J M O N

I was scrolling down this thread and then instantly burst into laughter. Your new "handle" is hilarious Mobile!

Good news!!!

I recently purchased one of these and thought I'd forward some early impressions. I was going to just add on to the H/K 430 thread that is currently running, but that one took off in another direction and I quickly got tired of reading it. First off, here is some background information. I am using this receiver to power an older pair of Thiel 04a speakers (early 1980's). Several weeks ago I posted a question about inexpensive speaker recommendations and these are the speakers I ended up with. I wanted to put together a simple and inexpensive sound system to keep me satisfied while I am away from home for the next several months. I selected the 730 instead of the 430 because of the additional power. I thought I might need that extra power with the Thiels as they tend to be fairly power hungry. However, in this case, the 40 wpc 730 powers the Thiels with no problem at all. It turns out, I probably could have gotten away with the lower powered 430. I believe these speakers have a sensitivity of 89 dB. I purchased the 730 from eBay. I got it for $104 with shipping from Canada. The receiver worked fine, but there was a little bit of noise from the pots. I am working on cleaning those up. Upon opening the box up, I found some burned out light bulbs as well. The inside looked fairly clean considering this thing is almost 30 years old. The exterior is also in pretty good shape. Since I haven't heard either the speakers or the receiver with anything else, it's tough to give feedback on their individual performance. What I can say is that I am getting pretty good sound from this combination. The sound is pretty clean. I have heard others mention the bass impact with the h/k. It does seem like there is a fair about of bass there. However, I'm not sure if the bass is a result of "better" bass or deeper bass, or if it is just a result of the h/k having a bit of a "bass boost" via some kind of internal equalization. I'm unsure yet if I like this. I do have to play around with speaker placement though to fine tune the sound. Of course I can compensate for this by reducing the bass control just a touch. As far as the tuner performance goes, I can say it does a good job. I haven't connected an antenna to it yet, but still can tune in some stations cleanly. It's been several years since I've owned a tuner, but the tuner in this receiver does seem to do a very good job and sound quite good as well. Overall, I am quite happy with this setup. With the addition of a DVD/CD player from Sam's Club, I think I have succeeded in putting together an inexpensive, pleasing system. It should keep me satisfied until I can return home. When I do return home, I will likely still use it in a secondary system. As for the HK 730 receiver, I can highly recommend it at its price point. I'm sure the same could be said about the 430. Thanks goes out to HDBR for letting us know about this audio bargain.

This place is free: www.audioshopper.com

P.S. That Hafler amp would be FANTASTIC! powering those JBL's. Then you can get something better to drive the Belles.

I would get in touch with Tom Brennan and purchase both of his JBL bass bins that he has for sale (if they are still available). Nothing in this price range (or almost at any price point) will be able to integrate as seamlessly with your Belles as these will. I don't like subwoofers either for music, but these will work. The only other option I could suggest is the Horn Subwoofer from Bruce Edgar -- although I have not heard it. That one is also an audio bargain.

Once again, many thanks Artto!!

Jim, sounds like just what you need. You don't have a La Scala / Belle center channel, right?

Livonia, eh? I was there just this past Saturday. I'm in Sterling Heights. Just got up here last month. $3k is a pretty steep price, unless they are something special as previously mentioned. I have purchased two pairs and paid less than that for both pairs. Of course I got some pretty good deals. I got them in Dallas, and Klipsch speakers don't seem to be too hard to come by there. Maybe it's because Dallas isn't far from Hope. Up here in Michigan, I don't know how rare Heritage speakers are. So that could be one thing to consider. The fact that there would be no shipping costs and that you can see them before laying out the money definitely has some value. Depending on the availability of Khorns here, and the condition of the speakers, it might very well end up being a decent deal.

I sent an E-mail about a week ago through the Klipsch BB. Since it may not have had a subject, I'll send another one. Thanks again!

Great! Now I know where to send the check. Gracias!!

I'm interested too! I've sent you an E-mail.

Congratulations James, I'm sure you'll love the setup!

