Woodog
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I hope there is a mixer! I could bring the good 'ole Cornwalls down again. [
]Woo
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Of course! You might consider a flame-retardant suit...[
]I've got one I don't use nearly enough.
Woo
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but I want to make sure everyone remembers.... June 18th is Father's Day.
Exactly... if we can't get what we want on THAT day, the rest of the year is hopeless. [
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Got to go to a special concert yesterday. Jim Hurst, a fine guitar player, and his collection of Gallaghers, Martins, Rockbridge, Gibson, and Dobros played solo for about 3 hours. The location was a log cabin without amplification of any kind in a 30' x 25' room with great acoustics. There were about 25 folks there.
If you click on this his website http://www.jimhurst.com and the itenerary you'll see 1/29 and cabin series... click there and you'll see the venue. You can also get an idea of his pickin' style as well.
As nice as I like to think my system is, it is just an echo of live music.
Woo
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Had a great time last night with BS Button listening and comparing lots of stuff.
Seems that BS has become something of a clearing house of solid state amps, preamps and such the past few weeks... with Yammy, B&K seperates showing up and then disappearing to the world of Ebay. He decided to keep the LaScalas that he recently got (good decision there!)
I lent him my Scott 130 to listen to while he awaited his latest arrival, a Juicy Music Peach! The Scott is in need of a cleaning, so it isn't the best representation of what it can do - being somewhat noisy at present. In the meantime, he also got a Monarchy SM-70 (chime in if I'm wrong here, BS) solid state amp.
Got an email on Thursday that the Peach had landed, so I made plans for Friday to make the short trek for amp swapping and such. I brought over my Scott 208 7591 based amp with new JJ tubes.
I was greeted at the door by his lovely wife and an offer of margaritas (which after the week I've had, I IMMEDIATELY accepted). Good stuff... yumm...
First look at the peach... WOW! I must have lost a pound of drool over the craftsmanship of the case. Real dovetailing, solid walnut construction. Incredible to look at, plus, I really like the black/grey shading scheme verses the colorful front. Gorgeous in every way.
There was a hum problem with the solid state amp and the Peach, noticeably more with different sources, which bugged both of us. We listened to his LaScalas with a few tracks of music familiar to both of us and then swapped out the solid state amp for the Scott tube 208. I noticed a smoother midrange with a decrease in bass authority. Difference in damping factor? Not sure, but still very nice sound. I really wanted to hear the Peach/208 combo with the LaScalas anyway, as I use that combo with my khorns (ALK Xovers) and am very familiar with that sound.
Had another margarita. Yummm
In the meantime, the Peach's sound? Wow. I had heard the Peach before, both at Mark1101's home fresh out of the box and at Indy during the last forum. In the former case, one of the VRD's that came along had problems, so Mark and I listened in Mono. I could tell it was a special pre-amp, but my first impression was Mono, not stereo which I love. In the latter case (Indy last summer) the system was pretty much at ear-bleed levels of volume, but that was expected (yes, I'm too old!). In that situation the idea of evaluating things like 'clarity' 'detail' 'delicacy' was laughable. I did find out what 121 Db 'feels' like, though.
However, last night provided the opportunity to listen both hot and cool, and now I want a Peach. [
]Why? Just 'cause it's excellent. No other reason, really.
BS showed me the new B3 crossovers JW Cullison had built for his Cornwalls. His Cornwalls, btw, were weeping from neglect. BS had them stored gently in the corner of the room while they awaited new innards. I asked BS to hook 'em up to the Peach... so we set about putting the new drivers/crossovers in the Cornwalls (BS's Cornwalls are a thing of beauty ... Walnut and FLAWLESS).
Hooked up the left Cornwall first, and balanced out the LaScala on the right with it. MDeneen's volume pots are excellent for balancing out a system. Yes the Cornwalls dig deeper in the lower end, but the LaScala (to my ears) is clearly the superior speaker with a clarity that suits me just fine. Hooked up the other <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />Cornwall, positioned them just so for that soundstage magic I like. FYI, I found it much more difficult to get the placement right for the Cornwalls than the LaScalas. The LaScalas throw a wide, clear and lifelike soundstage with seemingly little effort in the placement. with the Cornwalls the music was reproduced accurately, with the LaScalas the preformers were there with you.
Had another margarita.. yummmmm
Listened to the Cornwalls for a bit at lower levels with the Peach/208 combo, then listened to them cranked for a bit - ok.. cranked a LOT. JWCullison does good work with crossovers. The Corns were well balanced and even when stretched out volume wise were kind to the ears. I couldn't help remembering Daddy Dee's MKIII monoblock muscle last September with my Corns in Indy, though. Man those things just BARKED!
