efzauner

Available from the back of a truck at a parking lot near you! Darn, they should have posted a schedule! Can't wait to get a pair--no 7. Do they have a center?

It all depends. If the sub has a high pass connection, by running the speaker cables first to the sub, and then to the mains, the sub will reproduce the lows, and the mains will reproduce the highs (the high frequencies will "pass" to the mains, thus "high pass"). If you have small speakers (say a 5 inch woofer or less) then this is the way to go. If you have larger, full frequency response mains, then you want to run the mains in parallel with the sub, just as you connected. Another dumb question: is your sub an amplified sub (does it plug into the wall)? if yes then it has high impedance (resistance) inputs and it does not add any extra load to your amp. If it is a passive sub, then it will add load to your amp and Formica (hi, hows it going?) has the right numbers. Hope this helps.

Michael. Have you tried Q components at http://www.loudspeakers.ca/products.htm they sell lots of speakers including Eminence and others. Their prices seem more inline with US dealers. Also, you should be able to find Infinity and other car subs on Ebay in Canada.

The reason that linseed oil (and many other natural plant oils) rags burn is that the oil oxidizes and creates heat. When oxidation is vigourous enough we tend to call it "fire". If you leave them in a pile the heat builds up. If you leave them flat the heat will dissipate into air and not cause a fire. But bucket of water is still the best. I remember having all natural teak furniture at home and my mom rubbing them down regularly with a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine. I just loved the smell of the house when she did that! Note: this will not happen with rags full of motor oil!

The audiobahn is just for show at shows... The bit MTX is really only for SPL competitions: Very specialized. Put a few together and run em at 170dB for a few seconds before burning the voice coils. You dont put them in cars for quality sound. Its just like auto racing: Honda makes F1 engines but no one expects to find one in a Civic.

There is a stunning review on the new Pioneer Elite vsx59ti as well as new Yamaha rxv657 on secrets of home theatre http://www.sdinfo.com/main.html

Attached is an interesting article that talks about past, present and future of surround sound. Included is talk of a hight channel in 9.1 Enjoy WR_Surround Nov2004.pdf

Hmm. So for a lot less than the price of a pair of Khorns, I could buy your bass bins and stuff my LaScala parts into it? Interesting. Ball park $$?

At audio frequencies the loss of rg6 is negligible. Especially since the sub input is very high impedance. and again at audio frequencies you dont give a hoot about the crips changing the impedance from 75 ohms. RG6 is made for a couple of Gigahertz. It is overkill for a sub cable. The only advantage is that it is sold in bulk at under 10 cents a foot. Even if there is a bit of loss, you will account for that when you setup your sub volume with a sound level meter or use one of the HT receivers with built in microphone and auto correction. Oh, and I have tried to solder RG6. No can do. Buy the F type crimp connectors and the corresponding RCAs. You can also get crimp on RCA wich make a bit neater job, but they are harder to find. There are also some very nice solid, gold plated compression fit RCAs, but you need a special tool for that. General suggestions: If you are begining to invest in audio and HT, buy a spool of good flexible video coax and some nice high quality solder on RCAs. This will last a long time and can be used for any custom length of audio, digital audio, and video cable.

The filter capacitors are for the power supply. There is only one power supply for all channels that produces a positive and negative supply for the amps. There is a capacitor on the positive voltage and one for the negative voltage. You will see amps with more than one cap per side, but this is often because 2 smaller caps take less space than one big one, (less wasted space) or due to some other technical factor. 2 or more caps in parallel would sum their individual capacitance. It is the total capacitance that counts. I am sure that there may be some very high end amps that that a power supply for each channel. You see this in the stereo world ( it would then be called a dual monoblock)

Pro and Consumer gear is also different in the marketing and distribution. Consumer equipment must always have the latest and greatest because that is how consumers buy. If Company A has 78 buttons and company B has 79, then the average consumer will buy the HT receiver from company B. That is why most of the consumer gear, be it from HK, Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer,Sony etc. gets a new model every year. That is what competition does. I also suspect that the distribution chain for consumer gear is much more efficient (read: Cheaper) because you have huge volumes thru big box stores. Pro gear I am sure is less than 10% of that market. I am curious about the Carver amp that is $1000 more in consumer version. Something odd here. Perhaps markups vary alot by brand. Now, of course, I do not consider most on this forum average consumers!

Yes, many large chains will import and sell "grey market". This is perfectly legal, and it is nice that they provide a warranty. The problem arrises when the grey market products are not distributed here by the manufacturer. Then the local service organization does not stock parts or have any repair manuals! While under warranty by Costco etc. they may end up refunding you, but what happens off warranty? You cannot fix it. This happened in Canada at Zellers. They imported a Pioneer US DVD recorder into Canada. It had no french manuals for Quebec. Customers called Pioneer, who told them that Zellers imported them, and that Pioneer has no responsability and does not plan on stocking parts, manuals, or training technicians to service the product. So watch out! Why would Pioneer have a US model that they do not import into Canada (or any other country) Simply cost. When they decide what products to sell in a country the decision involves profit minus the cost to stock parts and train technicians etc. In some countries the market is not big enough to justify.

