RichardP
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Posts posted by RichardP
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"A Christmas Story" has become, I think, the de facto popular choice, as far as today's generation goes, with a little thanks to the annual 24-marathon on TBS. Apart from that, I especially like "Scrooge" (1970?) with Albert Finney. The 1951 traditional version of "A Christmas Carol" with Alistair Sim is excellent as well.
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The cheapest option is to find more 2.2s and a 2.2v center on Ebay; there are usually a couple of pairs up for auction at any given time. A pair of 2.2s often goes for $100-$175. Also,a pair of KG-1.2's could work as rears ($100-$150/pr). You also could post a wanted-to-buy (WTB) message here. That arrangement with a good subwoofer (e.g., RW-10, RW-12, $400-$500) would be a room-filling exceptional system for small to medium rooms. To go bigger, you might look at others from the x.2 line (KG3.2, 4.2, 5.2; often on Ebay) for the fronts, along with a 2.2v, KV-2, or KV-3 as center.
To go a lot bigger, many forum members, like myself, had Forte's or Chorus's as fronts, and made do with 2.2s as rears and 2.2v as center. As the poster above said, what you should look for depends on your room size and overall HT goals.
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That is good to hear. I recently bought a used copy of Steppenwolf's 16 Greatest Hits CD (MCA) for a couple of dollars...wow, what a bad recording.. tape hiss, no dynamic range, no bass. I got it mainly for nostalgia's sake, but I probably won't listen to it again. If I come across the DVD you mention, I may give it a listen/look.
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Hope, Alaska?
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If you end up getting a manufactured unit (vs. DIY), I can suggest a rack from wood technology: http://www.wood-tech.com/product.php?cat=fn&series=mga
The MGA series is an aesthetically-appealing combination of heavy metal frame (black crinkle finish), tempered glass shelves (top & bottom hold 300+ lbs, middle shelves 75 lbs.), and the option of wood trim strips for the front of the frame. I got the unfinished oak trim, and stained it walnut to match my Fortes. Assembly takes about 15 minutes. When I bought mine about 8-10 months ago, you could get them from any of several online companies (www.racksandstands.com, www.standsandmounts.com) for about $330 with free shipping.
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Since Mikekid nominated some Elton John releases, I'll mention a related one, which is a tribute album of some famous people doing EJ covers:
"Two Rooms - Celebrating the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin"
CD Polygram 1991. Includes: Eric Clapton doing Border Song; The Who - Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting; Beach Boys - Crocodile Rock; Jon Bon Jovi - Levon; Tina Turner - The B!tch Is Back; Rod Stewart - Your Song; Oleta Adams - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, and many others. Most tracks reflect very effective choices in putting a different voice to a familiar melody. This was another good $2 used CD from half.com.
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Actually, the last Ebay auction for Quartets ended at $530, and there were several bidders who pushed it up to that price, not just one inexperienced bidder. I have seen the Quartet-Forte-Chorus lineage go for a wide range of prices on Ebay. For example, I got a nice pair of walnut Forte IIs for slightly less than $400 (!), yet have seen a "mint" pair go for almost $1000, which is nearly the original retail price.
I think asking $400 for a good pair of Quartets is quite in line with Ebay auction ending prices, at least ones I have seen in the past year or so.
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I'll throw in another one from an artist who, like Rod Stewart and Carlos Santana, began in the 60s and is still going strong: this one is from Joni Mitchell; CD is "Turbulent Indigo" (1994 Reprise).
This is another in her unique "jazzy folk" or "folky jazz" style; very clean sound, deep bass, clever poetic lyrics, catchy melodies. Ably accompanied by none other than Wayne Shorter's sax on most tracks, along with Larry Klein on bass and Jim Keltner on drums. Jazz fans should like this, even though it certainly is not traditional jazz.
It comes in a cardboard tri-fold CD case. The cover art is the famous self portrait by Van Gogh with his head bandaged from cutting off his ear, but it is Joni Mitchell's face painted in place of Van Gogh's. Also, in the middle pocket of the case, you get a little metal charm: it's an ear!
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I use a Quartet as a center for my Forte IIs; they have exactly the same midrange and tweeter (more critical than woofer size match). After taking the riser off, it weighs about 40 lbs.; my RPTV (Mit 55") has no problem with the weight.
The Quartet and Forte II have the Tractrix midrange horn, while the Forte I has the exponential horn. Some here claim to notice a difference, but it couldn't be a big difference; you may not hear any difference at all, and the voice match will be better than any other speaker.
Quartets can go for as low as $350 on Ebay, for a pair. One of these days I will hook up my second one as a rear center channel.
If Quartets are still too big, try the KG 2.2v. Like SteelerFan, I once used a KG 2.2v for a center, and I was able to tweak the receiver's speaker level adjustments and made a surprisingly good-sounding soundstage across the front.
