Seadog

My vote for Best Rock Band - Led Zeppelin. But if we're talking "Rock and Roll", how can we leave out this guy? Photo taken in June 1985, Billy Bob's Texas, Fort Worth. ---- EDIT 6/4/04------ The gentleman in the photo is Chuck Berry. He put on a great performance that night.

Very, very low WAF.

HDBRbuilder, Thanks for the warning. I will continue to treat my speakers with the BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil).

My brother (AudioDad on this forum) and I visited Gary Shinall on Saturday (5/29). My brother had been to see Gary earlier in the week, and when I arrived in town for the weekend, he called Gary and asked for another tour for my benefit. We had been listening to my brother's Klipschorns all morning before we went, so we were "calibrated" to the Klipschorn sound. When we arrived, Gary met us at the double-wide shop door and walked us through the shop back to the auditioning room. In the back corners was a pair of his KKS-1corner horns. He had a total of eight pairs of these corner horns in stock along with several pairs of his other speakers. Apparently, all of his completed speakers are stored in this climate-controlled room. He fired up his McIntosh SS set up (a C32 preamp and a pair of 2100 amps) and the sound filled the room much like what I would have expected from Klipschorns. He played a variety of music (CDs) and then he switched to his other speaker models for a demo. I was especially impressed with the XA-12 (the Heresy-like model). It has a larger mid horn than the Heresy and it has a big sound for a little speaker. The XT-200 was interesting, two 12" woofers in sealed compartments under a mid horn and tweeter section. I keep trying to compare mentally with my Cornwalls, and I think it would compare favorably in a side-by-side comparison, except perhaps in the lower frequencies (it seemed like the roll off is higher on the XT-200 than a Cornwall). Gary's shop is a one-man operation where Gary does everything. He said he has been in this building for over 20 years. The quality of his workmanship is exceptional. He has high quality woodworking equipment in this un-airconditioned shop (the heat and humidity must be horrible in July and August). BTW, the auditioning room is airconditioned and is very comfortable. He gave me a brochure that includes two speakers not appearing in his website: a Lascala-looking speaker and a Belle-looking speaker (it appears to be taller than a Belle). He will build these as a custom order, and he had several of the Lascala-type in work-in-process on his shop floor. The workmanship on these partially completed units was revealing and was very good. After about 45 minutes of listening, I asked him about the lack of a center channel speaker in his lineup, and specifically asked him if he had ever considered building something similar to an Academy. He seemed to have little interest in growing his line or his company (one employee - himself- and that's how he likes it). He said he is using a modification of the XT-200 for the center in his personal HT. Overall, the visit was very interesting and enjoyable. Even though I had never met, or talked to, or emailed Gary before, he opened his shop and answered all of my questions like a guy with a common interest in good audio and pride in his work. I do not want this post to sound as if it is an endorsement for Shinall and Company. But if there is still an authorized dealer in the state of Texas with Klipschorns available for auditioning, I'm unaware of this dealer. I know the dealers in Dallas and Ft. Worth dropped the Heritage line long ago. But down near Houston in Spring, Texas, there is a guy who can audition a nice sounding pair of corner horns, and you can take a pair home that day if you like. Gary is a heck of a nice guy and he really seems to enjoy making speakers, and he is very good at it. No, they are not Klipsch, but there are few options for auditioning and purchasing new Klipsch Heritage in this area of the country. Perhaps Gary has found a niche.

I had the same issue and I used a Heresy for a center channel between my Corns, for a while. However, I was never really satisfied until I found a Cornwall for my center channel. My center is a vertical decorator Cornwall that is turned onto its side above the 65" Mitsu. The Cornwall center blends so much better with the mains than did the Heresy. Since about 60% of the sound in a movie comes from the center, the center is really important. I find that even the dialog is better using the Cornwall. The problem is finding a single Cornwall. My brother and I bought a pair and split up the pair so we would each have a Cornwall center (at least the pair is still in the family). David

I fail to see a problem. Sounds perfectly normal to me

How about the "Gilligan's Island" song to the tune of "Stairway to Heaven". I once heard this on Dr. Demento about 25 years ago.

Heck of a deal on a 73"! I bought the 65" just in time for the Superbowl. The Mits have a great picture.

