Jose R

The asking price is $950.00. Thanks! On Edit: And the Auralex platforms work great.

Before I post these on Craigslist/Audiogon/eBay I wanted to offer them here: 1985 Cornwall IIs with cane grills in excellent condition. The label on one of the speakers is a bit faded but readable. And, unfortunately the label on the other is torn making the serial number unreadable. I am asking $950.00 obo. The speakers are located in NYC for easy pick-up for anyone in the tri-state area. I am willing to ship, but understand depending on the shipping location the cost will run the buyer from $150 to over $200. (BTW, apologies for the color-cast of the above photos. Been testing out Adobe's Lightroom with PE4.)

---------------- On 9/28/2004 2:51:20 PM tpg wrote: I think I need a new bike MUCH sooner than later.... I hit a small bump in the road, maybe 3" high, not even going very fast at all. The front made some awful sounding crack/pop... so I hit the brakes and stopped to see if the tire had left me. That wasn't it... nothing appeared to be wrong, so I started again, but noticed it was hard to pedal... I looked down at my front tire and it was wobbling a little from side to side and was hitting my front brake each time. I also looked at the back wheel... guess what... it wobbles, too. A mountain bike that cannot take one little bump... ---------------- Sounds like you blew a couple of spokes on your wheels. Cheap wheels (or cheaply made wheels) are known to do that. Getting the spokes replaced and the wheels trued shouldn't cost that much. But, getting a better bike with a better wheelset might give you better peace of mind. Mavic open pro rims with DT spokes 32 across are what I use on my road bike. I ride in NYC; where if you aren't dodging horse crap at central park, or dog crap on the sidewalks, you are dodging pot holes and steel plates on the streets. Not to mention the moronic sleepwalking pedesterians... or the rampaging taxis or the illegal left-turning, right-turning from the middle-lane motorists... Haven't snapped a spoke ever.

---------------- On 9/27/2004 7:27:22 AM krustyoldsarge wrote: I love bicycles, but I've been out of the saddle a couple of years now. Cycling is great for your overall fitness, but do get that knee looked at; biking probably won't help it. Some roadies can be real snobs, too! Consider a used road bike. Yard Sales, pawn shops, bike shops are a starting point. Test ride some and see what frame size works for you. My guess is a 21" frame could be right for you at 5'8", but you'll find what fits. I ride a 23" frame. The tube between the headset and seat should not touch your crotch while your feet are flat on the ground. I like double-butted alloy steel frames. Titanium is brittle and harsh, even though is light. Steel has a springing action that gives and forgives and can help ease the fatigue of a long ride. ---------------- Alot of times people with knee problems actually take up cycling as therapy. Less impact stress on the joint. Snob alert: Real road bikes are measured in centimeters not inches. For a 5'8" lean body frame with short torso and long legs, I would try out 51cm-55cm frames. Understanding of course, you can fine tune final fit with seat post height, saddle position, stem length and height. And, err, titanium is NOT harsh or brittle. You may be mistaking titanium for aluminum. Titanium is one plush ride.

Trek bikes are popular because of Lance Armstrong, not because they are great bike. The fact they are very good bikes is just coincidental. You say you want to go high-end right away, no BS. Good, I like this attitude. Firstly, I would recommend lurking over the bike forums (www.bikeforums.net). There are many discussions about this subject there. Also, there are a number of posts on Trek bikes, frames. Personally, I would consider two materials, titanium or steel. Also, I would go custom. Depending on who yuo use to build your bike the total expense won't be that much more than a tricked out trek or other mass manufacturer. The choice will be dependent on how much riding you plan to do, how much you weigh, how flexible and in shape you are. If, let's say you are over 200lbs, choose steel. If, you are under 150lbs I would choose titanium. Carbon Fiber is not a bad material. Many cyclist like myself use mixed frame materials: my bike is a custom titanium frame with carbon fiber fork and integrated seatstays. The great thing about steel is they are making frame tubing much lighter these days than in years past. And by comparison its still affordable. Titanium and steel will out live you. Bike fit is important. Bike shops use various methods to arrive at two basic recommendations: either a frame that is too big or a frame that is too small. It is up to you decide what you prefer. I would always choose a frame that is one size smaller than my proper fit, for better control, less weight. Other people have different views. Recommendations: Dean Bikes Anvil Bikes Independent Fabrications There are others, some real custom and $$$$$$, others less so. No offense to bike shop salespeople, but they are there to sell you a bike; they could care less whether you actually are riding the bike a year from now or not. There are of course a few great bike shops across the country...you just have to be lucky to be near one. More specific info on what your size, weight and goals are would be helpful.

