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  1. I think I mentioned it meanwhile somewhere here. But it is important to me that the forum sees me as a hifi and music enthusiast who contributes here his part to the hobby and benefits a lot from the knowledge of other forum members, and not as a psychologist who probably makes his scientific reflections on the discussions and thoughts here in the forum. That is true and this forum belongs to the wonderful components in life that let me forget my work in a beautiful way. Of course, my thinking has shaped me over the decades and I can't quite take it off in my spare time like a jacket on a coat rack. And some topics like the snake oil here in the thread touch my way of thinking and reacting (...ok, I just saw again that I was the topic opener, haha). In a way, that's a point of view I share. This is preceded by the idea of freedom in a society so that everyone can enjoy everything he acquires, and a second idea, namely that no one else has to suffer when someone realizes or savors the fulfillment of marketing claims quite subjectively in his personal world even if this personal fulfillment seems crazy or incomprehensible to outsiders, like here in the example of the snake oil, as long as the user can still pay off the debts for his house (because otherwise it would already be a case where his family would have to suffer). So if everything is ok then we are dealing with a case where both phases that I described last summer in a post above have worked. The marketing claims have triggered a desire and the purchase has created a good feeling that may even last, perhaps even enriched the whole life of the user….snake oil and its wonders, a complete transfiguration of the listening experience. It may seem surprising but ironically this would be an example where we would have subtracted all the "reason" out of it, actually a more direct path to the more positive feelings and satisfactions. Often the "justification" on a rational level is based on the materiality of objects. My amp weighs 45 kg and has the best OTs. My speakers are handmade and have the most beautiful veneer. My cables transform the sound of music into immeasurable spheres because they have been cryogenically cooled and a Nobel Prize winner in physics has calculated which gold alloy sounds best. He sold me the cables personally and we shook hands. These are all accessories to prove to ourselves and to our friends that we have not only achieved the best, but also that it was "reasonable" because it is visible and tangible and only through this it means a "proven" appreciation. Perhaps the snake oil buyer is much braver because he does not take this detour. These are very interesting and also from my point of view very true and accurate working thoughts. In a way, it seamlessly connects to the topic discussed above. At the same time we enter a terrain that has a very wide range, in psychology and in philosophy. By the way, my psychological upbringing is closer to your philosophical thoughts than to some psychological methods which have to deal with statistics, multiple choice, behavioral science etc. Yes, we enter again in a certain way the field of emotions and of course we hear differently when the ambience is inviting and when we have the feeling (or are allowed to feel) that e.g. with dimmed lights we unbound ourselves more and open up. It is our "ego" that can be like a protective wall or armor to the outside in many situations of (everyday) life but at the same time at the price of reduced introspection, because one can also become more closed inwardly if one protects himself outwardly. To look at it this way, what is the benefit of the dimmed light (of course, only to be seen as an exemplary element in our minds) during the listening demo? For one it is to create the comfort he has at home, for the other it is a possibility to open up (to the music) in a way he can't do at home alone, because as we already discussed here half a year ago, to open up sometimes means to go into uncertain terrain, but not to be afraid because the inviting atmosphere of a good store is opening and at the same time homely. It is always also in a listening demo more what must come into harmony, the music, the hifi gear, the sales situation. What do you "buy"? Happiness, involvement, status, superiority, more access to the structure of the music, design, etc.? This is also in crucial point. BTW I would be happy if I had a customer in the hi-fi industry for whom I could conduct a study. Maybe I invest a focus group and 10 one on ones with music lovers and hifi enthusiasts on my own account as a start into the research of this category. After (in a study) understanding and being able to describe a bit the basic psychologically effective dimensions of the category we would derive a typology. This is often an exciting part of the story for my clients. I come to this thought because you describe the example of how a magical voice can become reality and still remain incorporeal, or maybe for one listener the voice is an offer to imagine a whole scenery with real people...to beam oneself into a jazz club. Maybe the other listener likes especially this imateriality of the voice without body and scenery. Or what is perhaps also very beautiful, if someone enjoys this twilight zone very much, someone who can go back and forth between the perfect illusion and the mere sound event, as in a deep exciting dream that you can additionally control with your hi-fi system. There are certainly many types of listening. One wants a reproduction of his idea of reality as detailed as possible. I had on the other hand a roommate as