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Yes, it is a great feel-good movie about real people just getting by in their own lives, and how random circumstances bring complete strangers together who connect and become close friends. It is somewhat slow paced, but engaging nonetheless and often humorous. It also gives a good illustration about how someone copes with a lifelong physical difference (main character is a dwarf; the actor, Peter Dinkelage, is great). However, don't watch it expecting action, sex, thrills and spills, CGI, etc.
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Charlie Watts Quintet "Warm and Tender" CD, 1992, featuring Bernard Fowler on vocals, and the Metropolitan Orchestra. An nice recording of lush jazz ballads (think Mel Torme), fronted by Fowler's smooth baritone (think Barry White singing jazz). Some classic numbers include "Bewitched (Bothered, and Bewildered)" and "Someone to Watch Over Me."
I am not a huge Stones fan, but have enjoyed Charlie Watts's jazz and big band side projects for many years. I also usually like more up-tempo jazz, but this is so smooth and engaging. A great half.com buy for about $5 new.
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I'd say more than "kinda"/"sorta:" there's a huge resemblence!: (spoilers ahead) high school high achiever has college plans, falls into cahoots with porn stars (instead of hookers), makes money in said business, gets in trouble with girls' porn producer (instead of pimp), boy trashes college plans, gets the pornstar(hooker) in the end.
Sounds like Risky Business to me. -
I had a Yamaha RXV series Prologic receiver in the 90s, and eventually replaced it with an HTR series DD receiver; I was/am perfectly satisfied.
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Huzzah! Answers! Thanks for all who helped. I was beginning to think that the "B" in the unclaimed "K-33B" stood for B-astard.
Now, if anyone could comment on the other woofer, the "K-33" with no letter, but looks like the current K-33-E; do you think it was original in these '80 Corns or was also a replacement?
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It's my birthday too. Also 49. No real celebration planned, but in lieu of heavy partying, I did get my newly-acquired Cornwalls up and running yesterday; they sound fabulous, thanks to Bob Crites's tweeter repair and crossover rebuild.
Youth is wasted on the young. Harrumph!
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In searching this forum, I reviewed every thread with K-33 in the title, and under a thread entitled "K-33-P" someone posted this:
"What, if any, differences would there be in putting a newer K-33-E into a pair of older Klipschorns (which have K-33-Bs)."
While this is the only mention of such a model #, it suggests that there was a K-33-B, unless it was a typo. Could someone (moderator) from the company comment on whether such a thing ever existed? In any case, mine sounds just fine; I was only wondering about its origin and if it was supposed to sound identical to the more recent models.
Can someone comment on the other K-33 "no suffix" model I described? Specifically, is it likely to have been original, or does it seem to be a replacement as well? The seller thought that it was the replacement, rather than the older-appearing "K-33-B." As stated in my original post, I am not sure if either woofer is original.
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I just got a pair of 1980 Cornwalls from Ebay auction at a good price. You may recall them, they are dark-stained birch and have black glass tops, one with a cracked corner. The seller stated that they had two different woofers, but did not know the origin. Apparently one or both are replacements. They are: 1) K-33-B (no, not P) with square magnet, looks old; and 2) K-33, no suffix, but looks just like new K-33-E sold by Bob Crites (black basket, round magnet), and has "vendor 1890" among other #s on label on edge of magnet. Were either of these original? Does anyone know of any differences in the specs of these two woofers which might make for unbalanced or uneven sound? BTW, I have had Bob Crites replace tweeter diaphragms and rebuild X-overs.
2nd question: I would like to replace the old style screw head speaker wire connectors with banana jacks or 5-way posts. Are there any such connectors which would not involve cutting a large hole in the back panel? Any other connector recommendations, where to buy, etc.?
Thanks.
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I have Forte I's as rears, got some Forte II's from Ebay to use as fronts, and then found Quartets on Ebay, and am using one as the center on top of a RPTV. I took the riser base off the Quartet (easy, 4 screws), repositioned the Klipsch badge to top center (harder than taking off the base), and it became a smaller, not-so-imposing center speaker perfectly matched to my fronts. Eventually I may use the extra Quartet as a center rear. Note that the Quartet has the Tractrix horns, while the Forte I's have the exponential horn, but there is certainly not a huge difference in sound/timbre. Additionally, many (most?) HT receivers have a 5-band equalizer function for the center, so you may be able to adjust the sound a bit to better match the L+R fronts, if necessary. On the Academys, I have watched Klipsch speakers on Ebay for a year or so, and while last winter and spring, a few Academys went for $600-800, more recent ones have gone for more like $400-600. Still, a lot more Quartets and Fortes come up for auction than Academys.