How to describe the sound of the Corns... hmmmm I got really close and listened and sat far back in the sweet spot and listened and I suppose the best description would be 'well balanced'. The squawker was behaving itself nicely in relation to the other drivers.
Then we put the Monarchy amp back into the mix and the sound was still quite sweet: the bass authority was definitely notched up a bit.
BS wanted to know how the Corns had changed with the crossover, but honestly I couldn't tell, since so many other variables (everything except the CD player) had changed since then.
Man, but that Peach... sweet to the eyes and sweet to the ears.
You loudness button/tone control folks shouldn't hesitate to get this amp if that's your hangup. There's a tape loop which allows an equalization device if you so desire.
BS tells me he'll bring the Peach over to drive the khorns (woohoo!). I'm going to take my ALK crossovers over to BS house to mess with his LaScalas just cause.
It was a good time with a good friend, good gear, and good music.
Woo
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You won't fing a better sounding pre with HT by-pass then the Peach for under $3k. Not a chance.
He's right.
Woo
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No can do the third. Bummer.
Woo
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What does Hope offer? I thought Indy would have all of the technical fun stuff. I would go to Indy just to hear the complete line of speakers in one place.
I know you are thinking 'speakers' and 'technical' stuff in this post, but what does Hope have to offer?
good friends, good tunes
plus, something that you'll never find in Indy
a stunning view of the Milky Way
Woo
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If you listen at low volumes you might as well buy a Bose table top radio. I did not buy Klipsch K-horns to listen at low levels. Likewise, I did not buy a 435HP Corvette for good gas milage.
JJK
I like music cranking from time to time... however, one of the reasons I fell in love with Klipsch sound is the amazing clarity and delicacy with which they reproduce low level listening.
When the bass response is still full and present at near whisper levels, that's a good thing.
Woo
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I love old kung-fu movies, where the voice never matches the mouth movements.
Woo
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Absolutely happy with the sound. My system gives me so much pleasure. I have no desire to change anything, and when I HAVE gotten something different, it's more about 'because i can' as opposed to trying to make it 'better.
I'm a lucky man.
Woo
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For high quality recordings..
kama sutra sound track no joke ask woodog
bingo! This one immediately came to mind. It is never far from my CD player. In fact, it is usually in it! I'm really glad you turned me on to this.
A couple of others are:
Paul Winter: Prayer for the Wild Things
Norah Jones: Come Away with Me
Woo
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Looks like Hope it is!
We'll be posting more info in the coming weeks.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. watermelon!
Woo
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Well put Woo, and the usual "artfully spoken" comments prevail. You've got me thinking about a tube pre-amp, again. Drats!
But....how did it compare with the B&K? Was it as warm? Edgy? How did the bass compare?
Inquiring minds want to know
Jeff
I liked the B&K better, but then again, sometimes I feel that talking about sound is like fishing about architecture.
Woo
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You might want to ask "Woodog" as he's already given it the "official" Woodog listening test. Woodog, are you around? Give it to 'em, straight up.
Hey!
Sorry to chime in late on this, but I enjoyed your setup. Visually and aurally you have put together a sound system that can do justice to anything you want to throw at it.
OTOH, I'm a tube junkie, and specifically, I enjoy the warm, golden/brown sound of the vintage Scotts. Some say it's distorted and inaccurate, but it's a distortion and inaccuracy that I have come to love. The hyper-detailed nature of solid state doesn't appeal to me for long.
I'm happy with my 355/208, 130/208, or 299B driving the big 'ole horns. When I have more play money I'll get another kind of tube amp, not because I'm dissatisfied with what I have or what someone else thinks is better, but because it's, well, FUN. (a hobby, if you will). Also, I like lovin' up on old stuff and bringing it back to life. I'm not into 'new' (except for bicycles, and even there I have a weakness for vintage machines).
A couple of things I noticed immediately about your system... a much wider sweet spot and a soundstage that was very fine. Muscular bass. Lot's of headroom, the crisp low mids that come with a high damping factor.
Bottom line, if YOU like it, it doesn't matter if anyone else does or not. Knowing you, I doubt that you are at the end of your search even though you have put together a sound system better than 99% of what's out there. It's the nature of this sickness... uh, hobby.
If you wind up with a vintage integrated that costs ~$500 and has a few dings on it I'm gonna have to laugh. [
]woo
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Which Scott pre-amp? I looked at the post but couldn't see it mentioned.
Thanks,
Woo
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It was a hard day today. My sons mom, Kim, died on Thursday 12/29/2005 at age 41. She had a long history of mental illness, bulimia, alcohol and drug abuse. I suppose it finally wore her poor body out. She had been increasingly thin, suffering from kidney and liver problems. Her funeral was today, the first day of the new year.
