gmc

Just realized I don't have the Academy pics ready to post (need to resize/reformat), so they are forthcoming. Until then, I can email them if anybody wants. The Academy also got the Howard treatment (for walnut), and is in nicer shape than the Chorus IIs.

More pics:

I'm offering up a pair of oak oil Chorus IIs, for pick up in South Orange County. Speakers sound terrific, but have a few cosmetic issues. There are stains on both tops from the previous owner, one looking like maybe it was left by a flower pot, the other much smaller. There are also some scratches on tops, but nothing major. For some reason, the previous owner put 5 pin holes across each front above the grill, which are noticeable up close, but start to blend in from a few feet away. Other than the above, they look pretty good. I used Howard Restor-A-Finish followed by Howard Feed-N-Wax on the cabinets, and the grills, speakers and radiators are in nice shape. One set of binding posts has been changed out, for whatever reason, to gold plated ones, while the other remains the red and black plastic ones that came stock. I opened the modified one up to make sure that the crossover had not been replaced, and it hadn't. The Chorus II binding post cup remains, as well. When I bought them, both speakers had aftermarket tweeter diaphragms, which I replaced with Crites. All other drivers and speakers appeared to be stock. Serial numbers are sequential. I do not have boxes for them. I am asking $500 $475 for them, which I think is more than fair. *SOLD I have a nice walnut Academy as well (see multiple photos below), which I would like $200 $185 for, also available for local pick up only (sorry). *SOLD For possible trade options, see post #20. If you are interested, and would like more photos, I will send via email.

What about cleaning dust from tube amps? I have an uncovered Scott 299B that I would like to blow (or suck) out, but am afraid of damaging. The cover that came with it is metal and seems like it would trap a lot of heat, so I don't use it.

I recently bought a used Niles DPS-1. I got it to switch between my Scott 299-B and an old Marantz receiver, with a single pair of Cornwalls, and it's worked great so far.

I agree. I've seen several pairs offered in the $100 range on my local craigslist.

I would rotate the right and left channel speakers, and temporarily use another speaker in place of your center, just to make sure that the problem is with the speakers and not the amp. If you are still getting noise from your center and right front after the swap, then it is the amp. If the problem with the center goes away, and the noise from the right moves to the left (with the suspect speaker), then it is the speakers.

The specifications on the Klipsch website lists the Cornwall IIIs top dimensions as 25.31" W (64.29cm) x 15.5" D (39.37cm). Personally, I would wait until you have them in your possession, and measure for yourself, just to be sure.

Check out Neil Young playing with DEVO from the movie "Human Highway: Neil Young with Devo Russ, Half the songs that you listed are from their third album, "Freedom Of Choice". A compilation might be a good way to get into a band, but their studio albums, especially the early stuff, are all solid. "Are We Not Men...We Are Devo", "Duty Now For The Future" (my personal favorite), and then "Freedom Of Choice". "New Traditionalists" and "Oh, No! it's Devo" have their share of great songs and ideas as well. As seti said, the "Hardcore Devo" releases are great, but I believe that they are currently both out of press, and can be pricey. And fear not that you got into them late. They still put on a great live show.

I would imagine that there is software available that would allow you to divide tracks once they are on your hard drive. They have video editing software, there must be something similar for audio. Note: A quick google search of "audio editing software" brings up a bunch of "free" download options, one of which is the Audacity software that bliss53 mentions he uses, a few posts above. As long as you're going through so much effort, I'll bet you could upload your radio broadcasts, get rid of all of the unwanted excess and divide and even re-arrange track order with this stuff. Me, I'm just looking to put some of my records and cassettes on CD, so I can play them in my truck, and put them on my Ipod.

Al, Mine works the same way, and I gave up on the auto divide feature myself. Problem is, while I'm recording LPs, I sometimes get distracted (looking around on the computer, usually), and often forget to manually insert a track marker, or two. I guess I'm not a multi-tasker. If the technology were available, I don't think it would be much more difficult to divide recorded tracks before finalizing. Granted, you wouldn't have the benefit of watching the needle approach the end of the songs, but, if need be, you could play back the recording and decide where you want to segment each track before doing so. Anyway, I agree that the all-in-one units aren't the way to go.

