Our small but happy team welcomes Ian Kershaw as our newest writer with Audiophilia. Ian is a passionate audiophile and record collector with a wide variety of musical tastes. He’ll bring another youthful, energetic voice to our team. Welcome, Ian.

As a young teenager, before I had my first turntable, I became fascinated with the concept of vinyl. I had a very eclectic taste in music, and I started collecting your average $1-2 albums in thrift stores. When I graduated high school a few years later I was very fortunate to be able to dig through some crates of albums that my music teacher had owned. Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer and her friend (also a teacher at the same school) thought I would enjoy them since I was so passionate about many different genres of music.

While digging, I struck gold with fantastic finds in mostly Rock and Pop (Prince, MJ, Sting and The Clash to name a few) but also some great Soul and Jazz. I continue to listen to those albums and appreciate the finds I added to my collection daily.

At least twice a year I would visit beautiful Vancouver Island where some of my family lived, and I would never miss the opportunity to visit my favourite record shop which is in Chinatown. This shop has been around for over 35 years and is where I would continue to find great music on each visit (The Beatles 1962-66 and 1967-1970 compilations spring to mind), but there are plenty more.

As my vinyl collection started growing, I purchased the decidedly average Crosley Cruiser suitcase record player ($100 at the time) because of its affordability, ease of use, and for casual listening. It had built-in speakers and a twenty-dollar stylus on its tonearm.

Eventually, I was offered a full-time job in Victoria and made the move from the East to the West with my record player and a couple of boxes of records.

Ian Kershaw, audiophile (with the iFi Audio Go Pods in his ears—review publishing Oct 6, 2023)

Equipment

As time passed and I continued to enjoy the hobby, I wanted to get something more out of my vinyl experience. I had just purchased my first home and settled in, so I decided to take my first plunge into the world of Hi-Fi. I purchased a Pro-Ject Carbon Debut Turntable (with the carbon-fibre arm and Ortofon 2M Red moving magnet cartridge ($500) as well as the Pro-Ject branded record weight ($100).

To accompany the new turntable, I was gifted a pair of Focal XS Book wireless speakers which had Bluetooth capabilities as well as being able to plug directly into my small Realistic branded phono pre-amp ($50 second-hand) and into my turntable’s inputs.

A few years and another home change later, I decided to upgrade my speakers as the Focals were getting older and I had a larger listening space. I had seen a review of Audioengine’s HD6-powered speakers, so I decided to give them a try. With the speaker upgrade, I also had to upgrade from my single little pre-amp to a good quality receiver with a phono stage. I chose a second-hand Yamaha A/V receiver ($150) and connected the turntable and speakers with some Audioquest interconnect cables. Voila! Great sound and a nice system upgrade!

The Itch to Switch

After a few years with the Pro-Ject and the new speakers, I started doing some research on vintage gear and I got the itch to switch. Over the last seven years, I have had many different vintage systems, however, I was never quite satisfied with the sound until my last setup – a vintage Toshiba turntable (SR-630 Direct Drive) with an Empire cartridge and Shure stylus, and two Toshiba separates (the SC-335 power amplifier and the SY-335 preamplifier with VU meters) and Canadian made Energy ESM-4 bookshelf speakers.

After owning the Toshiba gear for the last two years, I have now jumped back into the modern Hi-Fi world and using the incredible Technics SL1200 MKII turntable with an Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge [since writing this first post for Audiophilia, Ian’s system has changed a lot with some fine on loan gear to enjoy and use for Audiophilia reviews incl. Alta Audio FRM-2M Celesta Loudspeakers (US $15,000/pair; photo below) and a kind loan from Vancouver's Pure Fidelity, their superb Stratos MC Phono Cartridge (US $1995) among other top-class pieces of gear—Ed]

Here is a summary of the vintage gear I have tried over the last few years:

Kenwood KD-1033 with a Shure stylus – Belt Driven

Denon DRA Receiver

B&W DM 550 bookshelf speakers

Thorens TD MK2 – Belt Driven

Pioneer SX-434 receiver

Energy ESM-4 bookshelf speakers.

Toshiba SR-630 –Direct Drive Turntable

Empire cartridge and Shure stylus

Toshiba separates (the SC-335 power amplifier and the SY-335 preamplifier with VU meters) Energy ESM-4 bookshelf speakers.

Pandemic Vinyl and “Vinyl Duo”

Just before the pandemic, I had attended what was to be the last “Vinyl Supernova” record show until this year, with my partner, Lindsay. This event usually took place twice a year (Spring and Fall). We purchased some fantastic albums, but one that Lindsay purchased stood out for me – Ayers Rock's “Big Red Rock” (Jazz Rock from Australia). She had purchased this from a young seller named Zach, who had a great selection of albums for sale. He had a passion for vinyl just like me so we all chatted for a while about our favourite types of music and he made a few more recommendations to us.

Like a lot of people during the pandemic, I found myself at a standstill in my daily job. With all the rules set out for self-isolating and sticking with very small friend groups, I had more time to focus on my music collection and turntable. When restrictions started to ease and shops were able to use their discretion to be open, I started spending a good amount of my days with my friend, Gary, the owner of Turntable Records in Chinatown. I would assist with pricing and various shop tasks and I would learn each day about different pressings and record labels, and would always ask questions. I also got to find great titles…score!

A few months later when I had the urge to crate dig again, I contacted Zach and he invited me into his home to go through the crates. We continued to chat about music and how he got into the hobby.

Zach originally wanted to open a record shop, but due to the logistics, he was unable to. He had many boxes of albums piled from floor to ceiling to sell which he purchased from a local gentleman who was clearing out his storage locker. We spoke about me purchasing them from him in bulk so I could open my own shop, however, it was just not economically feasible during the pandemic. Naturally, I ended up finding more incredible albums to add to my collection.

As the pandemic drew closer to the end and vinyl trade shows started to return, Zach approached me and asked me if I would like to assist him with selling. I couldn’t resist, so I accepted his offer and after a few successful trade shows and further discussions, we decided to work together. Zach and I have been selling for the past year at trade shows together as well as through Instagram and Facebook and have become known as “The Vinyl Duo”. We sell great records at very reasonable prices and that is and will always be our goal.

Starting in 2020, I had about 700 albums in my collection, I now have over 1500 and I am still collecting as well as buying and selling. I am currently interning with Audiophilia as Equipment Manager and one day hope to open my own record shop.

Please look for my first formal Audiophilia review, the iFi Audio Go Pods October 6, 2023.