pmsummer

Have you considered using them as your coffin?

Back in the late 70's there was a "Klipsch" dealer in Dallas that always ran ads based on price ("Klipschorns: $700" IIRC). When you went to their store, they were out of the Khorns ("Sold out and back ordered from the factory. Should have more in about six months. Cash up front to order at this price."), but they had their demo pair set up. Then they'd want you to listen to some speakers you'd never heard of that sold for about $375. A/B-ing them with the Klipsch, they just sang. The Horns were harsh, bright, and thin. Their mystery speaker (this was before the day of the white vans, but the same idea) sounded great... in comparison to some obviously jiggered Klipsch. It was my understanding that they were finally forced out of business by Klipsch. "Audio" salesmen too often spring from the same root as used-car salesmen.

Looks like you got your money's worth. Been through Oconomowoc a couple of times.

Thank you! THAT's what I was looking for. Trey, as a former "pro", what Q-style would you say the Smoke House is? Closer to the "East Texas" style, or more of the Memphis style? Sweet sauce, or vinegar? Thanks, and see you in June!

Might depend on what you listen to. A Chamber Quartet playing in a parking lot will sound worse than one recorded in a studio. A Chamber Quartet (or Jazz Ensemble, or Bluegrass Group) playing in an intimate, acoustically appropriate venue will sound better than one recorded in CBS' Recording Studio A.

Well, somebody's certainly missing something. You can spend your time listening to high-fidelity gear, or you can listen to music. I'll take the music, thank you, and I hear enough live music of various styles to know when that experience is recreated to my satisfaction.

Very nice! What did the guy charge you (if you don't mind my asking)? Cane-cloth grills would sure look good on those.

Because it's not as "complicated" as some would have us believe. I have a pair of the same Mission 700's that oldtimer mentioned (they're usually hooked up to my computer system). Twenty-six year old technology that still sounds great. I've a pair of original EPI 100's that always make me smile. Ever looked inside of one? Just ONE 10uF cap for a crossover. Beautiful sound still, after thirty-five years. Fifty-five years ago Henry Kloss was demonstrating AR3's by recording live music at the museum, and then A/B-ing the recorded sound with the live. People could't tell the difference. AR3's ARE NOT rocket science, but art as technology. The human brain and audio canal have FAR more to do with quality sound than esoteric designs using cast-off technology from Reagan's Star Wars program...and the human requirement is pretty simple. Make a noise, move/disturb air. The speaker's job is to reproduce that disturbance faithfully (based on what's fed into it). People "hate" Klipsch for the same reasons they "hate" the Redskins or the Cowboys or OU or the Fighting Irish or the Trojans or Miami...they want to be on a "team", and preferably a winning one. There are mass-market speakers I don't particularly like the sound from...most JBL's, all Pioneers, Cerwin Vegas, Heresys, and many of the mid-period Klipsches. But I love K-horns, LaScalas, and Cornwalls. Always have. Part of what I love about my speakers (Cornwalls) is how well they handle the music I feed into them: small ensembles, female voices (solo voices in general), upright basses, pianos, banjos, saxophones, bassoons, pipes, Les Paul guitars, drumsets. So, to the folks who don't like my Klipsches: Get over it. My Cornwalls won't be the last speakers I ever own (so many speakers, so little time), but they may well remain as my PRIMARY speakers (at least until the old McIntosh dies). Bottom line: they're your ears, use them as you like. PWK designed art as technology, and I get to visit the museum every day in my own living room.

Going into "big box" discounters killed at least two quality speakers brands in the US by damaging their reputation among the "audiophiles" while producing a product that mullet wearing Gall-Mart shoppers either didn't or couldn't appreciate. EPI went that route in the early eighties (they formed their "Epicure" line to stay in the boutique stores), and it put them under. Mission did the same with BB in the early nineties. Adios Mission, for all practical intents and purposes (both names lived on as little more than re-labled product from another manufacturer). Dangerous waters, but mass-consumer marketing is usually dangerous.

There's the WORD... fidelity. The music industry has, by and large, forsaken "fidelity" for excitement. But then, so too perhaps has the culture. In a world of "5.1 surround sound", I maintain by dedication to "high fidelity".

Well, actually, I was trying to "smoke" him out. ;-)

The Toshiba 38XX and 39XX DVD players ($50-100) have a 24 bit DAC and challenge some some really TOTL CD players out of the box. Supposedly a couple of cheap/easy mods elevates it to a very high level of performance. I'll also recommend the H/K Twin-Powered line, but look at the Yamaha CR and CA stuff from the late 70s/early 80s too.

Shorter answer: Yes. []

PWK designed speakers excel with "classical music" and classic jazz, in part because they were reference-able sound sources. PWK and friends were using live performances of acoustically based music as their reference points. Pop, Rock, new Jazz, even a lot of todays "Classical" music has so much manipulation between source (vocal chord, pick on string, air over reed) and media (CD, MP3, even Vinyl) that the connection has been lost. With no reference point, a speaker's performance is free to add its own sound. IMHO, the so-called "East Coast vs. West Coast" sound of speakers in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, was a reflection of the difference between wanting the speaker to "go away", or wanting it to "speak for itself". PWK could arguably be said to fall into the "go away" camp with his designs, although their high efficiency made that bloody unlikely. [] Both of my sons-in-law are excellent musicians in a "pop-music" style. They are far more interested in how a multi-layered, digitally altered track sounds on an iPod, than whether or not a bassoon sounds like someone blowing on a hollow tube. As always, your mileage might vary.

Your perception is your perception of reality, but reality remains unimpressed. Reality remains independent of our perceptions, even in these post-modern times.

To each his own. I personally find Rachmaninov tedious... but it doesn't make his music so. If you are ever inclined, these two discs are worth a serious listen (and they won't be used in horror movies). PMS

Bob, Are you sourcing those caps for original Cornwalls? My pair are celebrating their 28th this year, and I want to give them a Birthday present.

Well, not sure I totally agree. He never wrote anything else that was as POPULAR, but then, he was primarily an academic. Orff's De Temporum Fine Comoedia is a favorite of mine, as is "schulwerk musik" (written with collaboration), especially his Street Music piece for percussion that was used so effectively in Terence Mallick's film, Badlands (the film that turned me on to both Orff and Satie). Classical music: what a broad category of strong likes and dislikes. There's something for everyone. Start big and work your way small might work. The Three Bs (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms). Keep working your way back (and forward) PAST the Classical Period. Discover how well they could record music in the mid to late sixties. Enjoy!

Looks like the Bird's Eye Burled Maple dresser I used to have.

Anyone know anything about what the XO mods the 60s/70s European Klipsch dealer is talking about here were? "After some consulting with the factory and the European distributor - mr. Hoffmann in Frankfurt, Arnfinn came up with a little modification of the dividing network that worked admirably. Good guy, Arnfinn!"

I've purchased quite a few used books and CD's from (through) Amazon, with very good results, including hard-to-find items. Recommended. Amazon's "Free Shipping for Orders over $25" has served me well, too. Downside: I don't support my LBS and LRS as I should, but being as they are just company stores anyway, I don't lose TOO much sleep over it.

Fahey.

John

Kottke.

Leo