Tom Adams

I'll chime in with a YES to using RG6 for cables. In fact, the audio store that helped me pre-wire my HT room did just what you're asking. They ran quad shield RG6. In fact, the guys told me that they buy their RCA connectors from Audio Quest and use them to terminate the RG6. They said that makes as good a cable as the pre-made Audio Quest at substantially less moola. Tom

Was in Atlanta this past weekend (for a boat show - my other weakness/hobbie) and went to a HT specialty store (and for the life of me I can't remember the name of the place ). The place had several HT rooms of varying size/price/elaboratness. One thing I found interesting was their rather limited menu of audio equipment. Didn't ask them about this, but I suppose it allows them to concentrate on the HT as a whole. Anyhow.... Two of the HT rooms were done using Acoustic Innovations' semi-custom HT stuff. I was very very impressed by what I saw. The smaller room was 12'x20' and had simple, but tasteful cloth covered side columns that not only concealed the side surrounds, but also included halogen lighting top & bottom. The fixed 92" diagonal screen was trimmed out with cloth covered panels that matched the columns. The panels to the side of the screen concealed the R&L mains and the top & bottom panels concealed the sub and center channel. I asked the salesperson what something like that cost and he said that the room as it appeared was around $4200 which included the screen and all the speakers (Triad's I think he said). The projector in that room was a Runco 510 (sweet, but expensive) and wasn't included in that $4200 price. On the drive home the wife & I came to the conclusion that if someone wasn't "into" audio/video equipment, yet wanted a very nice, custom looking HT, this wouldn't be a bad way to go. We figured that using this package plus a projector in the $3000 range, a moderate HT reciever and DVD player; one could put together a very cool HT for $10,000. No doubt many of us here with "skills" could duplicate the panels & stuff Acoustic Innovations has, but I think what we'd spend in time & effort wouldn't yield any real savings. Like I said...I was very impressed with what I saw. Tom

"Actually, you are simply perpetuating the same myth used in the silly Radio host rubbish." You know Mark, if you would just take a breath, shut the hell up, and listen for a moment, you might just hear what I (or anyone else) has to say. Fer chrissakes man, do you not see that you are doing just exactly what you're critizing everyone else for? You're an intelligent person - what's the word for that? Just because I or anyone else opines something here that sounds like what you say is blasted over talk show radio doesn't automatically mean that we're parrotting what "they" said. That's a bit paranoid and conspiracy theory doncha think? FWIW, I don't listen to talk show radio and MHO's are just that - opinions based on my own life experiences and my value system. When I said life goes on without a hiccup, I'm referring to the enviroment within the company. Sure...the corporation will change a process or implement a new policy or whatever. But there are very few cases where there's been serious changes in management or the structure of the company. Now, before you blast me again may I ask you to again TAKE A BREATH AND COUNT TO 10? If you will re-read my post, I never said it was right or wrong. I merely said that's the way a major suit award was accounted for. So, for the record - I DON'T AGREE IT'S RIGHT. What I hope I'm hearing you say is that the frivilous suits are muddying the waters for the legitimate suits. And I believe that's some common ground we can agree on. You sound like you're scared to death that tort reform is gonna ruin all our chances. The sky is falling , the sky is falling! What if it doesn't turn out that way? What if the "reform" enables us little folks to get the bad guys in a meaningful way and results in some true changes for the good. Glass half empty or half full? All I'm saying is that the future hasn't happened yet, but we're waxing on as if it has. You know, I think it's a crying damn shame about your nephew. And the people that's responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. However, throughout this thread, your modus operandi has been to "shout down" and belittle and insert sarcasm and all but call people stupid for voicing an opinion that's contrary to yours. I've been on this BB as long as most here and this MO of yours has held true in many of the "debates" you get into. I too will ask what someone else posted above - just who the hell died and put you in charge? Thanks for driving me away from the thread. Tom