You will love your Cornwalls. The 14 awg will be fine. Here is an informative site regarding speaker wire. http://home.earthlink.net/~rogerr7/wire.htm#thetruth

Are your KG4's the early 4-ohm model or the 6-ohm? If they are the 4-ohm, make sure your amp is rated for 4-ohms. I have the 4-ohm KG4s (I bought new 19 years ago). I have used them with the HK430 and they sound good. However, only one set of speakers can be used if they are 4-ohm (cannot run 1 and 2 speaker channels at the same time or it could damage the receiver). When I bought the KG4s, the dealer sold me a Yamaha R8 as their best matching receiver that had a remote. It is stable with two sets of 4-ohm speakers (I used to run a 4-ohm and a 6-ohm set together).

Add one more to the attendee list. My brother ("Audio Dad") called and he has confirmed his flight from Houston.

CDs and DVDs aren't as durable as once thought, and some collectors are finding their older discs impossible to use By Peter Svensson The Associated Press Dan Koster was unpacking some of his more than 2,000 CDs after a move when he noticed something strange. Some of the discs, which he always took good care of, wouldn't play properly. Koster, a Web and graphic designer for Queens University of Charlotte, N.C., took one that was skipping pretty badly and held it up to the light. "I was kind of shocked to see a constellation of pinpricks, little points where the light was coming through the aluminum layer," he says. His collection was suffering from "CD rot," a gradual deterioration of the data-carrying layer. It's not known for sure how common the blight is, but it's just one of a number of reasons that optical discs, including DVDs, may be a lot less long-lived than first thought. "We were all told that CDs were well-nigh indestructible when they were introduced in the mid-'80s," Koster says. "Companies used that in part to justify the higher price of CDs as well." He went through his collection and found that 15 percent to 20 percent of the discs, most of which were produced in the '80s, were "rotted" to some extent. The rotting can be due to poor manufacturing, according to Jerry Hartke, who runs Media Sciences, a Marlborough, Mass., laboratory that tests CDs. The aluminum layer that reflects the light of the player's laser is separated from the CD label by a thin layer of lacquer. If the manufacturer applied the lacquer improperly, air can penetrate to oxidize the aluminum, eating it up much the way iron rusts in air. But in Hartke's view, it's more common that discs are rendered unreadable by poor handling by the owner. "If people treat these discs rather harshly, or stack them, or allow them to rub against each other, this very fragile protective layer can be disturbed, allowing the atmosphere to interact with that aluminum," he said. Part of the problem is that most people believe that it's the clear underside of the CD that is fragile, when in fact it's the side with the label. Scratches on the underside have to be fairly deep to cause skipping, while scratches on the top can easily penetrate to the aluminum layer. Even the pressure of a pen on the label side can dent the aluminum, rendering the CD unreadable. Koster has taken to copying his CDs on his computer to extend the life of the recordings. Unfortunately, it's not easy to figure out how long those recordable CDs will work. Fred Byers, an information technology specialist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has looked at writeable CDs on behalf of government agencies, including the Library of Congress, that need to know how long their discs will last. Manufacturers cite life spans up to 100 years, but without a standardized test, it's very hard to evaluate their claims, Byers says. The worst part is that manufacturers frequently change the materials and manufacturing methods without notifying users. "When you go to a store and buy a DVD-R, and this goes for CD-R as well, you really don't know what you're getting," he says. "If you buy a particular brand of disc, and then get the same disc and brand six months later, it can be very different." This renders the frequently heard advice to buy name-brand discs for maximum longevity fairly moot, he says. DVDs are a bit tougher than CDs in the sense that the data layer (or layers -- some discs have two) is sandwiched in the middle of the disc between two layers of plastic. But this structure causes problems of its own, especially in early DVDs. The glue that holds the layers together can lose its grip, making the disc unreadable at least in part. Users that bend a DVD to remove it from a hard-gripping case are practically begging for this problem, because flexing the disc puts strain on the glue. Rewriteable CDs and DVDs, as opposed to write-once discs, should not be used for long-term storage because they contain a heat-sensitive layer that decays much faster than the metal layers of other discs. For maximum longevity, discs should be stored vertically and only be handled by the edges. Don't stick labels on them, and in the case of write-once CDs, don't write on them with anything but soft water-based or alcohol-based markers. Also, like wine, discs should be stored in a cool, dry place. Koster's friend Mark Irons of Corvallis, Ore., stored his CD collection in a cabin heated by a wood-burning stove. The temperature would range between 40 degrees and 70 degrees in the space of a few hours. Now the data layer of some of his CDs looks as if it's being eaten from the outside. Irons is still pretty happy with CD technology; he believes that it beats vinyl LPs and tape for longevity. Now that he's moved his discs to an apartment with a more stable temperature, he's noticed that the decay has slowed. "I'm hoping they'll hold out till that next medium gets popular, and everyone gets to buy everything over again," he said.

