Home Grown: The collector with JBL 4365 Studio Monitors and a Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable

Because every record collection has a story.

Home Grown is our series profiling you lot and your excellent record collections. Taking our cue from the brilliant submissions to the #VFRecordCollections thread on Instagram, we want to share a little of your hard-earned love for vinyl with the world.

Each week, we’ll be profiling a different collector from around the world and finding out what makes them tick. Want in? Send us a pic and a few words about your collection to [email protected]

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Name: Anthony Camplone

Location: Melbourne, Australia

# of records (approx.): 2,800

How long have you been collecting for?

I’ve been buying music since I was 15. That’s nearly 30 years. I’ve collected both CD and vinyl for 24 of the those years, and pretty much vinyl only for the last 6.

What part of your set-up are you most proud of?

This is a hard question to answer because I’m real proud of all my hi-fi. It’s been 30 years in the making.

My amps are quite special. They are the Audio Note Kits EL34 mono blocks with Sophia Electric tubes. I made my pre-amp. It’s a passive unit with Slagle autoformers. But I can’t split between my turntable – a Kuzma Stabi Reference – and my speakers – JBL 4365 Studio Monitors. Both are stunning, beautifully engineered and sound incredible.

In the end, I consider myself a “music first” audiophile. I would be happy with a Technics 1200, NAD 3020 and some stand mount speakers if it meant keeping my record collection.

What record(s) are you most proud of?

There are two: Bill Evans’ The Complete Riverside Recordings. This is the Analogue Productions 45rpm box set. Sublime music and sound. As well as a strange beast I bought in one of the ‘fuck it’ moments when it was released back in 2001: the 8xLP, single sided, 45rpm box set Buena Vista Social Club album issued by Classic Records. It’s an absolute pain in the ass to play, but it sounds unbelievable.

What does your record collection mean to you?

Music is my passion, I live it all day. I’m constantly thinking about records, researching records, active on social media regarding records. That said, I’m not sentimental about my collection. My collection is organic, things are constantly coming and going.