Heideana

I’ve got cracking in my wireless Surround 3 speakers connected to my Bar 48. It’s intermittently R or L or both at once & seems to come when I’m switching a channel or source. Switching surround mode off eliminates it until I turn surround mode back on, however unplugging the surround speaker seems to reset it resulting in no crackling. At first I thought it was cable related, but occurs with both comcast and ATV, then I thought it was related to using the dialogue mode, but that wasn’t it either. Looks like other folks have the same problem on the forum but I don’t see any answers there. I’m wondering if the issue is WiFi related and unplugging the surround speaker resets it’s little WiFi chip or settings? I don’t have to re-pair the unit to the Bar 48 after repowering the unit which makes me thing it’s not resetting to a default mode…any suggestions on preventing this intermittent crackling?

Wow! I haven't been here in a while and its' great to see such a debate going on! I started my own reel-to-reel journey after getting a pair of RF-7's a few years ago and finding I wasn’t enjoying listening to music on CD’s and was experiencing “ear-fatigue”. That wasn’t the reason I’d bought the RF-7’s in the first place...I'd grown-up with RTR and wasn't enamoured of Vinyl, so off I went and, at this point, I'm way happy that I came back to RTR. For what its' worth, my experience is that any machine you buy will need some work and its' prudent to make sure you already have a "tape tech" in mind. Especially if like me, you won't be doing your own repair/restoration/maintenance. I found it was really useful to get his/her opinion of the machine I was considering buying and an estimate for any obvious repair work needed. If I'd done that I would have saved the bundle of money I spent on various machines purchased along the road and gone straight to a Studer A810. I also wouldn't rule-out getting a 'Mastering" machine...I recently got brave and acquired an Otari MTR-15. In hind-sight I really wish I'd consider a getting "mastering" quality machine along with the 810 in the first place... Happy to see RTR activity here!

If you're looking for inexpensive tube equipment, you might also check out Rogue Audio. I think they've got an "economical" line. I have one of their Tempest II's and its' been pretty flexable for the money....

I think the Studer a807 and a810 are considered to be the best of the best and the ATR series is the only real competition....gotta love that analog sound...

That amp looks wonderful and curious!!!! This pup would really rock my socks: http://cgi.ebay.com/Studer-A807-PRO-Reel-To-Reel-Recorder-Archivist_W0QQitemZ5807911431QQihZ002QQcategoryZ67812QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem This one wouldn't be bad either and it'd be my second choice at the moment: http://cgi.ebay.com/Studer-A810-PRO-Reel-ToReel-Recorder-Portable-VARISPEED_W0QQitemZ110120757237QQihZ001QQcategoryZ67812QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hey Travis! Thanks for the offer...hopefully the Tape Project machines won't cost as much!!!! What's the current details for joining the tape exchange? My RTR rigs seem to have multipled and I'm waiting on the return of a "slow-speed" PR99 from the Revox center to feel like I'm ready to go! The guy in Santa Rosa sold me a Teac 40-4 that I'm learning to drive with a mixer... Hopkins

Hey Gang -- Check this site out if you haven't already and you're into RTR... http://www.tapeproject.com/ Be forewarned, its' expensive and doesn't cater to the "average" rtr rig...on the other hand, its' capable of essentially nuking any LP-based analog system with a bit of a sneeze I suspect for a fraction of the cost in terms of set-up and up-keep. It'd be nice if it also started stimulating more interest in RTR in the long run, but that's my bias... I probably won't be able to afford a charter subscription, but I am thinking about doing the non-charter option and saving my money to outfit one of my Technics as a "tape project specific machine" down the road...it'd probably also make a killer recorder and mastering rig I suspect..cheers, Hop

FYI...on the Rogue Tempest II...I've got one that I'm using with CWIII's and happy with it. The amp has done much better since driving it with a Peach from Juicy Music...seems to give me a bit more "volume" and better stage definition then before. Hope that helps some...Hopkins

An awful lot of money for someone that not a lot is know about.... http://cgi.ebay.com/COLM-WILKINSON-UNHEARD-RECORDED-REEL-TO-REEL-POP-GROUP_W0QQitemZ150068784754QQihZ005QQcategoryZ1602QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Too late...I've already got the bug! The Sly CD was the "greatest hits"...The CD is buried at the moment, but I'll check its' ID number once I find it (I loaded all my CD's onto a server and put them in to storage...) [&] Anyhow some of these tapes are in great shape and the Cornwalls are very revealing in the stuff you can hear! I've some old 2-track, 7 1/2 ips in-line tapes coming and I'm very curious about their audio quality, since 7 1/2ips 2-track has pretty good resolution...unfortunately, I've already got the analog tape bug...[]

I think I've stumbled across a mint Technics 1506 to put with my Techics 1500 for my dream system to dub some of the precorded reels I've obtained...The little bit of dubbing from 4-track to 2-track at 3 3/4 ips I've has been really clear using GP9 and it'll be much easier with the 1506. Angel told me that the new GP9 from Quantegy gave him a flat-line frequency response of 25hz-30khz when he adjusted the bias on my PR99 to it. He was pretty excited about how wide and flat the new formulation was from a technical stance...I don't know if my old ears can hear that high anymore, but you can really saturate the stuff compared to the old Maxell UL... I finally figured out that I can send my Revox PR99 to my "authorized" Revox repair center for a complete overhaul/tune-up...Did other folks already know that? What a trip that factory service with authorized parts is still available. I'm thinking of sending it off for some preventative maintenance as I'm already chasing after a VU meter issue and think the machine is probably worth the overhaul if I want to use over the long haul since the sound is wonderful, has sos/echo capability and very different then the Technic and Tascam. I've also come across some really great pre-recorded gems along with some of the duds. I got a copy of "Hey Jude" that is crystal clear in that analog way and a copy a copy of Janis Joplin's "Kozmic Blues" that's in really great shape. I also found a good copy of the original Black Sabbath album and had forgotten how great they sound in analog...I'll be happy getting these guys dubbed onto longer tapes as I'd forgotten how fast an "album" side goes! Curiously, I found a great, "unplayed" copy of Sly and the Family Stone that really makes me really wanna dance...what's curious is that I got a hankering for some Sly a few months back, so I purchased a Sly/Family Stone CD and found that it just didn't sound right or like I remembered them and was dissatisfied with the CD so put it aside. I'd forgotten about the CD until I came across the pre-recorded reel and played it. The tape was really revealing and sounded great, making me an analog believer...

