Storing my shaving junk !

[Mike Smart]

Because I've been close to death so many times - I've lived life to the full !

These are worse than extreme sports because I'm disabled and drunk - Haha .

Yamaha YZ490 motocross 2-stroke on a nudist beach in Marseille when I was 17 at 85-90mph after 4 bottles of Bordeaux red and a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka - after I did it once I got brave and did it for a few hours a day - for ten days - made me feel alive - Of course I had my sea-legs; been drinking since I was eleven !

Doing the Sa Calobra in Mallorca on my fiftieth at 1am with no lights and one front brake-block on a rented Ladies shopping bike after 30-40 big White Russians and Moscow Mules.

Doing Kieder Forest after midnight in snow in January with my Dad (he was an F1 driver in the 60's) at well over a ton in a Suburu Impreza after a bottle of Remy Martin brandy - for a bet ! I just avoided the deers and dog-walkers and the big tree branches by a whisker l- the car only needed a paintjob the next week and no major bodyshop work - lucky lol !

Doing the Isle-of-Man TT on a 1972 Yamaha TZ750 when I was 18 in June - average lap-time - just over 80mph - did it in just less than
27:40 taking it easy after 15-20 pints of heavy (bitter) ! - Of course it was dark so after 11pm - I used to live in Port St Mary in the south so knew the route really well - Thank Goodness !

Jumping off Whitby pier in November into sea ice - drove there in my 4.2L 1969 Daimler-Jag across the North York Moors in freezing fog - did I have four halves of Vladivar in the glove compartment before/during/after - naturally; I didn't have a flask of hot tea ! Wet-suit - what's that ? I had my trunks on !

Obviously it took me a while to warm-up ; got shattering teeth and chilblains but I'm used to extreme cold so didn't bother me.

Of course I've done a few mad/risky things since -Like bog-snorkelling and extreme-ironing etc - it keeps me on the Qui-Vive and vital !

Is your real name Steve Austin
A man barely alive
we can rebuild him
we have the technology

 

[ligonnema]

Thank you, this thread puts my spending into perspective and I feel better for it.

Early days though, right.

 

[roaduck]

Is your real name Steve Austin
A man barely alive
we can rebuild him
we have the technology

No haha - I was just very mad when I was younger and I'm only slighter saner now Mark lol !

 

[roaduck]

Thank you, this thread puts my spending into perspective and I feel better for it.

Early days though, right.

I always overdo my hobbies ligonnema but I've got plenty of tackle to share with F&F etc and help them get into real wet-shaving and do away with the not so fantastic plastics haha !

My advice is choose a few good quality items and don't go crazy on the retail therapy and get your technique nailed with all your razors and job's a good 'un haha !

Really all I need is 1-2 brushes, 2-3 razors, 100 blades, half a dozen bars of trad soap and say six aftershaves and that's all I had a couple of years ago and that was more than enough tackle for any eventuality lol.

Before forums I didn't have or need a shaving bowl / scuttle and have never needed a mirror; I go on feel.

That would last me five years ; easy because I get big soaps and big bottles of frags and quality blades that can do many shaves lol !

 

[Mike Smart]

No haha - I was just very mad when I was younger and I'm only slighter saner now Mark lol !

Snap

 

[ligonnema]

I always overdo my hobbies ligonnema but I've got plenty of tackle to share with F&F etc and help them get into real wet-shaving and do away with the not so fantastic plastics haha !

My advice is choose a few good quality items and don't go crazy on the retail therapy and get your technique nailed with all your razors and job's a good 'un haha !

Really all I need is 1-2 brushes, 2-3 razors, 100 blades, half a dozen bars of trad soap and say six aftershaves and that's all I had a couple of years ago and that was more than enough tackle for any eventuality lol.

Before forums I didn't have or need a shaving bowl / scuttle and have never needed a mirror; I go on feel.

That would last me five years ; easy because I get big soaps and big bottles of frags and quality blades that can do many shaves lol !

Only messing and probably projecting if I'm being honest. I know how it feels to overdo other hobbies (whisky, hifi etc).

A form of self soothing, if you will

 

[roaduck]

Only messing and probably projecting if I'm being honest. I know how it feels to overdo other hobbies (whisky, hifi etc).

A form of self soothing, if you will

Haha - Hifi - 20 grand for a budget one and £300K+ north for a fifteen box amp - discrete active B/M/T crossovers with discrete P/S - 6 X Bass-Mid Treble power amps with smoothed P/S and Left/right monoblock preamplifiers with two mains plugs and dual rail power plus dedicated P/S active system with 3-box RIAA dual low output MC/MC monoblock pre-amps (L-R with separate P/S) , 3-box CD player - P/S- Isolated Transport / Master Clock - D/A convertor and discrete monoblock 4 channel subwoofers and discrete 3-way dipoles with separate isolated boxes for bass/mid/treble like a seven foot 600 KG Dynaudio Consequence array.

I sold esoteric and bespoke Hi-Fi in Hong Kong and Macau and was an Int Worldwide sales executive for a major British class "A" amplifier manufacturer (they didn't do monoblock battery pre-amps though) - they're really high-end five-figure bespoke lol !

