DLUngurait

LASCALAS TAKE A LICKING...AND KEEP ON TICKING!! Hooked up my La Scalas to my HT receiver last night and voila...THEY WERE FINE! I can't tell how relieved I was, I really thought that something was going to be blown. Although my Sony STR DE925 receiver is no match for my 20+ year old Onkyo Integra/Yamaha M-4 combo, it performed well enough last night that I was convinced that I could live with it for an extended period of time while saving up for something better. Dave

Thanks for all of the reponses and advice. One of my friends at work advised me not to try turning on the system, at least not without disconnecting my speakers. Luckily I have a 2nd system that I use for Home Theater so I am not without music or a means to easily test my LaScalas. I will find the time this weekend to open up the pre-amp and power amp to check for blown fuses or other damage. Like many here I have read a great deal about tubes vs. SS. Although I have very little to no experience w/ tubes, my gut instincts tell me I would be most satisfied w/ bi-amping. I'll have to live w/ my home theater receiver for now. Dave

My three year old daughter turned up the volume to max on my Onkyo Integra pre-amp... Later my 5 year old son turned on my Yamaha M-4 power amp (120w x 2) in order to play his "Who Let The Dogs Out" CD (knew that song had to be good for something!)...By the time I jumped across the room to turn it down it was too late. My pre-amp is definately blown...actually had a little smoke comming out of it and no more lights or sound out of the right channel. I haven't had the time or the courage to start checking the rest of my system...namely the the Yamaha amp and MOST IMPORTANTLY my '86 LaScalas. You can imagine how loud 120w is w/ LaScalas, I've never had the volume up more than maybe 1/3 of the dial before...Luckly the horified looks on my kids faces(my daughter was actually crying and hiding under a table) gave me pause long enough to realise it was my own damn fault...should have never taught my 5 year old how to work my stereo, even with my supervision. Anyone got any tips about how to check if I have any protection circuits/fuses that I can check before I throw in the towel on some of this gear...The LaScalas, if necessary, will be re-built. Maybe this is the excuse I needed to explore the world of tubes. Dave

My kids took me to "Nemo" for Father's Day...OK so I took them. I loved the movie...not sure I would agree w/ Justin that it's THE best of it's genre...but great just the same. I do agree w/ Justin regarding the mother dying...no more sad than Bambi or Dumbo (I still get choked up watching Dumbo!). I think I was more upset than my 5 and 3 year old. If you eliminate or change that scene...you can't relate to Nemo's Father...it's absolutely critical to the main plot and character development of both Nemo and his Father. In the end you see how the relationships works out for Nemo and his Father, and how they have a great life together. It's reassuring that life goes on...even after a great tragedy...a valuable lesson at any age. Dave

KRB, I see you have Thievery Corporation on your playlist. I caught them in concert at Billboard Live on South Beach a month or so ago. I wasn't expecting a group that relys on DJ's and sampling to be that entertaining...I WAS WRONG! They were awesome! Dave

I've worked at various film and video post-production studios (NOT MUSIC RECORDING STUDIOS). Normally we would have three different pairs of speakers in our audio suites. The main sets would be full sized monitors from the likes of JBL, Tannoy, Genelec etc... (every engineer had their favorite). The mid-fields always seemed to be Yamaha NS-10's, not sure why since I always thought they sounded overly bright, but this did provide a bit of a reference from studio to studio. The nearfields always seemed to be these crappy little cubes from Auratone, I never understood why we paid so much money for something that was designed to sound bad. 99% of all the mixing would be done w/ the larger monitors but then played back on the other various speakers to check if the mix worked for them as well. We had one client that always insisted we make him an audio cassette so he could go and listen to it in his car before he would approve the mix. Amplification was almost always Crown or Hafler. My wife probably listens to music more than I do, but she insists on listening to it on a little her little Sony boombox even when she's not in the same room! Although I know she is intimidated by my system, and possibly she wants to annoy me, she really justs wants to HEAR music...not judge the technical soud quality of the playback system. So the good news is I get to keep my LaScalas in the divorce settlement. Dave

Hey Tom...Does she have any sisters? Dave

As an industry professional since 1985 (I currently work in a motion picture laboratory), I would have to agree w/ Sunnysal & Marvel. Having more experience/knowledge about a particular field or medium enhances the experience. If anything , I enjoy movies more now than ever. Besides, it's not like you'll be involved in more than a couple of movies per year anyways...that leaves plenty of films to watch without knowing the plot or outcome. Dave

So I checked out this Alizee on the net and then made a comment about how hot she was to a friend of mine from work who happens to be French. He looked at me like I was a pervert and said she's only like 15!...So next time I want to look at French hotties I'll stick with Sophie Marceau or Catherine Deneuvre (sp?) Dave

