Islander

NEWS UPDATE: just announced on CBC Radio a few minutes ago: one of the Martin Mars water bombers will be in San Diego tomorrow. Its support crew left Vancouver Island a while ago and has already crossed the border. Hopefully, this will be a big help to the hard-working fire crews already onsite.

Stuffing, like fiberglass batting, for example, adds "virtual volume", making the speaker box act sort of like it was larger. If the speaker was sold that way, it's likely that the engineers who designed it thought that was the optimum setup for that speaker. Adding or subtracting those materials is a way of second-guessing the designer, usually not a successful way to go.

For a gentleman of your stature, I would recommend either Klipschorns or Jubilees, assuming your room has a ceiling height of at least 8 1/2 feet. One could put together a chart showing which speakers go with which height of listeners. Simple, isn't it? (As if...) BTW, Klipsch recommends that minimum ceiling height for Klipschorns. Does anyone know if there is a similar suggestion for Jubilees, considering that they're taller than Khorns?

Here on Vancouver Island we have the two Martin Mars flying boat water bombers, the world's largest. The owner of the planes is in hourly communication with the California authorities and one is ready to lift off almost immediately when the call comes. Hopefully the fires will be brought under control soon. http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/mars.html http://www.gotofino.com/sproatlakemarsbombers.html http://www.martinmars.com/

Good thinking. What you hear is more important than all the the opinions and theories.

You're right, my IQ certainly isn't 160 and she turns both ways. Hmm, maybe I'll just leave that last remark alone.

Keep checking EBay. Single La Scalas do show up, sometimes having been connected to an organ in a church, or having been a center in a home theater.

Great deal! They look mint. If the connector cups are round, they're likely 86-89 models. I think the square connector cups started in 1990.

What's going on in the car forums? Bentley Forums - - - I used the ash tray today. How do I replace it? Camaro/Firebird Forums - - - My girl slept with my brother and my wife. How can I kill 'em? btw, I have a record and I ain't going back. Mustang (Chevelle) forums - - -Some punk kid in a Civic tried to race me. Monte Carlo forums - - -Why do I keep getting pulled over, it ain't stolen yo. Civic forums - - -Some punk kid in a Mustang tried to race me. VW Bug forum - - - The Save the Earth concert was a success (pics) Yugo Forum - - - When's the last time yours ran? Lamborghini forum - - - Wind noise around 210MPH Miata forums - - - Some redneck jackass in a Chevy Tahoe just ran over my car (pics) Chevy Tahoe forum - - -Miata stuck in my undercarriage. How do I safely remove it? (pics) Pontiac Fiero forum - - - Just bought a new flame retardant suit (pics) BMW 7-series forum - - - Where to get service on my Rolex? Cadillac forum - - - Problems parallel parking at bingo. Chevy Suburban Forum - - - Is the price of gas going down anytime soon? Buick Forum - - - Is Medicare or Medicaid right for me? Delorean forum - - - Just got back from the future and blew a head gasket. Please help. I'm from 1985. Crown Victoria forum - - - How come people never pass me on the highway? Honda Accord forum - - - Mom is giving me the car. Looking for some cheap, used 18 inch rims. Toyota Echo forum - - - Do our cars use AAA or AA's? Ferrari forums - - - Need suggestions about a business trip to Colombia. Want to get in and out fast. Porsche forums - - - Tire just went flat. Is it best to trade or sell the car myself? Saturn forums - - - Roman candle landed on my fender. Melted and need to replace. Jaguar forum - - - Is the carbon fiber dash kit group-buy still on? Mercedes forum - - - My wife and her stink hole lawyer are trying to ruin me in divorce court. How do I get them both killed and not get in trouble with my medical board? Mini forum - - - Just flipped the Cooper after seeing The Italian Job. Suing the movie company. (pics) Dodge Viper forum - - - I frightened myself on the way home from work yesterday. How to get pee stains out of the leather? McLaren F1 forum - - -Some punk kid in a F16 tried to race me. Dodge Minivan forum - - - Where's the best place to post the soccer schedule so I don't forget where I'm supposed to be? Hummer forum - - - Had a fender bender today. 24 hurt, 10 killed. Do I have to get the black touch-up paint from the dealer? He's 25 miles away. That's $35 in gas. Fiat forum - - -Hello? Am I the only member? Subaru WRX forum - - - I hate cops. Got ticketed for drifting in the Walmart parking lot. Chevy pickup forum - - - How do I git the dried tobacco juice stains off the side of mah truck? SRT Forums "Will this void my warranty" RX7 Forums - - - 13B Groupbuy full, stop PM'ing me. DSM Forums - - -Transmission Groupbuy Full stop PM'ing me Supra Forums - - -Head to big to fit in car, should have bought a Targa. Vette Forums - - -Why did I pay $50k for something with a Cavalier steering wheel? Ford 2.3 forums - - -Help! Replaced everything, still doesn't start!

