Tinkering in retirement

When most people talk about their hobbies we think golf, photography or perhaps even bird watching, but not retired manager, Neil Thompson – he thinks ‘valves’.

And not just any old valves. We’ve heard of people tinkering with old valve radios, but Neil has been there and done that.

The retired Department of Sport and Recreation manager has moved on from his hobby of collecting and restoring valve radios.

Now, he can spend up to six months of his time building, from scratch, valve hi-fi amplifiers.

Why, you may ask, would somebody spend so much time creating what can be bulky and fragile beasts when it would seem the industry at large has moved on to solid state amplifiers?

It’s a simple answer from Neil. 

“They sound so much better, I’ve always liked the sound, they sound so mellow and give you the feeling that you are there listening to the music with the stage in front of you,” he says.

“While my wife thinks they are all the same and wonders why I have built so many, they are actually all quite different and, indeed, sound different.

“Not only that but I believe (no bias, of course) that valve amplifiers are more pleasing to listen to than solid state amplifiers. Valve amplifiers are still sold commercially, albeit because of their relatively high cost, they tend to be bought by only the more discerning or well-off music listener.”

Neil started fiddling around with valves when he was a teenager and has been interested ever since.

“I dropped it for a while when I got married and had kids and then got back into collecting and restoring valve radios in the late 90s and then morphed from valve radios to valve amplifiers and I’ve been doing that for around 15 years now.”

Each of his four children have been gifted a valve amplifier that Neil has built.

Self-taught and an avid reader, Neil says he has always found the sound of solid-state amplifiers quite harsh and not as easy to listen to. He also finds the valve amplifiers interesting to make.

While no companies in Australia make valves, they are still made in the USA, China and Russia, and they can still be found lying around in Australia. Neil is always on the lookout for them.

“I do buy some from international sellers, transformers and parts. There are a lot of hobbyists, overseas particularly and they are still made commercially.

“If you go down to say Frank Prowse’s in Claremont or high-end hi-fi shops, as well as having all the solid-state stuff they have quite a few valve amplifiers, but they are expensive and only appeal to people who are really discerning.

“In Perth you could certainly expect to pay around the $10,000 mark. I’ve actually seen them in magazines up to $100,000.

“But they are well recognised around the world as having a unique sound.”

Neil has built around 25 of his own amplifiers which all sound different.

“I’m one of those people who doesn’t have background music, but I sit down and deliberately listen to music quite loud and different amplifiers sound different with different music and speakers. Some sound good with a particular type of music and some not as good with that music.”

When Neil builds a new amplifier, he’ll spend a couple of months listening to that machine before swapping to another.

He’ll also change around his speakers but says he probably doesn’t spend as much on speakers as he should.

For most of his music he relies on audio streaming service Spotify because it’s easy and he then uses a digital analogue converter unit which converts the Spotify digital music to analogue to suit the amplifiers.

His taste in music is eclectic and the only genres he’s not keen on are rap music and serious classical.

“Everything between from rock to jazz and blues I enjoy at different times.”

Neil is a big AC/DC fan and also enjoys John Farnham but most of the jazz music he listens to is from overseas.

Building valve amplifiers is not a cheap hobby, and parts can be expensive. Even if he were to sell them, he’d never cover the cost of his labour and would probably only be able to sell them for the cost of the parts.

But even after spending six months or more working on an amplifier, Neil says he isn’t always happy with the result.

“There have been a couple of times where it hasn’t sounded quite like I wanted it to.

“But I don’t give up totally, I try and modify it, so it sounds better or I try different valves, but it’s a hobby and I enjoy it.”

Neil admits it isn’t the kind of hobby that would suit everybody, but it’s ideal for somebody who is patient and prepared to read a lot.

“But there are a lot of risks in it, a lot of danger because you are dealing with high voltages, so when people suddenly say they want to build a valve amplifier I’d say, hold back, be careful, think about it, get advice from somebody who knows and who has been doing it for a while before they rush into it.”

Neil has had a couple of his own mentors, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting the occasional shock.

“Don’t think you know it all, is the motto to remember.”

Anybody who has valves sitting around is welcome to get in touch with Neil on 0407 448 331.

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Allen Newton
Journalist and public relations specialist Allen Newton has worked across major media organisations in Western Australia and PR locally and internationally. He and wife Helen Ganska operate Newton Ganska Communications. Allen started his journalism career at the long defunct Sunday Independent and went on to become the founding editor for news website PerthNow, Managing Editor of The Sunday Times and PerthNow and then Editor-In-Chief of news website WAtoday. As well as news, he has been an editor of food and wine, real estate, TV and travel sections. He’s done everything from co-hosting a local ABC television pop show, to editing a pop music section called Breakout with Big Al, and publishing his own media and marketing magazine.