LarryC

Gary, with a good cart-TT-TA setup, that is, so it seems to me. I was referring to a couple of kilobuck low-to-medium-output models of Clearaudio MCs, which I thought were both brighter and scratchier than other carts I'd heard. That's why I think Jazman's score was especially good. Jazman, sorry, I hadn't realized you were referring to an MM Clearaudio. Larry

---------------- ...I had lusted for the highly regarded Clearaudio Virtuosso Wood($750 retail) as my expected stepping stone into the LOMC world. ---------------- Great outcome, Jazman! I don't know about others' opinions, but the higher-line Clearaudio MC carts I tried were too bright for me, and I heard too much record scratch. I think you came out very well. Happy listening! Larry

E-mail him again, include your "screen name" -- of COURSE he wants you! Larry

---------------- On 5/30/2004 10:12:58 PM chops wrote: ---------------- On 5/30/2004 10:03:20 PM 3dzapper wrote: ---------------- Roy Orbeson??!! We know he passed on, but......... geesh! ---------------- It always seemed to me that Roy Orbison had a truly beautiful voice, especially when he hit those surprising high notes. Larry

Scriven, The "Members Only" forum is only visible if you're signed on to the forum, and I think only if you've signed up for the trip with Trey. It's at the bottom of the "Home Audio" section, when it shows. Hey, sign up if you haven't! Larry Edit: Trey's note in the forum headings says to e-mail him with your screen name for him to give you access to the members only section.

---------------- On 5/29/2004 7:00:55 PM Colin wrote: Stuff me with a goat, those Tenor OTL amplifiers look really well made and really expensive! ...ever since hearing Ralph Karsten’s Atma-sphere OTL amplifiers, I have loved the quickness of OTL, but NOT met anybody who said they were a good match for big ole horns.... ---------------- I guess I should say that, except for a small noise problem that doesn't seem to interfere with the music, I think my 100-watt Joule-Electra monoblocs are a very nice match, sound-wise, for my K-horns. They don't cost much less than the Tenors, tho', and the Tenors do look nicer and better finished. I haven't heard any other OTLs, so I have no idea how the various brands and models would compare.

Erik, which power cord? Paul, LOL!

Very good! I didn't see your two later posts until just now. Thanks -- Larry

---------------- On 5/29/2004 9:38:07 AM Q-Man wrote: ...You need to buy a few T-nuts and and wood screws and eliminate the woofer mounting board. ---------------- Q, as I expect you know, he can only put a few T-nuts in the bass horn panel, because they have to be installed from the other side, and many of the necessary spots can't be reached from the other side because of horn side panels and dead spaces that block access. Klipsch staff correctly advised me of this, and noted that the plywood panel has great screw-holding power. They suggested direct mounting using the largest wood screws that would fit through the woofer mounting holes and go nearly all the way through the 1/2" plywood. For more detail on how I did it, see my thread on restoring the bass horn throat at http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=47322&forumID=68&catID=19&search=1&searchstring=&sessionID={B9020C9D-92E9-461C-8C05-55489EC9CECE} -- sorry for not putting that into a link; I'm laid up and away from my information on how to do it. Edit: I expect Khorn58 is right; the drivers, bass horn and network were all designed to work together, and I am told the total thickness (and height) of the port between the woofer and the actual bass horn throat plays a role in shaping the bass horn output curve, as 58 said. Larry

---------------- On 5/29/2004 4:23:41 AM sheltie dave wrote: I haven't opened the bass bin yet, but I hope when I do there is no extra board to be ripped out! There certainly is no perceived lack of lower bass with any classical or jazz we have played. ---------------- Dave, if you don't perceive a lack of deep bass, I'd guess you're OK. In mine, the lowest notes, e.g., lowest string bass and organ, were extremely weak and the bass was noticeably weak throughout. In addition, the bass and midrange seemed to be at odds with each other and didn't blend well. As I reported, this was a transitory modification, from sometime in 1961 to sometime in 1962 or '63, so yours probably escaped it. Be prepared for deteriorated sealing strips on the bass bin door and mounting board if you go in there. Larry

---------------- On 5/28/2004 10:06:17 AM Maynard42 wrote: I was wondering if anybody out there had an opinion as to what is the best recording (on CD) of Mozart's Requiem. ---------------- I was clued into this forum only today -- it seems to me that, recently, replies to classical music questions have been taking off very well in the Home Audio/2-Channel forum, in case you're dissatisfied with the replies you get here. Sorry, my better Mozart Requiems are on LPs, and sometimes I have mixed feelings about those. It's a fine, reflective work, but that's in spite of the fact that Mozart himself didn't write very much of it directly, being on his death-bed. He sketched some parts of several movements, and gave lots of directions to his pupil, Sussmayer (sp?), who did an amazing job of fleshing out the sketchy parts and composing the rest himself in astonishingly seamless style. A mysterious final work befitting a legendary death. Larry

