Customers' Comments

Below are some comments kindly sent to me by happy customers.

Hi Geoff,
Well I've had it hooked up and have been playing it for about an hour or so now. I must say I am very impressed! The first thing that struck me was how much more powerful than the 300B mono-blocks I have it is (even though they are rated at 25Wpc). The gain required on the pre-amp to achieve the same volume is significantly less. There is NO perceivable distortion which is a first for me on a valve power amp. As for the sound... very transparent! I can hear a lot more going on as though some kind of discreet veil has been lifted. Vocals are much more 'there in the room - right in front of you' and the subtleties of instruments (strings, guitars, percussion etc.) are clearer. That said, the sound is not harsh. It is definitely a bigger and sweeter sound (dare I say warmer?-bit of a stereotypical comment about valves I know). The bass builds and envelops you as opposed to thumping. The highs are sweet as opposed to piercing. Well I don't wish to bore by being too prosaic but suffice to say I am very happy with my newly built amplifier and would like to extends my gratitude to you for a job well done!!
Kind regards and many thanks, Steve.

Well Mr K, Sir, what can I say?
Tried to ring you last night while playing David Ponsford at Wells Cathedral organ giving it welly on Howells, JSBach etc. but you was incommunicado. I don't know at what frequency the bass cuts off but it's rather low. The earth moves alright. Richard Lord (REL) - you're not required (sorry, mate).
Emma Kirkby singing Haendel, Dire Straights So Far Away, King's Cambridge doing Tallis' 40-part motet Spem In Alium, it seems to handle it all so far. And Yes, there is
... POWer.
Gor blimey, Guv, is there ever 
      !! POWer !!
The Alps Blue Velvet is hardly wound round for sound, I've found  :-) 

If you want a reference sell, here I am. There's a lot of darkness out there - Thank you for being a star. - One Satisfied Customer
P.S. I see you omitted a balance control. Minimalist approach - right. Don't need it.
(This was for a Leak ST20 I rebuilt and modified plus a matching pre amplifier I built for him)

Just a brief e-mail to let you know how pleased I am with the work you have done on the Tandberg. It's over 30 years old and now it looks and sounds brand new! If I ever encounter anyone with a reel to reel that needs some TLC, I will definitely recommend that they come to you for efficient friendly service.
Thanks once again.
Kind regards, Chris Jenkins.

Hi Geoff
As I type this I am listening to the TC 755. It sounds superb! Even allowing for the fact that I haven't heard good open-reel sound for some time in this harsh digital age, it is superb! Pitch and speed consistency are a revelation, and I swear I am hearing things on the tapes that have been lost over the years. I do thank you. Wonderful! Cannot recommend your service highly enough. I'd just about written this deck off, but as you promised it's as good as new again.
Kindest regards Nigel.

Geoff!
A belated thank you for your attention to my Akai 4000DS. It was a pleasure meeting you! I enjoyed your vinyl demonstration on your huge valve amp. The Akai is just perfect, lovely and shiny out of the box and I’ve noticed that it is much quieter when in operation. All work fine, so I’m now in the process of moving recordings from Open Reel to PC and thence to .WAV and MP3. At first I fretted a bit when your invoice mentioned the worn heads, but hey, its over 30 years old and I wont use it as much as previous years. The M25 gave us a return journey to match the inward; orrible! Best wishes, good luck.
Nicky C

Hi Geoff.
Just felt that I had to email to say thank you for the continuing pleasure your work on my equipment gives me. As a respite from visiting elderly relatives all last week prior to Christmas, (worthy but tiring), I've just savored an afternoon of tapes on my Tandberg Series 12, the Sony TC 755, and finally a mix of 45's and 78's on the Ecko record player. Wow! Your super restoration work gives me such continuing pleasure - I do thank you. May I wish you all the best for 2009, if that's realistic for any of us!
Kindest regards Nigel Collingwood.