There's nothing wrong with punishing corporations for willfully & intentially "hurting" someone. However, if anyone thinks for one single minute that the monetary award actually comes from the company coffers or outta the pockets of the investors, you're crazy. It's simply put on the company books as a "liability" and that liability is offset with some type of asset. Then the liability is eliminated by passing the costs along to the consumer. Life goes on without hiccup at the company. I know this for a fact - I'm married to a finacial controller. I'd like to comment about Unions 'cause it's been literally weighing on my mind since yesterday. I truly believe Unions have a place in our society and that they can provide some serious good if they're practiced correctly. My company has squeezed & squeezed both white collar & blue collar folks over the last 3 or 4 years. However, what I struggle with is the adversarial nature that a Union brings to the table. Yeah, I know they and the company "negotiate" a contract. However, once the dust settles, there's a very real "us versus them" attitude that pervades the work place. I've worked in a Union enviroment, so I know what it's like. One minute we talk about man and his animalistic relationship with guns and violence and we want it to stop. And in the next breath we talk about wanting to beat somebody's brains in for voting a certain way. Anyhow, maybe my real problem is that 30 some years ago, my Dad worked for a facility service & support company that was contracted to NASA. One day the company he worked for became unionized. My Dad decided, based on his principles, to exercise his right to not join. We got harassing phone calls at home and he was left nasty notes on his desk at work. My Dad will tell you that the note that was left calling him a scab and a traitor shook his belief in this country and what America was all about. Why? Because my Dad fought in three wars for this country and as he would say, "I've been shot at and **** on by the best". How could anyone have the balls to call him a traitor when all he did was exercise his right to free speech by saying he chose not to join? But the straw that broke the camels back (and his heart) was when he came in one morning and saw a note from the union perpetrator that broke his ash tray into several pieces. A silly, badly made, ugly painted, clay ash tray with a hand painted "DAD" in the bottom that had been made several years before by his 4 year old son. An ash tray he took with him to Viet Nam, Europe, and where ever Uncle Sam sent his squadron. He brought it home and we glued it back together as best we could. But the thing that really broke that day could not be repaired. Tom

Here's one of mine: Tom

Sorry fini - this is in no way intended to usurp your position as minister of jocularity. The late Justin Wilson once told a story about a man that was robbed by a guy wielding a 2x4. The man told the robber there was no way he was gonna rob him with a piece of wood. The robber started beating the man who began hollering, "Stop! Stop! Hold your 2x4. I'm gonna give you my money." As the robber was walking off the man told him to stop for he had some more money hidden in his shoes. After giving the robber all his money, the man said to the robber, "Please mister, take this money and buy yourself a gun. You're gonna kill somebody with that 2x4!" Ba-da boom, ba-da bing. Oh and the only other thing I have to offer this, the mutha of all threads, is: It is better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by 6. Tom

Just a couple of follow-up comments if I may.... JewishAmerPrince - very good points about the state of this country's lack of skilled craftsmen. I have friends in the home construction business and they've shared the same experiences you have. OTOH, the home we purchased recently was trimmed out by some good 'ol American boys that truly take pride in what they do. I told Mike that the wife & I were simply amazed at the trim work. I then told him what I believed to be one of the greatest compliments he could recieve. I mentioned to him that when the wife saw the custom built-in bookcase and double mantle fireplace, she literally teared-up. Mike shared with me that he is not only passing his knowledge on to his son, but letting him know that it's OK to be tradesperson. His favorite saying? "Tom....a nail is a nail. It doesn't know whether it's being used in a $50K or a $500K home. Quality is a state of mind." I work for an aircraft company that produces business jets in the 30 to 45 million dollar range. And finding local people with the necessary skills is just about impossible for exactly the same reasons JewishAmerPrince cites. In fact, our company has embarked on programs both at the trades level as well as at the secondary education level in order to ensure a supply of local talent. These programs have resulted in a major expansion of the local VoTech school and the creation of a new technical campus that's associated with Georgia Tech. It's kinda sad that our company has to spend money to do what our taxes should be doing. Anyhow, I completely agree that we, as a nation, don't tell our kids that it's OK not to go to college and that being a competent, quality trades person is acceptable. That's not what you do, but how well you do it. Lastly....recently, my parents' across-the-street neighbor passed away. He was nice old man and I always enjoyed chatting with him when I saw him working in his garage. He once owned a metal spinning business in New York, sold it, retired, and moved south. He still had a couple small spinning lathes in his garage and would make things for folks from time to time. The things he could create were amazing. He tried to teach me a few times and I did ok, but nothing like what he was able to do. Sadly, his son had no interest and so all that knowledge about metal spinning went with him to the grave. I've often thought how sad that was for him not to be able to pass along what he knew. Tom

