Olaf

lovedrummin Are drums the most fun to play or what??!! I sure have aot of fond memories from my active years as a drummer. Even though I quit playing in live situations in the late '80s,I have done some studio work for some folks in the past few years and I still get offers. It's a shame how we lost so many of the great American drum companies in the early '80s. Once the **** starting dumping their kits on the market,our drums manufacturers just couldn't compete with the subsidized kits. We lost Rogers,Fibes and Slingerland and I haven't heard anything about Gretsch in a long time. Even though Gibson bought the Slingerland name and started making the drums again I don't think they're doing much to promote them. I broke down and bought a new Slingerland kit last year to spark my interest again but they are mostly collecting dust. They're still built like a tank btw. and were always my favorite. My first kit was a Radio King which Slingerland made and still had the calfskin heads and the real 'pearl' finish which is against environmental laws to use now.. What a beautiful sound they had. I wish I would not have sold them in the mid-70s as they are now a sought after collectors item. I then bought a new Slingerland kit and used them until '82 when I needed a bigger set. I wanted a Fibes but they were put out of buisness and I had to settle for a Tama Imperial Star kit. I must say they have very good hardware and could take my assaults with my 2-S drumsticks..lol. I remember the Headbangers Ball on MTV but my interest in heavy metal was vanishing at the time(still like the first few Black S.albums though) and I didn't watch it often. How could I ever forget to mention the 'blues.' I love that stuff and always did. The 3 Kings for certain,The Allman Brtothers,Stevie Ray and the 'Worlds Greatest' unknown guitar player,Roy Buchanan. He is probably my favorite bluesman. I wish he was still alive and putting out new stuff. I truly believe he was about ready to 'break out' and get the recognition he deserved. What a tragic loss. Keep on drummin' :-)

John I've been thinking the exact same thing for awhile now. How many people have actually died from 'anthrax' but was attributed to the flu,pnemonia or other respiratory infections. I have been called all sorts of names for even thinking of such a thing,but I still contend that it is entirely possible. All you folks take care!

I'm 47 and my hearing and music taste have changed. My ears aren't what they used to be because I played drums in rock bands from '67 to '89. One of the bass players I used to work with still insists that I was 'The world's loudest drummer'...lol. I did play hard most of the time and I'm sure it has affected my hearing over the years. Of course back in the early days the guitar players mostly had amps which had a lower wattage and we didn't have the huge PA systems and monitors blasting in my ears, but that's the way I liked it! Yep, I sure remember the old Sear's 'Silvertones', 'Fender Twin Reverbs' and assorted other amps such as VOX, Ampeg and Sun. But as a result I have a constant ringing in both my ears but I can still tell quailty hifi equipment when I hear it. Thank God I can still enjoy my favorite hobby. As far as my music tastes, I used to like many of the hard rock and heavy metal bands of the '60s and '70s. I did listen to top 40 at times until the genre was permanetly corrupted by disco in the late '70s. I never went back to that format and never will. Presently,I still like the classic rock bands (the stuff that isn't worn out) and enjoy jazz and Celtic music with classical piano and guitar on occasions. Also,the roots of bluegrass hold my interest at times. I don't listen to country at all because there is nothing there to enjoy in a 'critical listening ' aspect. I'm in a R&R redux right now and discovering alot of the great bands that existed in the '60s and 70's that I wasn't aware of at the time. I hope to continue discovering great music and upgrading my equipment...that is if my hearing holds on. A great question BTW,lynnm. :-)

I have a 50 watt per channel Arcam A75. It's more than enough for my RF-3s. They really sing with that amp. I know a guy who had a pair of La Scalas hooked up to a 4 watt per channel Pioneer Supertuner in his van. It was plenty of juice for the speakers.

Thanks for all the suggestions and I'm considering them all. The other night I did some research on the AH! NJOE TJOEB 4000 and that one really has my attention plus it can be tweaked with different tubes. I read that review Colin, and the reviews at audioreview too. That 'Ah' seems like a winner to me.:-)

Rob Thanks for the reply! I guess I should have been a bit more specific. I already have 2 Sonies and 2 Technics players. I'm looking for probably a single disc hopefully under $500 that has HDCD capability. I'm considering Denon too and Sherwood-Newcastle. I don't think the S-N can decode HDCD though. It will be used for critical listening as my party days are pretty well over with. It's hell getting old! :-)

I just bought a new integrated amp,now I'm looking for a new cd player. I bought an Arcam A75 which is very detailed. It's a great match for my RF 3s but now I have found out what a rotten CD player I have. Yeah,it's a mass market Technics and I've been considering an AMC cd8 or perhaps a Cambridge. Any other suggestions?? Help please!

