Hi-fi and records collection a smash hit at auction ahead of free valuations at Lichfield café

Audio gear and vinyl total £7,200

A COLLECTION of hi-fi equipment and vinyl records has proved a smash hit at auction in Lichfield, totalling £7,200.

Featuring classic LPs by iconic artists in the worlds of classic and hard rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, pop, folk and prog, alongside professional quality speakers and turntables, the single owner collection went under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers at The Lichfield Auction Centre in September.

Now audio specialist Stuart Hay is offering free valuations of hi-fi gear and records as well as cameras, optical instruments and pens at The Auction Café at 34 Market Street from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Wednesday, October 1.

The results of the single owner collection included a Madrigal Audio Lab Mark Levinson dual monaural power amplifier, sold at £1,050; a group of Revox audio equipment for spares or repairs, sold at £750; component hi-fi gear, sold at £700; and a Linn Sondex turntable, sold at £560.

A vintage Garrard turntable mounted in a teak case with Plexiglass lid yet missing its tonearm fetched £440 and a pair of Martin-Logan electrostatic speakers made £500.

See the carousel below this article for more of the lots which comprised the collection.

"This was a single owner collection of extremely good professional quality audio equipment which was consigned to auction following an initial enquiry via email," said Stuart.

"Some of the equipment was in distressed condition but for gear of this grade that is not always an issue, as these results attest.

"When it comes to turntables, stereos, reel-to-reel players, speakers and amplifiers, there’s nothing better than the real thing and consequently vintage equipment is highly sought-after.

"Popular brands include Thorens, Garrard, Goldring Lenco, Micro Seiki, Leak, Naim, Linn Audio, Bang and Olufsen, Quad, Luxman, Tannoy, Bose, Mission, Tascam, Revox and Linn."

The collection at auction also featured hundreds of LPs and 12ins singles, with many sealed and numerous heavyweight 180gr and 200gr vinyl issues.

Artists included Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Jam, Def Leppard, Queen, Tom Petty, King Crimson, Rainbow and Foreigner.

"Again, this is an area which has a huge following at auction, with  audiophiles and serious collectors keeping a close eye on our catalogues," Stuart added.

"I will be offering free valuations of anything from a single record to whole collections.

"Big collections or large audio equipment might be a bit cumbersome to lug along but in that case don't worry, please bring some photographs and any information about your gear or music library and we will be able to help."

On October 1, Stuart will also be offering appraisals of antique, vintage or modern cameras, lenses, optical instruments, fountain pens, mechanical pencils and writing equipment.

Photography brands popular with collectors include Leica, Hasselblad, Nikon, Canon, Reid and Sigrist, Zeiss, Olympus, Zenza Bronica, Kodak, Pentax, Mamiya, Voigtlander and Swarovski.

There is a strong market at auction for all types of pens by the likes of Waterman, Parker, Cross, Sheaffer, Montblanc, Montegrappa, Dunhill, Platinum, Swan, Mabie Todd, Namiki and Pilot.

The Auction Café is open seven days a week, from 9am-4pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sundays, offering speciality coffee, tea, soft drinks, ice cream, cakes, cream teas, pastries, toasties, bagels and savoury snacks seven days a week in comfortable air-conditioned surroundings.

Seating is also available outside on Lichfield's historic Market Street.

Inside the premises, free, drop-in valuations of jewellery, watches, gold and silver take place on Tuesdays between 9.30am and 3pm with different specialists offering appraisals from 9.30am-12.30pm on Wednesdays.

Also in October, a special valuation event for stamps and postal history takes place at The Auction Café on Thursday, October 23, from 9.30am to 3pm.

Keep track of all upcoming valuations at The Auction Café here.

To arrange a free home visit to assess large collections or to discuss house clearance quotations, email office@richardwinterton.co.uk or telephone 01543 251081.