Travis In Austin

Duke I love your choice, I had a Husky 250 in the late 70's, incredible bike, but I just don't think they were able to keep up. They still make a heck of a sewing machine, and one of the best hunting rifles, but as far as big dirt bikes, this is what our friend Tiger needs

I'd liken the big bore bikes to that logic. I once had the Yamaha YZ-465 (1980) and I think it was a 4 speed? Anyway, I could also start that bike from a dead start in 4th gear. Took some finiggling of the clutch but it would do it and once I got the rear wheel hooked up, it would take off. Try taking off in a 125 or maybe a 250 in final gear and I'd venture to guess that most of them wouldn't be able to do it. [:$] Coytee owned a Thumper, now go figure. T

Well you are in luck my friend Tiger, Seeing as how you live in Las Vegas, you can go talk to my buddy Milo. He owns and runs the wine store and bar in BC. Really nice place to go for an evening. He has owned a lot of dirt bikes, ridden them all over. As a matter of fact, he has a good friend that does rides in Baja on kick *** BMW off road bikes. You just get down there, he feeds ya, supplies the bikes, you just have to ride and not break your neck. You can go do that, if it is not your cup of tea you won't be out a bunch of money. You let me know if you want to meet up with ol Milo and I will get you set up. He is going to Sturges, which I beleive is around the corner, so if you want to get the info. on bikes real quick, let me know and I will get you hooked up. The top 3 jet ski riders in the world were all living in Las Vegas and using Lake Meade as there playground when I was living there in the 80's/90's, and I have lost track of them all. I heard the lake is something like 60 to 80' down and several marinas are closed. Of course you can go to Laughlin or Havasu, but you think now is the time to get into water sports? Travis

Dtel's WIfe, I thought that the diamonds in the Anniv. Khorns was all that was needed to achieve total and complete WAF?[] I am in Austin, and anyone is welcome to listen to Klipsch at my place, but alas it is only vintage corwall II's right now. I am going to Hope on Friday to listen to a pair of Jubs, and so I might have a pair of those in the near future, but we shall see. Travis

Gary, It is difficult to tell where the Phoenix sits in line by just looking at their website. If I were to describe it I would say that it sits right in between the "wow that is a lot of money for someting to play records with, but all things considered, a great value when compared to other MC carts in this price range" (Axia) and the, "I don't care how good it sounds, there is no way on earth I am going to spend that much on a cartridge, except maybe if actually listen to it and there is a good trade in program." (Temper)[] Seriously, when you look at that link on the Profundo Audio page to the German audio magazine review, they rated the Phoenix in there reference level carts, with a Lyra Titan and a Transfig Orpheus. Bob at Profund is really raving about the Phoenix, he told my dealer he would be happy to send a Temper for us to try but that we would be very happy with the Phoenix for a bit less. I will bring it out in Oct. for you and Larry to give it a whirl to see what you think. They are offering a trade in promo on the Phoenix, with any cart, dead or alive, they will take $500.00 off, that puts it just slighly more then the Black, but way less then a Shelter 9000, and way, way, way less then a Ureshi. Larry pointed out to me that Transfig offers great trade up programs when you trade in a lower level Cart for one further up the line. I really liked that, makes it a lot easier to upgrade, and this was another major consideration in my decision to go with the Phoenix. Travis

McIntosh does indeed still make shipping boxes for the 2105, call parts. They make them to order and it will take a few weeks for it to arrive, and it will run 40 to 60 bucks. I cannot stress this enough, especially with a 2105, it will be the best $60 you ever spent in your life, There are pictures on this forum, of members who received 2105's with front's smashed, etc. If you don't want to wait 3 weeks to get the box, call Audio Classics, they make the same box and will have it to you in a week, it just won't have McIntosh on the side of it. I am not really thinking too good here, I can ask the forum member I sold my 2105 to if he wants to sell his box, to you or if he would consider loaning you his box if you would like. Just let me know and I will be happy to put you in touch. Travis

