Travis In Austin

Speaker, I notice on a lot of auctions the seller will put they do not accept bids from people unless they have a minimum feedback of X, usually 10. I figured they must have gotten burned by a new bidder along the way, but now I see it is to prevent bidding scams like this. Ebay used to list the bidders but they no longer do that. I guess they figured out that they may have been losing sales by another seller being able to look at who bid what and then try and contact those potential buyers directly. Isn't there an option when you do the listing that you can select that you wish to reject bidder's below a certain feedback? Or do you have to manually go in and remove them? Travis

Rock on Dude!! Hey, I notice there is a total of about 14 sq. feet of empty space on your garage floor, if you can get that configured into a space 2' wide by 7' long I will have a great place to sleep for Klipschfest. What a score! Travis

a. If you list an item that suddenly does real well. You can expect a season ebay seller to list the exact same item and end his auction 15 minutes before yours. Next you will see a few bids by folks with low feedback inflated past the new list cost of the item. Finally, before the end of the auction, the inflated bids are cancelled, the other seller makes out with a decent sale from the folks he steered away from your listing, and your item is still unsold. You can't check how many times the other seller has done this, since all bidders from previous transactions are generic. Speakerfritz, What can you do, if anything, to combat this situation? Which item did you sell that this happened to you on? Travis

I'd bet you lunch that the Jubilees would put the wood to the 60's just like it did mine. Rhetorical question: is it better to spend "X" dollars and get fantastic sound and a beautiful speaker or is it better to spend 2/3'rds of "X" dollars and get even BETTER sound at the cost of a less asthetic speaker? (although I love the look and especially the 402). Shall I add you to the list of invitee's to come up & give them a listen before you make any decision??? You are welcome to visit. I can even tell you where the local speedtraps/checkpoints are so you can fish around for some new clients and perhaps write the trip off as a business expense!! [] I'd bet you lunch that the Jubilees would put the wood to the 60's just like it did mine. I take the bet, I would buy you lunch for the gracious demo regardless. Rhetorical question: is it better to spend "X" dollars and get fantastic sound and a beautiful speaker or is it better to spend 2/3'rds of "X" dollars and get even BETTER sound at the cost of a less asthetic speaker? (although I love the look and especially the 402). You are asking the wrong question. The question should be: is it better to spend "X" dollars and get fantastic sound and a beautiful speaker or is it better to spend 2/3'rds of "X" dollars and get even BETTER sound at the cost of a less asthetic speaker and you have a Silcilian wife who sleeps with one eye open that is going to be more then a bit preturbed? The question almost answers itself. Shall I add you to the list of invitee's to come up & give them a listen before you make any decision??? You are welcome to visit. I can even tell you where the local speedtraps/checkpoints are so you can fish around for some new clients and perhaps write the trip off as a business expense!! Shall I add you to the list of invitee's to come up & give them a listen before you make any decision??? You are welcome to visit. I can even tell you where the local speedtraps/checkpoints are so you can fish around for some new clients and perhaps write the trip off as a business expense!! Yes, when are you thinking? Thank you very much for the invite. Travis

Go to this link, this is by far the best stuff to you if you are going to DIY your garage floor. They have all the specks you could ever want, and it is a great epoxy system. http://www.originalcolorchips.com/ Epoxy is two part, and cures for, the advantage is it bonds to the concrete floor, it doesn't chip because it is stronger, and has a firm bond. However, the prep is critical, they used to explain it all on the site, but I have not looked in awhile. You have to to get rid of all oil, old paint, etc. Then you have to give the floor a complete acid bath, and then you have to make sure the acid is rinsed away. But it sure looks cool, Travis

