Morning all

[Reverend Bong]

I live in the midst of 22 feet of LPs of all genres and periods of music, most of it classical.  My favourite by far of all composers is Beethoven, but I do love Monteverdi and Purcell, and also Schubert, Hummel, Schoenberg, Ligeti and Thomas Ades as well.  I am a faithful user of old British hifi, and firmly believe that Quad electrostatics are the finest speakers in the world.

[Hollywood]

Howdy there Reverend Bong. Greetings from a fellow Beethoven fan living in Heiligenstadt in Beethoven's Vienna (I live just a hop, skip and a jump from the Heiligenstadt Testament house). Welcome to the forum. 

[david johnson]

hi! 

[Reverend Bong]

Well howdy socalgal, what a lovely place to live, though not as sunny as southern Californ-i-a.  Apart from the cake and coffee, there must be wonderful concerts to go to in Vienna - though of course we do pretty well in London, in fact next Wednesday I've got tickets to see John Eliot Gardiner conducting a gala performance of the Missa Solemnis.  It'll only be the second time I've ever seen it live.

[North Star]

Hi there, Reverend!

Beethoven, Monteverdi, Purcell, Schubert, Hummel, Schoenberg, Ligeti, Ades - some nice variety there.

[Lisztianwagner]

Hi, welcome to the forum!
Nice list of composers, Beethoven is certainly among my favourites too; also Schoenberg, Hummel and Schubert are great.

Ilaria

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and enjoy!

[Elgarian]

I am a faithful user of old British hifi, and firmly believe that Quad electrostatics are the finest speakers in the world.

I believe you, and congratulations. I knew a chap, many years ago, who built a listening room with a domed ceiling and a stage with gauze curtains, and a projection system at the back of the room. Behind the curtains he had a pair of Quad electrostatics, driven by a Quad amp, with an Ariston deck as source. I forget what the cartridge was - top end Shure, I think - and he played the LPs under water.

Anyway, I had the privilege of listening to Solti's Gotterdammerung on this system, while he projected clouds, water, fire etc onto the gauze curtains, as appropriate. Because you couldn't actually see the electrostatics, only the shifting imagery on the curtains, there was no psychological tendency to focus on the presence of the speakers. The result was the most astounding recorded music experience I've ever had, before or since. And I say this as a wholly committed CD user who sold off all his vinyl!

[bhodges]

Greetings, Reverend Bong, and thanks for the terse, creative introduction. (Although my cravings for Hummel or Purcell are infrequent, I do enjoy all the others you mentioned, especially Schoenberg and Ligeti.)

Enjoy yourself here - lots of fun people running around.

--Bruce