DaleR

Great to hear from all you guys! We've lived here for about a year now...Before that we were lucky to get to live in Italy for a few years. No real "audio" stores to speak of around here...The only store I found that sold Klipsch was The Good Guys in Fairfield, and of course they closed up. I believe the nearest store that sells Heritage is in Santa Rosa. Was up that way a couple of weeks ago, but the wife didn't want to spend time listening to speakers. [] Dale

Just wondering...Any of you Klipschers reside in the Northern California area? From what I've found, there doesn't seem to be much of an "audio scene" around here. I'm about an hour due NE of San Fran. Dale

I wish... Dale

Aargh! It pains me to hear of people who do stuff like that...Especially to speakers as good as the 5.5s. Thanks for saving them from the trash collectors. Dale

Happy Easter, everyone! Dale

Dude, that is just wrong!

Speedball, You were right...I played "Rhapsody in Blue" for my wife over brunch this morning, and she loved it! The only problem is, I've had the tune stuck in my head all day[:@] Dale

Depends on what I'm listening to...Right now, it's Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and some fine 12-year old Scotch [] Dale

Yeah, that's Florence. The pic was taken from the big statue of David on the hill overlooking the city...We were lucky enough to be stationed in Naples for three years, and this was one of our many weekend excursions. I would go back in a heartbeat, Italy is that wonderful! You know, when you live in a place that others only dream about visiting, you get kind of jaded..."Honey, you want to go to Florence again?" It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Dale

Yeah, but then his wife might not be so ecstatic anymore...

Nice car...I'm jealous!

This is me, when the Mrs. and I lived in Italy.

Rockbobmel, I've had my RAZR for about 6 months now, and I Iove it! It took me a while to get used to the keypad, but I actually like this one better than the keypad on my previous phone, a Motorola V60. I did drop the phone a couple of times (fortunately, it was on carpet!) but I found a leather flip case and that solved that problem. I'm thinking about getting a RAZR for the wife so we can swap pictures. So far she has resisted, but she hasn't seen the new pink version[] Dale

I'm down for a t-shirt or two...Black, size XL please. Dale

Radio Shack Realistic Mach-1's. I think they were water cooled...Before that I had a couple of crappy speakers that came with one of those all-in-one systems. Dale

Here's a close up of the speakers.

All, I'm away on business right now, but my wife was kind enough to snap a few pics of my system. It's not fancy, but it sounds awesome! Plenty of solid bass, but capable of making Norah Jones sound heavenly. The Sony CD is nearly 13 years old, and I just had the optical lens replaced. I'm thinking about adding vinyl playback, and I'll need a turntable and phono stage. I've been looking at the Music Hall tables. Do any of you have any experience with these? I'd appreciate any recommendations. Dale

I love to crank up "Fool in the Rain", that is until my wife tells me to turn it down! Dale

I've had my Kg 5.5's for nearly 12 years now, and even though they sound as awesome as the day I bought 'em and are in pristine condition, I've kind of got the itch to upgrade. The Reference line looks pretty good, but I'm wondering if the improvement in sound quality will be worth the $$. The RF-7's have better sensitivity (102 db to 98) and can handle significantly more power, but they weigh 20 pounds more. The RF-5's have almost exactly the same specs as the 5.5's. I've not had a chance to hear either of these speakers yet. The Good Guys had them, but they recently went out of business! I know many of you have the RF-7's, and I'd really appreciate your input. If I can't achieve a significant gain in sound quality, I'll just stay put and save my money for some new K-horns []. Dale

As much as I love my system, I'm feeling the urge to upgrade and get into some more serious equipment. My current system was my first foray into the world of "better than department store" audio. My Sony ES CD (which my wife purchased 13 years ago before we were married) recently needed a new optical lens. Funny thing is, it sounds as good as new! I'd like to get into vinyl as well, so I'll need at least a turntable and phono stage. Unfortunately, it's hard to justify spending money on audio when the wife has other ideas, like buying new vehicles. Dale

I'll throw my $.02 in for the Rotel amp. I have it's predecessor, the RB-980BX, which is rated at 200 wpc as well. It does well with both rock and classical music. If you're into volume, you'll be very happy. I can't crank mine much past 3-4 on the knob. Rotel makes some really good stuff for the price. Dale

My system is listed below...It has served me well for years now, but I've got a major itch to upgrade. No budget set yet, but I'd appreciate any suggestions! BTW, I just moved back to the States from Italy. Living in Vacaville, CA. Any of you in the San Fran-Sacremento area? Dale

When I'm not working long, hard hours, I like to read and keep up with politics. I'll be starting my Master's Degree soon, so that will take a lot of time away from enjoying my system. Of course, professional football season is upon us, so I'll be watching quite a bit of that. Go Cardinals! Dale

I bought my 5.5's back in '94 from Wilson Audio in Tucson. The BX at Davis-Monthan had a lousy selection of gear, but the AAFES catalog always seemed to have better stuff (Yamaha, Klipsch, etc.). I was always told it was because the local exchanges weren't allowed to compete with the "Best Buys" of the world. The Navy Exchange here in Naples, Italy, offers, almost exclusively, big screen TVs, and even has a whole room devoted to Bose Home Theatre (Bose built and paid for the room). Our newest Exchange catalog offers brands like Sony (non-ES), Kenwood, Onkyo, Pioneer, Cerwin-Vega, and of course, 15 pages of Bose. A lot of it is mass-market crap and I wouldn't waste my time with it. My boss listened to my Klipsch/Rotel/Sony ES system recently, and remarked that mine was the "best system he had ever heard!" Like many people, he doesn't realize you can put together a great sounding system for not a lot of money. Most of the military folks I know tend to be very analytical and mechanical in nature, and they like to have good quality gear they can tinker and have fun with. Most of them also make a decent living and can afford to updgrade their gear every couple of years. I belive Klipsch should really look hard at getting back into the military market, because I think they will find a multitude of customers who will become life-long Klipsch fans.

1994 Kg 5.5s