Wardsweb

Anyone with more money in their system than in their retirement expects to die young and leave nothing. Kind of like going to Vegas, if you can't loose it, don't gamble it. Anyway back on topic, be it cartridges, speakers or source, every piece it's all part of a system. The best piece in your system will always reveal the next weakest link. In this case, if everything else down stream isn't of the same caliber, then the you wouldn't notice any difference with this cartridge. Now inthe same vein, if you have a seriously good table it can only be as good as the cartridge you use. I've said before if audio nirvana is equal to 100%, you can spend half your budget and get to 80% really quick. You double that money to get to 90% and that last 10% of improvement becomes expotential. So this cart on a Pioneer table will make no difference, on a Transrotor Gravita, yes.

I won't beat a dead horse here, just say that "worth" is a relative term. This is a very niche item and not intended for I'd say 99% of the people on this forum. The same amount of people that would not or could not spend $100K for a turntable and then put a $13K cartridge on it. I'm most likely in a very small segment that has more money in a table than many have in an entire system.

Artist - Dave Brubeck Title - Time Out Year of Release - 1959 Record Label - Legacy Recordings The classic quintessential jazz. This is one of the all time greats. I'm sure you have heard it. If you haven't your missing something very special. For you vinyl guys, the album takes this recording to the next level. Take Five is truely breath taking. Artist - Matt Bianco (featuring Basia) Title - Matt's Mood Year of Release - 2005 Record Label - Decca First off, Matt Bianco is the name of a group, not a person, and the trio's 1984 debut album, "Whose Side Are You On?," went platinum. That didn't prevent the threesome from splitting up before they could even tour together. Basia Trzetrzelewska, the group's female singer, had her eyes on a solo career, and she took Matt Bianco keyboardist Danny White with her to create four albums under the single name Basia. Male singer Mark Reilly recruited a new keyboardist, Mark Fisher, and recorded eight more albums under the Matt Bianco moniker. Last year Trzetrzelewska, White and Reilly reunited to co-write and co-produce a new Matt Bianco album, "Matt's Mood," and this spring they're touring as a trio for the first time. Matt's Mood is flavored with jazz, bossa nova and "Quiet Storm" R&B. This one is great all the way through and does not get old after repeated plays. Check out some of the sound bites on Amazon. From the opening number "Ordinary Day" with Basia's smooth vocals to the rhythm of "Slip & Sliding", this album will make your speakers come to life. Artist - Patricia Barber Title - Modern Cool Year of Release - 2002 Record Label - Mobile Fidelity Koch This is an incredible ablum, right from the start. The very first cut "Touch of Trash" is sensuous music, showcasing Barber's voice and piano skills. Her voice is sultry and appealing. Close your eyes and just get lost in this smokey jazz. Artist - Brian Bromberg Title - Wood Year of Release - April 2, 2002 Record Label - A440 Music Group This is an incredible album of jazz bassist Brian Bromberg on a 300 year old upright bass. The tonal quality of the notes is pure and sweet and what Brian does with it are magical. You will love his version of The Beatles "Come Together" like you've never heard before and smile when you hear "Star Spangled Banner". Artists - Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto Title - Getz/Gilberto Year of Release - 1963 Record Label - Verve Here is another classic. You have all heard "The Girl from Ipanema", but did you know it was written about the seventeen year old Helô Pinheiro. She inspired Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes in 1962 to write this song. Sitting in a cafe they saw her every day going to the beach of Ipanema, a district of Rio de Janeiro. Also, on the album the girl singing is Astrud Gilberto, Joao's wife. She and Getz's wife, Monica, were in the studio to listen. There is some debate over who suggested Astrud try singing a verse; Stan, Joao or Monica, but whoever did, it created one of the most memorable songs in history. This is only one of the jewels on this album.

That's our own Texas42. Sorry, but the Chorus' are gone.

So are these your VRD's on Craig's site? He sent me a bunch of VRD pics when I was building his website.

