jheis

The RC-7 has two pair of binder posts which are jumpered together as the default setup. I'm currently powering the RC-7 with a Carver TFM-45 bridged to mono (claimed 1,000 watts - talk about headroom!). However, since I would be sending the same (mono) signal to both channels of the amp, I was thinking of removing the jumper and switching the amp back to two channels (380 watts/channel - more in line with my other amps) and running speaker wires from one channel to one set of binder posts on the speaker and another speaker wire from the other channel to the other pair of binder posts. The binder posts are jumpered together now, so they are receiving the same signal. Would it make any difference if the signal to the two sets of binder posts came from separate channels of the amp (with the jumper removed)? It seems to me that both sets of binder posts will still be receiving the same signal. Any thoughts? Any potential problems? James

We are pretty lucky here in the San Francisco Bay Area. For years we had KJAZ - a commercial 24 hr jazz station. Unfortunately, the license was sold about eight years ago and the frequency became a Spanish language station or some such thing. There was a listener fund raiser to try to save the station, but it came up short. KCSM, a PBS station based at the College of San Mateo, took up the slack and has become a worthy successor. No talk shows, no news, no traffic and no weather, just commercial free jazz 24 hours a day! If you have a broadband connection it is available over the net. I work out of a home office so I turn KCSM on when I get up in the morning and it's on until I go to bed at night. I kind of hesitate to play stuff from my own collection because I might miss something on FM that I haven't heard before. Saturdays are must listen - Sonny Buxton is on from 10 a.m. til 2 p.m. and his show is like a grad school seminar on jazz. He is followed by Dick Conte - a well known Bay Area jazz pianist - combo leader. Sometimes, late at night, I pull something out of my own collection, pour myself a nice glass or three of the local produce, turn off the lights and really crank up the system, which is why, I suppose, I often wake up in the recliner at 4:30 a.m., only to do it again the next night. So, in answer to the question, somewhere between 12 to 18 hours a day. James

Not to highjack this thread, but I was thinking of doing something similar with my RC7. I'm currently powering it with a Carver TFM-45 bridged to mono (claimed 1,000 watts - talk about headroom!). However, since I am sending the same signal to both channels of the amp, I was thinking of switching the amp back to two channels (380 watts/channel - more in line with my other amps) and running a speaker wire from one channel to one set of binder posts on the speaker and another speaker wire from the other channel to the other pair of binder posts. The binder posts are jumpered together now, so they are receiving the same signal. What difference would it make if the signal to the two sets of binder posts came from a separate channel of the amp (with the jumper removed)? Any thoughts? James

I suckered myself into buying one because of its "clearance" price. Got it home and A-B'd it against an ancient B&K ST140 and it sounded like crap - lots of channels of crap - but still crap. Additionally, the tuner section could not lock on to stations that my 11 year old Carver CT-17 pulled in with ease. On top of that, it's made in China. Took it back - bit the bullet and traded it in on a B&K Ref. 50 and a couple of new amps. Run DO NOT WALK from this unit - the sound is K-Mart quality - you will not be happy with it. Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth. YMMV. James

MaxG: Your selections fit in just fine. Not everyone is a head banger. My taste runs to jazz & blues, but I appreciate anything that's well done - which, IMHO, does NOT include rap in any way, shape, or form. James

Jim: The B&K Ref. 50 pre-amp has XLR outputs (along with RCA's) and the B&K ST125.2 amps have XLR inputs (along with RCA's). I stopped by "Good Guys" the other day to pick up a digital coax cable and they had four "open box" Monster Cable Z200IX XLR cables marked down to $65 so I bought them (sounds like rolling your own is considerably cheaper). I figure if the equipment is designed for XLR, I might as well optimize what I've got. The Ref. 50 has two sets of balanced inputs for CD & DVD, but none of my line sources have balanced outputs. So, the only place I'm using the XLR balanced cables is from the pre-amp to the front and surround amps. My rear & center channel amps do not have XLR inputs, so I'm using Monster Cable RCA interconnects. I have a partial hearing loss in my right ear, so I doubt that I can actually distinquish incremental changes. So, as long as it sounds good, I'm happy. James

Ken I'm up in Santa Rosa and have a pair of '81 Oak (COL) Cornwalls in very good condition which I might be willing to trade - if you throw in the La Scallas - {just kidding}. Sounds like you really need oak, so maybe we can come to terms. I may be interested in the La Scala's. I'm kind of limited on space, but I really love my Klipsch speakers and am always looking to add to my collection. Especially when shipping is not an issue. PM me. James

Here is an eclectic mix of stuff I keep coming back to in no particular order: Al Di Meola/John McLaughlin/Paco de Lucia - Friday Night in San Francisco Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions, Lay it down King & Moore - Impending Bloom Patricia Barber - Verse Delbert McClinton - Never been Rocked Enough Bobby Scott - Slowly John Prine - Great Days Anthology Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light Til Dawn Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Karrin Allyson - In Blue Toni Childs - Union Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson Brian Bromberg - Wood Joel Harrison - Free Country Johnny Adams - Room With a View of the Blues (or anything else by Johnny Adams) Rene Marie - vertigo