a student who studied composition and fine arts. He was not so bad, he had participated in a class with Leonard Bernstein in the USA for a few weeks, he played fantastic piano. I had quite ok hi-fi gear by then and I was very involved in technology and music. My roommate was not interested at all in it. He had a very cheap mono cassette recorder. With it he listened to the most complex musical works of the 20th century and played all the different parts and passages on his Fender Rhodes, he wrote music scores with all the individual instrument parts and he heard all this from his mono cassette recorder. He was really in the structure of the voicing and harmonics as well in the flow of the development of a musical piece. If I were to create a typology this buddy from back then would certainly represent a cornerstone….probably so many different types of life with Hifi gear… From the purist reducer of the sound event to the structure (like my buddy from back then) to the reproducer of an imaginary sound stage, a simulated reality like on the holodeck of the Starship Enterprise in the Startrek series. Further, from the "technical scientific" approach for which everything must be measurable (and who in the extreme does not want to hear what he can not measure) to the esoteric on the other side of the spectrum, for which data, circuit diagrams and physical laws do not count at all (BTW is such a guy open minded or narcistical?). Further on, from the epicurean thankful consumer to whom his hi-fi system really opens the door to the musical world for the first time, to the regular visitor of concerts of classical music, jazz and rock etc., who spends more time with real instruments and for whom his hi-fi system should copy this as well as possible (because he is critical and demanding) or for whom the hi-fi system should only remind him of the real events (because he has the music in his head, less radically puristic but similar to my flatmate). We see, music and stereo is a very very thankful topic. Thank goodness there are many mixed types. In our psychology, the extremes are meant to be illustrative. Fortunately, there are technically skilled people with a strong empathy for music, fortunately, there are emotionally open people who get involved in a new situation with impressive music, fortunately, there are people who buy the most expensive hi-fi system out of their profound love for music and not primarily to impress friends or as a monument to personal success. Unfortunately, I can not really answer your questions and thoughts, but I also think that the music and in its wake our hifi gear opens a fantastic playground whose special charm I see, among other things, that we can try out and that we have found an exciting interface in life where the material and the immaterial reach out to each other. It is also a place where the childlike playful experimentation reaches out to the deepest moments of life intensity and transience. Isn't that beautiful?
    3 points
  2. I had to follow up a classic album with an equally great album The quadraphonic version of this album Artist - Santana Title - Abraxas Album ID - https://www.discogs.com/release/2839197-Santana-Abraxas
    3 points
  3. Playing some hard rock form my era of youth And why not - it’s a great day for it Powered by an amp of the same era - Let’s turn the volume up This album is translucent Purple Vinyl Mastered From The Original Tapes At Abbey Road Artist - Deep Purple Title - Machine Head Album ID - https://www.discogs.com/release/12486745-Deep-Purple-Machine-Head
    3 points
  4. Not very artistic myself, but sometimes I do my part, or simply make it physically possible for other collaborators to do their part. There are often great foundations that come before the real artists show up and create the final forms of the wonderous sensory experiences that we enjoy so much. Some of life's greatest art comes as a result of great collaborations. I get to play a role in what remains after I am gone. Seemed like a good enough thread to post just a few of the more artistic shots from projects I've worked on so you can now ponder on them too.
    3 points
  5. Alright. I decided to disable Realtek HD Audio (default for laptop audio). Still didn't work. Then went into Roon Device Setup, had to re-select M32 from Device Setup even though Roon said it was already Enabled. Now I have the bright purple dots and Roon is playing thru the system. Haven't done any serious listening yet. But at least I'm pretty sure it's connected the way it's supposed to be. Thanks to everyone for your help. I'll report later on the sound quality. It's Friday Night. TIME TO ROCK 🎸
    3 points
  6. These are not mine. They just popped up in my HiFi Shark saved searches and I don't currently need any Palladium towers. Just alerting the community as Palladium sales in the US have become quite rare. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649826331-klipsch-palladium-p37f-in-expresso-veneer-finishobmexcellent-condition/
    2 points
  7. Some of my daughter's work: https://www.instagram.com/icandrawokay/
    2 points
  8. Wedding present from a friend of the family. She painted it in Thailand some 40 years ago.
    2 points
  9. yes, I do I think it's cool to be able to tell what brand of sunglasses the pilots wear. They buzz the lake, too. We get to see C-120/130 [?] skimming the tops of the hills with entourages of helis. Cool stuff
    2 points
  10. Okay so what I understand without having the engineers degree is I need two cabinets. One K Horn designs and the other to start earthquake and thunder rumbles. Will this upset the neighbors or anyone at Homeland or DARPA?