Glenn Mahone/Robert Mirelson Headquarters, Washington Feb. 08, 2003 (Phone: 202/358-1600) RELEASE: 03-060 ASTRONAUT SPOUSES & CHILDREN RELEASE STATEMENT The Astronaut Spouses Group released the following statement on Friday, Feb. 7. "We, the spouses and children of the NASA astronaut corps, would like to thank the people of the world from the bottom of our hearts for the incredible outpouring of support and love that you have shown us in our time of deep grief. "NASA centers have been overwhelmed with cards, letters, emails, and phone calls from you expressing your concern and support. We have also received hundreds of personal calls, emails, flowers, food, and cards at our homes. The makeshift shrine in front of the Johnson Space Center is overflowing with flowers, signs, and balloons from well wishers from all over the world. Memorial services throughout the world have honored our dear friends. You, our brothers and sisters of the world community, have been a tremendous source of comfort and love to us and we are so grateful. We are deeply mourning our dear friends Rick, Willie, Mike, Kalpana, Ilan, Laurel, and Dave and we ask that you continue to keep their parents, wives, husbands, and children in your thoughts and prayers. "We would also like the world community to know that as terrible and as difficult as this journey has been and will continue to be for all of our families, we cannot stress enough how blessed and honored we feel to be counted as members of the NASA family. We proudly support the noble goals and objectives of NASA and we will continue to support NASA in its finest and its darkest hours. It is our deepest hope that you also will continue to share in our belief and support of NASA's dreams. We believe NASA is a beacon of hope and light to all nations, for NASA has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, that peoples from all races, genders, cultures, religions, and political backgrounds can transcend those differences and become the closest of friends. And these friends will continue to pursue space exploration and scientific discovery for the single purpose of helping and furthering all of mankind. Thank you for your love and support. "The husbands, wives, and children of the NASA Astronaut Corps." -end-

$695 for the preamp. Don't know yet what he wants for the power amp or for both. Those are my next questions.

Back to the original point of this Thread: Here is the tube information I received from the seller: The amp comes with EL34s from National Eleectronics, unmarked 6550's which came with the amp from Cary, broken in not much more and KT77s only says made in the USA. The 34's envelope you with the reality of jazz/folk ensemble and classical extremes, from chamber to opera. The 6550's are kickbutt and full of pace and rock and roll, great on heavier stuff, techno, metal and such. The 77's are very tightly controlled and as neutral as you can get. The preamp has 6922s. I substituted russian ones in the line stage for the chinese ones.

Wow!!!! I was going to ask why on earth you would do this, then you answered it. Are you still planning on sticking around the forum? I'll have to think if there's anything I might want (I mean need).

ProDJ: The purpose for building these structures is not for novelty, it is to be a memorial, much more significant than office buildings...

I believe I've seen that speaker before. It sounds like it belonged to the owner of Sound Ideas in Albuquerque. I've been there many times and remember seeing that speaker in the back of the store. PWK used to go there often. I never ran into him, but my cousin did when he was picking up a pair of Chorus II's. The store was closing so he was offered to share a drink with the owner and PWK. Since he was picking up a new pair of speakers, PWK signed both of them on the woofers. Stereo wasn't around in 1957, so that is why there is only one.

