Tarheel

Sorry...that thread I mentioned is on 2 channel entitiled "can you go too far?" Chuck

William.. Did you see the QS line stage preamp on audiogon.com for $550. Another deal. I have decided my next system build will be to get the best sound at a very reasonable price by shopping used equipment and building the speakers. I think a very good system can be put together for less than five grand if you go this route. Its amazing how quickly the price of stereo equipment drops in a year or two. You are probably right about calling Mike Sanders. He will probably say to leave well enough alone. One of the reasons I like my monos is the reliabilty and I haven't had a seconds problem with mine so I guess he builds them to last and be trouble free. Let us know what you do with the caps and the results....until then keep squeezing everything you can from your already great system. BTW there is an interesting thead on updates and modifications about someone who has tweaked ad infinitum and is still disillusioned with the results. Its a pretty good read. Its about recapturing a sound he remembers from college days. Anyway.....have a great weekend. Chuck

William... my system is at it's best yet. As you may recall the hybrids replaced the 2005 LS and recently ALK Engineering designed xovers for the 511b/902 combination for me. Bluesboy put them together and I have been listening to them for about 2 weeks now. Still running the KT-77s in the horn monos. Two Mark Knopfler cds came in the mail yesterday and the sound quality of those 2 recordings was excellent. Way more bass than ever and absolutely all I need. As soon as the second reel to reel gets back from rehab in florida all will be well with my world. You know what bothers me from time to time is that I find some remarkable recordings (remastered or not as long as the recordings used 21 or 24 bit processing) that sound so good that I don't want to hear the cds from the 80s and 90s. What do you do with old cds that don't sound good? That is more of a rhetorical question unless someone has a really good solution. Donate them to the library? ***** shooting? I have probably 300 cds like that and maybe 100 that sound really great. It sounds like you continue to tinker/upgrade your system. Any changes planned other than the caps? Have you talked with Mike Sanders about the cap question? Chuck

Hi William.....can't answer your question but thought I would mention the 3 sets of Quicksilver Audio amps on Audiogon.com. A set of horn monos, a set of silver 60s, and a set of vo4s all at about half the retail price! Go to tube amps and then look under classifieds. Chuck

Welcome to the forum Vixenvamp6. There were so many BSR TTs made you shouldn't have too much trouble locating a cartridge. Do a google search for stereo cartridges, Microphone solutions.com or try audiogon.com and search analog/cartridges. Needledoctor is a good site as mentioned above. Ebay may have what you need. Good luck. Chuck

Thanks BS. The wait was well worth it. The xovers were icing on the cake. Now I am content with my system and can get to the business of listening to the music. Bluesboy is now building a pair of khorns in the black/paduak look like my speakers. Can't wait to hear those. Chuck

Absolutely beautiful work...some of the finest ever and I love the overkill aspects of the job. What a way to end your upgrading. Congratulations and now enjoy the fruit of your labor. Chuck

Bluesboy soldered late into sunday morning on the custom designed xovers making him late for the playoff games and the first rack of ribs. Reed and I had to occupy ourselves with Sam's Boston Lager and football. A quick hookup expedited by dangling ribs on a stick in front of Bluesboy and we were ready to go. Sonny Rollin's "Way Out West" and Stevie Ray Vaughn "Couldn't Stand The Weather" never sounded so good. Much tighter bass. A very good upgrade. Not bad for a rainy sunday in Carolina. Looking forward to hearing Spongeworthy's new hybrids very soon but for now its off to work and 2 days on the road. Chuck

Good thread Coytee. Let me add Over The Rhine, Natalie Merchant, Joan Armatrading. Sunny Sumter, Kendra Shank and Monica Worth from Mapleshade records. Nana Mouskouri, Sara Brightman. Chuck

Christina....that does sound like a deal. Someone will likely snap those up. I prefer my LS hybrids with Altec, Beymas, and ALK Egineering xovers but the new LS ll has been getting good reviews. Thanks for the heads up. Chuck

Jeff...there is really no way to be sure which will sound better unless you take them home and plug them up in your system and in your listening room. There are just too many variables to control. What are your other components? What size is your room? Carpet or hardwood floors? What is the thickness of your billfold? I guess I would be tickled to have a great sounding player especially if I got it at a good price and had money left for some audiophile recordings. I don't think my ears are good enough to appreciate a $14,000 player but my Jolida was humming some great sounds today when Bluesboy brought over my new xovers that he built from a custom design by ALK Engineering for my hybrid LS. You may have to buy your favorite and if it doesn't please you then take it back if your retailer allows or sell on Audiogon. Upgrading is a necessary process in building the ultimate system which will be the ultimate for a only a short period of time if you are like most of us. Today I am at a good place where I am happy with my system but it has taken much trial and error to get there. Good luck in your journey. Chuck

Again I am remiss....welcome revjac. Post number 5! Good recommendation on the Rega. Lots of help on the forum with any question. I certainly have learned a lot these past two years. Chuck