For me the best I've ever heard and/or used in my own system were a pair of BassMaxx B1 18" bass horns loaded with McCauley 6174 subs. Yes, they were large (48" wide by 22.5" high by 48" deep) and heavy at over 240 lbs each. The upside was a sensitivity of 110dB, responce of 20Hz to 90Hz. +-5dB and max output of 135dB. They were very quick and musical but at the same time could literally shake the house. No they were never intended for home theater use. They were developed for concert sound reinforcement, theme park applications and dance clubs. The only reason I no longer use them is to keep my wife. Have to admit she was good about them for several years until we remodeled.

Here is a really ecclectic mix of some of my favorite albums. Check out some sound bites on Amazon, WinMX, Allofmp3 or your favorite music stop. Matt Bianco - Matt's Mood - pop/jazz Dave Brubeck - Time Out - jazz Patricia Barber - Modern Cool - female vocal jazz Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto - jazz Stan Getz - Jazz Samba - brazilian/jazz Brian Bromberg - Wood - fusion/jazz Ottmar Liebert - Nouveau Flamenco - latin Yo-Yo Ma - Simply Baroque II - classical Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love - female vocal jazz Loreena McKennitt - The Mask and Mirror - Celtic Muddy Waters - Folk Singer - blues

I'm working on the constuction site for my website now. It will photo document the entire process step by step. I hope to have it online in a week or so.

---------------- On 8/23/2005 7:17:52 PM pauln wrote: I does sure look nice, but mechanically the way the unit suspends from the feet by plexi (which is a little flexy), I'm surprised if it is not subject to vibration and thereby the tubes suseptable to michronphonicity (its a word). Paul ---------------- Actually it is quite rigid. The side width is short and machined into the base. Add to that each piece is held to the next by a spacer machined from 2024 T351 billet and bolted together. I needed the entire unit to be very sturdy to handle pushing in the headphone plug. The extra benefit is non-resonance and having the amp isolated on pin point feet.

---------------- On 8/23/2005 4:53:23 PM Daddy Dee wrote: Very nice look. Congrats! Thanks for posting. It's SET, right? How many wpc? ---------------- Yes it is SET. It is about 2 watts per channel. Great as a headphone amp or pushing my Altec A7's (104dB).

The plexi is cut in a "u" shape and the base cut with grooves all the way around. This allows the plexi to slide in on either end.

XMAN - Maybe you can make the next meeting on Oct 8th at my place. http://wardsweb.org/LSB/

A Bottlehead 6DN7 amp done my way.

I would suggest borrowing a tube amp to listen to with your system. This will let you know in no certain terms what tubes do or don't do for you. You could borrow from a friend or even home audition from a retailer. Another option would be to pick up a small tube amp to play with. That way if you don't care for the sound you could sell it and if you do like it, sell it to upgrade. Many dealers will even take it in on trade. Personally, I find tubes offer a sound that no SS amp under $10K can come close to. They are two different worlds, apples to oranges if you will. Point in case: I have gone to a Carver A760x good down to on ohm to drive my electrotats. We're talking 1100 watts per channel at 2 ohms. Well when I got my Shanling SP-80 amps they drove the CLS's fine and they are only 50 watts. So you really can't compare solid state watts to tube watts. Oh and by the way, the tube made the electrostats come to life. Very nice indeed. Also, realize with efficient speakers you don't need big watts. I drive my Altec A7's with some 2A3 mono's at only 3.5 watts. Granted a little more doesn't hurt, but just wanted to point out you don't need some mega watt (read mega expensive) tube amp.

I just shipped three boxes on pallets (total weight 354 pounds) from San Antonio, TX to Detroit, MI for $126.21. The price is listed as $35 per 100 pounds. I dropped it off at Forward Air on a Monday and it was in Detroit two days later. Still the best deal in town. Now for International I use BAX Global.