I too use a free standing CD recorder, but mine is the less expensive Teac CD-RW880. Overall, I am pleased with the results, and would surely recommend going this route over the combo. The one thing that I wish would be improved upon is the track division feature. I believe that the automatic track division feature will insert a space after a period of five seconds of silence. Obviously, this is flawed. On the other hand, the recorder will allow you to manually insert track dividers during recording only. I believe that the Tascam is the same in this regard. I would like to see a CD recorder that allows track dividers to be inserted after recording. As a "professional" model, the Tascam has the advantage of being able to use data discs as opposed to my "consumer" model, which uses the pricier CD-RMusic discs exclusively.

If you can swing a new pair of Cornwall IIIs at $3750 a pair, go for it. Hopefully, I will be able to, some day. For now, I am very happy with my 1979 Cornwalls that cost me $500 and some patience.

Only heard original Cornwalls, but, going by what I've read, the original version Cornwall are slightly preferred over the II, but the IIIs are a dramatic improvement over either of its predecessors. Opinions vary, however.

Not true, dtel. Somebody recently offered an inexpensive pair of Forte IIs on Craigslist, but with a torn radiator. I called Klipsch parts, and they do stock them. They were pricey, however, which made the speakers only a decent deal, and I don't "need" anymore speakers unless they are too cheap to pass up. They can be had for a premium. I think $130, each, was the quote I was given.

I'm not a huge jazz guy, but, for what its worth, since getting my Cornwalls, my Coltrane collection has tripled, and the records/CDs are getting played more than ever before.

I used to order a lot of records by mail order, shipped my share as well, and took few precautions due to season. I also worked at a record store that received vinyl shipments weekly for 10 plus years. I've had a lot more problems with broken records than waped ones. Unless the record is a one of a kind, or at least very scarce, I would just make sure that the record is insured for full value. Package it well, and send it "signature required" so that if the recipient isn't home, they have to pick it up from UPS, FedEx or USPS. That way, it doesn't get left in the sun for several hours, and if it is damaged, they can return it on the spot. My biggest concern, when ordering vinyl, wasn't warpage, but the fact that most people were unaware that if the vinyl is left in it's jacket, movement during shipment can cause damage to the spine. Always remove the vinyl from the jacket (leave it in the white paper inner sleeve, removed from the cover). If it is in a printed inner sleeve, remove it and place in a plain white inner, which should be removed from the jacket. If the weather is extremely warm, and the record is not sealed, you may consider removing the shrinkwrap as there have been rare incidents where the plastic tightens around, and damages the cover, or even the record, but this is the exception to the rule

Not sure how the Onkyo would sound, but get the Heresys, regardless.Even if they don't have a good chemistry with the TX-930, they're sure to sound good with your future Marantz.

That's great. Very well done and funny.

When you mentioned grey as your color of choice, I thought it would be ugly, but it looks nice. Those are some beautiful speakers you've got there.

If you haven't already done this, connect the speaker wire from the left channel of your amp to your right speaker, and vice versa. If the static/distortion moves to the left speaker, then it is a problem with the amp and not the speakers. You could also try another amp. This was recently the case with my Cornwalls. I, very coincidentally, had two different receivers making similar static noises in the left speaker. I tried a third receiver, and both speakers are dead quiet. Now I'm deciding if I want to take the receivers in for repair, or sell them "as is", and hope the 299B I have at NosValves makes it to the front of the line before too long.

Steve, "Horns love tubes" is in his signature, that wasn't his answer to your question. His advice was the same suggestion that I was going to offer, which is to hook your amps up to your speakers and keep the ones that sound the best to you. You know, the old fashioned way.

I agree with garymd about holding out for a pair of Cornwalls. I found my pair locally for $500, and have since seen a few scattered pairs advertised at that price.

I was panicking for several minutes, as I couldn't find my copy of "Free Your Mind And Your *** Will Follow", but, alas, all is funky: