Audio Flynn

Main tweaks: 1. RB5s 2. High current power amp 3. MSB Link DAC 4. Sanus Steel stands filled with lead shoot 5. 12 inch sub from 55 hz down small tweaks: 1. analog preamp 2. dedicated clean power 3. Audio Quest Type 6+ 4. Bi wire 5. Audio Quest Coral interconnect

By the way halfdeck; nice to see a fellow Michigander on the board. Welcome

Ear, You are getting overly condesending again. Anyone who reads a magazine can rattle off the names you mentioned; most of us will never listen to or buy them, the cost borders on the absurd. I have been into audio for 28 years; if I never listen to a Mark Levinson piece of equipment, it will not inhibit my apreciation of music. I have separates but have had 2 friends buy the Outlaw with much satifaction. I thought Yamaha was a bit bright. My 2 old Dennon integrated amps in my house I like allot and they seem to have better 2 channel warmth than their newer HT receivers. Onkyo and HK seem solid Stay wary of Sony power.

mdeneen, Thanks for the info. For about $ 200 I can get the upsampling board for my MSB Link DAC; it does not seem like a tweak that has allot of downside potential. You cannot buy to wild of a tweak for less than $ 200 these days.

FINI great thought I have no comebacks from that one

An old friend from college is stuck on KEF and lives near Arlington. He works in the R&D dept of the same company I work for in Michigan. I do not get the chance to demo him my system. Let us know if you do it again! This sounds like good times. I want to impose on ShapeShifter here in Michigan sometime. I am not sure how many pairs of Klipsch he has, I lose track.

If you stay away from powered towers you avoid nasty cabinet resonance. I realy like my RB5s, they are not a Heritage speaker but they have solid Klipsch attributes. I crossover the RB5s to a 12 inch sub at about 60 HZ. Just gave my ma an entry level component audio system; some peple just do not wnat the hassle of picking it out themselves. Have fun with the quest...

I have tried to get through the hype of upsampling. There is allot. I think Sam Tellig of Stereophile called it the "magic bullet". I may beleive in ESP, ETs, many of Steven Hawkings theroys BUT I am not drawn in by magic too easily. The key word is "interpolate". Definition in regard to math from Webster, " to infer the missing terms in a known series of numbers". I never pretend to be a EE; so I try to keep these things simple. The DAC upsampling electronics make a 24 bit word(data point or note) from the 16 bit words in a Red Book CD; a translation of sorts with some opportunity for an undefined error percentage. It sounds like an inference is made to create more than the origonal number of new data points(96-44=52khz approx) before conversion to analog takes place. In academics and engineering studies I have used 5-30 data points to interpolate a only one "manufactured"(magic?) data point. Making something from nothing sounds odd. Ray is right on a ton of stuff. Something bogus is going on which has the potential to distort the music. Reducing the ringing or harshness of a CD is definitely a suitable objective. Creating music from nothing seems illogical. Am on the right track here?

I wish I had your time to look at that kind of detail. I do not have the answers but here are a few thoughts. 1. Parts Express is supposed to have 800 number support for design question if you buy from them, I heard. 2. Consider sealed design like a copy of an M&K design if you like music more than low frequeny capability.

Those reviews sound really good. I will check into one for myself. My wife says we should get into the hi def video thing in the next few months with a progressive scan dvd player. I have a 2 year old Sony I would use as a CD player in the bedroom in the future. "Sensible Sound" generally perceives CD players as equivilant. I cannnot see spending alot of money on exotic transports; if you have a good DVD player. You could pick up a MSB Link DAC used for $ 250 perhaps to try something for a tweak. I cannot contemplate ever getting rid of mine.

As with others I do not know alot about the Monarchy equipment although the anti jitter device has never had any bad reviews. I have considered getting one. DEFINITELY BREAK IN. When I got my RB5s played through a Kenwood HT receiver(we all make mistakes, since replaced with better SS power)I thought my ears would bleed. Not a pleasant experience. I played them all night with a Jazz FM radio station at low volume for a week. Then I played them all weekend with a rock station at a fairly loud level when we were away. After 100 hours they were sounding pretty reasonable and after 300 hours they were sort of "seasoned" like a cast iron dutch oven(my camping hobby). It is hard to beleive one could give up on a Heresy. They were my first Klipsch experience in 1977. The industrial model. My first PA system I ever ran... Three piece accoustic group Shure SM58 microphones Belden cable Tascam mixing board Phase Linear(?) power amp 12 gauge zip cord Indusrial Hereseys I have been chasing that live sound ever since.

Gary and Ears have the cash flow to create these awesome systems we can only make suggestions about; we could hope to find some of the components(like the Linn turntable) at a garage sale in a few years. The hot subs I have heard: Martin Logan Paradigm Servo 15 Big M&K cannot remember the model ones I have heard good recomendations: REL SVS I have a Rava from Adire Audio for $ 399.00 looks like a generic version of an M&K sealed 12 inch sub. I would not consider it an audiophile sub but it is far from a commodity piece of equipment. I am waiting for my buddie to sell me his Servo 15 when he gets tired of it in the next year or two.