PhX Mounted

Phx

Another view

At the beginning of the year I started a thread about trying out different turntable cartridges with my Nottingham Space Deck turntable/Basis Vector 3 arm. The discussion ended in March, as explained more below. Rather then bumping a 3 month old thread, I am starting a new one, and discussing some of the cartridges I had a chance to listen to on my Nottingham/Vector through my Blueberry Preamp which has the Cream option (built in MC input, via internal Jensen Step-up transformers). The original thread can be found here: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/1/878306/ShowThread.aspx At that point, I had tried out the Shelter 501, 901, 9000, Benz Micro, Benz Wood Body, Koetsu, Black and Ureshi. I was getting very close to pulling the trigger on a Koetsu Black, at that time, and some of the cartridge experts on the forum recommended some other brands, i.e., Transfiguration, but I was limited to what my dealer carried and he did not carry Transfig. Well at least not up to that point. Larry C or resident, inter alia, classical music expert, did me a huge favor. Unbeknownst to me, Larry called the US distributer of Transfiguration products and asked if he could send a couple of cartridges out to my dealer so that I could give them a try. Turns out, the distributor and my dealer are old friends so it was no problem. However, there was a problem in that Transfiguration recently came out with two new cartridges, the Axia and the Phoenix. The Phoenix has been a big hit in Europe and getting a lot of great press over there. There were not any production models available yet, there were all being used at shows, etc. But within a couple of weeks the Dist got his hands on one of the first production models in the U.S. from Japan, and started burning it in for about a week before he sent it to my dealer. There were some delays on all ends, that were beyond everyones control, that ended up causing a delay in the audition of these last two cartridges before I made a final decision. Up until that point, I didnt think there was anyway I was going to want anything other then the Koetsu Black. This cartridge has a true line-contact shaped diamond, this means less noise because the stylus makes more contact with the groove wall than an elliptical, and this also means less distortion, and tends to be more forgiving with records that might have a pop or click or two. The Black has very musical midrange, very natural sounding. There were some cartridges that may have equal or slightly better midrange, but it had the best bass of any cartridge, and by a wide margin. The Koetsu Ureshi was an incredible sounding cartridge, but it did not justify the price difference over the Black. The Benz, both the wood body and the Ace did not sound good to my ears. There was a definite "flavor" to these cartridges, and depending on the type of music you listen to I can see why they have such a large and devoted following. (I listen to 95% classic rock of the 60's and 70's, 4% Jazz and 1% Cajun). The Shelter carts are an excellent choice. Lots to choose from, all kinds of prices. I had a 501 on my Vector are for almost two months while we waited for the Transfigs to come in and get them set up. It produced great music, and I had to really remember back as to what I knew I was missing by not having the Black, or Shelters that are farther up the line. If you want transparency, you want every detail out of the groove, the Shelter 901 or 9000 is for you. I think the 9000 is a much better cartridge then the 901, much improved, but I think they keep the 901 in the line because of an almost cult like following. I dont care for that much detail. I think I stated earlier, in the other post, there was a portion of School, on Crime of the Century by Supertramp, where the 901 sucked deep down and pulled out of the grove this passage where Hodgson either drags his pick too deep and across the pickups, or bumps the guitar into something. I have listened to that song 100's of times, on all kinds of equipment, and I have never heard the thing so in your face. You can hear the bump with the 501, Black, etc., but you have to be listening for it and it is still way down layers of music. With the 901 it was so abrupt I thought that someone had bumped into the turntable. I had to go back and replay it a few times. I was shocked out what that cart could suck out of the grooves. Like I said, if you want to know whether the singer ate popcorn the night before, the 901 is for you. In addition to the detail, the music was great sounding. The 9000, for my ears was slightly better. The Denon 103 was recommended to me, and I have always thought it was a good cart, and a great value, but to my ears not a great sounding cart. I think this is because it was designed over 40 years ago to be used in Japans radio network. It has a very, very low compliance, on purpose. A cart with very little give is not likely to jump out of a groove while it is being played on air. Now to the Transfigs. The Axia was a good sounding cart, very natural, but I think that the Black had it way beat in the Bass, and overall natural sound. I listened to that cart first, for about a day and a half. It was impossible to really remember back what the others really sounded like, I did have some bench marks set out, but it was further complicated by the fact that I got hearing aids since I auditioned those first carts. So, frankly, it was impossible to really judge the Transfigs against the previous carts, but I wasnt really looking to do that anyway. I wanted a natural sounding cart, that would pick up good detail, but not with overkill. The Axia sounded good, very good, but I think the Black was slightly better for what I was looking for. Then we put the Phoenix on and I was blown away. The best midrange of any cart I have tried to day, it does not have the bass of the Koetsu, but it is very, very close and actually, it might be just a tad more musical then the Black. So I can going to listen to this Phoenix tonight and tomorrow, and unless something drastic happens, I believe I will be going with the Transfig, Phoenix. Larry, thanks for all of you help in getting those carts send out here. I would have missed a great opportunity to hear some excellent products and would have missed out on finding the best cartridge for my situation. Travis