Here's my little Sugden "class A" / Linn bedroom system - not show are my four foot 3-way dipoles - now they're under the bed-no space lol !

Single-malt Whiskies don't really know but I like 4 figure vintage 20 year plus Scandi/Russian/Polish/Japanese vodkas.
Oh my Ouds are silly money ; but they're worth it to me !

 

[SpeedyPC]

Haha - Hifi - 20 grand for a budget one and £300K+ north for a fifteen box amp - discrete active B/M/T crossovers with discrete P/S - 6 X Bass-Mid Treble power amps with smoothed P/S and Left/right monoblock preamplifiers with two mains plugs and dual rail power plus dedicated P/S active system with 3-box RIAA dual low output MC/MC monoblock pre-amps (L-R with separate P/S) , 3-box CD player - P/S- Isolated Transport / Master Clock - D/A convertor and discrete monoblock 4 channel subwoofers and discrete 3-way dipoles with separate isolated boxes for bass/mid/treble like a seven foot 600 KG Dynaudio Consequence array.

I sold esoteric and bespoke Hi-Fi in Hong Kong and Macau and was an Int Worldwide sales executive for a major British class "A" amplifier manufacturer (they didn't do monoblock battery pre-amps though) - they're really high-end five-figure bespoke lol !

Here's my little Sugden "class A" / Linn bedroom system - not show are my four foot 3-way dipoles - now they're under the bed-no space lol !

Single-malt Whiskies don't really know but I like 4 figure vintage 20 year plus Scandi/Russian/Polish/Japanese vodkas.
Oh my Ouds are silly money ; but they're worth it to me !
View attachment 149933

 

[ligonnema]

Haha - Hifi - 20 grand for a budget one and £300K+ north for a fifteen box amp - discrete active B/M/T crossovers with discrete P/S - 6 X Bass-Mid Treble power amps with smoothed P/S and Left/right monoblock preamplifiers with two mains plugs and dual rail power plus dedicated P/S active system with 3-box RIAA dual low output MC/MC monoblock pre-amps (L-R with separate P/S) , 3-box CD player - P/S- Isolated Transport / Master Clock - D/A convertor and discrete monoblock 4 channel subwoofers and discrete 3-way dipoles with separate isolated boxes for bass/mid/treble like a seven foot 600 KG Dynaudio Consequence array.

I sold esoteric and bespoke Hi-Fi in Hong Kong and Macau and was an Int Worldwide sales executive for a major British class "A" amplifier manufacturer (they didn't do monoblock battery pre-amps though) - they're really high-end five-figure bespoke lol !

Here's my little Sugden "class A" / Linn bedroom system - not show are my four foot 3-way dipoles - now they're under the bed-no space lol !

Single-malt Whiskies don't really know but I like 4 figure vintage 20 year plus Scandi/Russian/Polish/Japanese vodkas.
Oh my Ouds are silly money ; but they're worth it to me !
View attachment 149933

"Did we just become best friends?!" lol - that's a serious sounding rig sir, no doubt.

Love you went fully active - your own design or? Did you work out the XO points yourself?

Here's my somewhat more humble system (which is still no slouch TBF):



200w class A mini blocks (A bias 20 watts)

TVC volume

Valve dac (5687)

Speakers are Osborne Epitome Reference Elites (105kg each) on townshends

Custom built Australian blackwood rack and platforms (I designed it and commissioned a carpenter to build it)

Etc etc etc.

 

[roaduck]

"Did we just become best friends?!" lol - that's a serious sounding rig sir, no doubt.

Love you went fully active - your own design or? Did you work out the XO points yourself?

Here's my somewhat more humble system (which is still no slouch TBF):

View attachment 149955

200w class A mini blocks (A bias 20 watts)

TVC volume

Valve dac (5687)

Speakers are Osborne Epitome Reference Elites (105kg each) on townshends

Custom built Australian blackwood rack and platforms (I designed it and commissioned a carpenter to build it)

Etc etc etc.

Yeah I made my analogue crossovers with 0.5% ladder resistors - only way years ago before digital - 30-40 years ago active systems were really rare in Britain and there was only the Linn/Naim system and ARC about.

Australian Osbourn's are amazing ... I preferred them to the big Wilsons, Proacs and Snells.

I had a pair of ATC SCM-300 which were Australian designed (with amazing midrange drivers) but didn't have the space for them in my little house so I had to sell them reluctantly together with my Gryphon Pre/ Monoblock Powers.

 

[ligonnema]

Yeah I made my analogue crossovers with 0.5% ladder resistors - only way years ago before digital - 30-40 years ago active systems were really rare in Britain and there was only the Linn/Naim system and ARC about.

Australian Osbourn's are amazing ... I preferred them to the big Wilsons, Proacs and Snells.

I had a pair of ATC SCM-300 which were Australian designed (with amazing midrange drivers) but didn't have the space for them in my little house so I had to sell them reluctantly together with my Gryphon Pre/ Monoblock Powers.

