mwiener

I am just about done building a ported riser for my 79 LaScalas. I was wondering if anyone was familiar with an off the shelf black lacquer spray paint that is close to the Valspar/Opex #40 black lacquer that they use when the LaScala is built. I searched through a number of threads. One note said Ben Moore makes a semi-gloss black lacquer that is close, but I am not able to find that anywhere. I was wondering if anyone could make some suggestions on what to try first. I do have a company locally that sells the Valspar #40 and clear, but I am not so sure of my ability to get a good finish with a paint gun. I typically get pretty good results with spray paint, so I want to give that a try first. I am willing to try any paint or lacquer that might match. I am not looking for perfection. I just need to narrow down the large list of possibilities. I am trying to avoid buying 25 different spray cans to find the right one. Thanks, Mike.

Offer updated with reduced price.

I have a pair of white RS-7s in excellent condition for sale. Cosmetically they are 8-9 on a scale of 10, functionally 10 out of 10.No dents in the drivers/cones. Clean white grills. I also have the original boxes and original manuals. Asking $425 for the pair. Paypal is accepted for payment. I will post any specific pictures you want to see. Intent is to ship them double boxed and insured. Cost to ship in 1 box or 2 separate boxes is about the same. It will be an additional $75 or so. If actual shipping charges are less, I will adjust. Like the rest of you, I hate paying for shipping. Local pickup in Cincinnati is welcome and free. Send me a private message if you are interested. You can also email me at mwiener@fuse.net.

Well, much to my surprise the issue is resolved. My wife, with agreement that I will owe her, will let me get the RS-7s. I may not be happy with what I owe her, but I did get the rear surrounds. They are ordered and on the way. Thanks for eveyone's help.

The 5.1 sound is great. That is essentially what I have because I can't hear the rear surrounds. In my setup, no room to move the Heresy side surrounds behind the listening position unless they go all the way to the back of the room. They are situated on a 18" span of wall between the fireplace and a large window on the other side. I am going to build a model of one RS-7 today, paint it white, and see what reaction I get when I tape it to the wall. From the additional reading I have done the RS-7s have a better tone match to the heritage line as compared to any of the other surrounds anyway. Still looking for DIY options, but finding a small high efficiency design is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Not to mention the tone matching nightmares. Still considering painting a black pair, but not really liking that option. I think I will just have to be patient for a white RS-35 pair, or hope my wife puts the approval stamp on the RS-7s.

Completely understand. That is why I concentrated on horn designs. It is also why I have not been able to find anything other than the speakers listed. You can achieve high efficiency if you trade off bass frequency response. I believe all of the speakers I listed cut off at 80 hz or there abouts to achieve the high sensitivity with a small footprint. What I am looking for is any other horn designs, DIY or otherwise, that would fit the bill. There are not many manufacturers using horns. There are even fewer that can achieve the sensitivity characteristics of a Klipsch speaker. There are some, but not many. There are a lot of DIY projects, but those are almost exclusively large horns. If no one is able to recommend a currently available option, that means I did my homework and there just is not an option today. I did find a pair of white RS-7s last night. I Have not contacted the seller yet. First I need to have a discussion with my wife to see if I can talk her into those. She barely agreed to the RS-35, but the RS-7 is a much bigger beast. Thanks

Hello, I have been happily using my 7.1 system for 10 + years now. Purchased/acquired good equipment Denon AVR4800+external Denon amp, Klipsch Cornwall mains, Academy Center, Heresey II surrounds, Velodyne Sub, and inwall Speakercraft MIT 6.2 rear surrounds. I use a Panasonic DMP-BD80 blue-ray player sending 7.1 discrete analog channels into the AVR4800 ext in. I have it in a decent sized room 18x24, with the mains and center pointed down the long dimension of the room. Ceiling height is 17ft. It is a two story house, but the HT room does not have a 2nd floor. There is no rear wall to the HT room on the first floor, but there is a rear wall where the second floor begins. Those rear surround in walls are on the bottom of the rear wall where the second floor begins. I still can’t believe how good this equipment has stood up over the years, still extremely pleased except for the in wall rear surrounds. With these really efficient speakers, those in wall rear surrounds get lost. I mean you rarely hear them. They are also 14 ft away from the sweet spot and as I said at least 10ft up where that rear wall starts. They were rated 92db 1w1m which was one of the most efficient in walls I could find 10+ years ago. However the Academy/Heresey’s at 96db and the Cornwalls at 101db, I literally have to set the AVR4800 rear surround channel to the max, then calibrate the rest of the system around that for speaker output levels. After doing so, it just seems to diminish the quality of the overall sound. I would like to replace those rear surrounds. However, I have a WAF issue to deal with. I have been told I can only use small surrounds or in wall speakers they must be in white. I have it narrowed down to the about 6 speakers that I think I can use. Of those speakers, I think the Klipsch RS-35 at 97db is the best choice. They were made in white, but have been discontinued for 10 years. No luck finding them in white on the secondary market yet. Other options include RS-25, RS-3, or SS 3. All discontinued. I think if I try an RS-7 I will violate the WAF rules. None of the current Klipsch speakers are available in white. Does anyone know of a high efficiency small surround speaker in white that would fit the bill? Anyone have any opinion on using the other Klipsch surrounds listed above? Given that I am not going to be able to audition them, I could really use any information I can get. If there are no other good choices, I can wait. I purchased my Cornwalls IIs 10 years after they had been discontinued. It took me a long time to find a pair of unfinished Cornwalls so I could stain them to match the room they were put in. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Kraemer, I have Cornwall IIs with an Academy center and Heresy IIs as surrounds. It is an awesome combination with a Denon AVR 4800. I would do the same thing again in a heartbeat. Mike.