I am really dying to see these photos. That has got to be a sight to see. Travis

ALL of the GD's live music is in the public domain, after a certain point, by design. I don't mean you can legally copy a commercial disk of a live show at will, and you cannot sell their music for gain, but they had a recording pit (area roped off for "novice" recordists to set up their recording equipement to tape shows) back as far as I can remember which would have been Winterland in '74. Those tapes have been bought, sold and traded at the "Bizarrs" forever They are in the public domain because the GD waived those rights by implication. Back when Nagra and Stellovox reel to reels were the vogue of the movie/broadcast industry you never saw a bigger collection at one time then at a GD concert. They were hooked up to microphones that were on stands 15 to 20 feet in the air. I am sure Gary could tell you a whole more about it, I don't seem to remember much of it. The Allman Brothers are one of my all time favorite bands, and I know what you mean about jamming. However, just as At Fillmore East has got to be one of the best live jam lp's ever, could you really do without the studio lp's Eat A Peach (Blue Sky), or Brothers & Sisters (Jessica). An anomaly with GD, unlike the Allman Brothers, is that they did not have relatively good success with album sales. Their only top 10 lp, In the Dark, and only top ten single, Touch of Grey, came in 1987. The band was plagued with financial troubles, made even worse by a bad movie investment, and switched record labels in the mid 70s (twice). Not having much luck in the studio they concentrated on live work, which they developed into a multi-million industry in its own right. All through the late 70s, 80s and early 90s they were consistently in the top ten for highest grossing domestic tours. If a major draw like the Stones did not tour that year, they were frequently the top one or two grossing tours. As such, a lot of their fans, rightfully so, focus on the live work. Consequently, thier studio work tends to get overshadowed somewhat since a lot of people who are real fans got into them because of going to a show. I think if you want to capture the essence of the GD it does have to be in their live work, however, to capture a their evolution as a band, etc., a few original studio/live albums are essential, at least to me. As has been mentioned, American Beauty is a must have, Anthem of the Sun, studio and live (with the "Space Mix"), Live Dead, and Workingman's Dead, are all ones I recommend you give a whirl, as they mark major milestones for the band. Gary and others know vastly more then I do on the subject of GD music and I would follow their sage advice. However, dont be hesitant to give some of these other titles a try, especially if you are into vinyl. Travis

Gosh I want to just hang out in there. Where is the Kegarator? Industrial LaScallas? That is truly sweet. Travis

Khorns were on the long wall, need them on the short wall, short wall only has one corner (left), not enought room for false corner for right speaker (would nearly block entrance to room), saw discussion about 60th having sealed backs which allowed toe in or out, assumed corner may not be required, looks like my assumption is incorrect, need corner but they do not need to be "sealed" into corner, sending diagram to His Holyness for confirmation, if not enough "corner" for right, punt on Khorns, get cornwalls, if enough corner, have truck, will travel, need to rent trailer. Travis

William, I hope nothing I said anywhere on here suggested that I was upset with YOU concerning your sale. As I wrote you privately, when I heard you had an offer prior to me contacting you I was happy that you had a quick sale, but bummed because the day or two that I had not really checked the forums I missed your generous offer to sell them here first. You had made a deal with that gentleman prior to me contacting you and there was no way I would expect, let alone ask, that you try and wiggle out of it. I asked you to consider me No. 2 if it did not go as planned, which you did, and you kept in touch to advise me how it was proceeding. I was sick only because they were so close, yet so far away. I started to consider them again, but they are just too far. That seller is jinxed, he has an eternal black cloud over his head. First, he says they will not work for him. Who has a pair of speakers shipped out without knowing whether they are going to work or not? He lists them on Audiogon for what he paid plus the shipping, but was willing to take $2,400. He turned down $2,000 from me. I ask them if a claim is being made and he says yes but he does not expect much as all and it is going to be a long time. I tell him I am willing to make him whole, wait and see what he gets paid for damage, and what I am offering might even put him ahead. The next day, boom, he puts them on ebay awith a $2,000 min, what I offered, and a a 2,600 or 2,700 buy it now, and someone does the buy it now, but they have a negative 2 feedback as a fraudulent buyer. He relists them with a min. bid of $2,600 and a buy it now for the same price of 2,600. So he is not going to get any bids at all, someone is either going to buy them or not. Are you even going to be able to present a claim if he sells them? What if he gets $2,600? I would think the shipping company, on these kinds of claims, has the option of paying you, or the buyer, the full amount of the claimed value, they cut you a check, they pick up the speakers and sell them for "salvage." They could also give you the option of keeping the "salvage" but that is where a bunch of negoiation comes in, they claim they are worth a bunch, and you claim they are nearly worthless, and you try and reach a compromise. Most also have the option of trying to have it repaired, and they would need the speakers for that as well. It sounds like the buyer does not even care about the damage, at least if he can get $2,600. I bet he takes a different positon if he can't sell them. You tried everything you could do to get them to someone on this forum, and for a local pickup. I am just sorry I missed the opportunity, but I am even more sorry about your aggravation in connection with the damage. I hope there is a quick and easy resolution to that. IF ANYONE EVER NEEDS A SHIPPER FOR SPEAKERS let me know. I will get you name of a moving company that I have at the office. There are nationwide, with terminals all over the U.S., and they specialize in moving antique furniture from door to door. They are double to triple the cost of a shipper. My media crendenza cost about $700 to ship from LA to Austin, but they unloaded it, unpacked it, and carried it up to the second floor. They move items costing tens of thousands of dollars, all day, every day, all over the United States. They are approved by piano manufacturers, pool table manufacturers, etc to deliever their custom products to customer's homes. So if you are trying to get something to yourself in good shape they are the way to go, and if the buyer insists on shipment, insist on them as the only people you will use to ship and they cost __________. These people know how to move stuff that is valuable, a pair of our irreplaceable Herritage speakers would be the lowest cost items on the truck, but they all get the same care and precautions. Insurance for a mover is different then a shipping company. A mover takes full responsibility for the item, they are liable for anything that occurs to it whether it is their fault or not, until you sign for it. You don't sign for it until they unwrap it. A shipper's liability is governed by Federal Regulations under the ICC, and there liability is limited. Like I say, it will cost, but it is well worth it. Travis