PS: An RPTV may only have fairly thin particle board for the top, as there are no innards high up inside the cabinet, and a heavy speaker, like Forte's or Quartets (not sure of Academy's wt.), may cause the RPTV top to bow downward. Some forum posters have placed a custom-sized sheet of tempered glass on top to add support and spread out the weight of the speaker; I went the cheap route and got a 1/2" x 12" x 48" particle board from Lowe's, about $4, and painted it flat black like the TV. It looks fine on the TV and supports the 42 lb. Quartet adequately.
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Herbie Hancock, "Dis Is Da Drum," CD, 1994, Polygram. You probably know HH from either his tradtional jazz quartet music, or his 70s-80s syntho-jazz-funk ("Future Shock" etc.). On this one he does some of both, and actually blends the two styles in a surprisingly tasteful way. And for you bass nuts (and aren't we all?), there are some DEEP low freq synth tracks rumbling along the bottom of most of the numbers.
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Single: Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive. An anthem of teenage macho posturing.
Band: I see several votes for FreeBird. I have loathed anything by L. Skynyrd for 25+ years, despite being a fan (I'm from the south) in the '70s (Golden Age of Southern rock). I saw them in concert around '76, and Ronnie Van Zandt was so drunk/drugged that he could't sing. He would get through a verse or two, then hang on the mike stand or stumble around the stage while the other band members looked at each other, and eventually ended the songs instrumentally. After about 30 minutes, he disappeared off stage, music stopped. About 30 minutes later, a stage person said over the PA that Van Zandt had fallen off the back of the stage (7-10 ft) and was being taken away in an ambulance. What a loser. They salvaged the concert by bringing the warmup band back onstage and performing with the remainder of L. Skynyrd. I decided I didn't like them on principle.
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Thanks for the reply. Looking at my post, I was not fully clear about which noise I was concerned with. The only concern in this situation is the noise of the air coming out of the vents. If you are saying that the vents are the main source of noise, then should I consider a specific type of vent? My plan was to go with appropriate-sized standard square louver vents, which is what is already there. If the duct size is matched to the correct vent size, and vents are left wide open at all times, is that as quiet as it can get, or would any other special vent type reduce the rushing sound any further? Thanks in advance.
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I am having some HVAC ducts and ceiling vents in my living room/HT area replaced with larger ones. The ducts installed during construction were too small, and the room gets hot in the summer. The standard foil/insulated flexible ducts feed the room now. As the ones to be replaced are directly over my listening position (in vaulted ceiling about 12' high), should I seriously consider any sort of special acoustically-quieter ductwork or vents? Ductwork will have to be a flexible type, due to cost considerations and small space in ceiling. Is there any such product as acoustical flexible duct, that is substantiallyl quieter than standard foil/insulated duct? Does anyone know of any HT acoustics sites that would describe such products? Thanks in advance.
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James Taylor - October Road (2002).
Just got it today. Never owned a JT CD before, and heard this was done well. Very mellow.
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I don't have a tremendous amount of personal experience comparing many subs, unlike others here, but from what I have read here and elsewhere, the Velodyne CHT series seems to be nice subs in the budget price range. Four models, corresponding to driver size (and amp power): CHT-8, -10, -12, and -15. The 8 and 10 inch models can be had for under $200; check out www.electronics-expo.com for one source. The 12-inch model is about $300-350. I recently helped a friend set up a small Klipsch HT and got the CHT-10. I was amazed that we could only turn its volume control to about 2 on the 10-point dial, and this was in a 12x15 room with a vaulted ceiling. These are not audiophile-quality subs, but I bet they sound better than the "bass module" in the Panasonic HTIB.
Sounds like 
Risky Business 
kg 2.2 bookshelf compatability questions
in Home Theater
Posted
Well, since no one else has responded, I'll give you my 2cents. Your room is spacious, but the KG 2.2s, especially combined with a sub, could fill that room quite well, unless you listen at ear-spitting levels (theater or live concert levels). I sold my 2.2s to a friend with a 15x12x9 room, added some 1.2s and a sub, and that system can play far louder than he would ever want to. As far as the in-wall speakers, I have never heard any personally, but have read on this or other forums that you typically cannot get excellent sound from them, in comparison with a speaker in its own cabinet (that may not be true if they are installed during home construction by a trained audio professional). If you want fairly loud levels during movies, you need fair-sized speakers even in the rear. I personally wouldn't go smaller than the 1.2s; they are about 2/3 the size of 2.2s. There is a KG .5 speaker, about 1/2 the size of 2.2s and wall-mountable, but I have a pair and I don't they could handle loud rear movie effects without some distortion, though you could give them a try if space is truly critical.
While I am touting the KG x.2 line as the cheapest but highly adequate optioin, it could be the case the the Reference line may give you more options as far as more models that address your specific placement needs.