Chris Robinson

Looking "down" below the driver ... PVC pipes, capped on top, seem to run into the other side of the chamber. Very cool engineering, even though I have no idea what they're doing. Chris

A shot of the upper part of the cabinet, scrim removed ... The sub runs floor to ceiling .... Chris

Thought you'd want a shot of the driver ... I took it when it was open. 12" .... Didn't look like all the honkin' drivers in the sub market today, but it sounds big enough!

Hi guys, For a bunch of good reasons, I've been off the forum for a while. Nothing to do with the folks here ... just a lot of life going on right now. The Danley's been down for a bit of the summer. It was working great in the spring, and then I had some amp problems ... i.e., no signal getting through to the driver. I got around to checking the driver (OK), and then we just swapped out the amp today. I put a new one in, supplied by Danley (great response time), and noted the same problem when I put the new one in. Turned out to be a tempermental connector between the amp and the driver. Anyway, I got it all buttoned up and operational and it's back in action. Having lived without it for a few months ... then dialing it back in ... has really made me -- once again -- appreciate what a fabulous sub this is. It is in your face/body/feet when it needs to be, but blends so well with the big Klipschorns and center Belle. The room is once again energized [*-)] The LF in audio today can be done without, but when you have it, it becomes so much more real and life-like. It makes you blink, gasp, and look over your shoulder. It just gives all the rest of the soundtrack "credibility". Chris

I went to prep school with Phil Jr for a few years. He was a nice boy but I think growing up in that kind of environment (dad, a superstar) had an effect on him. I hope he found his own way out of his dad's limelight. Never met Phil's famous dad, but I saw him around campus more than a few times. Everybody said he was a really nice man. May he RIP ... Chris

Very nice stick. Have always loved Cobras. When I have rented them on vacation, they always felt great. I play with home-mades .... I have a long torso, shorter arms ... and am 6'4". Find sticks to match that build! I can't buy off the rack ... Chris

[H] Chris, Now I REALLY wish I knew you were at Hilton Head last year. I ended up playing by myself (as opposed to with myself). We'll be heading to Daufuskie (sp?) Island for a week in September (9-16). Any chance you can grab the ferry and come join me one day for a round? BTW - If you ever make it to Ireland, make sure to play Ballybunion. Maybe the best course I've ever played. Certainly the best links course I've played. I get to play Congressional on occasion since one of my friends is the club's bowling pro. They have 4 duckpin lanes in their basement. Gary and I swapped a few emails and we'll definitely be getting together for some "flog on the funway" when he's down here in September. We'll just figure it out when once he's near. Daufuskie Island, is, as the crow flies, just a few miles from our house, but to get there, you have to take a ferry. There are no cars on the island; you navigate by golf cart. Never been there, but see it everyday. Glad he's finally given us the incentive to get over there and perambulate! Schedule permitting, we'll try to find the time to get together here on HH ... maybe a meal, some lite golf, and a little listening time. When you're on vacation, though, the last thing you want to be doing is scheduling blocks of time. I always thought that "no schedule is the best schedule" since, when working, they are the only thing you live by ... so the vacation formula is "wake up, have breakfast, then say ... so what aren't we going to do today?" Looking forward to it! Chris

I'm 52 now and have been playing hard since I was 7. Played high school golf (last on the team but my twin bro was captain) but started to "get it" when I was in college. The school had a really nice course built into the hills of Lewisburg, PA, and I could have unlimited play there for $35/semester (deal!). I usually played a few times a week. It wasn't until I was 40 that I was financially comfortable enough to join a modest club, and I played there until two years ago when we moved to Hilton Head. We belong to Spanish Wells club here, a totally unpretentious 9 hole course with two sets of tees if you want to play 18. It has the cutest little clubhouse right on Calibogue Sound, burgers are $6 and cold drafts are $1. There are no tee times, just walk on. We live on the corner of the 7th, a dogleg par 5, and sometimes Jack, my 7 year old, and I will just walk on at 7, play the next 9 holes and walk off at the house. It's a nice walk and is just LOW STRESS. Since selling my company in April, we've been doing house projects, but since Jack's been out of school, he and I have played 2-3 times per week. He loves it and I just cherish the quality father-son time. I'm presently playing to a 4, but had to lay off from 9/06 to 3/07 due to a badly herniated disc and recovery from surgery. Golf is just a great game. I would love to take Carrie and Jack to Scotland and Ireland for a two week tour of some of the great old courses (and some scotch). Chris

Good question ... Just have been up to my eyeballs at work and doing a house remodel. Just finished painting the house, new pool deck starting this coming week, then a MBR remodel. God, it never ends!

Dang, you JUST GOT THAT MEMO? [] Yeah, one and the same. Although I can't wait for a year from now to hear how Quebec and Aussie accents meld to a .... whatever it is ...