Isobarik? My understanding is that you want to increase the LF output to match the mid and highs. 2 woofers would do that in a regular mount as long as they are in parallel so that each outputs the same as a single woofer, thus doubling (adding 3 db) to the SPL. Of course your amp has to be able to handle the lower impedance. Isobarik mount uses one woofer to make the other woofer feel that it is in a much bigger cabinet thus reducing resonant frequency vs a sealed cabinet. The drawback is that you loose 3 db of output! This is the reverse of what you want to achieve. Isobarik are really only used to reduce cabinet size. I do not think that this is your issue.

Formica Dont be so hard on the Canadian distributor. He probably will order them just for you. Think of what he has to do: Get price from Klipsch Enter part in his inventory system Create Purchase order, Fax purchase order Receive goods, pay duty and shipping. Enter into inventory Take your order, your money, and reship them to you. Enter Klipsch invoice into his Accounts payable, and issue a cheque, and lick the stamp and actually mail it! This is alot of work for a couple of logos for 3 bucks each. Earning a few dollars each is not going to make him very rich! I am quite surprised that Klipsch charges so little. Edmond

I just took a look at the web sites. The Infocus X3 is the office multimedia version of the 4805 HT Projector. The Toshiba TDP-T90U is the office multimedia version of the TDP MT200 HT projector. I have viewed both extensively and the Toshiba is the better one. But you would be happy with either of them. Keep in mind that he office versions do not have DVI with HDCP which may be needed in the future to look at copy protected HD movies. You also have to be carefull with the specs. Usually the lumens is at the bulb's highest output, while the Contrast ration is at the lowest output. I suggest wait for a sale and pick the best buy.

The projector option is quite nice. But things you need to consider: Throw distance: This is how far away the projector must be from the screen to give a specific picture size. Go to the Infocus web site and there is a handy calculator. This is also on spec sheets. The zoom adjustments on HT projectors is very limited and only intended for fine tuning. If you put the Infocus 4805 in the middle of the 20 foot room, that is 10 feet from the wall and will result in a diagonal of 60 to 72 inches. You may want something bigger! Wiring: S-Video is nice, but if you are riping out walls in order to pass cable, Pass everything at once: Composite Video (in case you want to view from a VCR, Component Video (for great progressive scan DVD and Current HD), and HDMI/DVI (for best DVD and possible future HD signals). A note on S-Video cable. Get a good quality one. I spent months trying to figure out why the S-Video performance of the Infocus 4805 was so bad until I found that it was a poor quality S-Video cable that was picking up interference from the many other cables and wires that it was bundled with. Lighing. A projector is great, but lights must be dim, and therefore the only thing you can do is watch the screen. It is too dark for other activities such as wife reading book, kids playing games etc. So if this is your main family viewing area, consider a DLP or LCD rear projector TV or Plasma instead. Projector mount. The pojector must be aimed at the screen. You need some sort of adjustable projector mount. Buy one or make one, but it is critical. Keep in mind that projectors are designed to be right side up on a table projecting up to a screen or upside down on a ceiling projecting down to a screen. If mounted upside down from the ceiling it is best to have the lens as close to the top of the screen as possible to minimise the need for keystone adjustments.

Please let us understand what Bose is all about. I owned a consumer electronics store selling Bose, Paradigm, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite etc. Every company and product has its purpose. Does Bose have the best sound? Of course not. No audiophile would say that. But here are the realities of the market place: 1: Large speaker sales have been in big decline. Most large speaker companies like Klipsh, Paradigm etc are either going out of business, or going much higher upmarket, or introducing smaller speaker systems that follow the Bose concept of small satellite with subwoofer. This is a market reality. If your product line is in decline, then it is hard to get mass distribution. Stores are either small specialty shops selling upmarket products, or large box stores selling to the massess. Big companies like Klipsch and Paradigm and Polk could not survive if they did not cater to the masses and sell thru big box stores. 2: Where is the growth market? Many of the original audio companies of the 60s and 70s have gone away. Those that survived successfully executed part 1 above. The growth has been in Home Theater for the masses. You do not do that with huge speakers in the living room anymore because of the style and WAF. (wife acceptance factor for the uninitiated). 95% of consumer electronics buyers would probably be better off with simpler products. The readers of this forum are the audiophiles of this world and we understand, appreciate, and expect to have all sorts of receiver adjustments. We are in the minority. Most of my customers did not know a Hertz from a tweeter, did not know what DTS or AC3 meant. This is where Bose comes in. For the masses it sound fine. It is easy to use (compare a Bose Lifestyle remote to any HT receiver remote) and setup, and looks good. There is definitely a customer for this. You would not believe how many customers purchased regular HT systems (yamaha, HK, Denon etc) and did not know how to hook it up to work, or got confused with all the audio formats, speaker size settings etc. and never really can enjoy surround sound because they cannot get it to work properly. I would not sell a system like this to my parents (who have difficulty using a cell phone) But I would definetly get them a Bose system. If more HT systems where as easy to use as a Bose system, more people would have adopted HT much sooner. From a business/marketing perpective, Bose sells a concept, not a product and they do that very successfully. They are very protective of their image and they do not publish specifications. This forces the seller and the customer to concentrate on the overall experience and not on watts, bits, herts etc. It creates a brand preference and eliminates specs comparision. (How many un-informed consumers buy HT receiver A over B becuase it has 6x90watts instead of 6x85 watts? we all know 5 watts makes makes no difference.) This keeps prices and profits high. This is what most companies ultimately try to do: Create brand preference by differentiating and staying away from the commoditiztion of the product. Bose has done it well. But of cours all forum members already know this right? I know we all love to hate Bose, but lets get over it. Enjoy your Klipsch!