Try BVD,s. Plenty of extra room for a 9MM or a 38 or 357 or.... Oh, sorry, I guess I got OT.

"When I got them someone before me tore off the sides so I nailed some wood that matched the other wood to finish them, but I don't see any numbers on them." ---------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Puddin', funny stuff! Where is your stand up act playing?

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/8602477.htm?1c In case you missed it, here is an interesting Associated Press article from May 6, 2004

Happy birthday. Turned 44 myself a couple months ago. When do we need to start the Geritol? Hopefully not for a while

Yea, I rented it based on a strong recommendation from my local Blockbuster clerk. I should have known better than to listen to a 18? year old girl.

I confirmed my flight and room yesterday. BTW, as of yesterday morning (5/5/04), the Comfort Inn had 12 rooms booked for the Klipsch group. See you all in a few weeks, David

I ran AutoCAD 2000 on a 700MHz P3 (128MB ram) for a couple of years when I worked for a university in an industrial extention program (glorified consulting engineer). Although it was a little slow, it worked o.k. for 2D mechanical drawings. I saw a 2800Mhz eMachine with 512MB ram, an 80GB HD, DVD/CD read write, Windows XP, etc. at Frys for $619. For CAD, a 19" monitor is helpful (I bought a 19" Envision at Fry's for $129 with the rebate). If you are a registered student, you should be able to get the fully functional Acedemic verison of AutoCAD for about $300 (instead of $3000). The whole deal with software should not cost more than about $1250 including salestax. AutoCAD is an excellent CAD package to learn (and to sell your skills to potential employers), however, I see many companies going to Solidworks for the heavy duty 3D design work. I am in the medical device industry, and our design people use exclusively Solidworks.

Does anyone know if anything is planned for Sunday 6/13? Either formally or informally? I'm trying to decide whether to take an early or late flight back to Texas on Sunday. If there is something going on, I will book my flight accordingly. I'm flying in Friday afternoon. David

Dave: Congrats on the steal (excuse me, I mean shrewd find) on the Fortes! I'll bet the old Curtis Mathes will sound pretty good with those. My folks had a 1963 CM "entertainemt center" that they bought new (I was 3 years old at the time). In about 1978 my older brother connected his Cervin Vega "Earthshakers" to the CM. Even those sounded good, at least as good as his Sansui amp that he had. About a month ago, I was visiting my folks and I asked them what ever happened to the old CM. They told me that they gave it to a guy a few years ago who gutted the electronics and converted it into a bookcase. What a shame! Enjoy your "new" Klipsch. If you hang around here very much, there will be more Klipsch in your future, somehow it just works that way! David

Jeff, Thanks for having us over on Sunday, it was great meeting you. Five Cornwalls in a HT system, all I can say is "wow"! And with your three subs, I can honestly say I have never heard anything as impressive as your HT in any home (or for that matter, in any theater!). I'm only sorry that I could only stay for an hour (BTW, I made my flight to Chicago with seconds to spare). The DFW Hornheads need to reciprocate your hospitality (o.k. guys, let's talk about who's gonna be next). Thanks again, David

A quick trip to a Virgin Records mega store shows the current problem with SACD and DVD-A; thousands of CD titles and a few dozen SACD and DVD-A selections on a single shared display rack. It would be interesting to survey forum members' recent purchasing patterns. For me in the past 60 days: DVD-A 3 titles SACD 3 titles CD 2 titles Vinyl (new) 1 title Vinyl (used) 12 titles

That clarifies it. I thought maybe you were going to try to "upgrade" the CW with CWII components. You may want to remove the original motorboard from the CW (store it in case you ever want to restore the CW back to original) and build a new motor board to fit the CWII components.

Wow, three repeat posts in a row! Must be a record, I don't know what happened. Computer glitch or operator error??