    2 points
  11. There are entire fields that study interior design and architecture and how it emotionally impacts us. True. Not only that, but also how architecture influences, or literally controls our behavior. I took many of these kinds of courses at Uof I while studying architecture and my personal library is littered with many text books from thereof. All of the greatest listening rooms have these visual design cues that further aid the listening experience... It could be as simple as dimming the lights for an evening listening session, and yet that has no impact on the acoustic waves. This is also very true. It’s also why I spent so much time integrating the visual appearance/ambience of my room, to create illusion that has visual impact on the artificial “soundstage”. Even some of the exhibitors at audio shows have discovered this going to at least some extent trying to create a lighting effect on the speakers/front wall that appears to enhance the depth of the sound field. However, the emotional state it puts us in sets the context for how the music is heard, and in that sense has a hugely dramatic impact to the music listening experience. Is that snake oil too? Only if someone is charging us too much (smile) Thinking about it some more, isn't the entire audiophile hobby built on the same fundamental principal? The seductive voice we hear singing isn't actually in the room, but we sit in the dark imagining that it is. The entire hobby is established on an experience that isn't physically substantiated. The illusion of music exists only in our minds. No, the music is really there, the artists performing it are not there. Actually, I prefer listening with open eyes and lights on. If done right, the lighting can actually enhance the illusion of “presence”. Not sure it works for everyone but I can attest that inexperienced totally non-audiophile types have described it at my place as “it’s like I’m there” or “it’s as if I can see all the musicians”. And that, I think is about as good as it can get at the moment. Hi Mike. Haven't seen you in a while. Everything has changed since you were over. Not done with revisions yet. Hope you're doing well.
    2 points
  12. A comment made on this video, "Amazing, how she looks just like her voice" Mazzy Star
    2 points
  13. @geezin' the PJ was the same for us just that bottle above and grape Hi-C with the same fruit. Heard tell or tales of folks mixing it in their their bathtub! Never saw that just big plastic containers that did not resemble a punch bowl and held a few gallons. Think all of us that had the summer of `79 as our passage to adulthood instead of `69 were lucky to survive it! @grasshopper I remember jungle-juice being left in that bin on the side porch with the milk and OJ when I was little
    2 points
  14. Hope everyone is well, been just listening mostly through covid here. Do you think the kits will squeeze more out of 78" Cornwalls or will these always be a little more duller that say CWII's even when updated ? I just hate to get too bright having older ears. Anyone tried crossgrading from Crites kits to the JEM btw ?
    2 points
  15. 2 points
  16. Take a large cooler. Pour in a gallon of Everclear,half gallon of Smirnoff blue label,half gallon of Captain Morgan spiced rum. Top off with 5-10 pounds of ice and 3 gallons or so of (real) grape juice. Viola! We called it Purple Jesus. Staple of outdoor field parties/bonfires of my youth.
    2 points
  17. Seeing a lot of nice eye candy! Here is a little more. The stiletto is 7" for reference
    2 points
  18. These two hand embellished prints are a set I think they represent a husband and wife after a long night caring for a crying child Yep I think that happened to me back in the day and felt like that in the morning 🤪
    2 points
  19. I love visiting the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola.
    2 points
  20. My day at the beach. Door County. If you think of Wisconsin as being the shape of a hand, Door County is the thumb. 🖐️LOL.
    2 points
  21. There's most likely a reason for it, but someone at BBC2 at the program buttons is giving us a big treat! Great music is coming our way tonight!
    2 points
  22. I’m from Australia so the only thing that shouts out to me is your Avatar 🤘 As to posting more - It’s a free country you can post the more artistic photos As a mechanical engineer myself - I see structures as works of art
    2 points
  23. Most transistors come in standard packages like TO-220 or TO-3 etc...... which have a standardized pinout. If you are ever in question look up the datasheet, if you are designing a circuit you should be looking at the datasheet anyway. I don't expect everyone to know this stuff but for future reference. For the 2SC1212 the pins are ECB from left to right (123). Put the red test lead from your diode tester to the right most leg which is the base (pin#3) and touch the other two pins (emitter and collector) with the black test lead to see if each has a .6v diode drop. Flip the leads around and put the black lead on the same base pin, furthest to the right (pin#3) and you should have zero continuity with the same test, infinite resistance, open line (OL). It's the same way you would test a diode, in one direction with the meter you will have a .6v diode drop, flip the leads around and you shouldn't have any continuity. Good luck
    2 points
  24. Tried gin once liked this with lots of fruit and Hi-C punch better! & my filter made it until twenty years later before it gave up!