Ok first off, the Decware Wicked One is not designed well for a horn enclosure. The horn lenth is to short for a true horn subwoofer. The BassMaxx B1 has a horn length of about 8 feet. What you get is a very open airy musical bass that fills the room. It's not a slam in your face urban beat. It is very fast and surrounds you. The first time I heard a B1 was in the designers home and knew I had to have one. Well he made me a deal and I bought two. As for the Martin Logans sitting on the cabinets, the cabinets really don't vibrate much being cross braced and sand filled. The horn allows the driver to move very little. You get quick musical bass without the buzz. Now with the power turned up you can shake the room, but that's more for home theater. The panels do not reproduce bass well as they are tuned for higher freqs. The other gear you see in the pic are dishnetwork hd receiver, yamaha rxv1400, toshiba dvd, jvc SVHS vcr, Carver A760x, Teac X1000R, Carver CD, Sony CD, Carver A500x, Panamax 1000, Parasound Scamps.

Here is the latest pic where the subs are laid flat in the corners of the room. The vintage JBL's in front are no longer there.

I run two of these in BassMaxx B1 bass horn cabinets for my home theater. The folded horn cabinet brings these in over 100dB efficient because the cone doesn't have to move so much anymore. Now pump the power to them and you can shake the house - literally.

Wow, you have really left the floor wide open on tube amps. It's kind of like asking the board to make suggestions on what car to buy. The options and opinions are endless. If possible, you really need to listen to some different amps before buying to determine what "sound" you like. The best test would be to home audition the amp(s), although not alway possible. Try friends and audio shops. Your price range will get you a really nice amp or amps. You do not have to spend what I refer to as stupid money to get a nice tube sound (or any sound for that matter). You have the option of a SET or push-pull amp, new or used and even vintage amps. For under the $2000 mark, you might want to consider a McIntosh MC240. This is a wonderful warm amp and will compliment any speaker and especially ones with horns. You can even go the kit route from Bottlehead.com to Welbornelabs.com As you see, you have opened Pandora's Box here. Take your time, do your research and in the end you pick what you like. The upside is you can always move to something else later. Nothing written in stone here. Have fun ~ Art is for the mind / Music is for the soul ~

FYI: 803-B are the older vintage "green" LF drivers. Run around $250 each in mint condition 802-8D are again older vintage "black" HF drivers. These have the cast ALTEC logo in the back cover. Run around $200 each in mint condition. 811-B are the smaller horn (the 511B being the large horn). Run around $50 each in mint condition. N800E are again older vintage "green" 800Hz crossovers. Run around $75 each in mine condition. The thing that I wonder about is the Karlson cabinet. The drivers were originally put into A5 and A7 Altec cabinets. I've never heard them in the Karlson. I don't even know what a Karlson looks like.

I must concur. Due to the low power nature of the 2A3 SET amp, high SPL low frequencies are not obtainable. Not that the speakers can't reproduce it, but that moving enough air requires more power. An option for having your cake and eat it to, would be to add a powered subwoofer to the mix. I prefer not to do this. As stated above, quality normal listening level music is what I'm after and not quantity. If I want to rock the world I use the system in the den that uses two BassMaxx B1 bass horns with 18" McCauley 6174 drivers and bucket loads of solid state power.

---------------- On 10/2/2004 4:15:59 PM DeanG wrote: I can never make heads or tails of all of the horn/driver combinations. That Brennan guy should make a chart of us horn dummies. ---------------- Yea, Tom has forgotten more about JBL/Altec than I know.

Wow, only took you about a week to tear yourself away long enough to log on. I still need to bring by the custom 2A3 stereo SET I did. I found out the problem was not in the amp but in the source I was using. DOH!

---------------- On 10/2/2004 2:04:45 AM DeanG wrote: Those are VERY pretty. ---------------- Thank you, they look even better in person. It's hard to get a good picture in that room without some sun light.

Personally I love them. Yes they are BIG, so you need some room, but what you get in return is some very clean crisp high and very fast tight bass. Because they were make for pro sound they typically are battleship grey. I veneered mine in walnut, added walnut risers and full grills. The home version of the A7 was the Magnificients with lattice grills. I run the 416-8c woofer and 802-8G HF driver through a 511B horn. These are around 102-104 dB efficient allowing me to push them with a 2A3 SET amp. Horns love tubes and SET even more so. Very rich and warm. These are the closest speakers I've found to my Martin Logan CLS for realism. The big horn makes all the difference in the world.