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On 31/05/2017 at 6:41 PM, xlford63 said:

This is a blast from the past.  I worked at Douglas HI ( when it was still Douglas Trading) and later for Sound City.  Names like Randall Rowe, Roger Price and Vasey Stocks still bring back fond memories.

 

John, what was the quality of the gear that Douglas HiFi sold like?  I have always associated them with consumer-level gear, through their cheap late-night advertising.  They also had their own brand (Linear Design, I think), which I believe was re-branding imported gear.  Was any of this any good?  Did they extend their range into the high-end?  I never visited their store, but have been curious.

 

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Verisimilitude - Mike Noss.  He made lots of stuff, mostly copies (allegedly) of other obscure products.  I still have his 2 piece line stage and 2 piece phono from 20 years back.  Really nice build quality, the sound was OK.  He loved using a SS buffer on the outputs he named "The Link".  He had them encapsulated in a black epoxy potting mix so you could not find what was in them.

 

Mind you, he made also madea  6V6 PP valve amp (monos) with the total parts count of about 25 ea and usually painted a horrid off red colour.  6watts and the sound through a pair of Coral Beta 10s is just stunning!  Has to be heard to be believed.  I heard a pair again just 6 months ago and they had better, cleaner, tighter bass with more extension than my 15" Tannoys.  And the bass was 20ft in the next room!  WOW!

 

Last I saw him was probably 6 years back at a Lowther Club evening.  He did have some unusual circuit beliefs, some with sound thinking.  I found he was certainly a querky individual.

 

The electrostatics - Allan Gregory, a very good man.  He is still tweaking with his product but I don't believe they are for sale anymore.

 

And Mike Kontor, of Note Perfect Speakers, yes, he ran Leading edge.  I first met him when he had his Armadale shop, he then moved to Ormond for several years before shutting up shop.  Now he is in Bendigo I believe, but not retailing anymore.

Trevor Lees always called Mike's speakers (alegedly again) "Not Perfects".  Always made me chuckle...:)

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Thanks Red, it was many years ago I spoke with Mike and couldn't remember all that much. I enjoy talking to the quirky audio types as you get a different perspective usually. Wondered what became of him, so I guess he isn't retailing anymore....probably retired.

 

Note Perfect still has a website of sorts. Not surprised at Trevor's comments. He had something to say about everything and everyone. How about this one  you've probably heard before about a well known Victorian......

Cost As much as Me Taxes. But he was always good to me and hospitable including occasional lunches when visiting from Adelaide. He always reminded me Adelaide was proof Tasmanians could swim.

 

Cheers

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Ahhhh Douglas Trading Hi-Fi...I still remember it like yesterday...bought my first stereo there...

No flat screen TV's then or computers...and the like! Stereo!!!

Sansui au-555a...SP 1700 speakers...Dual TT...Shure v15 1 cart...Pioneer headphones...

Bought all that before I even had a car...

18yo with no thought given as to how I was going to get all that lot home!

Who cared...I had my Stereo!!!

Hailed a taxi and went straight to Russell Street Police HQs where I lived and worked as a constable...

Sergeant at the front desk could not believe the boxes I was taking upstairs to my room in the old rickety lift... 

Must have been the only constable at Russell Street Police HQ that listened to King Crimson (bought from Archies & Jugheads!) through my stereo on headphones...

 

 

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As a matter of interest,  the original Douglas home brand  "LInear Design" as far as amplifiers go was in fact designed and built right at the small Douglas Bourke street store by the Douglas wholesale company. BJD Electronics.

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  • 5 months later...
On 24/05/2017 at 4:17 PM, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

 

Absolute High End. 

He still owes me money for an amp (surya that is, not Colin. Colin was a gentleman and sadly missed)

He still owes a lot of peole money. And yes Colin is a real loss, we didn't always agree but he was a real gentleman non the less. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 30/06/2017 at 5:39 PM, Red MacKay said:

Verisimilitude - Mike Noss.  He made lots of stuff, mostly copies (allegedly) of other obscure products.  I still have his 2 piece line stage and 2 piece phono from 20 years back.  Really nice build quality, the sound was OK.  He loved using a SS buffer on the outputs he named "The Link".  He had them encapsulated in a black epoxy potting mix so you could not find what was in them.

 

Mind you, he made also madea  6V6 PP valve amp (monos) with the total parts count of about 25 ea and usually painted a horrid off red colour.  6watts and the sound through a pair of Coral Beta 10s is just stunning!  Has to be heard to be believed.  I heard a pair again just 6 months ago and they had better, cleaner, tighter bass with more extension than my 15" Tannoys.  And the bass was 20ft in the next room!  WOW!

 

Last I saw him was probably 6 years back at a Lowther Club evening.  He did have some unusual circuit beliefs, some with sound thinking.  I found he was certainly a querky individual.

 

The electrostatics - Allan Gregory, a very good man.  He is still tweaking with his product but I don't believe they are for sale anymore.

 

And Mike Kontor, of Note Perfect Speakers, yes, he ran Leading edge.  I first met him when he had his Armadale shop, he then moved to Ormond for several years before shutting up shop.  Now he is in Bendigo I believe, but not retailing anymore.

Trevor Lees always called Mike's speakers (alegedly again) "Not Perfects".  Always made me chuckle...:)

I wouldn't trust Trevor's opinions on audio at all. I personally measured his hearing on a controlled audiometer about 20 years ago & he was 28 db down at 8khz. Just bluster. 

Anything he didn't sell was crap. According to him. 

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3 hours ago, magical said:

I wouldn't trust Trevor's opinions on audio at all. I personally measured his hearing on a controlled audiometer about 20 years ago & he was 28 db down at 8khz. Just bluster. 