Robert Mirelson Headquarters, Washington Feb. 3, 2003 (Phone: 202/358-1600) RELEASE: 03-043 STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILIES OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA On January 16th, we saw our loved ones launch into a brilliant, cloud-free sky. Their hearts were full of enthusiasm, pride in country, faith in their God, and a willingness to accept risk in the pursuit of knowledge --- knowledge that might improve the quality of life for all mankind. Columbia's 16day mission of scientific discovery was a great success, cut short by mere minutes ---- yet it will live on forever in our memories. We want to thank the NASA family and people from around the world for their incredible outpouring of love and support. Although we grieve deeply, as do the families of Apollo 1 and Challenger before us, the bold exploration of space must go on. Once the root cause of this tragedy is found and corrected, the legacy of Columbia must carry on --- for the benefit of our children and yours.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the crewmembers, their families, as well as the people at NASA. This horrible event hit very close as I am a former engineer at NASA. It's very difficult to believe and take. I can't fathom how difficult it is for the folks that were in Mission Control at the end, when the realization occurred that the shuttle and crew were lost. It had to be devastating. In regards to those that believe the space program should be scrapped because of what happened on Saturday, let me offer this. Space travel is dangerous. It always has been dangerous and always will be dangerous. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing this. Sure there are risks involved. But there are risks everywhere in life. If we should cancel manned spaceflight because it is never going to be 100% safe, then we should apply that same logic to everything else. That means we would need to eliminate automobiles as there are automobile fatalities every single day and that is not going to change anytime soon. We should also get rid of airplanes and ships, as they too have accidents that end in loss of life. Activities such as skiing, football, boating, skydiving, boxing, etc. have deaths every year. Let's get rid of those. Last week there was an explosion at a plant that killed several people. Let's close all our manufacturing plants and refineries. Let's eliminate natural gas and electricity as people are killed from both of those energy sources. I can go on and on, but you get the point. If we live like this, we may as well go off and live in a cave for the rest of our lives in fear of what may end our lives. Yes, space travel is dangerous. The job of NASA is to take those risks and minimize them to an acceptable level. That is something that they have done very, very well. As long as those risks are managed, there there is no reason not to continue. Each astronaut that has gone into the program has understood the risks involved, and chosen to accept them. This is no different than the memebers of the military who have gone, or will be going off to war. Just like the military members, these people are true heroes. "I will say, except for the Mars probe and the excitement, what has really happened in the last 20 years?" The short answer to this questions is A HELLUVA LOT! If you'd really like to know, go off and do some research. You can start by going to www.nasa.gov. The most notable thing is the space station that is flying above our heads. NASA typically doesn't get much press for doing incredible feats, but negative press is always on the lookout for something. That was one of the biggest complaints we had when I was there (and still is I'm sure). Every year, NASA publishes a document that describes all of the technical benefits it passes on to industry. As mentioned, these discoveries benefit medecine, meteorology, manufacturing, material science, etc., etc., etc. I remember it being stated that for every one dollar spent on NASA, there was a two dollar return on the investment in terms of the value of science produced. How many investments will give you that? As far as people selling parts on eBay, they should take notice of this from NASA: "All debris is United States Government property and is critical to the investigation of the shuttle accident. Any and all debris from the accident is to be left alone and reported to Government authorities. Unauthorized persons found in possession of accident debris will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If you find any debris, please call the Johnson Space Center Emergency Operations Center, (281) 483-3388 or send e-mail." Anyone who tries to sell shuttle debris on eBay, whether it's authentic or not, is in for some serious trouble. The folks at NASA are very dedicated and are the best in the world at what they do. As a whole, you won't find a more talented group of people anywhere. I've seen it first hand and can attest to that. May God bless the souls of STS-107.

Here is the information I've received so far: "Condition is mint, I used them for about 11 months, being busy, not that often. I estimate they have been run no more than 400 hours. I do not remember when I bought them, it was in the mid nineties, before cary switched these amps to A/B mode. These are the original pure class A all the way amps. The the amp is the signature version. I had my dealer bypass the balance control on the pe-amp for claritys sake, the difference is is significant. The amp can use a number of tubes, such as 6550s which have an aggressive slam to shame solid state, EL34s, my favorite with full power, timbral accuracy and very involving, and KT77s, expensive, tight and very neutral, I feel at the expense of some sense of aliveness. Cary preamps do not have external power supplies except for the phono-pre-preamp. Neither do they have cathode followers, which are a form of input drivers, and which, if at all, are better used in amplifiers, see: http://www.bottlehead.com/valve/pnppg1.html. Please check this out, with reference to even their most expensive gear, at http//:www.caryaudio.com. Under the product, look in the cell called TUBES. No cathode followers." I am awaiting information on the tubes.

Yeah, I wouldn't think that someone with Khorns and the like should be using something like this, but for those folks who only have some spare change to spend for something to drive their, let's say Heresy's or something, and they have a fear of buying used or something vintage that could require updating/repairs, this is something that could get them to wet their appetite for tubes without requiring a big investment. In other words, there may be some people out there that this is just what they need to give tubes a try, whereas they otherwise may never try them. This of course is assuming that this amp is at least decent. I actually have been in this particular audio store, and it doesn't seem like they would carry anything of low quality. Their selection includes highly regarded (at least by some) brands such as ARC, ProAc, Alon, Rogue, and even ASL. I agree the amp doesn't exactly look sharp, but really what can you expect for that price.

I once owned Cornwalls and had them powered by an HK 870 power amp (100w, SS). They sounded good, but not always great. Then one day I was able to borrow a Classe power amp and learned how much difference an amp can make. The HK was no slouch, but I just got better, more natural sound with the Classe. Then I went tubes, and it got better still. You will be amazed at just how good a Cornwall can sound with the right combination of equipment upstream. See if you can borrow some good, high quality equipment from a local dealer. If that kind of stuff is out of your budget, consider buying used. That's what I've done.

Thanks for the notice and all the great advice! It might be just what I'm looking for. I'm primarily interested in the preamp, but actually could use a power amp at the moment as well. I'll advise if I end up with them.