Would be great to be able to resume attending the various ‘musical evenings’ and sundry events at the shop again…
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This was my first venture into hifi back in 1971. Dynatron / Goldring Lenco. Long gone, but looked and sounded quite good back then.
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Chances are we bumped into each other at SO in Cathedral St in early 80’s. I bought my first 32/snaps/Kans and LP12 from them – and guy called John set it up. Simon (who is now Infidelity) also was there at the time – in fact he delivered my LP12 to Kentish Twn where i lived then —
Time flies… etc
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I had not realised (see @fangfossflyer) that Hamish left so early on.
I recall long sessions with Roger, whilst conducting research on loud speaker stands, in the Borough: just could not keep up with triple jack daniels.
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Comet didn’t stock hifi stuff I was interested in, though I bought one item from them: a cassette recorder. It was the cheapest I could find, its only function to record cassettes for the car (I didn’t consider cassette to be a hifi medium). I actually kept it for about 30 years or so, until I no longer had a CD player in my car. But I bought other things from them, as a good discount store (TV, white goods etc).
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Audio Excellence long gone from Cardiff and Swansea. Bought my Mission CD Player/Audiolab 6000A from them c1983. Audio T now and same great service from the Cardiff store.
As I recall, the triple Jacks used to follow some…erm…cloud-making.
Wondrous days. We’ll not see Roger’s like again, bless him.
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Bought my first Hi-Fi from Billy Vee in 1984 - I asked if Billy was still around and they said no Billy Vee was a car!
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Did any of the old-timers on here have any dealings with R.P.M. in Clapham? Jay (Jehangir) Parvez and Karen Hole. Steve Morris (RIP) worked for them during the time I knew them. They shut up shop suddenly 1992-ish. Very enthusiastic and dedicated. I always wondered what became of them.
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I dipped my toe into “serious” hifi with a Naim 42/110 from Grahams when they were in the Pentonville Rd. Then in 1982 a Linn LP12. It still sports their service stickers inside the plinth. I notice that their name on the list has Canonbury Yard as their address. They were extremely friendly and always smiled as they took my money. 
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Dated from about the years I would regularly walk past and lust after on my way to the Marquee or Flamingo clubs.
Imhof New Oxford Street.
My first ‘HiFi’. Dad bought it for me because I managed to get 5 O levels at school.
N
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They still do…
Also a big shout out to the guys at StudioAv. Bought my Fraim from them before they moved from Eton to Chobham. Fantastic service!
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I see West Midland Audio in Worcester on the List. Lots of memories. Run by Peter Thiselton-Dyer, the man with the VERY large dogs. Initially run from a terraced house, then a cottage and then a large private house. I believe at one time was one of the largest Linn/Naim dealers in the UK. Also selling Rega, Nytech, Mission, Epos etc etc.
John Roberts, who worked there, left to set up the excellent “Midland Audio Exchange” in Belbroughton which has now been running for 25yrs+ and is a Naim dealer. John took his product portfolio in much more" high end" direction. ( I would say)
For a while in the late 90s, the Naim Dealership mover to Audio Excellence in Worcester, run by Maurice Tryner. Who I believe later worked for Naim as a Sales Manager and more recently Chord.
Maurice had an older employee called Norman Solomon, who was allegedly very wealthy, who later ran a Naim dealership in the Cotswolds, called UHES, from a Footballer’s Wives type mansion.
Interesting to follow these DNA threads.
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My brother introduced me to UHES. I had given my Bro my Linn Kans and Nait before I moved abroad, and he took the Nait to UHES for a service. I don’t know where they (Norman and Ian) first established their business, but they occupied a castle above Rodborough for a time, then moved to a house in Painswick, and then onto the OTT place near Moreton in Marsh.
Since those days, I occasionally hear from Ian, but not recently; but I hope he and Norman has survived unscathed during these times.
I think I remember UHES closing due to Norman’s poor health.
Fond memories of Five Ways High Fidelity in Brum. Gone I think.
Never went to the premises, but I did buy an XPS from UHES. I bid on eBay for a used model they advertised and came second. However, the winner didn’t show, so Norman sold it to me, but, before I could pay, the winner finally popped up and Norman felt he had to let him have the PS. But he was concerned over breaking his promise to me and his solution was to let me have his demo model for what I’d bid in the auction. Very honourable, I thought.
He sometimes posted on this forum, too.
Roger
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Acoustica run the only show I regularly attend. It would be great to see it up and running again. 2022, perhaps?
Roger
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I think I know the one you mean as I worked in the City for a few years and had to walk from Liverpool Street to Tower Hill and often took more interesting scenic routes to get there. I can’t remember what they were called but they were East from Liverpool Street in what would now be an incredibly trendy area. They were definitely Rega dealers and pretty sure they carried Naim as well. And yes, they weren’t there for long. I remember them raving to me about the Rega Planet CD player when it first came out. The only thing I think I ever bought from them though was a Chord Company interconnect!
Bought a heap of pre-owned Naim Fraim from UHES, which duly arrived in “as new” condition, with all the packaging required for safe delivery.
Found them very easy to deal with, and Norman was very pleasant over the phone.
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