There will certainly be all sorts of HD to analog converters around. But the sad part for peole who purchased HD sets early is that they have component inputs or DVI inputs. When HD DVDs come out they will mostlikely be HDMI with HDCP only. That means you will not be able to watch HD DVDs on your HD set that is pre HDCP. Most HD sets had HDCP only in 2004. That also may be tru for HD satellite and Cable settop boxes. I have seen the prices drop on HD LCD and DLP rear projection sets and they will drop more as all the chinease manufacturers get into the micro display business. You can get a 50" Sony or Samsung LCD or DLP rear projection on sale for the same price as a CRT rear projection was in late 2003. Think of it, most manufacturers introduced HD 9x16 rear projection crt sets in 2001-2. That is a 2-3 year life of the technology!

I would go for the LaScalas. You do not have any corners in the van for Khorns. With 104db/w efficience the LaScalas would sound great in the van. You dont even need to add an external power amp. Just connect them to the existing rear speaker wires and you should do fine. If you like lots of hip-hop and house, though you may want a subwoofer. Make sure the speakers are properly tied down in case you have an accident. You dont want to get hit in the head with a 2x2x3ft box. Have fun!

Hi I have not posted for a while but thought that some clarification is in order. Electrical interference induced into cabling is basically magnetically induced current. The level of current (amps) is proportional to the strenght of the magnetic filed times the area of the loop. The closer together the wire, the smaller the area of the loop. Twisting the cable into a figure 8 results in 2 loops half the size, but more important the magnetic field goes thru one loop in one direction and thru the other loop in the opposite direction, causing the induced current to cancel out. The more twists,the better, thus twisted pair cabling. So, yes, twisted pair speaker wire like inwall cabling would reduce hum. Second, if the amp is off, the output transistors are also off, or open circuit, so no current can flow, thus no hum. So you cannot really tell if it is equipment or speaker cable by shutting of the amp. You can try a something: move the speaker closer to the amp and use a shorter cable. If the noise goes away then it is definitely the long run of speaker wire. Try to identify what could cause the noise. Thurn off all appliances, heaters etc. and see if it goes away. Hope this helps

The increase in mass with resulting change in TS paramters is one thing. But another consideration is the change in the material properties themselves. The cone material, construction, and shape also affects the resonant modes of the cone (piston) itself. The cone should be going straight in and out, but at high frequencies it vibrates in different modes. Think of a kettle drum: depending on how the musician hits it, it will sound different. This is called moding, or cone breakup. These modes will add colloration/distortion to the sound. Mod Podge may make the cone stiffer, but it may also be less damped. One of the main effors of speaker research is into materials that will push the cone moding frequency higher and higher. This is why you also see many high end audiophile type speakers with 6 inch cones crossed over at 2-3Khz. Also why the Klipsh reference have very rigid ceramic cones and can work well till almost 2KHz Another point: How do you know what this mod podge will age like? Put it on and in 5-10 years it may change in ways you wont like.

Most telephone wire is 22 gauge. 3 strands of 22 gauge solid wire is a about 17 gauge. Solid wire is not any better than stranded wire. Just buy some good quality 14 or 16 gauge stranded speaker wire at walmarts or other place.

A shucks. A pair of Khorns in Canada within a 1 day return drive and they have to be such ugly SOBs. And pricey to! I know that there is a revival of the high tech industry in Waterloo and RIM shares are out of the dumpster, but I dont think anyone will be buying these hey I think they came from Lulu's Roadhouse. Ya know, the one with the world's longest bar...Anyone out there ever been to Lulu's?

3 pair would be lovely since all my heritage units are missin'em. Thanks I would be willing to take over the production process if you like!

Nope, styrofoam panels will not do it. There is fiberboard available (sonopan is a brand) that you put between the 2x4s and gypsum panels (sheet rock) to insulate the rest of the house. If you want to do sound deading inside you can use fiberglass or rock wool soundproofing on the walls and cover it with a fabric streached over a panel, or some sort of similar design. If you were ever in a house that was being built and the fibreglass was installed (but not the vapour barrier) then you will know what it does. You should be able to find the stuff at Home Depot.