Galloway News from Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland • 9

THE GALLOWAY NEWS THURSDAY 25th February 1988 Showers take control ed included the space saving benefits of a shower its better hygiene and its particular suitability for the aged or infirm Having pinpointed the major reasons for installing a shower the survey went on to explore the shower features that people considered most important Overall shower users rated safety and control as their top priority whether they were buying for the first time or replacing an existing unit Shower performance was also felt to be important with most agreeing that an adequate spray force was an essential requirement With the growing popularity of showers many commented on the desirability of being able to have different types of shower spray such as a massage spray Showers are taking over from baths in more and more British bathrooms Latest independent surveys show that 36 of UK houeholds over 7 million homes now have a shower of some kind Shower ownership is highest in South Wales and the East Midlands Their growing popularity is highlighted by the fact that last year showers proved the most successful product in the bathroom market Plumbed-in showers performed especially well improving their sales by 34 a higher increase than for any other home improvement product What lies behind their surging popularity? To find out the most popular reason for to showers Mira commissioned a survey amongst recent shower purchasers Top of the list came speed and convenience and these responses were typical of many a shower you need to wait for the bath to fill1 spend less time in the it is in a separate cubicle one person can shower whilst another takes a Number two on the list was economy use around l5th of the hot water it takes to fill the Next the refreshing qualities of a shower either first thing in the morning or when coming home at night shower wakes you up and tones up the more exhilarating than a bath which makes you Other highlight- Left: Shower buyers have voted and as their most popular features This electric design from Mira the 72 kw Mira M7 offers all these plus a choice of power settings in a stylish beige and white design measuring only 9 ins by 7 ins Right: Rapidly gaining in popularity are pump-assisted mixer showers with handsets that adjust to give a forceful spray (top) or a skin-tingling massage spray (bottom) Surge in popularity for compact discs fusing variety and terms of forms Most of the players available have been reviewed by specialist magazines and are excellent For a small fee these magazines will provide you with back numbers This stylish glass comer shower enclosure combines the technically-advanced Monoblend mixer from Ideal Standard Compact disc is gaining ground rapidly and now almost eight per cent of all UK homes now own a compact disc player This impressive figure follows another bumper year in which around one million compact disc systems were purchased in Britain taking the total number sold since 1983 to more than 18 million However of the one million units bought in 1987 almost 75 per cent were complete systems including CD as one of the audio sources alongside cassette decks and in many cases turntables as well While many of these systems may not be the best showcase for CD quality their popularity supports the view that compact disc is now entering a new era of maturity that will lead to the establishment of a true The benefits of such a mass market will be felt by all CD owners as it will encourage a much wider disc distribution and lower disc prices the ideal medium for everymusic lover and not just the lucky few THE CHOICE Compact disc players may be plentiful which is good for CD but complicates the task of choosing one How do you go about selecting one for your own system with so many options available Do you take the easy way out and let your dealer decide for you? Should you pick one from the same range as the rest of your hi fi system or is there an advantage if mixing and matching? And if you mix the brands will the match and the width be the same? Some of these questions can only be answered by CD player reviews because the behaviour of CD players cannot be deduced from literature But there are details which can narrow down your choice the only problem being that information comes in a con Disc sales in 1987 were also higher than ever with an established 19 million units for the year With disc prices already tumbling further the ability of broadest possible base of CD owners to build new collections with compact disc is certain It is perhaps ironic that the advantages of compact disc are even more apparent with low cost hi-fi While discs are obviously more resistant from wear and tear than records and tapes the qualiy of a digital sound source tends to shine through when compared to low-cost turntables and cassette decks within the same system It is only at the extreme high end of the hi fi market when £2000 turntables are compared with CD players costing £500 or more that the difference between the two sources is less obvious Comparisions such as this underline that CD is Technics Gfloil viA SEE AND HEAR THE FABULOUS RANGE OF TECHNICS CD PLAYERS TO ADD TO YOUR HI-FI mo OR TREAT YOURSELF TO A TECHNICS MIDI HI-FI SYSTEM COMPLETE WITH CD PLAYER PRICES FROM £39995 or £17 MONTHLY X800 CD SYSTEM 17 key infra-red remote control 20 watts per channel 16 channel random presets Twin deck with series play CD player £39995 or £17 per month TECHNICS COMPACT DISC PLAYERS For any of the Technics Systems from £17995 or £8 monthly UP TO 10 MONTHS Ask SEMPLE AND FERGUSSON LTD czj a X880 HI-FI SYSTEM Single 30 key remote control unit covers all major functions of all components 80 watts per channel Class A A amplifiction Quartz synthesiser with 24-ch random presets Tape A (recpb) tape (recpb) double auto-reverse deck Programmable quartz DD linear tracking turntable £89995 or £38 monthly INTEREST FREE CREDIT for details rD DIGITAL AUDIO X820 SYSTEM 25 key infra-red remote control 30 watts per channel 24 channel random presets High speed editing Fully automatic turntable £39995 or £17 per month X830 HI-FI SYSTEM 25 key infra-red remote control 40 watts per channel Quartz synthesiser digital tuning High speed editing Double cassette deck £44995 or £19 monthly Large range of TECHNICS HI-FI SEPARATES available Ampliers from £9995 Cassette Decks from £9995 Record Decks from £8995 Graphic Equalisers from £8995 Compact Disc Players from £22995 Available in silver or black Technics Headphones £2995 SEE OUR EXTENSIVE RANGE OF COMPACT DISCS FROM £699 TO SUIT EVERY TASTE 13 CHURCH CRES DUMFRIES 11 MAIN STREET LOCKERBIE 38 WELL STREET MOFFAT 'Deposit 10 of cash price Credit limit 24 times monthly payment subject to issue of a card for most adult current bank and credit card holders Arranged through Lombard Tricity Finance Lid Details on request Prices from £17995 Remote Control from £22995 X840 HI-FI SYSTEM 30 key remote control unit 50 watts per channel Fully automatic turntable £54995 or £23 monthly X860 HI-FI SYSTEM 30 key remote control covers all major functions of all components 60 watts per channel £69995 or £30 monthly Tel: 61176 Tel: 2571 Tel: 20150 APR 298 MUSIC LOVERS everywhere have switched to the sound of COMPACT DISC WE at can help YOU to make that switch too YOU will find an excellent range of disc players to choose from by all the leading hi-fi manufacturers YOU will find a very impressive range of discs to choose from catering for all tastes YOU will also be pleasantly surprised to find our prices as low as anywhere POP IN NOW our advice is free YOU never know you might just find that sound only dreamed of in the past COMING SOON Disc at only £299 First 50 due March TOP TWENTY still £995 McKAY 76 ENGLISH STREET DUMFRIES Tel 54117.