scotbuck

Greetings, I think they need to change your category from "No Life" to "Charmed Life"! Congratulations on the score!!! Take care, Scott

Greetings, I power my kg4's with an old Harman/Kardon 730 Twin Power receiver which puts out 40wpc. For my living room this is more than enough power with clear highs, gorgeous mids, and solid bass. At typical listtening levels, the controls are set at: Bass=2:30, Treble=1:00, Volume=9:00 Hope this helps... Take care, Scott

Greetings, I currently use an ELAC ("Benjamin" branded) 'table with a Miracord arm and Ortophon cartridge. I originally purchased it to have the capability of playing 78's. I found, however, that it sounded so much better than my SOTA Comet / Sure V15 set-up that I use the ELAC for all my records - and ended up selling the SOTA/Sure. Take care, Scott

Greetings, I own a pair of kg4's and have heard Cornwalls. If you're listening quietly in a small room, keep the kg4's. They'are a great speaker - perhaps the biggest "sleeper" of the Klipsch line. But, as you've likely experienced, their scale is small; they'll never fool you into thinking that you're hearing the real thing. The Cornwalls on the other hand have a huge, life-like scale to them. Seemingly effortless dynamics and "breathability". You really get the sense of musicians actually performing for you in your room. (I actually got goose-bumps when I heard them for the first time.) As a caveat, though, I thought that these speakers - like thoroughbread race horses - want to run. I don't think they'd be ideal for neighbor-friendly listening in an apartment. Either way, $700 for a pair or Cornwalls sounds like a great deal! Hope it works out for you... Take care, Scott

---------------- On 12/11/2004 6:04:47 PM fini wrote: She liked the Samick D5. ... ---------------- Greetings, If the Samick does it for her, then that's a good thing (provided it doesn't fall apart!) I've always said that my guitars pick me rather than the other way around. While this may sound silly to some, I suspect that those of you who really love your instruments will know what I mean... There's an "x-factor" to getting a guitar that can't be quantified or reasoned out. Not to worry... Whether it be the shiny finish, the cut of the headstock, the look of the rings around the soundhole, whatever -- if this instrument inspires your daughter to play, to practice that extra 10 minutes, to just noodle around -- it will serve her very well indeed. Once she becomes more proficient, then perhaps the Yamaha / Alvarez / Epi may be a good next step. Or even a Taylor, Martin, Lowden could be in her future. What matters is that she enjoy the journey -- and I'm sure she will! Take care, Scott

Greetings, Back when I was using a modded Stereo 70 (something we all kinda did at one time or another!) I was very happy with the Ei EL34 tube. As I recall, these were quite warm and musical (and it didn't break the bank to buy a matched quartet). Of course if you'd like to try a different flavor, I found that with rebiasing I could use KT88 tubes for a more "scooped" sound. Hope this helps... Take care, Scott

---------------- On 12/11/2004 1:50:29 AM arfandbark wrote: Don't be afraid to buy a 730, Joe. I have one and I'm very very happy listing to it thru my Corns. Shaking my keyboard as I type, it is.. ---------------- Greetings, I second that! I've owned both, and I found the 730 to be like a 430 on steroids, and for pushing my kg4's I think the 730's higher output power is a better match. Either way, though, these Twin Power amps are a revalation. Robust bass, gorgeous mids, crystalline highs ... all attributes one would be proud to use in describing their new $1000 rig. But for an amp that cost just $100 on eBay -- MAN!!! Take care, Scott

Greetings, I agree with the folks who suggest either a used Alvarez, Yamaha or Epiphone. My first guitar was a 1975 Epiphone. Nothing fancy but a great axe to learn on. Also, if you purchase used, you'll get your money back if/when it's time to trade up to something better. I would DEFINITELY AVOID EBAY!!! Guitars and shipping are not a good combination. Further, your best bet is to have your daughter actually play the instrument, as no two guitars are quite the same. The way the neck is carved, the size of the body, etc. will all play a role in her ability to enjoy the instrument. I've been playing for 30 years now ... you're giving your daughter something that she'll likely enjoy for the rest of her life. Way to go!!!! Hope this helps... Take care, Scott

Seasons Greetings, I always enjoy the following LPs at Christmas-time: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - Vince Guraldi Trio "I Wish You a Merry Christmas" - Bing Crosby "Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite" - Arturo Toscanini "The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole "To Wish You a Merry Christmas" - Harry Belafonte "The Spirit of Christmas" - Ray Charles "The Sinarta Christmas Album" - Frank Sinatra "A Christmas Offering" - Leontyne Price / Herbert von Karajan "Kenton's Christmas" - Stan Kenton Of course, for New Year's Day, I like to listen to Willi Boskovsky conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in their annual Strauss-inspired New Year's concerts. Take care (and Merry Christmas), Scott