Very true dgb. Another thing not mentioned here is that while the obscene coporate salaries get the press, it's the relenting pressure by investors of US coporations for those corporations to make "their numbers". Back during the Clinton years of an overly inflated stock market (which the experts kept warning us about and that the market would eventually correct itself), investors got hooked on the sugar high of 28% and 35% returns. Then when the market did it's correction, investors were, and have been, unwillingly to settle for realistic returns. This creates unrealistic expectations of, and incredible pressures on, CEO's & CFO's. Now, factor in that these CEO's & CFO's & COO's & whomever have their compensation tied directly to the companies' profitability and the rhetorical question that begs to be asked is: are they making business decisions for the good of the company/worker or for their own nest egg? I suggest it's the latter. At least once a month I'm treated to my dosage of "investor return" medicine by my company. And since I'm already on my soapbox , just prior to and during the Clinton years, our information society invested billions of dollars in eCommerce, the internet, computer software, etc. In many instances the only real product was lines of computer code. These small internet software companies got bought up and made hundreds of millionaires (more power to them, BTW). But what was the real benefit to our economy? Was there any real product produced? I suggest that it was all this internet frenzy that, while it made some folks lots of $$$, many investors were left holding the bag. And once the house of cards started to fall, the market corrected accordingly. Now for the irony...my wife is a financial controller for JCB USA. JCB is a solely owned corporation based out of the UK and they build heavy machinery. At the plant here they make backhoes only. JCB has plants in several locations and the backhoes built here are as good or better in build quality than any where else JCB builds them. And get this - the cost of manufacturing them is less than anywhere else. That's right. Backhoes built in the USA by American workers that cost less. Who says it can't be done? Tom

Well....at the risk of sounding like HDBR, I too have logged many miles (not really sure, maybe 400,000 or so) on a variety of bikes. I started riding when I was 13 (I'm 47 now) and have been riding ever since except for that period of my life when I was in college (motocross bikes traded for school funds). I too would highly recommend taking the MSF. I've known folks that have taken it after having ridden for years and they've always said how they learned something new. I'd also give some thought to buying a used 125cc or 250cc dirt bike. The skills you learn in the dirt translate to street riding. Things like throttle control, body positioning, braking and what it feels like to have a front or rear tire slide are valuable skills. Dirt riding allows you to try things like breaking a rear tire loose without the potential horrible consequences one would face on the street. Besides, if you bust your *** in the dirt, it won't hurt (too) bad. And since the bike is used, you won't freak when you drop it. Your next step after the dirt bike/MSF learning experience would be a CLASS riding school or some such. These schools won't teach you how to go fast on the street (although you will find your pace picking up), rather, they'll give you additional skills that will increase your margin of safety for when you do decide to up the pace. The main thing you'll learn is that you can go quite fast with the proper riding technique. That all the horsepower in the world won't make up for bad riding skills. I'm constantly amazed at how many sportbike guys I come upon that gas the hell outta the bike in the straights and then park it then turns. I've got a 68 year old friend who is smooth as glass when he rides and he regularly passes these young pups on his BMW GS100. Anyhow....I digress. Others have mentioned riding with proper gear and I will second that. I too have been down more times than I'd like. And today (knocking on head), I've yet to suffer anything worse than some scrapes & bruises. There's some really good riding gear out there that allows one to practically ride all year long in any weather. Invest in it. Good fitting quality riding gear will make the experience even more enjoyable. And when you do ride. Ride your own ride. Trying to go fast or keep up with someone is a recepe for disaster. Pride & ego will get you killed quicker than anything else. Go fast when you can and slow when you got too. Oh...one last thing. Buy more than one bike. Tom '94 Kawasaki ZX9R '03 Yamaha FJR1300 '90 H*nda NS50

lynnm - go here: http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?mode=viewtopic&topicID=29249&num=30&sessionID={B1E6EB88-8988-4DE0-90BC-9B21135BB6F3}&pageNo=2 and look towards the bottom of page two. cluless does a very good job of explaining how it's done in a step-by-step fashion. I printed his explanation out and keep it handy. Tom