---------------- On 5/28/2004 3:03:50 PM Colin wrote: I found and ordered the Tchaikovsky 4th with Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky, but NOT that one: some of his recordings are expensive! I also ordered the Essential Beethovens and the Berlioz. Which one is Tchaikovsky’s Little Prince? ---------------- Not sure what the Little Prince is -- if you're thinking symphony, his No. 2 is the "Little Russian." However, the first 3 symphonies aren't as interesting as the last 3. Glad you got an inexpensive 4th; the album I identified was 2-CDs with his last 3 symphonies and I didn't know the price. I hope you like the Berlioz; I should have mentioned that the slow movement is the most interesting, the rest less so. There is better Berlioz overall. I'd be interested in your reactions if you feel like posting them. Larry

Colin, I should make you a good recommendation on a recording of Tchaikovsky's 4th: DG 419-745-2, the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by the great Evgeny Mravinsky. The 1961 recording vintage is of small disadvantage against the intensity of the Russian performances. Larry

---------------- On 5/28/2004 12:34:44 PM Colin wrote: The word is Italian, a past participle of pizzicare, which has nothing to do with food preparation, but means “to pluck.” So what is a good example of pizzicato, other than classical guitar; what recordings would you recommend to someone who loves pizzicato on big ole horns? ---------------- Colin, THE premiere symphonic pizzicato, IMO, is the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Fouth Symphony! The plucked strings are the ONLY instruments playing throughout the two scherzo sections that open and close the movement. The middle section, called the trio, features a striking contrast in brass-only and woodwind-only passages. The return of the pizzicato scherzo is also very striking. The musical score instructs all strings that the entire movement will only be played pizzicato -- the players lay their bows on the stands and do only plucking in that movement. It must have been an astonishing sound in its day. Composers had previously used pizzicato effectively, but as part of the orchestral texture, sometimes as accompaniment, sometimes as musical punctuation. None, to my knowledge, had ever used pizzicato by itself to create a full orchestral sound through the entire dynamic range from very soft to very loud. I can't recall any similar, solely pizzicato work offhand. The "Harp" string quartet of Beethoven features prominent pizzicato in the first movement, hence its name. There are nice pizz passages in several Beethoven symphonies: in the RETURN of the scherzo in the third movement of his Fifth Symphony, to mock the terrifying opening scherzo section; an accompanying pizz to a main theme in the third movement of his Ninth; and the brief close of the second movement of his Seventh (all pieces you might want anyway). Another movement with nice use of pizzicato is the slow movement of Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," a four-movement work featuring solo viola. There are also spectacular left-hand pizzicato effects in certain solo-violin showpieces such as Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy and Zigeunerweisen. The latter two pieces, along with Paganini's equally astonishing violin concerto No. 1, played by Itzhak Perlman, can be found on EMI 5-62594-2. The significance of "left-hand" pizz are that the player is still using his or her bow in the right hand and fingering those notes with the left, while ALSO using left-hand fingers to form other notes and pluck other strings at the same time! IMHO, it would be nice if this were posted in the 2-channel forum, where lots of latent and emerging classical music lovers also trade around good information! Larry

See my post in the Members Only forum, asking if anyone is driving to Indy from the DC area. Foot surgery, a cast, and inadvisability of flying this soon, leaves catching a ride as my only option. Thanks! Larry

I found good benefit from putting a Townshend sink under my turntable -- added clarity, reduced grunge, smoothed highs and bass rounded up somewhat. Another forum member found one used on e-bay, reduced or eliminated a groove-skipping problem caused by external vibration. Larry

The Bruno Walter 6th has his unmistakable, nearly unique lyricism and flow. The 6th is extremely gentle for Beethoven, and Walter's finely styled forward momentum makes his performance very satisfying for me. It has the advantage of being in stereo, and the disadvantage shared by many conductors of the 1960's+/- of not repeating the first movement exposition. I see I need to track down the Klemperer and Boehm. Larry

I'm pretty sure my '62's had the K-400. They also had the wood inserts in the bass horn throat, suggesting (to me) that the woofer was still in transition. Larry

I have always soldered the leads to the woofers to prevent connectivity deterioration with slide-on connectors, given the many years that usually go by between opening up the bass bins.