That takes some dedication - hats off mate.

Re: the Osbornes, the legend goes I went to an audio show in Melbourne. One exhibition required booking in advance (none of the others did of course). So I thought why not - I attended the demo, it was whatever Raidho's top speaker was at at that time (2016ish) and driven with their own electronics. The speakers were ~$300k without the rest of the system - it was a cool demo.

Anyway, after that I randomly wandered into the Osborne room - never heard of them before, no expectations. I was surprised I was more taken with the sound, in a challenging room and much cheaper ancillaries - it just sounded more musical to me, no silly hi-fi fireworks. So I got speaking to John, I couldn't believe how cheap his range was for the quality of sound, he explained the lengths he goes to, and the benefits of the upgrades:

* Lead - acoustic mat - lead lining, inside of the speaker cabinet,
* Upgraded crossovers, with custom wound inductors, each unit weighing 9kg; I know weight isn't exactly a strong / exclusive indicator of xo quality, but goes to show the lengths he goes to for quality.

He even did his best with his cabinet maker to match the Australian blackwood of my rack - feels like I took my slice of Australia back home to England with me.

They're my best hifi purchase and don't feel the need to change again.

Wasn't expecting anyone to have even known the brand let alone heard them here! Salute.

 

[roaduck]

That takes some dedication - hats off mate.

Re: the Osbornes, the legend goes I went to an audio show in Melbourne. One exhibition required booking in advance (none of the others did of course). So I thought why not - I attended the demo, it was whatever Raidho's top speaker was at at that time (2016ish) and driven with their own electronics. The speakers were ~$300k without the rest of the system - it was a cool demo.

Anyway, after that I randomly wandered into the Osborne room - never heard of them before, no expectations. I was surprised I was more taken with the sound, in a challenging room and much cheaper ancillaries - it just sounded more musical to me, no silly hi-fi fireworks. So I got speaking to John, I couldn't believe how cheap his range was for the quality of sound, he explained the lengths he goes to, and the benefits of the upgrades:

* Lead - acoustic mat - lead lining, inside of the speaker cabinet,
* Upgraded crossovers, with custom wound inductors, each unit weighing 9kg; I know weight isn't exactly a strong / exclusive indicator of xo quality, but goes to show the lengths he goes to for quality.

He even did his best with his cabinet maker to match the Australian blackwood of my rack - feels like I took my slice of Australia back home to England with me.

They're my best hifi purchase and don't feel the need to change again.

Wasn't expecting anyone to have even known the brand let alone heard them here! Salute.

Weight is usually an indication of quality; a lot of dealers gave more p/ex discount for heavier stuff.

It sounds like you got speakers for life there ligonnema.

My advice is don't take too much notice of the Hi-Fi press haha !

The best brands don't need to advertise; quality speaks for itself and most really good makes are sold on word of mouth advice.

 

[roaduck]

That takes some dedication - hats off mate.

Re: the Osbornes, the legend goes I went to an audio show in Melbourne. One exhibition required booking in advance (none of the others did of course). So I thought why not - I attended the demo, it was whatever Raidho's top speaker was at at that time (2016ish) and driven with their own electronics. The speakers were ~$300k without the rest of the system - it was a cool demo.

Anyway, after that I randomly wandered into the Osborne room - never heard of them before, no expectations. I was surprised I was more taken with the sound, in a challenging room and much cheaper ancillaries - it just sounded more musical to me, no silly hi-fi fireworks. So I got speaking to John, I couldn't believe how cheap his range was for the quality of sound, he explained the lengths he goes to, and the benefits of the upgrades:

* Lead - acoustic mat - lead lining, inside of the speaker cabinet,
* Upgraded crossovers, with custom wound inductors, each unit weighing 9kg; I know weight isn't exactly a strong / exclusive indicator of xo quality, but goes to show the lengths he goes to for quality.

He even did his best with his cabinet maker to match the Australian blackwood of my rack - feels like I took my slice of Australia back home to England with me.

They're my best hifi purchase and don't feel the need to change again.

Wasn't expecting anyone to have even known the brand let alone heard them here! Salute.

I made loudspeaker kits from a teenager up - because I could do figure of eight cabinet braces, use custom-hand-wound inductors, asymmetrical cabinet internals and drivers with good dispersion; off-axis imagery and clean break-up nodes; I like big voice-coils in small gaps personally and amps with 10db headroom and a high damping factor in the thousands to control back EMF to control the B/M / Woofer diaphragm and turn it on/off with alacrity and with no overhang.

I was looking for a studio monitor accuracy but still very musical; I only found a handful out of hundreds of makes.

My criteria is does it get your foot tapping and make you want to dance and does it move you emotionally?

Do the speakers "disappear" like the sound isn't coming from two boxes at all - does the sound get much bigger not just louder when you turn it up - with negligible compression and no harshness ?

Does the bass smear the midrange at all ?

With the door shut outside the listening room whilst playing piano or with spoken voice - does it sound like a real piano or person speaking behind the door?

Can you hear the spaces in between the notes and inward breathes most of the time ?