????????? Where do people like this come from? I mean, are they so bored and they've accomplished all there is to do in life that they sit around and say, "Jeez...I think I'll hit this BB and pop-off some. That'll make me happy." Wow....amazing....simply amazing. Oh - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Tom

Hey Bryan - Good question and one that is very important to me. I had two choices for locating the Heresy's - mount them to the wall by either using some kinda omnimount thing or a bracket or a shelf. This would be the most secure method, but would pretty much remove any flexibility of moving the speakers. The other choice was to use stands which would allow speaker placement flexibility, but would possibly present a risk of something falling over. Obviously I took the risk and went with the latter. However, I feel I can mitigate the risk with these stands because they have a fairly decent size base plate, the top plate (not shown in the photo) is almost the same size as the Heresy's footprint, and the column can be mass loaded with sand or kitty litter. As you see them in the photo, I did a simple push test to see how susceptible they were to tipping over. And they took a decent whack without toppling. Having said that, once I've finalized their location, I'm toying with the idea of securing the Heresy to the wall with some inconspicuous means. Ounce of prevention you know. Tom

Andre the Giant. 'nuf said. Tom

Just for the record guys, I wasn't trying to throw a bucket of water on the fire. Hell, I'm all for a spirited debate as long as folks stick to facts and keep things impersonal. My mom would tell you that I'd argue with a fence post (not sure that's good). It's just like m00n said about dealing with a drunk - can't reason with them. Maybe the best response to kain would be that famous Jack Nicholson line: "You can't handle the truth." Tom

Hey m00n and tank and dgb and the rest - I know that responding to kain is very important to you for you guys revel in stating fact and blowing holes in kain's conjecture, opinions, baseless facts, etc. And I don't don't mean to offend you with this, however... A wise person once said to me, "Tom - never have an argument with a crazy person. You wanna know why? Because any one looking on won't be able to tell who the crazy person is." FWIW - I think we all need to just accept that kain is your typical rich kid that's brought up in a household where the only way he gets attention is by being controversial. He lives in a fantasy land where "if it's on TV or the internet, it must be true". He will neither accept another point of view nor will he truly seek the truth out of fear that he will be wrong. Ironically, kain's in-your-face attitude is precisely what's wrong in the Middle East when it comes to trying to negotiate a solution. Ha - I just remembered an old Start Trek episode where they encountered a "life form" whose powers increased due to the energy of hatred. The more Kirk got mad, the stonger the "life form" became. And so it is with kain - the more you battle him with words (even though they be the truth), the more he derives "pleasure" from the conflict. Laugh at him, pay him no attention, ignore him, and he fades from sight to find some other forum to "victimize". Lastly, what I find so sad is that so much of this discontent and hatred and bitterness and distrust and you-name-it that goes on in the Middle East has its roots in religion. So many people have died in the history of mankind over religion. How sad will it be when we go to our great reward and are met by Him only to have Him look at us all, shake his head, and tell us we got it all wrong? Me? I'm gonna leave you guys, go home, have a Martini, put on some music, quietly say my thanks for living in the greatest country in the world and having the best wife and a great life. Then I'll cook some filet mignon's with my red wine reduction mushrooms for my most deserving wife. Who knows, I might even find time to pray that kain finds a clue. Tom