Also, some of these pics are very large and take a long time to download on ol'fashioned dial-up. Could they be reduced in file size? Some smaller pics downloaded faster. Thanks!

Welcome to the area, Dave! Please e-mail me and GaryMD when you arrive. Gaithersburg is only 15-20 min up I-270 from me. Larry

I also live in Maryland, closer to D.C., and would join in. Larry

---------------- On 5/10/2004 7:54:41 PM Soeren Basboell wrote: as I understand it, Ma was actually not playing on two cellos, but a viola da gamba and a 'modern' cello. The principal difference between the two is that the former has no sound post (supporting pin) and the latter has. Thus the big difference between the sound of two instruments. The sound post, french l'ame - the soul, creates a nodal point at its two ends, and it has not directly a supporting function, although you should not take it away with full string pressure on the bridge. ---------------- The "sound post," which all today's string instruments are supposed to have, is a short, cylindrical dowel inside the body of the instrument located at or near the foot of the bridge (which holds up the strings) between the front and the back of the instrument. It is supposed to serve as a transmitter of vibrations between the front (or top) and back (or bottom), and as a brace when heavier, stronger modern strings are used. This differs from the tail pin, which slides in and out of a cello to help hold it above the floor, and does not serve the above functions. From your description, Leo, it sounds like Yo-Yo held his Strad off the floor between his legs, in a "da Gamba" style. However, Stradivarius actually made cellos, and apparently defined the size and structure of the modern instrument. Only his very early cellos are supposed to have resembled viola da gambas, as he evolved toward the cello. The term viola do gamba seems to refer to an evolutionary renaissance and baroque ancestor of the cello. Some texts illustrate early models with frets, which disappeared later on. According to a cellist friend, v. da gambas, as a member of the viol family of strings, have no tail pin, shorter fingerboards, and a larger, narrower appearance (the only modern successor of the viol family is the very slope-shouldered string bass). It was tuned like a cello, though, so direct descent seems likely. That seems to make Ma's Strad a "cello." Besides the absence of a tail pin, it would be interesting to know whether it also lacked a sound post. That could explain why the older, weaker gut strings were used in his Strad. I'm not sure I've heard a Strad cello. A fine Strad violin like Joshua Bell's produces a sound of wonder. Larry

---------------- On 5/10/2004 9:14:18 AM leok wrote: Last night, at Sanders Theater at Harvard, I heard Yo-Yo Ma perform the Bach Cello Suite #1. He performed the "Prelude" first on his Baroque 1712 Stradivarius, then performed the entire 6 piece suite on his 1733 Montagnana "modern" cello. Sanders Theater is reasonably small and my wife and I had good seats. There was no amplification (congratulations to Harvard). The performance was easily all that one might hope for in such a venue: One of the world's top cello pieces played by one of the world's top cello players on two of the world's top cellos, in a small theater. To the point on a Klipsch forum: I have the Columbia M2K 37867 recordings by Yo-Yo Ma. He has a second set which I will purchase, based on what I heard last night, but the sound: My RF-7s (modified crossovers) are much closer to what I heard last night than the Chorus-II (also modified crossovers). The SET amplification I use, in comparison with my other amps, adds a considerable touch of reality (or actually removes a considerable touch of artificiality). I know that solo unamplified cello is not mainstream music to many people on this forum, but for those interested in such things, the RF-7, with some serious crossover attention and SET amplification, brings a listener remarkably close to the Sanders Theater experience .. which is where I want to be. John Lithgow conducted a very interesting discussion with Yo-Yo Ma, who was at Sanders Theater to receive the "2004 Harvard Arts Medal." Leo ---------------- Leo, Wolfram, and SSH -- Lucky you, Leo! I heard Yo-Yo at the National Cathedral in DC a few years ago, was very fortunate to sit in a front row, as they amplified it and lost all performance quality and values starting only a few rows back! In my long search for truly musical reproduction, I increasingly concluded that solo strings, especially cello, are the most difficult to reproduce with full beauty, greatness, and meaning. CD reproduction was a special problem! I certainly agree -- the Bach Cello Suites are very great music, and Yo-Yo's playing is deeply absorbing. How would you compare the Strad and the Montagnana? Larry

---------------- On 5/7/2004 10:14:17 AM tcb wrote: Rob, is not that easy...There is a door and binding posts for speaker cable.How in the hell to pass thru the door the whole crossover and sealed back??? ---------------- Mario, Can you post pictures of the (1) outside of the woofer bin door and (2) inside of the woofer bin door including the bass-section crossover? It seems to me you may need step-by-step guidance on just where to attach and run wires. That may be easier to do if we have pictures to look at. Larry