Speakers do break in, as the speaker cones, diaphragms and suspensions lose their brand-new stiffness. It can take as little as a day or as much as a month, depending on the speaker type and design. That said, they don't need to be babied at first, in the way a new engine should be. Use your speakers as you normally would, just don't expect them to sound their very, very, best right out of the box. It's likely that your speakers will sound fine at first and will gradually improve to sound even better after a little while.

You must have very tall furniture (or be very tall). I have the mid-70s La Scalas that are only 34.5 inches tall, 17.5 inches shorter than Klipschorns. Sitting on my old sofa, my ears were a little above the level of the tweeters. With my new reclining sofa, ear level is either 4-5 inches above the tweeters or directly in line with them, depending on how laid-back I want to be at the moment. I'm 5-9. The sound is good in either case. With a pair of Klipschorns the tweeters would be a foot over my head. I haven't listened to a pair of speakers as tall as that, but I'm not sure it would be an improvement. Sounds like a case of using the speaker that best fits the room and listener, in every way.

As well as drunks and children, people who normally have a clue can make a mistake. It could be something as simple as hooking up a CD player directly to a power amp. That way, there is no volume control and the amp puts out full power until it's turned off or disconnected. I made this mistake when testing my new amp with a portable CD player. I had no idea the line out socket bypassed the volume control. Luckily, the first song had a spoken word intro, so I was able to disconnect before it got too loud. When I took the amp to the dealer to check it for buzzing when hooked up to their equipment, the salesman did the same thing, hooking the amp directly to a CD player instead of to a receiver. It put out its full power for 5 or 10 seconds before he realized the problem and shut off the CD player. It was fairly loud. Maybe I just got lucky, but there was no harm done in either case, to the amp or to the speakers. Also, there was no buzzing with those low-sensitivity Totem Wind speakers, although it can be heard faintly with the La Scalas.

My La Scalas are toed in directly to the listening position. The soundstage is big and the imaging is very good. They're 11.5 feet apart, measured from the centers of the tweeters and they're 13 feet away from where I sit.

Well, that image makes just an excellent desktop. Thanks for sharing these great pix!

With the extreme gain of your system, could it be a cricket tapping its antennae on the rim of your satellite dish? Maybe the microwaves make him jumpy and twitchy.

I'm sure those big horn systems sound really good, but it does seem odd to place the smaller horns and their stands in front of the bass horns. It's not likely to improve the sound and there seemed to be enough space with the Goto horn setup to move the smaller units out of the way. Hmm, now that I think about it for a minute, maybe the idea is to try to put the drivers on a common axis, to try for a point-source effect, as much as would be possible with those big horns.

Thanks for the tip about the Etymotic earplugs. Years ago, I tried (in an industrial situation) some earplugs that looked like the Etymotics, but found them very uncomfortable, while the foamies can be worn comfortably all day. Maybe the Etymotics are more comfortable than the look-alikes sometimes used in heavy industry. However, anyone who has not heard of technology or devices that you are familiar with is not by definition some kind of idiot. Mas, you're obviously a well-informed and intelligent person who knows a lot about audio. That does not make us less-informed members a bunch of fools, as is often implied in your posts.

Very nice! Now aren't you glad you didn't wreck them to save them?

What the hell was that? What a mess! They really should have started the song over with another guitar.

One time I was at an Elvis Costello concert, back when he was a rocker (of sorts) and it was so loud I was in pain. I tore a dollar bill in half, rolled up the halves and stuck one in each ear. It was worth it! Not so practical now, with the one-dollar coins (loonies), of course. Now I always carry a set or two of the yellow foam earplugs.

This Kobayashi setup makes a pair of Jubilees look compact and even pretty, or at least tidy:

The Audiophile Club of Athens' horn speaker page: http://aca.gr/pop_goto_ale.htm

And a three-quarter view:

In case you ever wondered what a 30 Hz horn would look like, here's a pair of Goto horns that were posted on the www.aca.gr website

Liberace would have felt at home there. I sure wouldn't...