    2 points
  25. I bought mine new...ouch. About a year or two later HDMI was the thing. 😐
    2 points
  26. Thanks @Full Range My contribution:
    2 points
  27. Followers and contributors of this thread would not have heard of this artist So without further wait - Presenting Azure Ryder Check out her other videos
    2 points
  28. Ian McDonald of King Crimson and Foreigner has died at 75 A quick video from early times
    2 points
  29. A very talented US band enjoy
    2 points
  30. I sooooo have a love/hate relationship with those. ^^^^^^^^ I give up... You'd be amazed at how gross I thought those were back in the day. Guys would throw those down then laff at me for not jumpin on mine. Kinda the same way they laffed at me for not drinking lit shots. Yea it was real funny when I finally got the courage to throw down my first one. I hit my mouth with it but somehow the flame burned half my moustache off and blistered the underside of my nose on the way down. Nobody thought of that which made it even funnier. Guys w/beards and moustache's piped up then and jumped on the wagon. Shaved the thing off and had to start over. Have had a moustache my entire life. Until that night. hahaha It grew back though
    2 points
  31. I've used a Trends TA10.1 mini class D amplifier full range with LaScala for a couple years. 6 clean watts per channel and we used to throw parties every weekend (those were the days). Never did I run the tiny amp into distortion. Now I still use that tiny amp but, since I'm actively bi-amping, there's another class D amp (60watts / channel) on the bass horns. Just for laughs, you might want to buy one of those tiny class D marvels (from brands such as Topping, Aiyma, SMSL...) just to try. No it won't beat some expensive tubes, but seeing an amp the size of two cigarettes packs power big speakers like LaScala to deafening levels is a grin inducing moment, and you might even find the ratio between sound quality / reduced floorprint / ridiculously low current draw / zero produced heat / signal to noise ratio / ridiculously low price to be extremely favorable. They usually respond well to some internal components upgrade (such as coupling / decoupling caps etc) and the 12V versions love a very silent linear PSU to replace the laptop-style SMPS. Anyways, it's fun to try!
    2 points
  32. That brief reference was the only hit on the 18W54C that Google found for me.
    1 point
  33. So the 600 liter enclosure would be about 21.5 cubic feet if I did the math correctly. If ported it can get any low end without the need for huge amps. With some modifications to that box design I could fit it in the lower living room behind the couch. Now this is becoming a more feasible idea. Just one woofer in the cabinet to gain ultrasounding earthquake low end. A single mono amp of 100 watts would be about all since my receiver has a sub crossover built in.
    1 point
  34. @michael hart diy. I made these and a second set with double top and base thickness, no rails. Note what folks say, you’ll loose some base but get midrange to ear level. To compensate for bass loss, mine house a Velodyne DD10 subwoofer. Bass problem solved.
    1 point
  35. 1 point
  36. This got left at the house, so I use it for watermelons...
    1 point
  37. FastForward about thirty years &
    1 point
  38. A mere Like is woefully insufficient. That's a very lovely woman.
    1 point
  39. Yup, still have them here. Not currently in use, been thinking of selling them...but I just picked up a nice Denon amp so I want to hear them again before I make any rash decisions
    1 point
  40. Long Ago?? Not hardly if you read the facts. It's Friday "Is everybody livin' it up so far?" Could be heard live during the same show:
    1 point
  41. A local blacksmith I know named Liam Hoffman makes some pretty nice knives although axes are his bread and butter. He just made this Persian inspired knife. One piece forged to finish with a T spine, heirloom fit giraffe bone scales and domed silver pins. it sold almost immediately for $7,150.
    1 point
  42. Leon is good stuff.... https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=RW62LP9a5Yc&list=RDAMVMRW62LP9a5Yc https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=P8xjZwM9ZrA&list=RDAMVMP8xjZwM9ZrA
    1 point
  43. EDIT: I found where it is and what it does. It's 8.2 ohms 1/2 watt It is in series after the fuse from the transformer to the bridge rectifier D6 on "rectifier board A". Check the bridge rectifier D6 and also check the regulator transistor Q1 for shorts. Also check D7 the reference zener diode and all the capacitors around Q1.