---------------- On 12/3/2004 7:23:00 PM thebes wrote: So what helps you out when life's been beating on you with a wooden mallet? ---------------- Greetings, When I'm feeling like total crap, I find the best cure is to do something nice for someone else. I think that kindness has a healing power that travels in all directions -- to the giver as well as the receiver. Hope this helps... Scott

---------------- On 12/2/2004 11:13:45 AM j-malotky wrote: Just the other night I was over at SMillin's house and, yes we listened to a redbook copy of Brother in Arms as well as many other CD's and SACD's ... ---------------- Greetings, I was there, too, and I must say I was impressed. While I still prefer analog, I'll say that this incarnation of digital equipment was the best I've heard - bar none. When we got to the "1812 Overture" I actually got goose-bumps! (Of course, I expect the amps and those amazing Cornwalls had at least *something* to do with it!) By the way ... thanks, Smilin' and J, for some great music, great company, and great pizza 'n' beer! Take care, Scott

Greetings, As an unabashed vinyl fan, I'd like to suggest that you're experiencing more "soul" when you hear music coming from an analog source (see the discussion on Wilson speakers vs. KHorns for more on a system component's "soul"...) I've always described listening to digitized music as "adversely affecting my central nervous system." Something, some x-factor, just seems out of place to me. Then, after I hear the same music from an analog source, a sense of "rightness" prevails. Although I'm sure there'll be lots of folks who'll disagree with me on this one, I wonder whether it's in the nature of the sound itself. With an analog-to-digital conversion followed by a digital-to-analog conversion, perhaps something special gets lost in the translation. Something that can't be measured, but *can* be felt. Just a thought... Take care, Scott

---------------- On 11/28/2004 6:55:33 PM SoundBroker wrote: As good as the big Wilsons are, I think they lack the one thing the big Klipsch speakers have in spades...soul. ---------------- I agree... I don't have K-Horns (yet!) but I notice the same quality with my kg4's. Klipsch speakers just seem to be *musical* rather than analytical. However they may be colored, they're colored in a manner that seems to serve the music. I suspect that PWK was more interested in capturing the emotion of a musical event (the concerts he used to attend) rather than capturing the exact timbre of the third trombone on the right or making instruments seem as if they're hanging in space one foot in front of and two-and-a-half feet to the right of the speaker. Whatever his philosophy was, I like it! Take care, Scott

Greetings, FYI - For all you Twin Power fans: There's an H/K 430 and an H/K 730 on eBay. Prices look good! Take care, Scott

Greetings, Well for those of us who live in the U.S., it's Thanksgiving day (a holiday that I believe was started by Abe Lincoln). I've always found this day to be a good opportunity to take a step back from life's petty problems and reflect on just how lucky I am. Kinda gets my mind right... In addition to family, friends, a steady income, a roof over my head, and regular meals (well, perhaps more than regular meals ), I'm thankful to have enough disposable income left over to pursue my passion in life which is music. And of course, the speakers envisioned by the notable PWK, along with this great forum, have enhanced that pursuit. So a happy Thanksgiving to all! Take care, Scott

---------------- On 11/10/2004 5:57:27 PM thebes wrote: Scott, The Animals, big fan, can you tell me more about this one: i.e remastered etc. ---------------- Greetings, I checked the album jacket and found no notes on whether anything was re-mixed; the notes just spoke of the history of the band. The disk is heavy vinyl and the sound quality is quite good -- for a pop album from the 1960's that is! If you prefer digital to analog, I believe it's also available on CD. Take care, Scott

The Animals - "The Singles Plus" (LP) Sonny Rollins - "Now's the Time" (LP) Ten Years After - "A Space in Time" (LP) Vince Guraldi Trio - "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (CD)

---------------- On 11/3/2004 11:44:26 AM Brap wrote: Bliss -- If you are a little leary about used, it all depends on who you buy from. You may want to check out Holmaudio.com... ---------------- Greetings, I've dealt with Holm Audio as well having purchased an Audion Note OTO SE single-ended tube amp from them; they're great folks to deal with. You also might want to check out the Saturday Audio Exchange (at http://saturdayaudio.com/); they've got some new gear from Jolida that won't break the bank as well as some vintage gear that's worth checking out. You might also want to educate yourself on the differences between the various categories of tube amps: Class AB (fixed-bias) push/pull, Class AB (cathode biased) push/pull, Class A, and Single-Ended. Each has it's own "sound". Either way, I think you'll have a lot of fun during the learning process and ultimately will end up with a "toob" amp that you'll really like. Take care, Scott