What about the ATP line from Amplifier Technologies? The ATP7500 has a MSRP of $2995. I'd suggest the Sherbourn pre/pro but it's essentially the same as the Outlaw pre/pro. Speaking of which...since Outlaw has such a great return policy why not just give 'em a try?? You know...this tape monitor loop issue of yours might just be the electronics gods way of saying you need to get rid of that DBX stuff and start anew. Tom

mbajner - the Heresy I'm using is a HII. Not really sure what year model it is (fini...you know??). I haven't seen any ill effects using it in front like I am. One thing to note is that unlike your Mitsu, mine is on an A/V base therefore putting the projector guns about even with the top of the speaker. I would place the Heresy on it's side on top of my Mitsu (as I did previously in my other house) if it weren't for the Denon and DVD player being on top - i.e. I'm too damn lazy to move the Denon and DVD player into the A/V base where they belong. And FWIW - when I did have the Heresy on top of my Mitsu, I didn't have any ill effects from the speaker on the guns. Tom

Thanks guys for the comments/suggestions. Like I said, what you see is a temporary setup so the wife & I can use the room to watch movies & concerts. I've played some more with the front speakers, moved my KSW15 into the setup, and re-calibrated the speaker levels. We watched Finding Nemo last night and it was a drastic change from having watched it on the 32" Toshiba in the famliy room. Eventually that big window will be covered in such a manner that light does not come into the room. Then, that entire wall will be covered with drapery. And finally, a fixed projection screen will attached to the wall. The long term game plan is to replace the KSW15 with a SVS PB2-Plus and replace the aging Denon 3300 with a pre/pro and separate amp (I'm leaning towards Outlaw Audio). And who knows...we might even spring for a popcorn machine. Of course, I still need to build a riser for the couch and finish wiring up the equipment rack and frame some posters and install an infared repeater and....sheesh - sometimes I wonder if it will ever be finished. Right now I'm praying that Santa will bring me a Boxlight 20HD projector for Christmas. Shoot - I'd settle for a Sanyo PLV-Z2! Tom

Well...this past weekend I did a temporary hook-up of most of my HT gear. My speaker collection is complete and all we need now is the projector and screen. Christmas and the new house have combined to suck the funds a bit dry, so the projector will have to wait until after the first of the year. So, for now, the 46" Mistsu widescreen will have to fill in. With not much tweaking of the audio, I'm very impressed with how things sound in my room. A walk around while there were heavy bass passages playing turned up little in the way of bass build-up in the room - even in the rear corners. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get away with very little in the way of room acoustic treatments. Here are a couple of shots looking forward. And here's a shot towards the back of the room showing the surrounds on some stands I bought from Stereocilia. And here's a close up of the speaker stand from Stereocilia. I'm very impressed with this stand. It's 48 inches tall, covered in a close nap carpet, has provisions for speaker spikes, and can be mass loaded. I don't believe you could make these for much less than what they cost. I'd give them a 9 outta 10. Tom

Panty raid?? LMAO......the memories....sigh Anyhow, chin up there Justin! Like many here I have vivid memories of sitting in a dorm room on some weekends when it seemed like someone had hollered, "ABANDON SHIP!" None of my friends were around, money was low, nothing to do, no one to do it with (gosh, that could be take outta context and sound bad), and no one to talk to. Some times I would grab a few of my favorite cassette tapes, hop in my '69 Camaro RS, and just take a drive. It's just a thought, but at this time of the year, there's always homeless shelters or "soup kitchens" that need volunteers. Who knows...you might actually help someone that's more down than you. Tom

m00n - she was so upset cause she wanted to have the posters all framed and ready to go on the walls. You know how it is when you put alot of thought & effort into something and you're just sure you've got all your bases covered and then it all seems to go to hell in a hand basket. Bill H - We've got a couple of options for framing. While I'd really like one of those lit movie poster things from like Home Theater Interiors.com or somesuch, the price is kinda ridiculous. I might try and make something or do as you suggest, just have them framed. Right now I could care less if they're framed or not. The idea she had and getting them for me is waaaaay more important and special. As for me being an insane poster....well, I'm surprised I've got that many posts. Some on here are just post hoe's. Yeah....uh-huh....you know who you are. Tom

