STARS AND THEIR HiFi – STEVE DAVIS

There’s more to the six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis than meets the eye. He is something of an aficionado when it comes to left-field music. He’s not only a massive prog and electronic music fan, but he also records and performs as a member of The Utopia Strong.

In this interview by HiFi Pig’s Neil Mason, we chat with him about his musical history and his HiFi.

Steve (right) with fellow band-members of The Utopia Strong (Photo: David Ryder Prangley)

NM: What were the music listening options at home when you were growing up?

SD: The first vinyl-playing equipment I remember was maybe around the age of 11 in 1968. It was a radiogram-style piece of furniture with a multi-changer turntable. Even though my mother seemed musically inclined and at some stage in her life had played a bit of piano, my father didn’t seem at all interested in music.

NM: What was the record collection that went with it like?

SD: From memory there were about five sad LPs sitting in the vinyl compartment and I never saw my parents put one on! The one that interested me the most was by a flamenco guitar player – not sure if it was Manitas De Plata or not. This music seemed a bit more interesting than the pop I was hearing on the radio. I have no idea what the other four records were and I don’t remember ever playing them!

NM: What was the first piece of audio equipment you owned, personally?

SD: The radiogram didn’t last long and my father decided to upgrade. I’m not sure why though as I still don’t remember any new records being bought! Maybe he bought it for me. The only thing I can remember was that it was a Dual deck and, I think, an integrated receiver/amp. The first piece of equipment I bought myself was a pair of headphones, which was through necessity because listening to Argent’s ‘God Gave Rock And Roll To You’ and subsequently Gentle Giant’s ‘Octopus’ album would have probably sent my father over the edge after his 12-hour working day.

NM: When you left home, how much of a priority was having something to play music on in your first digs?

SD: I didn’t really ‘leave home’ until I got married, but prior to that I’d bought a large farmhouse, which our family all moved to. It had enough room for me to have a dedicated listening room – Linn Sondek, Krell 50s and Magneplanar speakers. I thought the speakers were amazing and, probably because it wasn’t the biggest room, the bass that they apparently lacked wasn’t a problem.

Steve’s system in full.

NM: When did you get your first proper HiFi set-up?

SD: There was a time when I was really into HiFi, but not now. I’ve worked out that I’m first and foremost a record collector, but obviously I’ve had my moments! At some stage in the 90s, I purchased a whole system made by John Jeffries called Lumley Reference. I had an early Mk1 Stratosphere belt-drive turntable and Valve Lumley Preamp and M120 monoblock power amps. I also had the Reference II floor standers. I have no idea if the system was any good, but I enjoyed it regardless. I also ended up being educated in the ways of the direct drive turntable and purchased a Garrard 401 complete with the 12-inch SME arm, all housed in a beautiful plinth made by Loricraft. My plan was to replace the arm with an old Mark 1, or probably 2, SME arm and add a high-end Ortofon headshell to it. Currently, I’ve run out of steam as most of my enthusiasm is involved in actually making music.

NM: What’s your current setup? Run us through what’s onboard…

SD: During lockdown, I went back to live at my farmhouse and needed a decent pair of speakers and got the Bowers & Wilkins 703 S2. At some stage I bought an LFD integrated amp that was given glowing reviews and I’ve still got that hooked up with some LFD speaker cable. I did have some silver speaker wire but my kittens chewed through it.

I have an Art Audio stereo power amp that is a beauty, but currently the Audio Research SP 16 preamp that I paired it with has decided to go on strike on one channel, so I should really get it looked at. Any help would be great!

Steve’s 401 and SME 5 12″ tonearm.

I’m currently using my Yamaha CDR HD 1500 as my CD source because the two previous CD players, A Cambridge Audio CXC transport and a Mission Cyrus Transport, both failed to read CD-Rs and a number of other discs too. I have a Pioneer CDJ that could read a Jilly Cooper novel so why high-end CD players can’t read a CD-R is beyond me!

NM: Do you have a preferred format? CD… vinyl… cassette!

SD: I had a Benchmark DAC, but to be honest I’ve never been able to tell the difference between any CD player I’ve ever owned. They all sound amazing! Yeah, I love vinyl, but even if it’s a great pressing I can’t, hand on heart, say that vinyl is better. Yes, obviously the criticism from HiFi enthusiasts might be that my system is not good enough, but read the book I mention in the next answer and then tell me! I’ve started buying plenty of cassettes again. The style of music I listen to now is predominantly electronic and many artists are using the cassette format as an affordable solution, so it looks like I will be unboxing my Nakamichi ZX7 soon and praying that it works!

NM: What’s your optimum listening position?

SD: So here’s the thing. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve sort of cured myself of chasing the holy grail, HiFi-wise. I read a book called ‘Perfecting Sound Forever’ by Greg Milner and I think once I’d read that it confirmed to me that the whole HiFi thing is not for me. I’m not saying that it’s all snake oil, of course not, but to be honest, I don’t really care if I don’t wring the last 3/5/10 percent out of my vinyl or CDs. What I have is no doubt a jump up from what most people listen on and I really can’t be bothered chasing the maybe non-existent holy grail.

NM: To headphone or not to headphone, that is the question… 

SD: I have a high-end pair of P9 Signature Bower & Wilkins Headphones but actually I think I’ve realised I much prefer open-backed headphones. However, in general I feel that while the sound of headphones can be amazing, I prefer to listen to music without wearing them. They make my head too hot!

NM: What was the last LP/CD/cassette you played on your system?

SD: The last vinyl I played on my turntable was the test pressing of our fourth The Utopia Strong ‘Alphabet Of The Magi’ series private release. We have just had our second studio album ‘International Treasure’ released on Rocket Recordings and that’s had a recent spin too to check for quality. The last CD I played was Oneohtrix Point Never’s ‘Returnal’.

NM: How big is your music collection?

SD: I have a vinyl problem. I’ve resisted the therapy route and in an attempt to cure myself of the stuff I’m currently binging on it, to no avail. In some ways it’s not great that vinyl is still so desirable.

NM: How do you store yours?

SD: I bought a load of flat-pack shelves from Argos as opposed to the Ikea version, mainly because they had a back to them. I’ve taken the shrink wrap off all my albums and have stored them in non-PVC covers. I’ve got a shedload of sleeves to replace the paper inners too, but while I started transferring them I’ve sort of run out of steam!”

NM: Do you have a filing system?

SD: I have my soul music in alphabetical order and my prog, alt.rock, Canterbury/maths rock and any other genre you care to pigeonhole stuff into stored by country of the artist. All my electronic and ambient stuff is currently in a total mess perhaps because I’m buying it faster than I can put it away!

NM: Do you have a go-to when you’re buying vinyl? 

SD: I use Discogs mainly, but a lot of the ambient stuff is coming from Juno. However, there are loads of great online retailers like Bleep, Phonica, and Norman Records that I also buy from.

Neil Mason

The Utopia Strong’s ‘International Treasure’, is out now on Rocket Recordings  

HAVE A LISTEN HERE

THE UTOPIA STRONG 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_f20upNNg