The first Sydney Audio Club meeting of 2012 sees us once again at Dence Park for an afternoon of fine music and sound and convivial company.

Each month, the Sydney Audio Club presents the finest in high end audio systems for our members and guests.  It’s a bit like a private audio show once a month where you can hear and discuss equipment that you might not otherwise have the chance to audition.  And you can bring along your own music to test the capabilities of the system or to just share with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

This month we will have a system comprised entirely of equipment owned by Sydney Audio Club members.  We spent a fair bit of time deciding what to choose (thankfully, we had a good selection).  We will have:

Technics SL 1210 Mark lll turntable – recently rebuilt with a DIY off board power supply, sorbothane feet, isoplatmat, Rega RB250 arm (modified by Audio Origami) and Ortofon Rondo Bronze MC cartridge.  Phono stage will be a homemade phono stage as well as the Cambridge Audio 640P.

Oppo BDP-95 BD player – plays BD, CD, SACD, FLAC, etc. – universal player (no monitor/panel, we will have audio only).  This player has been receiving lots of good press around the world.  High-end video at any price, very good audio especially from its balanced outputs.  Excellent value for the money.   We will also have a Musical Fidelity Tri Vista DAC (tubed) on hand for CD from the Oppo.

Mark Levinson No. 326S preamp – ML’s current top of the line preamp, but probably not for long!  Clean and neutral sound, slightly laid-back, very smooth across the frequencies without being soft or woolly.

Classe CA-400 power amp – 400 wpc – lots of power, slightly warm sounding but should be synergistic with the ML preamp.

Energy Veritas 1.8 speakers – very good speakers by veteran Canadian speaker manufacturer.  Well received around the world but not as well known here in Australia as many other brands. 

Cabling will be by: Kimber Hero, Wireworld Polaris 3++ and 5, Nordost Red Dawn, Nordost Frey. 

For this meeting, the entire music session will be BYO.  Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all.   So bring along your favourite discs (vinyl or CD/SACD) to share.  All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting.  We’ll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played.  Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others of similar mind.

Members and Guests welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don’t need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of fine music and sound.  We will welcome you at the door.

NOTE to our south-side attendees:  The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed for major roadwork all day Sunday.  The Department of Transport does not recommend using the Sydney Harbour Tunnel as an alternative as it is expected to be very busy.  Hopefully that won’t deter you from attending!

Venue: Epping Creative Centre

Address: 26 Stanley St, Epping

Doors open 1pm

Meeting starts at 2pm.