Shucks... So busy I almost forgot I am going to see Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young next week 2-6 at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. I have always been impressed(for the past 26 years, darn I am getting old) with Neil Young's sound systems. I'll let everyone know if it was worth it.

I have been fortunate to see alot of live music when it was reasonably priced. Pine Knob Michigan from 1976 to present Stills Young Band Crosby and Nash James Taylor Linda Rondstat( not too good) America (bad) Doobie Brothers Genesis Clapton Yes BB King Marshall Tucker Neil Young( lost track of how many times) Kinks(Dave Davies is an underrated guitar player) Sarah McLachan Bonnie Raitt Sting(so so) J. Geils Band(very hot) Ted Nugent Allman Brothers Natalie Merchant(she should be around for a long time) other venues Santana Luther Allison at Ricks(Lizards) in East Lansing Michigan(small clubs are cool) Tuck and Patty(jazz) Elvis Costello Eagles Peter Gabriel(impressive) Jimmy Buffet David Bowie(very proffessional) Who(awesome) Stones(fair to good) Jethro Tull Joe Walsh Dave Mason Heat wave festival in Toronto 1981 Gram Parker Rockpile-Nick Lowe and Dave Edmonds Pretenders B52s Talking Heads Elvis Costello Did sound for bands in college and high school as well. Make an efffort to hear a Martin guitar played without amplification in a near field experience sometime in your life. ALSO... 1950s Les Paul Gretsch Country Gentleman 1960s Fender Stratocaster Gibson ES 335 Any of these guitars played through a (pre CBS)Fender tube amp or a Music Man (Eric Clapton used to use) tube amp is a fascinating experience. I never knew anyone that could afford Marshall or Hi Watt amps for their guitar; they must sound very nice as well. Big organs from an old movie theater or church are a pretty accessible live music source.

The Yamaha is a cool beast! I think the SC1 is a wee bit small for a center. There are tonal matching issues between center and mains BUT the RC3 is a real nice speaker, I have never heard the RC7. Kipsch subs do not come cheap in the new models. Many people who are big on Klipsch mains enjoy SVS, HSU, and use Adire Audio for more economical high performance subs. I do not know much about the Nak CD player; consider an outboard digital to analog converter(DAC) if you have a digital output to improve the sond of CDs. We will not discuss speaker wire that is a wild topic. Happy Klipsching

If you can find a Sherwood Newcastle AVP 9080 as a demo or used for $ 500- 650 it may meet your needs. It has nice performing basic DD5.1 and DTS, but a very nice analog pass through function. A phono section with M and MC capability which I have not tried out yet.

I am not real fond of powered towers even though I have a good friend that swears by his Difinitive Tech speakers. Once you have the sub in the tower you are not likely to tweak you system in that respect. I am on my second sub in 3 years; Adire Audio Rava sub with RB5s.

I travel 10 non weekend days a month on business and when I am home have 4 kids so I have very little time to look for deals. In October 2001 I found a demo separates set of Sherwood Newcastle HT components AM-9080 power amp(5 x 125) and AVP-9080R preamp from a local HT place. $ 1100 for the set including 5 Esoterec .5 meter RCA interconnects to go from the preamp to the power amp; 3 year warranty as well. I was looking for either the Outlaw 1050 or the NAD T 761 to upgrade my system; hold out for seperates if you can.

For concert DVDs I defeat my RC3 and just listen to the RB5s to compare sometimes. The phantom suggestion is a good one. I have moved my KSB 3.1 pair to the rear when I bought my RB5s 2 years ago. The RB5 is a speaker worth waiting for over the "SB series if you can afford it.

If I could suggest another alternative rather than "giving up" on the RF-3. The Sony receivers I have listened to have limited current capacity of the transformers so the dynamics of the music may not be reproduced well. For half the price of the RF-7s you may can acquire some very nice new high current receivers or used separates with superior capability when compared to the Sony. I replaced a Kenwood receiver similar to Sony in construction with Sherwood Newcastle separates that were a demo set with full 3 year warranty for $ 1100 4 months ago. A very tough looking 5x125 power amp weighing in at 70 pounds. My RB-5s sound like a totally different set of speakers. High current power is a treat!

Be cautious of any service techs advice. A Gateway rep told me Windows ME was a stable operating system. HA HA

Never heard the RB3 Love my RB5s I have had them for 1.4 years and have biwired them.

I have had very good service from Audio Advisor; real laid back folks from Grand Rapids, MI. I picked up one prder from their place ral clean and proffessional. I have no experience with the Needle Doctor.

Before I bought my separates I was close to getting the NAD T761.

Large...Small...crossover to sub at what "hz". In the analog section or digital? The Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080R preamp I have has a fixed crossover at 60 hz as I remember. I should not be hard to have different hz altertnatives from 40-120 in 20 increments if this is accomplished digitally by the surround processor chip. The Outlaw 1050 has some pretty good sub setting flexibility in the digital mode. Of course you cannot beleive everything you read ...BUT the 9080 has been documented to have a fixed anaolog crossover for using a sub with either a large or small setting when using any of the analog inputs. Interesting oppurtunities for improving the preamp design flexibility by manufactures in the future.