Wallflower...I was negligent in not welcoming you to the forum. Welcome! You can meet some very fine folks here like William and get some very good information too. All the cds recommended are probably very good. I own a Jolida and am pleased with it but all the Regas are very good. William and I share some of the same equipment and I have enjoyed his comments on tube rolling in his Quicksilver Audio Horn Monos. It seems like yesterday when I first posted but I am now on my second set of La Scalas and over 140 post. Let us know which player you decide on and your impressions. Chuck

Wallflower......The Jolida 100 modded or not can be found on Audiogon frequently for $700 and has that nice tubed output section. Hey William is that a new avatar and can I assume that is you in the picture? Chuck

Thanks for the vote Colin[]. Glad to help jmc. Spongeworthy....just left the shop and Don is making good progress. The bass bins are nearing completion and paduak trim for one bass bin is cut. I was able to see how the raised panel will look next to the groove in the trim piece. I think they will look super and most suggestions Don makes are good ones. The top hat issue is a tough one, tweeter above or next to the horn. Either way will look great. Maybe Don can do a mock up on a piece of mdf. Happy New Year to all you guys. Chuck

No...the 1-800-HEY-DUKE number was a wrong number. That number gets you a bottled water business called Sharp Water in Salisbury, Maryland. The lady was very nice but didn't know Duke and wished me a happy new year anyway. I thought I heard a Bose radio in the background. So Duke....if you are out there give us a shout...otherwise all kind of stories will be spread about your disappearance from the forum. Chuck

Spongeworthy...sorry I missed you yesterday. Its rare when forum members get to our area. When I got home from work Bluesboy's truck was in my driveway and I thought you might be with him to see my speakers. Bluesboy was there to tell me about your visit and the decisions the two of you made. I could tell he was excited about another speaker build. He does enjoy his work. Don told me about the tweeter attenuators and the fool proof directions. I hope when you get back this way I will have my xovers built and we can give those clones/hybrids a proper test drive. Let me know your music preference and I will have some selections qued up. I will probably stop by Don's shop saturday and do quality control while he works on your hybrids. Quailty control coordinator is a title I gave myself since I have no woodworking skills. I really enjoyed watching my speakers being built in various stages including going to the exotic wood shop and picking out the Paduak for the trim. All of it was a fun time and then when the speakers were in place in my music room it was time and money well spent. Chuck

jmc...this is the thread you needed to see. I think this project sounds like what you want to do so you can take a look at our results. The feedback has been very positive and Bluesboy has taken a couple of orders for similar projects including trimming out some khorns in the Paduak with the front raised panel mdf painted piano lacquer black. He has also had inquires about just the top panel for LS. I am waiting on parts so we can start making up the new xovers a variation between universal and ES so the bass will cossover higher. Iam looking forward to that first listen! So when the xovers are done my BEC type A xovers will be for sale if anyone is interested. If anyone needs horns or drivers Bluesboy has several listings on ebay. Chuck

I haven't spent a lot of time on the forum lately and it occured to me that when I do log on I don't seen anything from Duke Spinner. Are you okay Duke and just taking a break? He is such a regular with the best avatar and a delightfull economy of words. Hope all is well. Chuck

jmc.....Bluesboy can probably help you with the plans and I will ask him to contact you. The bass bins are pretty much regular La Scala bins but made of 1" mdf rather than 3/4" plywood. We designed the top hats ourselves and that really did not require a plan just a little creativity. You have to cut the front panel pieces to fit the 511b horn and decide where you want to locate the tweeter and that is it. The top hat has no sides or back so I can toe in as needed. If you don't want to tackle the top hat job Bluesboy can do that for you but it is rather labor intensive and priced accordingly. BTW he can also do a precut kit for the bass bins. Let me know if you need more details. PS.... ALK Engineering is designing a special xover for this application. Chuck

George....you may want to talk with Bluesboy who has made new tophats for his Khorns and has taken a few orders recently as a result of his post on my hybrid La Scalas that he built. See the thread on Tarheels Hybrid La Scalas. He uses the 511b horns, Altec drivers and Beyma or JBL tweeters. Chuck

Rich....the Beymas came from usspeaker.com and are model #CP25 and cost $149 each. I can't speak to the Cornwall build but if you decide to go with the LS bass bins consider using 1" mdf like in the new LS ll. I am happy with the bass. Chuck

Thanks Dean....high praise indeed! Chuck

Thanks Rob. The credit goes to Bluesboy. Chuck

Indy....Thanks for the kind words. .I remember our connversation about the toe-in problem and that problem has now been eliminated without changing the cabinets on either side of the bass bins as I was about to do. I am very pleased with the looks and the sound of the hybrids. As Bluesboy said I still have to order new xovers or xover kits but the bass difference and midrange clarity alone was worth the effort. I like the look and practicality of leaving the components exposed on top of the bass bin and you can fine tune the toe-in all you want. The african wood Paduak was 1/3 less expensive compared to Rosewood and the grain pattern is a good contrast to the horns. Could it be I am finally at the point I want to be with my system? Not just yet. I have the Teac reel to reel problem to resolve and the tubes in my Quicksilver preamp are at least 5 years old. Maybe then. Anyway...if you are in the neighborhood stop on buy and we will take a listen. Chuck