Islander

The Shure M97xE sounds good with my La Scalas.

If you ran those wires under a carpet, you'd want to make sure they don't get stepped on by any spike heels or similar pointy objects. Even regular foot traffic couldn't be good for any cable. The cables do look interesting. Do they have to be terminated at the factory, or can you put on your own connectors? It looks like it might be difficult to cut them and add connectors at home.

I think most amps have more distortion at near max power levels. The Yamaha has its lowest distortion ratings (.003%) in the 6-10 watt range. Crown probably uses the higher rating because, as a pro amp, it's expected to be used at its higher power settings. People who have the Crown amps seem to like them.

Class D amps are not all digital. "D" is just the next letter after "C". There are likely very few actual digital hi-fi amps on the market. The Yamaha MX-D1 power amp that I use is marked "digital" on its front, but magazine reviewers all call it a misnomer. The amp does sound great, though. It has lots of power, runs cool and presents the music with whole new levels of detail, clarity and solidity. Other brands of power amp I had considered were Bryston and McIntosh.

Brave driving, but my buddy the F1 fan pointed out that the race should not even have been started, since the weather was so bad the medical helicopter could not have lifted off, even in the case of a life-threatening crash...

I see that Canuck Audio Mart has already banned two ads by that seller. As far as I can tell, Canuck Audio Mart are on the level and I'm happy with the Heresy IIs I bought there.

They've got a lot more nerve than me!!!

Oil can sometimes lift magic marker, but I wouldn't try it unless your speakers have an oiled finish already.

Formula 1 is a big-bucks sport. It costs $50 million just to join the competition circuit, since they don't want any teams that will only compete for a season or two and upset the established order.

You can order a Radio Shack decibel meter from their international desk and they'll mail it to Canada. The digital meter SKU is 33-2055. You can check www.RadioShack.com or call 800-223-8344. Hazel handles most of the orders.

Engines last longest if you make them work. Redline every day can keep the mechanic away...

My daughter asks me to turn it down, too, and she's 33! What's the matter with kids these days? Oh, well, her boyfriend just turned me on to the band called Tortoise, so it's not all bad.

The gold finish doesn't make it sound any better, but the upgraded tonearm cable in the Limited does. The SL-1210M5GSE has the same features without the gold finish and is quite a bit less expensive. More info here: http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?ttables.htm And here: http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/technics_dj/prod_default_analog.asp The Technics SL-1200 is called "The Wheel of Steel" for a good reason. They often run without problems for decades.

Could be worse, he could have bought a Gold Wing... [:$]

I'm really liking the Technics SL-1400 MK2 with Shure M97xE. Not expensive and non-tweaky. It's probably the combo of deck and cart, but even scratchy records are relatively listenable, and good records sound really quiet, with lots of detail.

The Technics decks sure do resist footfalls and vibrations nicely. They sound good, too, but can sound better with an upgraded tonearm. In the September 2007 (on newstands now) issue of Hi-Fi World, an English magazine, there's a report on an SL-1200 MK2 that one of the editors tweaked out in several ways. The biggest change was to install a "specially souped up Rega RB250 arm courtesy of arch turntable tweakers Audio Origami", which had been improved with Cardas internal wires, among other things. There's a company over there called Origin Live who even make a Rega adapter to make it easy to fit the new arm. There's no height adjustment with that arm, so they set its height with washers. The project turned out well, in that when the Technics was compared to a Michell Gyrodec and an SME Model 10, it was noticeably better in certain ways than both those much more expensive decks. Although its soundstaging was a tad more two-dimensional than the belt-drive units, it had a "startingly clear sound from bottom to top, the whole essence of the deck being its remarkable bite, clarity and incision which neither of the two reference belt drives could deliver." I guess you can tell I'm a Technics SL fan.

Pat Benatar? What??? Pat Benatar is warm, but Lee Aaron is HOT!!! And she's nice to talk to, as well.

An all-expenses-paid road trip!

It certainly brought out some humour, along with a bit of confusion. I liked the story about the electron-rustling neighbours.

My old La Scalas came with extra nail holes on the outside and one of the tweeters was mounted so crookedly that it was annoying to look at from all the way across the living room. When I replaced the K-77s with CT125 tweeters, I had to drill three new holes so the new tweeter would sit straight in that speaker. The CT125 had its holes in the right places, but three of the mounting holes in the cabinet weren't where they were supposed to be. At least with an old black La Scala, the industrial look and utility finish is not unexpected. Brand new Klipschorns should look more like fine furniture.

The CT125s certainly improved the sound of my La Scalas, with much smoother and more realistic sounds, most noticeably on cymbals. As well, the output of the two tweeters matched to within 0.5 dB, as opposed to the 2-3 dB variance between the two K-77s the speakers came with. Claude, did you ever check out those Lee Aaron videos on your Sexy female jazz singer on You Tube thread?

Seeing a band member perform a solo acoustic set can be disappointing, even in an ideal setting. I'm a big Al Stewart fan, but when I saw him at Ontario Place in Toronto in 1994 with just his guitar, it was a real letdown. He played and sang well, but many of his songs are much better with a full band. When he played Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto in 1977 with his band, it was really great and among the best concerts I've ever attended.

Glad you brought that up....I think Doc Who should be stoned.... [*-)] lol, YOU were the one that brought it up again! [] As far as being stoned....I've always felt drugs are a key ingredient to rock and roll. But if you can act stoned outta your mind without being stoned, then you've got GREAT rock and roll.... Like Frank Zappa, who was against drugs and said he'd never used them. He made great rock and roll, plus great jazz/rock fusion.

Andromeda - the only galaxy visible to the naked eye. Other than the Milky Way, of course. It will be visible in the East-North-East sky tonight. B. Kliban's take on the speed of light:

You're not kidding about that! When my Chinese friends prepare to return home, they find it very frustrating that all the souvenirs of Canada are made in China. Other than the maple syrup, perhaps.