Joe, These are 60s or early 70s model Cornwall I speakers. I have never seen or heard them before, but I understand they have better sound stage than the later model of Cornwalls. Owning a pair of Cornwall IIs, I have a hard time imagining that. Anyway, finding unfinished Cornwalls is not an easy task. Heck, finding Cornwalls in general is not an easy task either. I found a pair from a guy on this board and was able to finish them to match the hardwood floors in my great room. They should be finished in a birch finish plywood, ready for a quick sanding and stain or paint. If it really is just plywood, you could apply a veneer and stain it. I am sure others will chime in on what a gem you found. Mike.

I have been using digital cable for almost 2 years. I have an AC3 coax output on my cable box which is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000. Even though I do have the AC3 output, all digital cable channels are in 2 channel digital pro logic. So I get a digital signal to my reciever, but only 2 channels. Apparently my cable company is too cheap to provide all 5.1 DD channels. More likely, they can not afford that bandwidth that it would take. I believe a DD 5.1 bit stream takes about 384k/s by itself. There is a night an day difference on the digital sound vs the analog sound recieved on non digital cable channels. Picture quality has about the same improvement. Mike.

Jefnel1, Read my post on your question on the IScan in the Home Theater section. If still not clear, read the thread below, then re read the thread in the home theater forum. Mike. http://www.klipsch.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001777.html

Jefnel1, I have heard many good things about this line doubler. Keep in mind most HDTVs already have a line doubler built in. It just so happens that the IScan is a better unit than most of the line doublers available in TVs. Another benefit, if you hook it up between you svideo out of your receiver and the then hook it to your TV as component video, it works on all sources coming out of your receiver. This unit also does 3:2 pulldown. The benefit of 3:2 pulldown has to do with the number of fields/sec that you display can do. Most RPTVs run at a 60hz refresh. That means 60 fields per second. Film is shot at 24 frames per second. The 24 frames is not an even multiple of 60. So in order to map from 24 frames to 60 frames you take the first frame of film and display it 3 times, then you take the next frame of film and display it 2 time, then the next frame of film is displayed 3 times. Repeat the pattern for all 24 frame of film per second. When you add it all up, it comes out to an even 60 frames per second. This 3:2 pulldown eliminates flicker that results from dropped frames created by DVD players that do not do 3:2 pulldown so that they can meet the 60 frames per second. As for comparing it to Prog Scan DVD, well there is a little problem. The IScan takes the analog signal coming from the interlaced DVD player, digitizes it, then reconstructs a progressive frame from 2 interlaced fields, then converts it back to analog. Some feel that the digital ( of DVD ) to analog ( from Svideo ) to Digial ( in IScan ) to analog ( component video to TV ) degrades the overall signal and produces a softer picture than a true progressive scan. DVD Players like the Denon 2800 use the same chip that powers the Iscan, but eliminate the digital analog and back to digital by taking the digital off the DVD, creating the progressive frame from the 2 interlaced fields while still in digital, then doing a single analog out via component video. These IScan units are very hard to get on a try and buy, so make sure you talk to others that use it with the TV you are intending to use. My Sony HS10 has a very good line doubler, and while I would get some benefit from the IScan (specifically 3:2 pulldown), it would not be worth the money spent. I am not that familiar with the Toshiba to compare the line doubler. Let me know if you have any other questions. You may want to check at www.hometheaterforum.com. The have a lot of information on the IScan and comparing to prog scan DVD players. Mike.

Glad to know you get to keep this pair. I finished the ones I bought last summer. they turned out great. They match my hardwood floors and my Heresys and Academy. I am narrowing down my search for cabinets to house everything. As soon as I get that nailed down and delivered, I will be posting some pictures of my setup. Mike.

I also have heard a lot of good info on the 2800. The 2800 uses the same chips as the IScan line doubler. Reviewed as one of the top 4 players available. Note that the other 3 start at $300 to $500 more than the 2800. The top player, a Camelot Roundtable, was 3K and I believe it uses the same chipset as the 2800. Before I had my HTPC up and running, that was the DVD player that I was going to purchase. Now that I can do DVD in 540p, I think I will skip the whole progressive thing. Of course, if the new DVD software I am waiting for does not pan out in terms of picture quality, I may just buy the Denon or one of the 20 or so models that will be newly available this summer. Mike.