There shouldn't be any sorrow in me because she put me through absolute HELL during my 30s and much of my 40s, driving me deep into debt just to be able to see my son. She accused me of child molestation in the public arena of this small town in an attempt to strip me of parental rights. She is the reason I havent pursued any intimate relationships the past 14 years, fearing a small town scandal and a renewed court battle in a very conservative area of the world. Even in the past few months she was explaining to Gavin about my hedonistic ways (I live such a wild life - ha ha) and trying to convince him to live with her.
Gavin, my son, spent the Friday before Christmas at her fathers house. I drove her home that night. We took a rather lengthy route back to her apartment so I could show her Christmas light displays. Gavin was pissing and moaning about it taking so long to get home because he wanted to go skateboarding, but I told him to be quiet. Kim had no car, no money, no ability to go anywhere, it was Christmas, and she was sober and seemed happy. He told me today that he was happy that we spent that extra time looking and giggling at some of the over-the-top displays. She was so thin and sometimes incoherent, but even so there were flashes of the wit I had known when I met her nearly 20 years prior. I wanted to tell her that night that I wished her life wasn't so hard, but I didnt cross over the wall I had built up with her. Still, the last moments I had with her and Gavin together were good ones. There were precious few of them over the years
Gavin is doing well. He suffered through all the folks hugging and kissing and playing with his hair without throwing a 14 y/os attitude back at them. So many of the pictures in the funerals slideshow showed Gavin as an infant/toddler/pre-schooler/, but dressed in Khakis and a blazer with a tie and speaking with a voice that sounds like it could come out of my mouth, I saw a young man. It was like the first time I didnt have to lift him to get a drink of water from the faucet. Sigh. I asked him if he was shocked about his mom while driving back from his grandmothers house tonight and he said that he was, but probably not as shocked as people thought he would be. He said he knew that she was really sick, and that he had worried about his mother dying many times, but that it finally happening was the shock.
I shouldnt have been sad, and yet I was. Kim spent much of her life hating herself and it seemed as if she spent a great amount of time trying to get others to hate her. Now shes free of the daily torment, free of the demons. She wouldnt have believed the many folks who came to see her send-off, but there were many. She wouldnt have believed that there were so many who were sad that she was no longer with us, but there were many. I wish she had been there for our son. I wish she had been able to love herself.
Ive been rambling on, but I needed to write this. I consider you friends. I know there are some of you who have spoken about their addictions here and the recovery process, and I hope that if youre reading this and have a hard time loving yourself that you at least keep trying to learn how.
There is a lot of love out there. Grab some of it.
Be well.
oh... and Happy New Year
Woo -
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, book 2
Andras Schiff, piano
sublime, heady music!
Woo
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Bruce,
I'm saddened to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Forrest
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User 'BS Button' has B&K powering his LaScalas and I have to admit they put out a VERY convincing, powerful & well-balanced sound, no tone controls needed.
That being said, I can't imagine your tube setup being that horrible. Hope you find whatever makes ya happy.
Woo
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Gary, AWESOME! Good going my man!
I, too, know about the diet/exercise thing. When I joined the board in 2003 I was overweight with out-of-control cholesterol.
These days the cholesterol is around 160, and my resting pulse rate, formerly at 95 or so, now hovers around 50.
Here's a December article a coworker's daughter wrote that talks about how I changed, well, pretty much *everything* because I didn't want to be on a daily drug regimen.
http://www.wku.edu/echo/better.htm
Keep up the good work!
Woo
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The cleaning solutions and tools arrived on Monday. I spent that night lovin' up on my 355, carefully removing and cleaning sockets, lubing controls, dusting, and in general making it exactly right. I did the same for the 208, pulling the old tubes and cleaning the connections.
The new tubes arrived Tuesday, and I plugged them in and put the Scott 355/208 combo back into action while I take the time to do the same to the 130 preamp.
Excellent sound! Bias holding rock steady as of this writing.
There is something quite therapeutic about taking care of something that gives so much enjoyment.
I highly recommend it.
Woo
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Cool site, another way to waste time on the 'net'. Kentucky is now on the map.
Woo
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Friday night Mixer
in Forum Meetup Planning + Past Klipsch Pilgrimages
Posted
It wasn't that big of a deal with the dolly, ya know... and the reason I *really* brought them was to hear the difference in old crossovers vs. standard rebuilt crossovers. Those are my old type B's that Crites is sniffing on in his avatar. The difference in sound was immediate and very satisfying!
Plus, I got to hear what 'standard' type B Corns could REALLY sound like 'opened up' at Goat Ropers. wow....
They were weeping that they had to return to a diet of Onkyo solid state the following week.[:'(]
Woo
p.s. as Crites mentioned, vintage/new would be fun to hear too. But if Klipsch is going to let us listen to a speaker... I would like to hear the LaScala hooked up to some SET amps. That sound was luxurious, but the Corns just aren't efficient enough to take advantage of that topology.