I just recieved my new Arcam A-75 on Thursday and I was using various CDs to see what type of sound I can expect from it. I can't wait until it is burned in. I only have 'A Decade of Steely Dan' on CD. I have most of their stuff on vinyl because I was always a big fan of theirs. Even though the 'Decade' cd is a 'best of' and probably isn't their best sounding cd,I noticed several of the tracks sound incredible. On 'Babelon Sisters' the kick drum accents hits you right between the eyes and the cuts from "Aja' have an incredible soundstage and presence. If I have time today,I think I may go purchase "Gaucho' and 'Two against Nature.'

I had a blockage in my right ear several years ago. It was so bad that I was getting dizzy from it. I went to the doctor and he tried to remove it but couldn't so he sent me to the emergency room at the local hospital. There,I was seen by an ear specialist who had to dig it out with a small,spoon-like implement which was very uncomfortable. It took almost an hour and he was concerned that they may need to do surgery to remove it. Fortunately,on his last attempt,it came out. It was such a large mass and he said he never saw anything like it. He took it around in a little basin and was showing it to the rest of the ER doctors. He then told me that they decided to save it because it was the largest they had ever seen. Now I clean both ears with peroxide every other month and I have had no problem since. I never noticed that my hearing in my right ear had eroded. If I hadn't got the dizzy spells it could have been worse to the point of surgery. When that 'big thing' was removed,it was like getting a brand new right ear. :-)

Tron I'm just using the Cat-5 for my 2 channel system. I'm not going to use it for my HT because I'm not as critical with movies. My HT is very modest so I won't bother with cat-5 cables. 14 gauge zip is just fine for me in that aspect. You can but the enhanced cat5 with a plenum jacket at Rat Shack. It's 35 cents a foot and you buy what you need. I bought 100 feet for 35 bucks for and made an 8 ft. pair. What's your thoughts on the DIY AC shielded cable? Never heard of it,I must admit. Is that at TNT too? If it is, I never took notice. My new Arcam A 75 I.A. just arrived today and its sound exceeded my expectations and It will even get better with time. The RF3s and the Arcam are a perfect match!!! :-)

I then choose the best sounding FM station in my area and switched it to mono." etc etc etc......Yeah....I said that and first of all,nobody's taking 'potshots' at you. It's simply other folks personnal opinions and that is what this site is for, to get questions answered. Not everyone has the same opinions about various subjects. Now as far as my mono FM A/B comparison. FM signals are usually dirty and I agree with you on that,but setting the FM to mono increases the signal strength and there's a 'state of the art' station with 40K watts that has its transmitter about 5 miles from me and I get a very clean signal. Now,by setting the switch to mono you send the same signal to each speaker. It's not separated into two channels like a stereo signal. That's how I did an A/B comparison. I simply switched the balance from left to right several times to compare. I then switched the cables to the opposite speaker to make sure there wasn't a difference in speakers. I got the same result. I've been a musician for 35 years myself and I know a bit about 'sound.' I also agree with you about about dumping tons of money on exotic cables that probably don't make that much of a difference. That's the reason I only spent $40 on the cat-5 to see if there is a difference...a low priced experiment. I'm sorry if anyone hurt your feelings. It wasn't intentional. Would you by any chance be the same 'Indy' who posts on the 'Pipebombnews' forum?

discorules I just checked the 'Adelcom' website yesterday and they still have a few M.A. cartridges. I think they are the ones you mentioned .

Ears You're are correct. I used to be a big skeptic on cable choices and didn't beleive the hype that they would make a difference. I also never believed in the 'break in' period either until I experienced the improvement on my RF-3s. I've often wondered if the professional reviewers 'burn in' their test subject before they do their review on it. There is a difference. I will soon purchase an Arcam Diva A75 integrated amp and I will buy quality interconnects. I have inferior ones currently that need replaced. I'm sure I'll hear a remarkable improvement. Keith You're right!! Nothing good is cheap and nothing cheap is good!!