Watch y'all got in there? What is that fancy stuff behind the rack and those big fancy colums on the left and right? Travis

Shinerman, You are going to be tossing those subs when you get those Khorns into position. Maybe you can use em for planters or something?[] Travis

This thought has been resonating with me for the last couple of days. I just sent Trey an email about it. Thanks a lot for getting me off track[] Travis, those 60th anniversary K's are stunning, and I can't imagine you regretting it except maybe for the outlay.[] As beautiful as the pics of them were from Hope last year, they look even better in person. A fitting successor to your previous models, and hopefully your sills won't need more work. Larry As per usual, I got a speedy reply from Trey. He said my 60th Anniv. Khorns are ready anytime for me, just bring a truck and a trailer . . . the truck to load them in the and trailer to bring the cash in. (JK, he didn't really say that). What he did say is that the 60th Aniv Ed., while sealed, are not "corner free" speakers. He said the sealed back eliminated the last fold of the horn that the corners use to make up, which allows you to toe them in and out a bit, but they still need something (I guess, he was talking in all kind of fancy technical terms) that resembles a corner. True to his technical/eng. nature he requested a "diagram" of the room so that he could make recommendations and suggestions as to the propriety of the intended applicaton. He is asking for a diagram from a lawyer, this is going to be interesting. All kidding and sarcasm aside, I truly appreciate Trey taking the time to see if 60th Khorns might be a possibility for me. Travis

All us locals entertained ourselves just fine without drugs............. plenty to do besides get stones and drunk up in the north country. Besides the problems were on ALL MILITARY BASES large town or big town made little difference. Many small towns have military bases today and these problems are none existent for the most part. The 70's and early 80's were a very dark period for the US military from top to bottom just coming off the VN war and all. Dang right, everyone I have ever met from Michigan could do 3 things really well: Drink, Hunt and Fish. Most could do all three at the same time. Travis

Seadog, If y'all swing by Austin on your way back please let me know, you are welcome to stop by for lunch, snack, cocktail, restroom, or a listen. We are a straight shot off of 35, easy on, easy off. Travis

Max, I wish I could try the Denon, ZXY, and the Transfiguration, but alas, my dealer does not carry them. Travis

I had forgotten that you also had KSP-400's. They actually sound pretty darn good, but they are a bit "bright" for my tastes on 2 channel. They do have a nice center image, good soundstage. I will know more if I don't have replacements for Khorns cause that is all I will have running. Travis

I am not sure, what was in the subject line? My spam program may have eaten it. I will send you one and you can reply, maybe it will get to me that way.