Oh yeah! Happens to me every time, then I hope that my partner won't notice the latest addition to my "music room(s)". But, in the end, it always seems to work out and my system keeps getting better...Congrats!!!

Well a hearty thanks a big woo-woo award to all you "oldsters" for keeping this such a warm and friendly place...[:@] This was the first forum I joined and its' served as my primary information source for all things hifi/HT related...in fact, I think its safe to say I wouldn't be sitting here listening to Isaac Hayes' "Theme and Soundtrack from Shaft" in full analogue via 4-track reel at 7 1/2 ips into my Merlin and little Rogue bubbling ever so gently and crisply thru my Cornwalls if it wasn't for the Forum...I'd still be trying to figure out why I wasn't happy with music listening anymore, or worse given it up for something else...[+o(] Woo, Woo, Woo too all of you....Hopkins

Grace's vocal of the reel is superb, especially on "Hey Frederick" and "Re-Joyce"... Even better is that I located a copy of Blind Faith, which I've been listening to in one form or another since I graduated in 8th grade. It's kinda scary how many formats I've had this in and I've got to say that finally the annoying cross-channel distortion is gone when Eric warps out on the leslie...ditto for Stevie's voice, but the passage at the end of "Had to Cry" where the leslies go into overdrive has always been problematic... I obtained a copy of Sly and the Family Stone's "Stand" that's particulariliy great sounding!!! Wow...the horns!!!! I also learned that the only fully analogue sources are LP's, live events and pre-recorded tapes these days...seems there's many interesting things to learn along the RTR path...

Again all, thanks!!! You've given a lot of material to work with as usual...Hopkins

Opps...I spoke to soon...mea culpa!!! Roy's back....

I notice that we scarred Roy away....[] I believe that PWK's holy grail was a two-way that had decent bass, hence the Jubi.... I'm not so sold on the mono sub thing from an existential stance...that is I think Dr. Who and the Bell lab are on the money about stereo bass in the "lived" sense and I can tell the bass is swirling all around me on a lot of Electric Ladyland cuts, even thought I'm not necessarily hearing it. I don't think its' what I'm hearing as much feeling the directional changes in air pressure from my CW's...almost like the bass was run thru a leslie on some of those cuts.... At least that's my two-cents...Cheers...Hopkins

Happy B-day to you! "But what a schweeeeet sound from those Tractrix horns... " I trust this is a positive response? [] P.S. Thanks for the CW dedication...can you believe CW's were the one Klipsch speaker I didn't know anything about before coming under the Forum's influence...now look at me. I can't imagine listening to anything besides my CW for very long...[8]

Thanks! That might be my soluiton!!!

Thanks all...I'm just starting to float ideas around, like I usually do...life is kinda psychedelic at any given moment! My CWIII's are barely 6 ft. apart and since I don't really have an obvious hole, it sounds like I don't really need to consider a center channel, eh? I think I was thinking in Terry's vein of thought about having an attentuated center channel...just enough volume to flesh it out a bit more. It also sounds like its' a definite no, no to mix/match....I'll put the idea on hold for awhile...

I met Angel this morning and picked-up my Technics RS-1500 and was home by 10:30! I've got the unit set up and have been letting it settle in but I need to let the feng shui play out play out over the next few days.... Angel did great job and she sounds great, stops on a dime and has great logic circuits! I've been listening to my pre-recorded tapes all day...right now its' Jefferson Airplane "Volunteers"...Grace's voice was really hot back then and the tape captures it without any of the channel crosstalk that always plagued the LP...I also have "After Bathing at Baxter's" and "Crown of Creation"...mmm. After we talked for a while, we decided to trade the Tascam 32 for a Revox PR-99 which should be ready by next weekend. The only thing I'm mulling over is if I should go for broke and get the Studer A810. If I'm understanding things correctly, the Studer is great, but more expensive/difficult to maintain, while the PR-99 is much easier to maintain and parts are easy to find....sounds like I'm talking myself into the PR-99...

I'm starting to think about setting up a center channel in my hifi rig and not sure about what speaker to use for the center. My situation is that I don't have room for anything, but perhaps a small Reference bookshelf...yes, I know it should be another CW, but I don't have the room. How bad is it to use a way smaller speaker for a center channel and which of the Reference line would folks suggest as the best match for CWIII's?

Thanks Duke...It does seem its' not a very popular amp? It does meet my needs for a decent sized tube amp for the money, especially with the addition of Merlin...

Thanks! See pm...

Hey all and thanks for your responses...as usual, I don't quite know how to articulate my question. I've got a squeezebox and read that the first upgrade was to replace its' puny power supply with a regulated one...I've also been getting a bit of heat to put UPS units on my equipment just to safe guard it and across way to much information for my non-electronic oriented brain. From what I'm hearing, UPS don't clean-up power and I need to get into balanced transformers if I want to "clean-up" my power. I don't think San Francisco power is dirty, but it does sag time to time...I also have to use "hum-x" on most of my guitar equipment to cut down on hum... Looks like I have some reading to do on "balanced transformers"...thanks again...Hop