Anything he didn't sell was crap. According to him. 

I agree, but Trevor's turn of phrase was amusing in this context.

I always found Trevor very sharp, certainly no fool.  A complete pita to purchase from - oh yes!  But we all knew that before we ever entered the doors of either Oak Tree House or the old Mountford store.

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11 hours ago, Red MacKay said:

I agree, but Trevor's turn of phrase was amusing in this context.

I always found Trevor very sharp, certainly no fool.  A complete pita to purchase from - oh yes!  But we all knew that before we ever entered the doors of either Oak Tree House or the old Mountford store.

 

Agreed, never a dull moment. Personally i enjoyed watching the fist fights Chris & Trev would sometimes get themselves into (both in the showroom and out the back)! Saw (and heard) many weird and wonderful things during my time there.

 

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12 hours ago, Red MacKay said:

I agree, but Trevor's turn of phrase was amusing in this context.

I always found Trevor very sharp, certainly no fool.  A complete pita to purchase from - oh yes!  But we all knew that before we ever entered the doors of either Oak Tree House or the old Mountford store.

Amusing perhaps in the context of hifi but as for the rest of his comments ..... racist sexist and just downright rude 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Really enjoyed this thread, I worked in the industry from 1973 to 1991 when we closed down Penny Lane. I sorely miss the "sex drugs and rock 'n' roll" era of the industry and am in the early stages of writing a book recounting my experiences, the people, the places, the scams, the politics and the hidden sexual inclinations of some of the major players.

Watch this space!

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I'm happy to provide the copy if you and Marc can fund the litigation.

 

As to the concept of a graphic novel, probably not a good idea, just the chapter on the early relationship of Randall Rowe and Ben Douglas would have you in court for the better part of a decade.

Edited by Number 9
afterthoughts
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I was looking for information about the Recorded Music Salon and found this thread.
In 1970, a friend introduced me to the store and the owner. I purchased an Armstrong 525 amplifier, ERA turntable, Empire cartridge and Harmon Kardon speakers.
I was intrigued by the goods and the owner.
Armstrong had a "We know you won't read the instructions, but plug it together like this, then read the instructions while you enjoy the music" sheet enclosed.
I could never understand why others commented about the SNAP, CRACKLE AND POP while playing records. I never heard it and loved to rap my knuckles on the ERA base while playing a record with a stylus force of 0.1 g and not have the stylus jump.
I bought a lot more equipment there and ended up teaching Chris the mathematics behind his colour TVs. I would do that after the shop closed to customers one evening each week. Schaub Laurenz TVs came with manuals which, when voltages were read at certain locations, would cross-reference the exact transistor, resistor, capacitor or other component which was faulty.
I met his family (he had a young daughter, barely primary school at that stage) but never ceased to be amazed that he would put up a sign saying he was away on holiday when he was ill.
I still have all the equipment I purchased from him.

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Agreed, never a dull moment. Personally i enjoyed watching the fist fights Chris & Trev would sometimes get themselves into (both in the showroom and out the back)! Saw (and heard) many weird and wonderful things during my time there.
 

Also enjoyed many a “never a dull moment” in the house of Lees.
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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just discovered this great thread. Lots of great personal memories here and reminders of the good ol' audio days of the '70's and 80's. My early 'Melbourne' memory starts with Encel's. My Dad had bought a nice system from them (Luxman amp, Connoisseur TT w/Supex, Interdyn speakers) and it got my audio bug going. At 18 yo and armed with about $1500, my mate and I headed down the Calder Highway from Bendigo en route to Richmond, our ute cloudy with the pungent odours of 'teen spirit'. Not sure what the sales people at Encel's thought when two long haired, red eyed teens walked in but they were very accommodating and helpful and we certainly did enjoy auditioning quite a few systems and the superb listening chairs!

At the end of the day, I walked away with a Rotel int. amp, a Rotel Cassette Deck, a Rotel TT and Interdyn speakers. After having the system for a few weeks, I was not happy with the amp (clipping issues....I was a teen and yes, it got pushed!), so I swapped it for a Luxman L3....aaaah, much better. The story behind that purchase may be for another day.......it involved a local Bendigo audio trader (who previously worked at Brashes....where he tried to sell me a 'Silver' brand boombox a couple of years earlier, trying to convince me it was top shelf.:lol:). Anyone else experienced Proud's Audio World? Anyway, I digress......

The Rotel cassette deck was soon swapped for a Luxman as well (from Encel's), the TT stayed with me in storage until three years ago, after a long digital period and has since been replaced. I still have the L3, the Interdyn speakers, the Rotel TT (broken) in storage. What I have in use now is listed below in my signature and was all purchased on Ebay, second hand, very cheaply compared with RRP but the purchases were clinical and certainly lacked the fun of the 'in store' experience.

I sometimes pine for those simpler days of the '70's when analogue ruled, you could 'hang' at the local audio and record stores, where the Age 'Green Guide' stereo section with it's regular large Encel's ad was eagerly awaited each week and where, frankly, you could get away with more!:cool::lol: Good times........and I'm getting old.:)

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I used to love those full page Encel ads in the Green Guide

Along with Peter Familari’s reviews in the Herald Sun’s Connect

Central Station records in the Melb city square was the Place to go to/be seen as a teen in the 80s

Brash’s stores in the suburbs

JB HiFi stores in the late 80s/90s/early 00s

 Leading Edge Audio in North Rd Ormond Run by Mike Kontor in the 90s/00s

Reading What HiFi & HiFi Choice magazines in the late 80s/90s/00s

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2 minutes ago, guru said:

I used to buy the age in sydney nearly every week just for the green guide and encel's ads.

The Pink guide in the SMH and Doug Anderson's reviews...golden!

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