BigBusa No problem...you can find the instructions here...http://tnt-audio.com./clinica/ffrc_e.html I bought the cable at Rat Shack for .35 cents a foot with a plenum jacket. You'll have to ask for it because they keep it in the storeroom and will cut it to length. I bought 100 feet of it. They have a lower priced non-plenum for 15 cents a foot that come on a 100 foot spool which is on the store rack. The TNT website uses 3 runs per cable. 2 for the lows and 1 run for the highs. I made mine with 3 for the lows and 2 for the highs. I found a way to make it faster and easier when stipping each individual wire. After ziping off the jacket and separating the twisted pairs I cut a plastic drinking straw to slip over the wire when I stripped it. I simply rested my wire strippers on the top of the straw. The straw acts as a gauge and it's alot easier to get the wires stripped to the same length.(and faster too)

Several months ago I bought 12 gauge AR speaker cable at Lowe's to replace my old 'smoglifters.' It was a big improvement because they are darker sounding than the smoglifters and they removed much of the harshness I was hearing on my RF-3's. After using the AR wire for about a month,I became curious about the Cat-5 DIY cables. I made one run and hooked it to the left speaker. I then choose the best sounding FM station in my area and switched it to mono. I then did a A-B comparison between the 2 speakers. The difference was astounding. Even my music challenged wife noticed the difference and she wasn't even aware what I was doing. She stood at the top of the stairs and remarked how the one speaker sounded as though 'it had a blanket over it.' The Cat-5 cables are much more open sounding and revealing with no harshness. I can't recommend them enough. They can be made for under $50 depending on the length. I made an 8' pair for about $40.

Micro-Acoustics 2002 cartridge discorules Do they still make the 2002e cartridge? I've wanted one of those for about 20 years. They are great cartridges and they have a much warmer sound than my old AT14.

Indy LOl...In the one band I played in back in the mid-'70s, we used a pair of LaScalas for our P.A. too. We used Crown amps too but I can't remember which ones. We also used a pair of Heresies for monitors. That system really did a great job.

You should see the 'Klipsch' bashing on ..... http://www.audioholics.com/Message_Forums.htm

As of last night my changer is loaded with... Focus : 'Moving Waves' Rare Bird : 'Epic Forrest' Lorrena McKennet : 'The Visitor' Humble Pie : 'Rockin' the Filmore' Free : 'Fire and Water' and on the turntable... Triumvirat : Spartacus

Gentlemen: Thank you for your contributions for my quest in finding the right amp. I would have responded sooner but my 'puter crashed and I had to send it 1000 miles away to get the warranty work done. I'll never buy a 'puter from 'that place' again!! That 'puter problem stymied my ability to do online research for almost a month and I can't wait to get started again. Musical Fidelity A3 sounds interesting and I will seriously consider that one too. I still have an interest in the Arcam Diva series. I see that 'Allan' mentioned 'Scott' and I haven't heard much from them lately. Denon also interests me. CarlV,If I decide on Denon I may contact you since I understand Denon is a good match for Klipsch. If you already sold the 'Denons' or find a buyer before I make up my confussed mind,go ahead and make some cash!!..:-) Thanks again folks!!! Now,on with the quest for 'Audio Nirvana' on a limited budget!

OK...I was going to buy a receiver but I decided instead to go with an integrated amp and a tuner. Here's the problem...I need an I.amp with a phono stage and hopefully under 1 Grand. One with a bit of warmth and a decent soundstage would fit the bill just fine. Speakers are RF-3's I would appreciate any and all suggestions!!...:-) Thanks!

I bought 100' at Rat Shack for 35 cents a foot.You can buy as much or as little as you want. Get the stuff with the blue jacket. They have another type that comes in 100' foot rolls for about $25.00 and it has another type of insulation. The blue jacketed wire has the more preferred 'plenum' insulation. It's time consumming and your fingers will get darn sore,but the effort is well worth it!!!

I'm currently working on the Bi-wire Cat-5 cables that have the online intructions on the link in my above post. I finished 1 length and hooked it up to one of my RF-3's and did an A-B comparison. I tuned into a local jazz FM station and turned my stereo switch to mono. The Cat wire sounds much more open. The 12g. AR wired speaker sounds as though there is a blanket over it compared to the Cat-5 speaker. Even my wife noticed a big difference between the two. I did not detect any harshness with the cat-5.

quote: The vast majority of the reason for the larger cable on the woofer (like 99% of the reason) is not the amount of information, but rather the amount of power. Very true. We always used two or three-way P.A.systems in the bands when I used to do gigs. We always ran alot more power to the bass bins than we did the horn cabinets. It doesn't take near as much power to run horns. It takes a lot of juice to run several pairs of woofers to create the movement of air required for penetration.

Here's a link to make your own cables. I will be making a pair of these in the near future. http://tnt-audio.com./clinica/ffrc_e.html