Tarheel

Thanks for the comments Al and Bruce. We will see how steady Bluesboy's hand is on that precise cut. Chuck

Jay...let me know what you think. Bluesboy may want to get one too. Glad to help. Chuck

AL....I am assuming that I can mount the horns to the cabinets with the flange concealing the rough cut. Since the hornes will remain exposed are they finished or do I finish with a clear product, or paint them? Care to weigh in on the Altec woofer I am using and if I am loosing any bass by not using the k-33? Chuck

Making plans to mod the lascalas with the trachorn. Will make a template and use a router to make the opening larger. Has anyone made this mod? Any tips to pass along? There is not a lot of room between the top of the horn and the bottom of the tweeter and not much room for error. I will be using the horn only...not the grille/adaptor. I think the horn has a flange for mounting to the cabinet. I will have to use an adaptor to use the LS drivers and ALK has those. Chuck

Welcome aboard Werner! Chuck

Jay....if you haven't made a decision yet please look into this. It may save you some money. I just got AudioAdvisor in the mail and thumbing through I saw what looked like my Nitty Gritty record vac but it turned out to be a clone made by Nitty Gritty for AudioAdvisor. This unit is completely manual..like mine. They say it is a Stereophile recommended product and comes with a brush and 4 oz fluid. Now here is the great news. Its' only $229 and shipping is free!!! Contact info as follows: 1-800-942-0220 www.audioadvisor.com Audio Advisor, Inc. 3427 Kraft SE Grand Rapids, MI 49512

Thanks Carl,,,,that sounds like good advice. Bluesboy at this point wants to pull the Altecs out just out of curiosity. He doesn't think the difference in woofers/bass will be significant. My speakers are wedged in pretty tight in the corners and I really don't know if I want to wrestle them out and remove the bottom hatch, remove the solder to the leads, change out the woofers, reassemble, put them back in place just to find little difference. I may opt for the trachorns or wait to build another set with 1inch mdf, trachorns, k-33s, better tweeters. Chuck

Bluesboy has a set of k-33s....Maybe we can try one and do a comparison as you suggest. The harshness that I am referring to is not a matter of balance but more like I have heard it described before....a ringing. Maybe sound deadner on the horn would help if I have room to get in that section. I talked with ALK yesterday and he suggested I may want to try the trachorn before I change x-overs. I think I would have to enlarge the opening. There are so many modifications now it is overwhelming, Better tweeters, trachorns, crossovers, 1 inch mdf. All in the quest for better sound. Thanks for your caution and I will proceed slowly.

Hacking is the last thing I want but you guys all seem to agree that I have the wrong woofer. Here I was thinking that my midrange sounded a bit harsh and looking into ALK universals and/or trachorns. I guess my tweeter and cabinets are okay! It sure gets expensive paying for mistakes. If I decide to live with the Altec how will that effect the Alk x-overs? Thanks to all who responded. I value your opinions. Chuck

These are my lascalas were talking about so I have a couple of questions. Has anyone heard this combination before (416 8A) with the other components being stock lascala parts? What is the audible effect or what am I missing by not using the K-33s? Please speak in laymans terms since I probably won't know what you are talking about if you don't. I welcome all imput prior to doing invasive surgery on these 1 year old speakers. Al are you out there? Chuck

Welcome Stringmun1.....I have horn monos as well as the Full Function Preamp pushing a pair of LaScalas. Hope you read the Stereophile magazine review on the horn monos.....very complimentary. Go to Quicksilver Audio and follow the link to the review if you haven't done so. Chuck

OK, I'll bite since I don't know -- what's a "full feature" preamp? Thanks -- LarryC.......The Full Function Preamp is the name of Quicksilver Audios tubed preamp. Duke can probably fill you in better than I can but I think it may be 5 years old. My preamp is #504 and I don't know what the total run was. I believe it has now been replaced with a line stage preamp. Chuck

See the thread 3 below on "Paypal and VPI record cleaner". There is much discussion on the VPI and record cleaning in general. Chuck

