Recent content by Jowcol

It was reported last year that Doug was planning on retiring. I don't know how things currently stand.

It's a distant memory....... but didn't Expert Stylus design or build this cartridge? And ISTR some years back they had replacement stylus for them.

Absolutely agree on both points. People read and then repeat things on the internet until they become 'facts'. I recently put DL103 (Paratrace stylus) on Technics 1200G, it sounded fine. I thought I'd check resonance out of curiosity, 9 Hz. Maybe you need a heavy tonearm to get the nail-like...

Not surprisingly, a decent stylus on a DL103 completely transforms it. A DL103 with the spherical stylus is going to miss a lot of detail, and you can hear the inner groove distortion. I really don't understand the enthusiasm for them. With a good stylus, the DL103 becomes a very good cartridge...

My history: LS3/5a, Quad ESL57, ESL989, Spendor SP100........(why did I let any of them go?) I have tried several new speakers but couldn't get on with any of them. Despite being very wary regarding ageing of old loudspeakers, I got some late-dated Concerto near mint. The KEF brochure says...

It seems that you need an amplifier with a balance control, mono switch and tone controls! (old-fashioned concepts)

I had never heard of the DT531. By the time you refurbish them you could buy a pair of B-stock DT990, which was the top headphone from Beyer for a long time. I find their different phones have a very similar signature. But with your hearing loss, it's hard for anyone to make a suggestion as to...

I could make quite a long list of moving coil speakers which deteriorate quite quickly, some very quickly. And there is generally no backup to get them back to 'as new'. Several fail completely. Quad reckon 20 years life for their speakers before a service. It was a problem for Quad when they...

Get the Denon 103 retipped by Expert Stylus with their Paratrace stylus. You will be surprised. It might take a while to get returned. Last I saw they were selling new 103 already modified, so no waiting for them.

The big clearout started some time ago. A good friend of mine died a couple of years back. I didn't realize what a hoarder he was. I only found out when I went to collect a few things his son offered me, and I felt quite sick seeing a skip outside with everything going in to it with no attempt...

Since you've tried more of the available versions than most people, can you confirm that Derek has exactly recreated the sound of an LS3/5a using modern drivers and crossovers. Or is there some 'magic' in those old KEF drivers? I have to note that the original idea that any two speakers will...

You've got the 990 Pro I believe. IMHO you should be keeping them. When I first got 990 I was rather disappointed, since I was using Quad ESL57 at the time. I bought some Koss ESP-950 expecting to get a sound like the Quads on my ears. What a disappointment they were. In recent years I have...

I got a pair of 990 when they first came out and still use them, despite having tried numerous headphones. Like you I expected to get more from the 1990. With the analytical pads I found them far too bright. With the balanced pads they were too dull ! I also tried the 1990 pads on the 990 out...

You should have tried a stacked pair.

I would never use Bluetak. Several times I have seen it rip veneer off speaker cabinets when lifting speakers off it. How many valuable speakers did I see get ruined by it.