I figure by now he's Down Under. His sympatico email account in Canada is closed. He must have sold his place and relocated. Don't know if anybody's heard anything from him. Just curious! Chris

So has the good Dr. Lessard safely landed Down Under? I tried his Sympatico email account and it was returned ... Chris

Richard, nice note. It was fun to read all the crud I put you through [] Sorry, buddy! You are one resourceful son-of-a-gun, though. If you ever tire of managing people's money, you could get a job right quick as a detective ... Richard is one nice guy ... and very interesting to chat with. I'm sorry my spousal unit wasn't feeling sociable (recovering from flu and side-effects of massive antibiotics -- don't ask) but it was nice to host a fellow Klipsch-dude. Yes, the biggest disappointment was the Danley going south. We trouble-shot it five different ways to Sunday and it is either a quirky (integrated) amp or the driver is down. I can't imagine the latter because I rarely push the thing past 90-95db. I'll get with the Danley boys and figure it out. This unit definitely needs to be field-serviced. Thanks again, Richard. Was great meeting you! Chris

I just wanted to make a short post ... Coytee came by the house yesterday for a brief visit. He was in the area vacationing and visiting with his dad in nearby Bluffton. He had a few moments, and after delivering his wife to the nearby outlets, he came by. (He is indeed resourceful, because he found his way here when I failed to answer both the house phone and my cell phone; I was doing the lawn mower thing and missed his calls altogether.) The real bummer for me was that the Danley DTS-20's amp was DOWN. I wasn't sure what was going on but the amp was getting a signal but nothing was coming out the front door. Due to my back being comprimised, I had to wait for Richard to help back the beast out. It went down a few days ago but I wasn't sure of the root cause. I think the amp is still good ("signal" indicator lamp still flickering, no sonic output though). I will work with the great Danley guys and work out the details. Anyway, Richard is a really class guy. He brought some great music over. LOVED the "Big Phat Band". Dang, if you don't want to dance to THAT, you're dead from the neck up. I'm sorry we were so worn out (Carrie down with the intestinal flu). We're near the end of selling our business, painting the house, redoing the pool deck, starting the MBR remodel and finishing the kitchen remodel. We're a bit on the wee end ... Thanks, Coytee! Nice to make a new friend. See you up north sometime! Chris, Carrie and Jack

Tom, So sorry to be out of touch; the last three weeks have been insane. But I am deeply saddened by this news. I have been there with an ex-wife and two beautiful daughters. Sometimes it just doesn't work out the way we want. I CAN tell you, though, that in the long run, with the strong faith that you now feel, you will be in a good place. It was so great to see just a few weeks ago. I think of you often as I pass by Gulfstream @ Savannah airport. It is too bad that you need to sell your place but it wouldn't be the same without your family in it. Best to move on and create a new place for new memories. Yesterday, Coytee came by and it was wonderful meeting him. He's a very astute guy with a warm edge (and a great sense of good speakers). I was BUMMED beyond words that my Danley crashed last week. I'm not sure if it's the amp or the driver, but Richard was very helpful trouble-shooting and I know it's on the Danley side of things that we have problems. FYI, we're selling our business on 4/1 and will probably be leaving HHI. It's hard to describe, but there is a dark side to this beautiful community and we kind of need to move west again. We'll finish the remodel of the house and put it on the market. I'm poking around for jobs now in the Dallas area so hopefully we'll be there by year-end. Tom, you're a great guy. I remember how these things make us second-guess ourselves to no end. I can tell by looking in your eyes you are a sincere person. I'm sure you'll do well in life, although it may not seem so swell right now. Your faith in God will take you a long way. God bless you and yours. Chris

Rob, you're right ... the 50" IS small ... Knowing that, I figured that the 65" plasma would be in the works in a few years ... Chris

Tom, thanks for the nice write up. I've been flat out busy and missed this thread altogether. It is always nice having Tom over. He is such a gentleman. Our 7 year-old, Jack, just ooogled his Yamaha touring cycle to death. He thought the helmet, riding boots, gloves and jacket were just too cool. When Tom left, Jack went scouring his room and reappeared, garbed in his Darth Vader helmet, snow boots, snow gloves and black jacket. He jumped on his BMX and went off to that place little boys' imaginations' take them. We're enjoying the room immensely. The Danley does blend in effortlessly and is wonderful for music. Sometimes you forget it's even there. However, there are some movies where it just jumps out and grabs you by the throat. Last weekend I threw on "Contact" with Jodie Foster. The scene where the pod rotors are rev'ing up and then the pod drops into a worm-hole ... well, that was impressive. Last night we watched Mr and Mrs Smith ... When the house blew, you really need to duck. And, as Tom alludes, the Belle center is just a champion in its own right. It's the workhorse in an HT setup. For those who have the room and resources to get one new or used, I would highly recommend it. It does things that a smaller center just can't. The size of the sound is really impressive. I got mine for the bargain price of $625. It needed new grill cloth but that was just about it. Honestly, with regard to the Danley, the beast is large, it is not inexpensive, but there are so many mounting options for the box, it has a tiny footprint standing on end and it is seductive. If I had to do it again, I would. Those of you with Klipsch, SVS and other fine subs, be happy with what you have. As The Ear says, 20Hz at 120db is just flat out crazy wonderful. No need to upgrade from THAT. The highest I listen to music or movies is maybe 100db in peaks, but 80-90db is just fine for my old ears. At those levels, the Danley just idles. If guilty of anything, I overspec'ed the sub. But for once in my life, I just wanted to hear what "the best" was. Klipschorns, Belle and a Tower of Fear are very close to that pinnacle. Best wishes to you all in 2007. Chris

