advertisement


What became of Derek Whittington?

A

alindsay

pfm Member
I see the premises of NAF/Eye Hi-fi in Loughborough has been vacated and when I ring the number it's not recognised. Does anybody know if Derek is still in the business. It's a dam shame if he's not.
 
Hi,

He is still in business, opreating from Shepshead, a mate had a hand delivered note from him a month or to ago.

Pete
 
I scored a pair of Rega loudspeakers on eBay earlier this year. The seller was selling on behalf of someone who just happened to be Derek. On picking up the speakers he was surprised when I told him he'd sold me my first planar three thirty years ago. Waiting to go out was an LP12 fitted with an RB1000. He's still doing Pear Audio stuff I think.
 
Derek was one of the very first Epos dealers, if not the first, and was held in high esteem by Robin Marshall. I visited his shop, the Sound Factory in Loughborough, only once to deliver some speakers that were needed urgently. I remember that the shop, which really was an old factory unit, was a delight. It was perfectly organised and filled with all the equipment that I coveted. Derek himself was as pleasant and unassuming a man as you could hope to meet.
 
I've only met Derek once but I'd echo what's already been said. Top chap with great taste in music, big Kruder & Dorfmeister fan. I know NAF went bust somewhen last year and all the stock was auctioned off, there was a thread about it on here IIRC.

Would be nice if he was operating again from Shepshead.
 
Derek is still in business and, as Pete correctly says, is operating from Shepshed. I've been buying equipment from him for some 28 years first Linn and Naim gear and lately Emm Labs, Dynavector and Shahinian.

As said elsewhere a very nice and honest person, Derek deserves to succeed and has suffered from bad luck recently. So far as his record collection goes that really is just something else!
 
I've been an infrequent visitor to Derek's establishments since 1982, at Duke St., a haven of British HiFi, and where I had my first taste of the Naim/Linn sound, from his LP12/72/140/Kan set-up, and recently I've finally achieved my own 72/140. I believe he was very closely involved with the early development and establishment of both Linn & Naim. He's always been extremely knowledgeable and helpful, always ready to spend time with customers, and never pushy, and he still remembers customers, even very occasional ones such as myself. It will be a sad day if he has to pack up.
 
Derek is alive, well and in business but not operating from premises. His new business model is coming to you at home which in my book is a good one. Saw him last month when he put some of my vinyl through his Monks. I know he has plans for some web based trading opportunities which may happen one day.

Go to the Pear Audio site for contact details under Eye HiFi.

DW has changed my life with music. Not only bringing to my attention excellent kit but steered me towards artists I would never have looked at. This man is value add personified and I for one believe that without his presence, the world of Hifi would be a much poorer place.
 
I've always found Derek to be very helpful right from the Sound Factory days and more recently upon moving back to the area when he was operating as NAF. Demoing equipment at customers houses sounds a good idea but I expect it'll need to be quite high-end stuff to be economically viable.
 
Hi everyone
My name's Amy and I work for the Loughborough Echo. Just heard about Derek Whittington's massive record collection and thought it would make a great feature for the paper. Saw the thread on here and noticed it's fairly recent, do you know how I can get in touch with him?
 
Hi,

I like the way the reporter took the record out of the sleeve (15.50). If she had done that at my house, she would have been out of the door. At least the studio reporter picked up on it. He must be a vinyl fan.

Dean
 
Do you know if there is anywhere where I can see the feature - I can't seem to find an archive anywhere - only the current programmes.

Danny
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top