jheis

Paragraphs are good. White space is good. Punctuation is good. Editing is good. Spell-Check is good. Captitalization is good. Thirty lines of text without a break is virtually unreadable. YMMV. James

mOOn: Those cabinets don't look all that bad to me, in fact, they look pretty darn good compared to some I've seen. Of course, you really can't tell from photo's. But if I were you, I'd re-think the veneering idea. A light sanding, a little filling and a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil and I think you're good to go. If you know anyone who does woodwork, have them take a look. I think those cabinets might clean up real nice - save you a big chunk of change. YMMV James

If you are interested I have two Niles DPS-1's for sale. The DPS-1 allows you to hook up two different amplifier sources to one set of speakers, or conversely hook the output of a single two channel amp to two different speaker pairs. I bought these when I decided to get into home theater and was EXTREMELY dissapointed by the sound quality of the Denon 1804 AVR I bought as compaired to the same speakers when driven by my Carver or B&K amps. However, after about two weeks I dumped the Denon and upgraded to a B&K Ref 50 pre/pro and added a couple more B&K two channel amps. So, no longer any need to change amps to listen to two channel. One DPS-1 is new in the box, never even opened. The other was used for about two weeks. I believe they retail for about $90.00 ea. I'll sell the NIB for $60.00 and the two week old one for $50.00 (plus shipping) if anyone is interested. James

This discussion reminds me of the casino billboards I see on the drive up to Tahoe when I go skiing. The casinos are BRAGGING that their slots have a 97% payback. That means, the BEST you are going to do is lose 3 cents of every dollar. They even tell you up front. What a deal. James

B&K stuff goes really well with Cornwalls. I started out with a used ST-140 amp (105 w/ch I believe) and a Carver CT-17 pre-amp driving my Cornwalls. Very nice combination. I recently added 2 pair of Heresys, a RC-7, a B&K Ref 50 pre-pro, two B&K ST125.2 amps and a Haffler DH 200 amp. The front Cornwalls are driven by one of the ST-125.2s. The other ST-125.2 drives the surround Heresys, the ST-140 drives the rear Heresys, and the Haffler drives the RC-7 center channel (I know, I know, timbre match is not perfect with the RC-7, but it sounds pretty damn good to me). With this set up, the Ref 50 gives you 7 channel stereo (or if you add a sub, 7.1) Even FM sounds great (of course we have a 24/7 commercial free jazz station in the Bay Area - www.kcsm.org). You can pick up used ST-140's for >$200 and I'd highly reccommend them. In fact, I'd like to pick up another one myself. The Carver CT-17 and TFM-45 (375 w/ch) are now driving a pair of KG2's in my office. I've never had a problem buying used quality components - with SS they either work or they don't. James

Colin: First, ONE time exposure is sufficient to cause permanent hearing loss. Second, we are all getting older and our sense of hearing does not improve with age. Third, I recently read that the "Who" still hold the all-time record for a live concert at (I believe) 120db. Townsend is deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other. I'm very protective of the hearing I have left and would urge others to do the same. It's hard to enjoy music if you can't hear it. James

I've been aware of about a 20% hearing loss in my right ear for about 15 years, probably from hunting and ***** shooting when I was a teenager - doesn't seem to be progressive or typically age related (I haven't lost the high frequencies, it looks more like a hammock in the mid range). I told my Doc that I was being a good boy and wearing Peltor hearing protectors when I mow the lawn. He said, "you should wear hearing protection when you VACUUM." I guess that leaves out tubes for me. James

Russ, Peter & Michael: Hate to ruin the moment for you, but she's married to Elvis Costello - go figure. James

KC: Didn't get any response on the forum so I ran it in the local classifieds. Fielded a bunch of calls from some wanker who was "waiting for a money transfer from Australia"(I was asking $140?) and eventually sold it to someone else who paid full asking price up front - sight unseen - and then didn't pick it up for another two weeks - go figure. By the way, I just happened upon your reply by chance. If you want to respond to something like this you should use a private message so that the poster is more likely to receive your inquiry. Dr. Who, you're up... James

It seems we have a lot of opinions on the question. But Artto asked if anyone had experience using the product. I'd also be interested in hearing from anyone who has actually USED the product. Does it work or not? James

If it sounds good to your ears, why worry? Be happy. James

I believe it was H.L. Menken who once said something to the effect of: "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." James

Sorry, I usually know the music, but not always the faces. Is that Ed Kelly, or has one of the other masters passed as well? James

McCoy Tyner - why not? James

www.kcsm.org 24/7 commercial free REAL straight ahead jazz (no smooth crap - no Kenny G. EVER). James

There is a RCA tube console for sale here locally, Is a RCA amp chalk or cheese? (Brit speak for junk or treasure). James

B2RU: For us luddites out here perhaps an explanation of how to send payment by email via PayPal would be in order. James

I've mentioned this before, but here in the SF Bay area we are very luck to have a local PBS station that plays REAL jazz (none of that "smooth" crap, i.e. Kenny G) commercial free 24 hours a day. The frequency is 91.1 (here in Sonoma County the translater is at 90.7). If you have a broadband connection it's available on the internet at www.kcsm.org. Highly recommended. I turn it on in the a.m. and it stays on until lights out - sometimes longer. One of the best DJ's does the 2 - 6 a.m. shift. Good stuff. James

Texas42: Interesting to see that you've got some Optonica gear. Don't know anyone else who does. I've got a SM-4305 integrated amp(40 wpc)and a ST-4405 tuner that I've owned since 1980. Nice stuff - now powering my garage system. I've always really liked the simple, clean design of the Optonica line. Never understood why Sharp discontinued their high end line - maybe it was being confused with the Rat Shack Optimus stuff. By the way, I agree with the B&K ST140 recommendation. Picked one up used a few years ago for $150 and couldn't be happier with it. James

Now I understand why he's always SHOUTING, he's a DRUMMER! I recently read that the Who still hold the record for the loudest concert and, of course, Townsend is deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other. If anyone can tell me how to send PayPal to an email address, I'm in for a copy. James

Silversport: All you need now are a pair of Cornwalls to round things out. James

Griff: Perhaps I didn't word it correctly but, obviously, the processor is sending the information were the source tells it - which is primarily to the front and center channels - not that the surround and rear channels are unimportant. I agree that you should use the best equipment you can afford all around. That said; you're right, I'm wrong. Coytee's system will sound EXACTLY the same regardless of whether he uses the LaScalas for the front channels and the Khorns for the rear or the Khorns for the front channels and the LaScalas for the rears. You win. Goodnight. James

Griff & Olorin: My point is not that you can or should use cheesy speakers for your rear or surround channels, but rather that your processer is sending most of the information to the front and center channel speakers. Khorns will certainly work for rear channels, and I'm sure LaScalas make great front channel speakers, but it is not the optimal use of Coytee's equipment. James

I stand corrected. However, I still think Khorns in the rear and LaScalas in front is certainly less than optimal. The rear channel is still getting the least "discrete" signal and is mainly being used for the surround effect in HT. On the other hand, with a 2 channel source, my B&K Ref 50 gives me 7 channel stereo (actually 6 channel stereo because the center channel is still getting a mono signal). So, if your pre/pro does something similar - other than for HT, having your "prime" speakers in the rear wouldn't be to bad, but you might have to turn your listening chair around . By the way Coytee, if you need a Niles DSP-1, I have two of them I'm not using. One of them was used for about a week before I bought my Ref 50 and the other one is brand new in the box, never opened - say $55 each if you're interested. James

Give it a Google. MSRP is like $800, but you can find them starting at $529 (plus shipping, of course). I bought a demo from Goon Guys for $499. James