    1 point
  44. Voice coil inductance also affects how well the lower sensitivity woofers match up to the higher sensitivitysquawkers in the 400hz-800hz range. Take a woofer with an Le of 1.6 compared to a woofer with an Le of 0.6, ....and the 1.6 Le woofer is going to be general sloping down of several db's in that 400-800 zone compared to the 0.6 Le woofer. The presence region becomes more difficult to control/maintain with a high inductance woofer voice coil, without a zobel. Or...use a woofer that has a low voice coil inductance..mabye 1.0mH or less. Of course once you add in baffle step and other factors, it is more involved; but voice coil inductance is an important aspect to consider.
    1 point
  45. Next up is Alexandra Nechita Right above the right channel La Scala
    1 point
  46. Here is what the FTC requires, so I'm wondering if the specs from BCC are in compliance with that (the emphasis, bold and underlining is mine). § 432.3 Standard test conditions. For purposes of performing the tests necessary to make the disclosures required under § 432.2 of this part: (a) The power line voltage shall be 120 volts AC (230 volts when the equipment is made for foreign sale or use, unless a different nameplate rating is permanently affixed to the product by the manufacturer in which event the latter figure would control), RMS, using a sinusoidal wave containing less than 2 percent total harmonic content. In the case of equipment designed for battery operation only, tests shall be made with the battery power supply for which the particular equipment is designed and such test voltage must be disclosed under the required disclosures of § 432.2 of this part. If capable of both AC and DC battery operation, testing shall be with AC line operation; (b) The AC power line frequency for domestic equipment shall be 60 Hz and 50 Hz for equipment made for foreign sale or use; (c) The amplifier shall be preconditioned by simultaneously operating all channels at one-eighth of rated power output for one hour using a sinusoidal wave at a frequency of 1,000 Hz; provided, however, that for amplifiers utilized as a component in a self-powered subwoofer system, the sinusoidal wave used as a preconditioning signal may be any frequency within the amplifier's intended operating bandwidth that will allow the amplifier to be driven to one-eighth of rated power for one hour; (d) The preconditioning and testing shall be in still air and an ambient temperature of at least 77 °F (25 °C); (e) Rated power shall be obtainable at all frequencies within the rated power band without exceeding the rated maximum percentage of total harmonic distortion after input signals at said frequencies have been continuously applied at full rated power for not less than five (5) minutes at the amplifier's auxiliary input, or if not provided, at the phono input. (f) At all times during warm-up and testing, tone loudness-contour and other controls shall be preset for the flattest response. [39 FR 15387, May 3, 1974, as amended at 65 FR 81240, Dec. 22, 2000] § 432.4 Optional disclosures. Other operating characteristics and technical specifications not required in § 432.2 of this part may be disclosed: Provided: (a) That any other power output is rated by the manufacturer, is expressed in minimum watts per channel, and such power output representation(s) complies with the provisions of § 432.2 of this part; except that if a peak or other instantaneous power rating, such as music power or peak power, is represented under this section, the maximum percentage of total harmonic distortion (see § 432.2(d) of this part) may be disclosed only at such rated output: And provided further, (b) That all disclosures or representations made under this section are less conspicuously, and prominently made than the disclosures required in § 432.2 of this part; and (c) The rating and testing methods or standards used in determining such representations are disclosed, and well known and generally recognized by the industry at the time the representations or disclosures are made, are neither intended nor likely to deceive or confuse the consumers and are not otherwise likely to frustrate the purpose of this part.
    1 point
  47. It would not be for me either, but with tops removed, it's a pretty easy 2 man job.
    1 point
  48. That's a joke right? Are you pulling my leg? Or do you just not venture outside of the Lounge area much? They just introduced The Jubilee in early January, I posted about it in "Klipsch News" section of the forum with links to the CES video about it. If you search "Jubilee" and go by date, anything that is from January is talking about it. Watch the video, it's like two minutes long, and Roy says that it will replace the Klipschorn at the Heritage Flagship Speaker.Roy has been working on that speaker for 30 years, the first 10 with PWK the last 20 years with Paul's design and goals in mind. On Monday they just announced that Roy had updated his Forte III to the Forte IV. Those are shipping out now. There are posts about that. They are having a Youtube livestream tomorrow at 4:00 Eastern, 1:00 PM Pacific where Roy and the product team will be answering questions about the Forte IV, 75th Anniversary. Afterwards they are going to auction off the Museum Edition Heresy IV's. I will put some links in here to make it easier. Travis
    1 point
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