---------------- On 9/21/2004 7:48:01 PM Erik Mandaville wrote: All that said, I must respectfully disagree, just a little, in the perception that "SET amps should not hum....period." They are actually a little more prone to filament related hum than some other designs, because of the directly AC heated cathodes. Hum balance circuits can get rid of a large portion of problem, but there can be some very slight residual background hum in even the best SET amps. Push-pull amplifiers are rather different in this sense, as are other amps (including some SET designs that use DC current on filament/heater supplies. ---------------- I think Greg has already answered the hum issue; and it appears to come from the amp. And it appears to be a fundamental design/build issue since its the same hum heard at Jeff's place. So, the question for Greg is where is it coming from? My belief is its the filament supply, but I'm only guessing. And there are techniques used by designers like Gordon Rankin to get AC heated filaments quiet. So, hopefully Jeff will help Greg hunt down the problem and find a solution. But this should have been done in the first place, before the amp arrived at Greg's place... WRT to AC vs DC and noise in general: I'm a DC guy and will always be a DC guy for single ended amps or stages. For my amp, I use separate supplies with RCLCL filtering after the schottky bridge. The last L being a common mode choke. My amp is without hum. Having said that, it is not without noise. There is still a slight "buzz" I hear when I put my ear inside my Cornwall's tweeters. I'm currently in the process of hunting the source of this down. But from a foot away I can't hear it. And my amp sounds great, so its a non-critical issue for me. (I don't use any mains line filtering with my equipment, but have ordered some X1 filters from welbourne labs and a couple of outlet boxes. Will be trying various schemes to see if it helps any.) BTW, your modified Horus amp sounds interesting. I will be trying parafeed on my next amp. I also really admire Jack Eliano's DRD circuits. WRT hum cancellation circuits: I know several people who use this (Lynn Olson being one), but I don't fully understand why. If you have no hum to begin with (by using proper LC stages of filtering) there is no need, right? It seems like a quick way to use a cheap power supply... BWDIK, I haven't fully investigated these types of circuits. Also, I never heard of a grid choke failing? How does it fail? And why? I use a pair of grid chokes on the grid of my driver tubes. Have never imagined that they might fail. I still stand by my statement. If you have hum when you build the amp, figure it out and fix it. Don't just shrug your shoulders and expect it to go away by itself; or just accept it as a part of a "competent" design or build. All designers, builders, home DIYers have and will encounter noise problems with their amps, whether hum or buzz or whatever. I think its good discipline to track it down and find a solution.

---------------- On 9/19/2004 9:16:26 PM greg928s4 wrote: I can hear the hum from my listening chair, faintly. I assume you are referring to the Quicksilver 8417 PP tube amplifiers in the bottom of the rack? Greg ---------------- You know, I think all tube amp designers or builders should use 104dB speakers to voice their amps. Maybe if they did, they would be able to isolate the hum and use whatever means to eliminate it, and build competent amps. SET amps should not hum, period...end of rant. Oh, those are separate amps. They look cool... Well, if each chassis contains the power supply, then the hum can be coming from a number of things...wait, though, doesn't Lessard use a parafeed circuit for this amp? The parafeed choke should isolate the signal circuit from the power supply. So, my guess would be the 2A3 filaments. These noise issues are one of the reasons I decided to just learn to build my own amps. Regardless, keep enjoying the amp...