I recently bought a B&K Ref 50 pre-amp/processor and a pair of B&K ST125.2 amps which have "XLR balanced inputs/outputs" What, if any, is the difference between these cables and good quality RCA cables. I've always considered "esoteric cables" to be a rip-off. Is XLR "more of the same" or are they worth the extra bucks? I'm asking because I don't know. James

I have a two month old SC-1 for sale if anyone is interested (I've upgraded to an RC-7). $140.00 OBO plus shiping. Original box & packaging. Send me a PM if interested. James

Sorry about the Eagles tweak. Didn't like them when they were pumping out their hits and still don't like them. But that's just my taste in music. To each their own. James

I asked the question because I don't know. As I understand it a sub woofer, by definition produces subsonic sound, i.e. lower frequency sound than the human ear can hear. I'm mainly interested in music (which to me does not include the Eagles) So, if all we are talking about is vibration, I can live without it. James

Fastlane, AR cables are made in CHINA. Quality control does not seem to have followed corporate off shoring. James

With the kind of bucks it took to put all that stuff together - why are there cables running all over the floor? Looks more like a high end store than a living room. James

I'm using Cornwalls for my front channels and two pair of Heresys for surround and rear channels. Since the Cornwalls have 15" woofers and the Heresys have 12" woofers, is there anything to be gained with - or any need for - a suboofer? I think it would probably take a pretty hefty subwoofer to beat the bass response of the Cornwalls. James

I just returned a Denon AVR-1804 mainly because it sounded like crap AND it was made in CHINA. It's getting almost impossible to avoid the dreaded "Made in China" label. Rant: I just bought a top-of-the-line IBM Thinkpad T42 online and when it arrived I discover that it too was made in CHINA. The hard drive failed within three weeks. I'm not naive, I know that computer components come from all over the place, but I thought that I was buying a product that was at least put together and QC'd in the USA. No offense intended, but personally, I prefer that my high tech products come from a country where electricity is not a novelty to a large percentage of the population. I guess in the corporate rush to the bottom that's too much to ask. James

Yes, I'm talking about unfinished RAW birch cabinets. They had, however, been lightly sanded by the previous owner. My Cornwalls and my other pair of Heresys have the oak lacquer finish. So, the unfinished birch plywood Heresys look pretty, well - unfinished sitting in the same room. Which is why I'm considering either tung oil or boiled linseed oil. I know that either one will darken the cabinets somewhat, but it would protect the wood and probably make them a closer match for the oak cabinets. James

Just got a pair of raw birch Heresys in really nice condition. What is the prefered way to care for these cabinets? I'm thinking that tung oil would bring out the grain very nicely, but I don't want to screw them up. James

R. Inman & Erik: Thanks again. I found a listing for Carver manuals - it may be old since Carver has been out of business for awhile, but I may be able to get a service manuel. In a past life, long, long, ago I had some training as a radar electronics tech in the Air Force (it didn't take - they kicked me off the flight line to an office job - I'm a lawyer now) so, while not a techie by any stretch of the imagination, I'm not totally clueless. I've got an adequate VOM and know not to test live circuits using the wet finger method, but I also know it's not smart to just dive in and start tweaking things. The Carver amp is dormant at the moment, but I've picked up two pair of Heresys to go with my Cornwalls and hate to have a 375 w/c paper weight just sitting there. I'd like to put it back in the game. Besides, to my ears, the Carver sounded pretty sweet - except for the THUMP when I turn it off. James

R. Inman Thanks for the advice. My instruction manual doesn't go into that kind of depth nor does it provide schematics. I don't have a service manuel. Are you talking about a DC voltage from an output terminal to ground or measured across the terminals? Obviously the amp whould have to be powered up for there to be any voltage and I assume the measurement would be done without any input. James

I have a Carver TFM-45 Amp (375w) that works fine except that I get a rather loud POP or thump when I power down. I know that this can't be good for my speakers, so, since I'm running it through a Niles Audio speaker selector, I disconect the speakers before I turn off the amp. Any idea what is wrong with the Carver? It didn't do this for the first 6-8 years of its life. Any advice/comments would be appreciated. James

As long as you have a clean input signal, Klipsch heritage will hurt you long before you can hurt them. James

I'm not sure, but this may be the pair I bought a couple of weeks ago. I emailed the seller and offered him $350 if he would consider ending the auction early (my high bid was $255 at the time). He countered at $380 and I said "deal" (they were local pick up - so no shipping). When I went to pick them up, the seller appologized for not mentioning a small cigarette burn on one of the cabinets and dropped the price back to $350. I counted out the $20's to $360 and he didn't have a $10 for change, so I got them for $340. The speakers sound fine & the cabinets are in good shape and match my Cornwalls. I was able to remove almost all trace of the cigarette burn by spending a few minutes rubbing on it with a pencil eraser. I'm happy with the transaction. Don't know about the link. I'm scared to try it. James

Shipping is extra. Don't know the total yet, but it's just actual cost from southern CA to northern CA, (about 450 mi.) so shouldn't be too hard to swallow. Edit: Just got an email from the seller. He's only charging $35.00 for packing and shipping. Paid him immediately! James

Just scored a second pair of suppossedly mint Heresys on ebay for the "Buy it Now" price of $350.00. The price seemed fair to me, but I don't really know what Heresys are going for. Can anyone fill me in on Heresy values? Thanks. James