It there is a police report, it is supposed to be entered into a statewide database, all pawn shops and "2nd hand" store owners, which wolud include a store such as guitar center that takes in trades, has to enter all items take in pawn or trade. If they get a hit, they have to notify the LE agency that listed the items, and they have to be delieverd to that agency. Yes there are countrys that cut off the hands of thiefs. These are the same countrys that do not allow women to vote, and usually don't let anyone else to vote either, they publically beat women if they go outside without their face covered, prohibit the consumption of alcohol and do not allow the Bible to be brought into the country. Travis

Dr. Bill, Really sorry to hear about that. $1,500 is the felony threshold for a felony in Texas. I would think that would be very interested in that offense, but you never know. In any event, I will keep my eye out in Austin for any of this stuff. Travis

Eric, Right you are!!!!! It is not his daughter, I thought so for a long time. The reason that the rumor will not die is that this is reported in sources that you would expect to be accurate, like AMG, etc. The girl was 11 and was the photographer's second choice. Her older sister was seen by the photographer on the Metro and he followed her home where he asked her and her parents if she would pose and she was not interested. Her younger sister was interested if it paid. Her price: A horse Travis

Incredible photo, looks like South Pacific or Australia. You would occassionaly see this where I surfed in Calif., but it had nothing to do with eating. When they are a calf, dolphins swim in the slip stream of their mother. They think, in addition the playful nature of dolphins, they experience the slip stream sinsation when they swim with the waves in this fashion. I can't believe the size of the pod that they caught in one wave. When I saw it there were 3 to 5, nothing like the 20 or so in that photo. Here is a California shot., Travis

We had the best time catching him in Woodstock. If you are ever in Woodstock, or in the area, I highly reccomend going to one of his Midnight Rambles at his studio. Travis

Congrats to you and the Mrs. on your 5th. [G]

Day 5, 2 a.m., now I know what Gary meant about not being able to sleep. Wow. Not even a puff. I used to always light up when I got in the car, now it almost feels like driving without a seatbelt (which I never do) not having a cig. in one hand, cell phone in the other, steering wheel falls in between somewhere. Easy to see that lighting up in the car was more of a habit then cravings. Travis

LOL, she was 11 at the time, so I don't think it was his wife, then or now.

Trivia question: Who is the girl on the cover?

Garth, That is an excellent idea and one I hope to accomplish as well. Travis

I would be happy just running into some prerecorded 7" reel to reel tapes once in awhile. If anyone runs into these please let me know, or someone selling an entire record collection, at least 750 lps, even up to 5000. If anyone is looking for something in particular please let me know and I will keep my eyes open (other then the obvious things like $25 CW's, or 10 C-30's). If I do run into such a steal, I will offer it to a forum brother. Travis

An obvious subterfuge, just look at the guilty look on his face.[H]

As I reported recently, our forum brother Timmkid (Tim) and his three friends recently swung through Austin for a Holiday. Tim bought my MX-110 and got it all shipped off safe and sound and is enjoying it with his MC-30's back in The Netherlands. After visiting Austin for a few days they checked out some of the other areas in Central Texas like Lukenbach, the Alamo, etc. However, I have come to learn that while Tim thought he was not being watched he snuck off to audition some of the other guy's stuff. Here he is caught red handed.

Day 2: Thanks for the encouragement OB, I sure can use it that is for sure. I still have not smoked, but my hats off to Gary, and all the rest who have quit, especially in the last month or so. I think about it constantly and it is nice to be able to type to keep my mind off of it. The Chantix is helping but it is still very challenging. Travis

I started taking the Chantix last Friday, and my last Cig/Cigar was last night at 11:30 p.m. I am really early into this obviously, but the cravings urges are pretty strong, but not as strong when I have tried to quit in the past. I had a Cohiba Esplindido last light and it tasted oh so good. I must have about $1000 worth of cuban cigars in the humidor that I am depressed I won't be able to smoke. Well just typing this got me through another bout of cravings, so I will report back later. Travis