As I recall it was $25 for 1oz. and that makes 1 gallon. A gallon will last me a loooong time. I went through the 4oz bottle of cleaner that came with the Nitty Gritty in no time and was looking for a lower cost option. Chuck

I know you are all tired of the hand wringing about tube compatability so I have settled on JJ KT-77s, a copy of the Marconi-Osram tube when they were part of GEC. Doug said that all his NYC customers are dropping their EL-34s in favor of this tube in their Marantz 8s and Dynacos. Not being able to hear them first I am going on his reccommendation. Thanks Craig for hooking me up with this tube dealer.

I think rubbing alcohol is the one alcohol you want to stay away from. Lanolin is often added to rubbing alcohol to condition the skin during a body rub and can leave a residue on records. See if your pharmacy or chemical supply house has some 97% pure isoprophyl. I recently bought a small bottle of record cleaner concentrate from AcousticSounds.com. I think VPI made it and 1 ounce makes a gallon of cleaner when mixed with distilled water. I use that with a Nitty Gritty Record Vac. Works okay though water beads a lot.

Where you been oldbuckster? You haven't given me much to read today and now I won't be back on line till Monday. Tarheel

Sorry about the multiple emails. Thanks....I will try Doug. Chuck

Seti.....have you tried suspending the tt from the ceiling? Use chain so you can remove links to level the tt or a small turnbuckle. We did this at Bluesboys house and no more skipping/sratched records. A great conversation piece to boot. Chuck

Craig.....I have no idea but I will forward the email I got from Tube Depot if you don't mind. I am using Tesla 34Ls but would like to try other tubes if I can do it safely. I am a novice in way over my head so any reccommendation will be appreciated. This is my first tube gear. If I stay with the 34L do you have a brand preference? I will be leaving my pc in about an hour so I may not get your reply til monday. Thanks much. Chuck

I am looking for some suggestions on replacement tubes in the 20-25 mA bias range to use with the horn monos. Can I get KT-88s in this range? If not then I guess I will go with Mullard EL-34s or JJ/Tesla EL-34s. Any preference? Chuck

mowntnbkr Go to the thread on mega 70s recievers. I just saw your offer on the SX-1280 and responded. Tarheel

mowntnbkr Please pardon me for not responding to your question but I never finished reading the thread. Another forum member called last night and asked if I knew that you were interested in the Pioneer reciever so this morning I continued reading. To answer your question in a round about way I guess I could sell it though its' almost like asking is your dog for sale. A little history, you will have to bare with me while I do some sentimental rambling as thats what old folks like me sometimes do. I bought the Pioneer new in the 70s when I was in my 20s, financed it and made monthly payments. I bought it through one of those discount houses, maybe Illinois Audio, I can't recall. It has been babied all these years, taken apart for cleaning 3 years ago and now sits on top of my right laScala waiting to be played again. Since I went to tubes, that doesn't happen often. When I listen to the tube gear and look over at the Pioneer I feel a tinge of guilt almost like she has been abandoned. Some folks will say...it's either for sale or it isn"t. Well thats not the way it is for me. When I think about selling it I wonder if after 2 or 3 years I will wish I had it back. On the other hand it's not being used and doing what it does best, making music. If you are still interested, ask me your questions. I hate to even think about packing up such a heavy piece of equipment. I have the manual and the original sales brochure I use to go oogle over at Southeastern Radio. You do have a fenced yard...right? Just kidding. Chuck

Coytee About the Rottie.....call the newspaper, radio station, PETA, Humane Society, police. The dog would be better off with just about anyone. Thanks for your efforts and concern! You may just be that dogs only hope Chuck

Lech.....So true..."forever analog". Actually a lot of smaller companies are starting to make records again.... so things are looking up for vinyl. You can always go to ebay and enter "LPs new" and do a search or on numerous other websites. I know shipping would be expensive. Haven't heard sacd but some of the remastered cds sound pretty good. Chuck