---------------- There is a hum coming from both amplifiers. I've adjusted both hum pots to minimize it, but it is quite noticeable in between songs. The lack of wattage and the hum are minor issues, they will not diminish the joy I have with the sound quality of my system right now. ************************************************************ I bet the bass is mostly from the excellant design Jeff employs rather then the tube type. ---------------- Are you hearing hum at the listening chair? If so, that would be unacceptable... Have you tried different 2A3s? I can accept a designer's preference for AC on the filaments, but if you can't get the hum down to nil then you have not made the extra effort. Now, I can't make the argument that single-ended tube designs should be noise-free like SS, a little is unfortunate but acceptable. Hum though, is defeatable by proper design. Regardless, if it sounds good to you, that's all that counts. BTW, are those the power supplies for the amp at the bottom? Craig, 2A3s are certainly more extended at both ends than 300Bs. My amp is convertible between both types. But, the difference is minimized by a good power supply design.

---------------- On 9/11/2004 9:50:13 AM HeritageBob wrote: S.E.T. stands for Single Ended Triode. It is one type of the many circuit designs used to create an audio tube amplifier. ---------------- Actually, I think the technical term is for single-ended topology; since, you can use pentodes, tetrodes as well as triodes, but since most single-ended designs use triodes its been accepted as single ended triode. All SETs are class A designs, although not all class A designs are SETs. Theres a ton of info on web about this subject; but in short its a question of distortion. What kinds and what amounts of distortion you find pleasing or acceptable. A poorly designed amp will have unpleasant distortion; a properly designed amp will have less distortion and any distortion present will be acceptable to our ears. I've owned commercial amps (both SS and SET) which have sounded utterly wretched; I've heard some which are actually quite good, despite the topology. (BTW, a lot of it has to do with the power supply; a cheap-*** power supply will limit the performance of any amp.) Which is why I've chosen to build my own amplifiers...better quality control

This is a notorious scam that has been going around. See here: Scams Scams-part deux Too much preambling bulls*t from a party-of-interest is a red-flag.

I'm a recent owner of a pair of Cornwall IIs. When I went through my search for a true hi-efficiency speaker to pair with my DIY SET amp I considered Lowthers, Fostex and AERs in the multitude of available cabinets. Having heard a few single driver designs (which I found to have various problems I didn't want to deal with) I focused my effort on getting a pair of Klipsch Heritage speakers. Since I don't currently have true right angle corners in the front of my room, Klipschorns were out. I "settled" on the Cornwalls. I think these speakers allow you more varied speaker placement within the room with a broad frequency range. I currently have mine paired with a Rel sub (a left over from a prior system). I am not lacking in bass nor highs. For $2,000 I would try and find a mint Cornwall II (or equivalent Heritage model) and spend the rest on room treatments, like bass traps from Real Traps or Auralex. Which is basically what I have done. I bought my mint pair off eBay without having heard any Klipschs before. So it was a risk. But, a risk worth taking. These speakers are scary real. And the lack of distortion at high spls is shocking. And with good amplification, good sources and in a well treated room; I can't think of any speakers I would rather have. But, they are big. So, if you are constrained in room size maybe the Chorus or Fortes might be better suited? Even with a moderate amount of room treatments you will get articulate clean bass, a pure midrange and clear highs. I've only had mine for a week or so, so I am floored everytime I hear them.

Well, I have a positive story about UPS: Bought my first Klipsch speakers off eBay (Cornwall IIs) and arranged to have the seller drop off the speakers at his local UPS store (Salem, VA). I spoke with the employees over the phone prior to the dropoff and went over the packing of the speakers. Called them again when the seller dropped off the speakers and got assurances that the speakers would be well packaged. The speakers were shipped Monday (ground) and arrived today. The store employees had wrapped the speakers in bubblewrap, then a cardboard shell all around to protect the corners, well taped, then they were placed in a double-box filled with sytrofoam peanuts, again well taped. They arrived in good shape and so far I have opened one box (had to get back to work) and will head out soon back to the studio to open the second. Very happy and lucky (based on the stories written above). Speakers $770 Packaging $ 90 Shipping $240 Total $1,100 More than I had wanted to spend on a used pair of speakers, but these were mint Cornwall IIs with the cane grills. BTW, these are HUGE speakers