Separate bank accounts won't work. Well it would for me, but she would be a little short on cash being a stay home mom. I have no problem with the I spend - she spends deal. I just have to be conscious of the fact that when I spend, it really costs me 2x what I actually spent. I have talked to several individuals who have purchase audio and HT equipment replacing components 2 and 3 times for a better sounding system over a short period of time. If I did that, I would be in the poor house with this arrangement. I have to consider my purchases very carefully before I spend. What ever I buy, I have to live with for a long long time. It's fair and it works. If I could only get her to stop reclassifying home re-decorating as something for the house, not her, then I would be all set. If I got matching funds for the re-decorating, I would have a wad of cash to spend. Mike.

If you want to create a VCD, I have done a little research. First you have to use one of the DVD rippers that pulls the data off of a DVD. Then you have to run it through a conversion process, and write the data back to a VCD. The reason you do this is many CDRW drives can write VCDs. Almost no computer drives will output DVD format. Now for the down side. It takes between 5 and 15 hours to do the conversion, and you actually downgrade the quality during the process. For that kind of time, I will gladly spent $20 for a DVD. Here are some links to get you started: http://bluedvd.multimania.com/ - Note hope you can read French http://www.dvdripguides.com/prod03.htm http://vcdgalaxy.cjb.net/ Mike.

I edited the message to make a few points clearer. I thought it was clear when I posted it. But after re reading, I could see where it would be confusing. This is a confusing topic that took me a long while to figure out. Let me know if you have any questions after re reading the post. Mike.

I have heard some development in 720i, but it was specifically for promotional marketing materials. I doubt you will see anything above 480i until the Motion Picture Academy has a good handle on copy protection. Even if the standard was developed, no movies would be available until then. They are pretty nervous at the quality that 480i can provide today. Mike.

That is a cool book. It explains, via math, why you need a concrete wall 50+feet thick to make a completely soundproof room down to 20hz. It was then that I decided a sound proof room in the basement for my drum set was impractical. Mike.

My wife likes HT. She says, when I spend some money, she gets to spend and equal amount on something for her. Ohhhh Noooooo. That 2K receiver just cost 4K........ Mike.

Trey, Slightly north and east of Tallahassee FL. I have been to his house before. Mike.

I am using a HTPC. The biggest thing that I saw improvement wise with progressive scan was the total elimination of jaggies and stair steps. In my opinion, progressive gives a better image. I have chosen to skip the whole progressive scan DVD player thing in favor of a HT Personal Computer. I am quite impressed with its capabilities, but it is not perfect. I should have it properly tweeked in a couple of months. As for the players currently available on the market, I think I would wait. There are a slew of players in the sub $400 dollar range due to be released mid summer. Mike.

Ok, where did you pick up another pair? Mike.

William, I am going to take a stab at this. DVD is mastered using 480I, 240 lines of resolution on the screen 60 times per second. Each 240 lines of resolution is called a field. 2 fields of 240 lines of resolution are collectively referred to as a frame. Each 480i frame is actually 2 240 line fields. Since they are displayed so fast, the 2 240 line fields appears as one frame to the human eye. If you divide the 60/2 you still are producing 30 frames per seconds ( from the 60 fields ) of 480 lines of resolution, but not all 480 lines of resolution are on the screen at the same time. If you were displaying a full 480 ( instead of the 240 for 480i )lines of resolution on the screen for each field 60 times per second, you would be displaying progressive scan DVD output. As far as line doublers, you are correct. 480i on most HDTVs is upconverted ( line doubled ) to a higher resolution. On my TV it goes to 960i. But there is a price to pay for the upconversion. Line doubling of 480i takes the 240 actual lines of resolution per field ( remember 60 fields per second, 2 fields make a 480i frame ) and ups the number of lines of resolution in the field from 240 to 480. Just take the 480i example and double everything. When the line doubling is done, it looks wonderful on things that are not moving. However, through the line doubling manipulation, you create motion artifacts. Sometimes called jaggies, or just areas that do not look right. Progressive scan gets around this because no line doubling is being done on progressive scan DVD. I am using a HTPC now to show DVDs. I am actually scaling them up to 960 x 540 progressive resolution on the PC, then displaying that on my HD RPTV. The results are quite impressive, but I still need to tweek a bit. I think I will skip the whole progressive scan DVD phase. As far as HDTV, it is 1080i or 540 lines of resolution per field, 60 times per second. The big difference in HDTV is the source actually has more resolution than DVD does, so no manipulation is required. Mike.

Also try the usenet newslists at www.deja.com. Search for Klipsch Cornwall for example. Anything that has FS as the first characters in the subject line is a for sale. Mike.