It is with great sadness that we must announce the untimely death of our dear friend and colleague Derek Jenkins, who passed away Friday morning following a heart attack. Our deep condolences go out to his family, friends and girlfriend Lucile at this difficult time.
Derek had been a key fixture in the British hi-fi industry for decades, renowned for his knowledge of turntables. His experience was sought out by customers from all over the world. He was incredibly easy going, always happy to help and got on great with almost everyone.
His love of vinyl began back when he was at school and bought his first record player, a Thorens TD160. It was with this very player that he would go on to experiment and learn, before he joined Grahams Hi-Fi some years later and began learning professionally. Here Derek began to set up Linn LP12 players (something he became regarded as one of the very best in the country at).
Derek then moved to Sound Organisation where he developed his skills even more, learning to setup up and refurbish Roksan Xerxes and SME players with great success. Gradually Derek gained recognition as a knowledge authority on turntables, cartridges, arms and phono stages with a formidable knowledge of music. In recent years Derek had built LP12s and other top players at KJ, Infidelity, Soundstage, TomTom and more.
To say Derek was good at setting up turntables is a huge understatement, he knew the players inside out. In his spare time Derek helped design and manufacture LP12 parts for Tangerine Audio, which has become increasingly successful and popular among audiophiles in the last few years.
Derek had always been a true music fan and a keen musician. In the mid 1980’s Derek played bass guitar in a band for many years until they disbanded after ‘the singer went mad’. He was an avid collector of guitars too with a collection that included a Rickenbacker 4003S, a Gibson Les Paul TV Jr and a Nash Telecaster. One of his most impressive tricks was that he could often tell you which guitar is being played from the sound alone.
Derek was a fountain of knowledge when it came to music and was often seen coming into the shop with a few new LPs under his arm. He was lucky enough to see hundreds of the great musicians live in their prime, something he was very proud of.
He will be sorely missed by all at KJ West One, and although he is gone, the legend of Derek Jenkins will forever live on.