JB, That's it? Bad things happen to good speakers? I am supposed to carry on, live life, and not look back because bad things happen to good speakers. That just isn't good enough, I need to know why, there has to be some reason, some way to fit this in the grand scheme of things. Oh the humanity. Travis

Here is a photo with the Shelter 501 on the Vector 3 tonearm. Well enough of the photos, as to the cartridges, here are my thoughts. The first night was the Shelter 501 ($850), Shelter 901 (1,500) and Benz Ace (550). The prices were really not relevant to me in the sense that I didnt really think I would be able to tell the differences between these cartridges with my hearing issues. I really thought that the Benz would sound as good as the others and this would be simple. Was I ever wrong, however, I decided early on that I was not going to fall into the "more is better" trap. I have only included the prices as a reference. First, this was the first time I really got to see how the Vector tonearm performed, and it was absolutely incredible. (Thanks Gary and Larry). Brian said he has not found a cartridge yet that will not track good on a Vector, and now I can see why. It takes a bit to get it set up, but when he has it dialed in you can just see how well the stylus wants to ride in the grove. I cannot recommend this tonearm highly enough. We started with the 501 and it really knocked my socks off from the get go. Great detail, bass was solid, and it really brought out the midrange, much more then what I was used to. Then we heard the Benz Ace, a great sounding cartridge, one I would probably be very satisfied with if I hadnt heard the others, but isnt that the way it always goes. We did not spend much time with that cartridge since I had already kind of made the 501 the baseline. Then the 901 went on. We spent a great deal of time with this cartridge. It made lps I was very, very familiar with sound new for the first time. It is extremely detailed, more on this in a minute, it had better high end definition then the 501. To my ears the 501 and 901 had about the same bass definition, the 501 possibly a tad more, but the 901 was a tad clearer in the high end. This "clearer" in the high end for my ears was a bit harsh. Symbols were clearer, where the drum stick was striking the cymbal edge was more discernable with the 901. As we listened to more lps I began to notice that I was not really caring from some recordings, you could tell, I am not kidding, how a singer mouth was positioned relative to the microphone. This was true with recordings that you knew were done in one room with a few mikes set up. You could tell when a singer turned to look over at someone else. For my ears it was TMI, too much information. The 901 was so detailed, so accurate, whatever the word is, that on some recordings it was a distraction. Case in point: Supertramp Crime of the Century, MFSL recording. This has always, in my mind, been a great pressing; to me it is better then the original. On the track School, after the first verse, Roger Hodgson strums his guitar slowly twice, then starts to dig into some deeper notes and you can clearly hear the pick or his fingernail, as the case may be, drag across the pickup. This "irregularity" was brought to the forefront by the 901. I have heard that song no less then 100 times and I have never heard it before. It was so abrupt I looked over at the turntable to see if something fell, or if Jack knocked somehow got up there and was up to no good. I asked Brian if he had ever heard that before and he said he hadnt, in all the times he heard the song as well. We played it again and determined it was clearly the pick dragging across the pickups. During the same intro of school there is that solo harmonica that is joined by the others. With the 901 you could really hear the extreme modulation that Rick Davies (?) plays through that harp. I prefer the 901 in the ability to pick up the detail of that modulation, but it picked up so much detail it was distracting to the music. I asked Brian to put the 501 back on which he did. You can hear the pick/pickup collision but it is not at the forefront of the music, you hear it but it is not in your face. Likewise you get a good sense of modulation in the harmonica, but not the depth you get with the 901. Brian explained this was the trade off between those two cartridges. To get things set up and the three cartridges a fair listening chance took about 3 hours. Brian asked me which cartridge he would like me to leave to listen to before Round 2, and I wanted him to leave the 501 on. More on Round 2 later, which were the Koetsu Black, Shelter 90X, and Benz wood-body. Travis

After Brian had the major adjustments done we put the unit back on the wall mount, where he finished making all of his adjustment, turntable level, etc.

Here is Brian from Sound Mind Audion doing the initial set up. We have taken the turntable off of the wall mount so he can get at things better. He got all of the adjustments on the Vector tonearm the way he wanted in and here he has intalled the Shelter 901 and is getting the tracking force close to where he wants it to be on his Wins stylus weight scale.

No the Last Record Preservative goes on after the record is cleaned. Supposed to do a whole bunch of thing, including minmize record wear and stylus wear. Some folks swear by it, others say it alters the playback. Very expensive, I think 40 for on oz (god I sound like my clients), but it only takes a few drops per lp. Travis

Seadog, Happy Birthday!!! Sorry I missed it yesterday, but we can just keep going with it all week. Travis

Ditto for me on that. Traivs