I'm a Heritage freak, but if I had to chose between Heresies and the new Reference series, it wouldn't be close. I'd go with the Reference line. If you have a big room (5000 CF+) and good corners, Klipschorns are the cat's meow. The new Khorns are significantly better than the older, stock Klipschorns (networks need updating for starters), but the Reference line is flexible with regard to placement and are MUCH smaller in profile. I have a Klipschorn-Belle-Klipschorn front array (with a Danley sub thrown in) that will handle anything you throw at it. That being said, going down that path requires the right room and a totally sober agreement from your significant other that you won't get thrown out of the house. It took a decade, but my wife loves Klipsch Heritage for how it sounds, and she certainly doesn't mind how it looks! Chris

Hi Tom, I'm a little surprised there hasn't been some commentary on this ... but what the heck ... I've worked long stints at both Panasonic (Matsushita Electric) and Epson (Seiko Epson). I've been really impressed with the strides that Panasonic has made in the display area over recent decades, and especially in the plasma area over the last ten. In Japan, Panasonic was called the "copy cat" since all they did was let Sony invent something, then they'd clone the design somewhat and cost reduce it. Panasonic doesn't really live by that mantra anymore and they're doing some very good basic research. Epson is similar in the research area. They have a good fundamental R&D program, but I've always viewed them as being in second place in the display area. Their projectors are very good and have strong market share, but in the HT arena, I really haven't seen them as a major player. This might represent a new foray into that area. It was great seeing you a week or so ago. Jack is still talking about your very cool Yamaha touring cycle. Chris

Honestly, if I were to move into a condo, I'd sell the mountain of Heritage that I own right now (except for the old Cornwalls) and buy the best pair of headphones and headphone amp that I could find to meet my budget. When I needed to hear ZZ Top at insane volume levels at 11:30 PM, I'd do it and not bother anyone. I'd run my tube amps at low levels during hours when folks were out. My SET amps don't go really loud anyway so there's no comprimise there. Sometimes you just have to bend to your life's current circumstances. My humble $0.02 anyway. Chris

I would imagine Danley, like most companies, would protect their dealers. I would think the direct price would be the same as the price through a dealer. Using a dealer is actually a good thing in most cases. They can offer local service, deal with factory issues (should there be any), and just answer questions you might have during setup. Kevin's a good guy to deal with. The price was very fair and he was a big help, even tho he was 3000 miles away. Chris

Can't you see it? I hid it behind the speaker grill to the left of the equipment rack ... Its small footprint makes it very easy to hide ... Chris

JT, good question, but I haven't ... I've had two houses and both fireplaces were either off-center or on an inconsequential wall. If your fireplace is in the center of the room, I'd definitely hang it up there. My Panny has no speakers so it is just a clean, dark rectangle and it would be pretty easy. I think the height would be fine too. If you have a HTPC, you could also run aquarium scenes up there, or whatever wallpaper your heart desires ...Family photos, etc. I estimate a lot of houses in my business and I see that setup quite often. It works very, very well. Chris

I would second/third that ... The Belle makes an outstanding center. I found mine as a single for $650 in the Philly area. It was a little rough but $25 of grill cloth and some BLO cleaned it up beautifully. I added ALK's on the Belle and the two Klipschorns as well (Greg's rosewood Khorns in Maine) and the result is little short of staggering. I have Heresies in the rear and have considered moving my Cornwalls down from the apartment, but the Heresies do just great and they're less instrusive. Ideally they need to be near ear-level but I just added a little boost to them and they're fine. So for rears, I'd say Heresies would be a good interim move. Chris

Thanks for the compliment, Mike ... I appreciate it. The right main is, as you say, right next to the kitchen (to left of double oven with white protective wrap still on it). This photo might help. Still can't get over the Khorn-Belle-Khorn array for movies. Hard to describe what a level above most installations that it is. PWK was a genius. Chris