Last night I'm in the garage dorking around with two strands of miniture Christmas lights. You know, the ones where one light goes out and so do the *&$^# rest? And like why am I spending almost an hour with something that costs two bucks?? Anyhow...the wife comes out the house mumbling & grumbling. You guys know what grumbling I'm talking about here. The one where you just KNOW something is not going right inside. She throws something in the trash can and stomps back in the house. I go back to cussing, er, I mean, fixing the lights. A few minutes later she comes out again (still grumbling) with large picture frames, opens the car trunk, puts them in, closes the trunk, looks at me and says: "I am so mad right now I could spit." "Uhhhh...why honey? What's wrong?" "I had this Christmas gift for you all planned out and I was so proud of myself and now it's turned to sh*t. And I want to do it right, but I just can't see spending another $250.00" At this point she starts crying and I do my best to comfort her and let her know that it will be alright. That I'm sure whatever she's gotten will be just fine and that it's the thought that counts. I was still foggy what the picture frames were all about and that comment about "another $250.00 was puzzling as well. She leaves. After a few more minutes of cussing, I throw the lights way and go inside. The wife still seems to be bummed, but is getting over whatever it is that's gone wrong. However, it obviously gets the best of her 'cause she decides to let me in on what's frustrating her. The picture frames were meant for the movie posters that she had scoured the internet to find. Except the frames she got didn't fit the posters. Then she says, "Well, here's your Christmas present early. I'm sorry they're not framed. I got them for your HT." Guys....she hands me a roll that has three movie posters: The Matrix Reloaded, Star Trek First Contact, and Terminator 3. She found a place in the UK that prints these things for the film industry. These are not reproductions - they're real movie posters. They are printed from the original artwork. The Terminator 3 poster even has the tear-off "Coming Soon" portion at the bottom of the poster. I was speechless. It's probably the best Christmas present I've gotten in my life. And I've got a pretty good idea how difficult it was to get these. I am one lucky sonafa*****. Tom

I have a 46" Mitsu widescreen and matching Mitsu A/V stand that you can get your hands on for $900.00. Sorry - couldn't resist. Tom

Last Saturday, the wife & kid indulged my request to stop in my local audio store. Hadn't been in there in a couple of months and just wanted to wish my salesman friend Mark and the owner a Merry Christmas. While waiting for Mark, the wife wanted to know what this McIntosh stuff was that she was seeing. Sure enough, there was Mac equipment all over the store. Now, they've always been a Mac dealer, but I've never seen this much on display. I explained to her what I knew about Mac (which admittedly isn't a whole lot) and that many folks have said that they matched up real well with Klipsch Heritage. She said she really like the looks and asked if I had considered Mac. I told her no 'cause it was just out of my price range, but the used stuff might be an option. Later she got Mark to give her a price of Mac's pre/pro and she nearly choked. Anyhow.... After Mark got off the phone, we chatted a bit and I asked him what all the Mac gear was about. He said, "Two channel is back baby. Come with me, I'm gonna mess you up." I always know this is not a good sign when he tells me this. We go to the back room that used to be their large projection screen HT demo room. It was now a dedicated two channel room configured to demo 4 different price point systems - one on each wall. The first system was a Mac tube preamp and amplifier setup with a Pro-Ject RPM9 turntable. I about fainted. This store hasn't had a turntable on display in years. I listened to this gear through a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozart speakers. Wow....that was a sweet sound. Very well defined sound stage, smooth highs, and suprisingly nice bass extension. Vocals were superb. For the next several minutes, I listened to other Vienna and B&W speakers with various pieces of B&K, Krell, and Mac equipment and I indeed got "messed up". sigh....so much nice equipment and so little $$$$. I asked Mark what the chances were of some Klipsch Heritage showing up now that they had tube gear and he said he was working on it. su -WEET!! Another piece of euipment they had that was pretty cool was a Yamaha MusicCAST system. Pretty neat. McIntosh....sigh....one of these days. Tom

Mine means I am proud to be named after my Dad. Tom Adams