Richard Guba

I just read the book. I got it from amazon. What blows my mind in the book is the chapter on the "The Band that Clipped itself to Death". This is about the Red Hot Chile Peppers abum Californication. Basically the CD was produced at such a limited dynamic range to make it "loud" that it was always clipping. Basicallly the book implies that modern pop CDs are not even close to the quality that the redbook standard allows. They are at extremely limited dynamc range. There is some interesting discussion on CD versus vinyl, but what I was struck with was that most pop CDs after the late 90s are deliberately produced to have a sound that has much less range than an LP. This is crazy when you stop to think that dynamic range is one of the best features of CDs, but today nobdoy seems to want it. I assume jazz and classical CDs especially the Rudy Van Gelder remasters and the Columbia jazz remasters use the CD to the best of their abilities, but it seems that pop CDs are as bad as MP3s. This is a good book, but it focusses on recording and mastering versus playback so their is very little mention of home HI FI equipment. Early stereo recordings are discussed and the chapter on 33 versus 45 is facinating. Rich

While I believe this is the only book available on PWK I agree with the reviews on Amazon that it is lacking in many areas. There is almost no information on PWK the speaker inventor. There are a lot of stories of his later years, but there are better stories in the Rolling Stone article and the many Dope from Hope issues. I was very disappointed with the book. I wish that Klipsch would publish an official biography of PWK and the company. I would love to know stories of the experimentation process, early marketing efforts, how the factory expanded, and how the audio press viewed PWK. The best part of the book is copies of old patents and some cool photos. I think PWK is due another biography. Rich

Folks, My parents have a 1965 era SC-74 or 75 console. It has a garrard changer which still works and a tube amp section. It also has full range open back speakers with absolutely no bass. My question is does the tube amp have any value, or would it have been designed to work with the speakers and therefore have limited sonic characteristics. I think these units were expensive in the day and the cabinet is still really nice. The photo is for a very similar unit that I saw on the web. The only difference is in the cabinet shape. Is it worth the effort? Rich

Folks, Based on glowing reviews from DownBeat and Stereophile magazine I picked up the CD by Christian McBride's new band Inside Straight. It is called Kind of Brown. This is an accoustic jazz group with bass, vibes, sax, drums, and piano. Every tune of the CD is stellar and Orrin Keepnews is the producer. Keepnews is in the same league as Rudy Van Gelder and produced Bill Evans while at Riverside records. For anyone who thinks great jazz stopped being made in 1962, this is a refreshing release. It seems very well recorded and the tunes are melodic and interesting. most of the CD is orignal compositions that pay homage to jazz past without sounding derivative. Check out this months Stereophile for a great interview with McBride. He also hints that Kind of Browm may be released on vinyl for the Stereophile crowd. I highly recommend Kind of Brown.

I would check out www.carveraudio.com which is a fan site similiar to this and which several forum members belong to. Back in the mid 80s several of my fraternity brothers had cubes and they were very powerful. I have an HR-752 receiver which uses much of the same tech. If you get a used cube it may need service and Bob Carver is a partner in a repair shop that is listed on the carveraudio web site. I think Carver amps are sturdy, powerful, and a great value. Some people hate them, but in my opinion Bob Carver brought low distortion power to the masses and the golden ears never forgave him. TNrabbit on this forum should chime in since he is a member of the Carveraudio forum. The carver will not lack for power, but the sound is up to you. Rich

Beta, I think it depends on what you listed to and where you plan to put your speakers. I really wanted Cornwalls, but I could not fit them in the living room. If I got the Cornwalls they would have been in the basement. My H3s fit nicely in the living room and the plus is that I can listed while doing chores and eating dinner. The caveat is I listed to accoustic jazz. I attended a Dave Brubeck concert in June and was able to watch the bass player and Dave's use of bass piano keys. In the 2 hour concert there were probably on 3 times any note was played below 50Hz. So for this music H3s are fine. Now if you are into techno, pipe organ, or some bass heavy classical, you will want the Cornwalls. I am happy with the H3s, and someday I will may get Cornwalls and hear those 3 or 4 notes the H3s can't play. Rich