Greetings, With all the extra voter turn-out the best thing to do is get to the polls as soon as you can. I've seen several folks get challenged, which I expect is another result of the huge number of people voting in this election. Sadly, when all is said and done, nearly half the nation is likely to be very disappointed in the results. At that time it might be comforting to remember that our Republic has seen the peaceful transition of power every four years throughout our entire history as a nation. That in itself is something to celebrate... Take care, Scott

Greetings, Man - that looks serious! Welcome (back) to the wonderful world of analog! Take care, Scott

Greetings, Well the HK-730 arrived and has had a weekend of playing ... and it's just what the doctor ordered! To my ears, it has the same incredible clarity of the HK-430 but is tighter and has more "oompf" to give greater authority to the sound coming grom my kg4's. (I no longer feel the need to turn the bass up as much.) I suspect folks who prefer a more laid back presentation of music or who have higher sensitivity speakers than the 94dB kg4's would still prefer the 430; however, I found that the 730's 40wpc as opposed to 430's 25wpc was just right for my particular needs. I agree, though, that a thorough cleaning is in order (thanks for the info!). At any rate, for around 100 bucks or less, those old Harman Kardon Twin Power family of receivers really do deliver quite a lot of bang for the buck! Thanks to the forum members for pointing this out to a newbie! Take care, Scott

Greetings, For whatever this may (or may not) be worth... A tech who's worked on my guitar amps for years said that a 12AU7 really shouldn't be used as a substitute for the twin triode 12AX7/12AT7/12AY7/5751 tubes. He said that the 12AU7 draws current/voltage differently (I forget which) and this can cause problems. This was borne out in an old amp I had that kept blowing the Sovtek 12AX7 that had been put the V1 position. When my tech examined the circuit he determined from the current/voltage being drawn that the V1 position should have been a 12AU7 tube. Putting a 12AU7 in the socket solved the problem and the amp was stable. Hope this is helpful... Take care, Scott

Greetings, You can get some "Genelux-copy" Groove Tube KT88's for $150 per *pair*; other brands cost less than that. I've found that in vintage (or vintage-styled) guitar amps, there's nothing like vintage "toobs"; on the other hand, in my home stereo amps I've found a mix 'n' match approach between vintage and new works best. I use vintage tubes (such as the 6922 and 12AU7) when I can't come up with a good new tube. I find, however, that while vintage tubes often have the magic tone, they seem to lack some of the strength and dynamics of grand-spankin'-new tubes. Typically I end up with a mixture of new and vintage tubes in the preamp section but usually find that new tubes have worked best in the poweramp section. So it might be worth experimenting with some of the new offerings before sinking a whole lotta $$$ in the NOS tubes. Perhaps you'll find that some Groove Tubes, Sovtek, JJ, etc., with a tasty Telefunken 12AX7 in the preamp is the magic combination. Just a thought... Take care, Scott

Greetings, It's true that the kg-4's are very truthful: they'll happily reproduce what you give them. I recall a time that my "toob" setup was less than ideal, and it produced some distortion which the kg-4's reproduced loud and clear; I changed the setup and the distortion was gone. Therefore, it's well worth your while to verify that your front-end gear isn't producing a distorted signal. Hope this helps... Take care, Scott

Greetings, I've found that amp/speaker mating is an art in itself. With my KG-4's (94 dB sensitivity), I've found that my 10wpc Audio Note SET was way underpowered yet gorgeous sounding; a 25wpc HK-430 was still underpowered (yet nice sounding); a 220wpc class A QED 440 was lovely but was too much amp for the speakers (I couldn't turn it up enough to really let it "cook" before the volume levels threatened to take the fillings out of my teeth!); and a 100wpc Marantz PM-74D was nicely powered for the speakers but didn't have a good sonic match (a little too dark...) I've got a 40wpc HK-730 in transit to try with the KG-4's, and I'll be trading in the Marantz PM-74D with an old pair of A/D/S L-1290 speakers at the local stereo shop (amp and speakers mate very nicely with this combination). Currently the monster QED is mated to a pair of AR-9's which I gave to my aunt (at 80 she's still a music freak God bless her!); with the 88dB AR-9's the amp's 220 watts are put to very good use. So..... I don't know whether you can ever say, "this is better than that" without first trying it with your own system. Too many "x-factor" variables to contend with. The combination that makes you go, "Aaaahhhhh!" and puts a big smile on your face will be the right system - whatever that ends up being! I suspect that the best advice I can give is to go to a reputable dealer who will let you try things at home; audition with an open mind, and you'll come to know what works best for you. Hope this helps... Take care, Scott