Tír Na HiFi

I think the first Cloney Show I ever went to was in 1981 at the Killiney Castle Hotel. At the time I had a Technics turntable, Hitachi amp (both bought while working for the summer in Dusseldorf) and Kef 303/II speakers. To me most things in the show sounded great, and it was my first time to see anything like this. I remember great Meridian and Gale speakers, loads of turntables (of course CDs hadn't been launched yet!), not a valve in sight and lots of talk about active speakers: that seemed to be huge: and very expensive!!

Here's a price list I picked up at that show. Note from the letterhead that Cloney's were still in Rathmines.

Great post! Do you remember the kit in 1981 sounding better/worse?

Thanks Ciaran for such info.
The price on few things these days still have top market
Linn ,Naim and Rogers

Nice one, Ciaran. Stuff was pricey then too!

Ciaran wrote:Note from the letterhead that Cloney's were still in Rathmines.

I have splinters from scratching my head over this... I was just starting into hifi around then (moving up from one-box stereo type things) and would have been a regular in Audio Tek et al but was comepletly and utterly unaware of Cloney even though I lived quite close by. I can never figure out how, given I could usually sniff out a hifi or record shop within a 10 mile radius, that I never knew they were there.

Oh... and great post Ciaran, very interesting.

Ivor wrote:

Ciaran wrote:Note from the letterhead that Cloney's were still in Rathmines.

I have splinters from scratching my head over this... I was just starting into hifi around then (moving up from one-box stereo type things) and would have been a regular in Audio Tek et al but was comepletly and utterly unaware of Cloney even though I lived quite close by. I can never figure out how, given I could usually sniff out a hifi or record shop within a 10 mile radius, that I never knew they were there.

They were very well hidden in Leinster Mews: you really had to know where they were! I don't remember an obvious sign or anything!

I think of Audio Tek as having been after Cloney's moved to Blackrock: the one that was there at the time was Lasky's, but I might be misremembering the sequence.

Ah jayney Ciaran.
That's a lovely thing to see. Thanks for posting it here.
Looking around at the 2011 show last week, a sea of bald or grey heads and beards made me feel a little older. Now I'm back to my youth !

Does anybody know when Cloney opened in Blackrock ?
I started with the usual NAD 3020, Dual 505, Goodmans combo [bought in Studio One in O'Connell Street] and remember well
when I first went to Cloney's. Noel was so impressive and sold me an AR Cambridge Delta 60 and a great Nakamichi Cassete deck that was subsequently "borrowed" from my place during a party that I threw....

Ciaran wrote: I think of Audio Tek as having been after Cloney's moved to Blackrock: the one that was there at the time was Lasky's, but I might be misremembering the sequence.

You're right Ciaran, Frank Murray who worked in Laskeys went on to open Audio Tek.

Am I right in thinking that Lentek amplifier enjoyed a resurgence a couple of years ago?