Damn...I hate going to Chuck E. Cheese's...Now I gotta go just to check out the sound system...OTH..Dave & Buster's here has an all Klipsch set-up (looks like industrial Heresies) and they have better food & beer,and no annoying animatronics. I love Chicago and the pizza there is far superior to what we have here in South Florida...but then again, we have girls in bikinis in January Dave

hmmmnn...someone has alittle too much Kajagoogoo on the brain

Kenratboy, I work in the professional film production industry in Miami (18 years now). When Garrett Brown 1st developed the Steadicam I believe he won an Academy Award for technical achievement. And as a operator he was also considered top notch. His Steadicam shots following the Big Wheel in Kubrick's "The Shining" were ground breaking at the time and started the trend. Steadicam now makes many models of varying prices and weights starting around $7,500 (I think) and going up much higher from there. Although it would not be impossible to make $17,000 in a week with heavy overtime it would be pretty rare. The work is very physically demanding and most operators aren't capable of working those kind of hours (16 hrs x 6 days = $16,800) for that period of time. Also, like most specialized positions that pay high hourly or daily rates...these folks don't work every day or even every week. Last time I hired a steadicam operator I think I paid $750 for a 10 hour day plus another $550 for the rig (many if not most of these guys are owner operators). So rates can and do vary greatly depending on the project and the skill of the operator Just food for thought: A good national caliber commercial Director can demand $15,000 or more per day! Dave

I believe that was The Captain & Tenille or America... and "yes" I AM embarrassed that I know that! Dave

My guilty pleasure is 80's new wave... Duran Duran, The Fixx, Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen... The list goes on and on... Dave

Goosechaser, The South Florida Klipsch retailer is Sound Advice...but if you want to see Klipsch speakers you better hurry...I understand that Tweeter and Sound Advice are the same company or owned by the same company. Of course, as someone else already mentioned, there will probably be a Klipsch Clearance sale in the near future. Dave

..so what would you prefer to erect? Clueless...Shame on you;)

From "LOVE & DEATH" Countess: "How did you get to be such a great lover?" Woody Allen: "I practice alot...when I'm home alone" From "PREDATOR" Soldier: "I don't got time to bleed" From "STRIPES" Francis: "Any of you homos call me Francis...I'll kill ya!" Sgt. Hulka: "OK...Lighten up...FRANCIS" From "KINGPIN" Amish Farmer: "What are you doing" Woody Harrelson: Carrying a large bucket of milk and wearing a milk mustashe "Just milking the cow" Amish Farmer: "But we don't have a cow...Just a bull?"

Loudisbeautiful, I have La Scalas and live in Ft. Lauderdale (actually Cooper City/S.W. Broward) but unfortunately I have the Type AL crossovers as well. I you do end up upgrading your crossovers...I'd love to hear a comparison, since I've been considering a change as well. Dave DLUngurait@aol.com

I'm w/ djk on this one. I helped un-install a video post-production facility this summer and underneath the computer flooring (50' x 40') was a foot deep w/ various types of video, audio, data, cables. 15 years of expansion and changing technologies all combined to create one heck of a rats nest. Dave

As far as I know, Neutrik is a brand name...not a type of connector. I've only used them for XLR (3-pin) connectors for line level audio cables. Very good quality. Dave

Fini, You know what they say: "You can pick your friends...You can pick your nose...But you can't pick your friends nose" I guess you are on your own. Happy Hunting! Dave

Hmmmmmn, Hacker-Schorr...isn't that an NA (non-alcholic) beer? Dave

Anything by the Cohen Bros: "Raising Arizona", "Fargo", "Hudsucker Proxy"... Anything By Monty Python: "Holy Grail", "Jabberwocky", "The Life of Brian", "Meaning of Life"... Anything by the Farelly Bros: "Dumb & Dumber", "Kingpin", "Something About Mary"... Anything by Mel Brooks: "12 Chairs", "The Producers", "Blazin Sadles", "Young Frankenstein", "High Anxiety", "Hist. of The World-Part 1"... Anything w/ Peter Sellers: Pink Panther films, "Dr. Strangelove...", Being There"... Almost anything w/ Steve Martin: "The Jerk", "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", "All of Me", "The Man w/ Two Brains", "LA Stories"... Almost anything w/ Mike Myers: "Austin Powers 1, 2, & 3", "I Married an Axe Murderer" Individual Films not already mentioned: "Some Like It Hot" "A Fish Named Wanda" "The Full Monty"

I'm using the same sub with an older Sony STR DE-925 receiver w/ no compatibility problems whatsoever. Simple RCA type connection from the Sony's "Sub Out/LFE" output via Monster Cable w/ "Y" adapter into the left and right inputs on the KSW. Dave

Wait a minute...I was born in Wisconsin an had problems w/ Pneumonia & Bronchitis! No milk allergy though. GO PACKERS! Dave