into his own ‘Orthophase 40’ speakers. Each one includes 40 planar ribbons and an ionic tweeter of his own design. ST: What did it sound like? PS: Astonishingly beautiful. (Sighs). Anyway, I bought a pair of his OR-27 speakers, which are wonderful.

ST: You have lots of audio equipment around your home—predominantly from the 1970s. Do you have a particular interest in this period in terms of brands, or more specifically, models?

PS: I believe that most of the developments that have led to our current status in the hi-fi industry came from the 1950s and 1970s. In the 50s the designs were developed and in the 70s the science came enabling the designs of the 50s to come to fruition. There were some truly amazing developments in both of those decades. Speakers especially moved forward, in particular the Quad ESL57, the Klipschorn, the JBL Paragon, as well as many of the models from KEF, Rogers, Celestion, Tannoy and others.

ST: You used to build your own speakers. What are some of the ideals, in terms of design, that you instil in your creations?

PS: I like efficiency, speed, dynamics, bass extension and extended frequency range—at least from 20Hz to 40kHz—so that the speaker is a true full-range design. I start with the drive units and then develop the box to maximise the performance of the chosen drive units. Then the crossover does its best to screw it all up, hence I have gone to active crossovers with multiple amps.

ST: What is it about your main system’s horn-loaded speakers that appeals to you more than your own designs?

PS: I consider the sound quality to be beautiful, maybe not ‘hi-fi accurate’, but certainly a convincingly musical sound. My advice is always that if you cannot sing along to the music being played then you should junk your system. In my opinion, a bit of colouration is no bad thing, but it must not destroy the musical performance. We are—or at least I am—trying to convince ourselves that the artist is in the room performing just for us! Your system should be able to cause joy… and perhaps also bring a tear to your eye. If the hairs on my arms do not rise when I am listening, then I know that the system is not capable of creating a truly musical event. There are a lot of sterile hi-fi systems out there and not too many music reproduction systems.

I like efficiency, speed, dynamics, bass extension and extended frequency range—at least from 20Hz to 40kHz so that the speaker is a true full-range design

ST: What’s your favourite piece of equipment, something that you wouldn’t sell?

PS: My ACR Eckhorn corner horn speakers and my 1957 and 1990 Orthophase open baffle planar ribbon speakers.

ST: What do you see as your next audio purchase or upgrade… if any?

PS: I am not in a position at this time to squander money on this hobby, but I have just purchased a Grado cartridge.

ST: What genre of music do you listen to mostly and who are some of your favourite artists?

PS: So far as genres are concerned, I listen to country, folk, blues, rock, pop, jazz, alternative… basically anything except classical and especially not opera! When it comes to my favourite artists… Leo Kottke, Jack Johnson, Grateful Dead, Ryan Adams, Lisa Ekhdahl…

ST: In what way does music affect your life, your emotions and the way you feel?

PS: Listening to music is one of life’s truly great pleasures, you can enhance or change your mood by listening to music that is emotive.

ST: Where do you see the high-end audio industry going in the future?

PS: Sadly as I grow ever more middleaged I wonder who will be the new customers for great equipment. The future is ‘Lifestyle’, which is a true misnomer if ever there was one. ST: What do you mean? PS: For me, a ‘Lifestyle’ product is an expensive one where the aesthetic appearance massively overwhelms the musical performance. So you are buying ‘style’ not musical performance. Go to any chain store and you’ll see a vast range of attractivelooking but poor-sounding equipment.

ST: Where would you like the audio industry to go or to evolve to?

PS: I’d like it to return to a greater degree of reality with regards to some of the jewellery equipment that is around. Big amps and small inefficient speakers. Yuck! Big efficient speakers and small single ended valve amps would be my preference.

Big amps and small inefficient speakers. Yuck! Big efficient speakers and small single ended valve amps would be my preference