Yes it is Grundig, I have a German 3060 HI-FI Zauber Klang (Magic Sound?) that was once my grandfather's. All markings are in German and has piano type keys for short wave, medium wave and long wave. It is all tube. My Grandfather was born in 1904 and emigrated in 1923. He listened to German short wave on the Grundig. When he died no one in the family other than me was interested in the radio so it became mine. It is a cool old unit that still works. The plug is the German round type unit so it is used with an adapter. Rich

OK, I have listended to several old LPs on my system and they sound "better" to me than CDs. I am an electrical engineer and I understand sampling Shannon's theories and all of the math behind it. So i know in theory you can sample and fully recover the required frequencies. Here is my question. When I listen to John Coltrane's "Soul Trane" or Grover Washington Jr "Then and Now" the sound is more "centered" to me than on a CD. It sounds like the band is in my living room. Is this because of the RIAA curve or the reduced stereo separation on the cartridge versus a cd? By the way, the Grover Album was from 1988 and was available on CD so the recording I believe was digital to begin with. So the issue is not with the source tapes. I also like Miles Davis "Miles Ahead" better on vinyl from an LP that says it is digitally remastered (for the CD release I guess). For each of these albums the master was digital. I am thinking that it sounds better to my ears because I may prefer less stereo separation, the RIAA curve, and the compression required for an LP. I do not necessarily buy the argument that vinyl is better agument since I have plenty of bad sounding vinyl. What do the learned members of the forum think. Thanks Rich

I sent $20:00 to Klipsch Audio Technologies attn: Sharyl Williams at the Hope address posted by Amy Unger. It has been about 3 weeks. Has anyone received there plaques? Amy indicated in her posts that anyone who was an orignal owner of Hope built speakers could order these. My H3 were not purchased through Klipsch direct, but were through an authorized vendor. Thanks Rich

Horace silver Tokyo Blues. Rudy Van Gelder 24 bit remaster. Great sound and great music. If you like Song for My Father you will like this.

I don't have any dvd suggestions, But if you like modern stuff Gordin Goodwin and the Big Phat Band is outstanding. If your tastes are more in the 50s I would suggest Quincy Jones "The Qunitesence" or Big band Bossa Nova. My parents love Stan Kenton "The Sophisticate Approach". I think the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band is first rate. You can get "Live at the Village Vangard" on CD. For more ideas pick up a copy of DownBeat magazine and I am sure you will see some good options. I have been a sax player for 35 years and I love big bands. Rich

Patrick, Check out www.carveraudio.com this is a fan site for Carver. They have a repair forum. Bob Carver actually runs a repair shop that will repair to factory specs. There may also be some repair shops closer to your house. From what I have read Carver amps use some pretty unique tech and parts that may be trickey for a novice to trouble shoot. I would pose your question to that forum. By the way I run my Heresy IIIs with a Carver HR-752 (2 channel 100 watts sonic holography) and it seems to do a great job. Some folks don't like Carver, but my receiver is quiet, powerful, and reliable. Rich from Annapolis

Ok forum gurus, I have my H3s on either side of a fireplace about 7 feet apart. The room is about 20 long and the speakers are on the short wall which is about 14 feet. I can not put them in the corners due to a staircase and other furniture issues. So here is my question. How far from the back wall should they be? Currently they are about 1 foot from the back wall. Will I get more bass if they are closer? My only option is to move them closer or farther from the back wall since I can not change the other positioning so to keep peace with the family. They are on the floor on hardwood. Thanks Rich

Here's the other

Trying to upload a pic of the H3.

I am powering them with a Carver HR-752 receiver circa 1991. It is 100 watts per channel with sonic holigraphy.

Greetings to all, I am the proud owner of a stunning new set of cherry Heresy IIIs. Arriving via UPS on May 12th, they replaced my old Infinity SM-102s and what a difference! The first cd I played on the Heresys was Quincy Jones' Big Band Bossa Nova (Theme from Austin Powers) and I heard instruments that I never knew were on the recording. On the Blue Note 7s Mosaic cd I can actually hear the bass lines instead of just a thud. I spent about 1 year thinking about what speaker to buy and was influenced by this forum. As a musician and jazz lover I could not be happier. As a high school kid I read a book on speaker design and I remembered thinking that someday I wanted to own a set of Klipsch. It is about 30 years later but now I am here. Rich Annapolis