Pete C

Sep/2005 Kasabian DualDisc: http://www.deepdiscountcd.com/index.cfm?request=cd.cfm?upc=828766729122 Oct/2005 Fiona Apple DualDisc: http://www.deepdiscountcd.com/index.cfm?request=cd.cfm?upc=827969653029 Aug/2005 Alison Goldfrapp's Supernature Hybrid & DVD, but only from the UK: http://www.discogs.com/release/502962 http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ALVE4A/ref=pd_nfy_fr_gw_nr/202-9237208-1256658

There are so few albums in my hard rock genre. I wrote to Tool recently, who is working on their next album, and asked them to release it in the surround format. I refered them to their remix of some old videos into surround on their Dissectional DVD. "Fan mail from some flounders" is all we can do for now.

Here is my mantra: Multichannel won't really catch fire until car decks are mass produced (not just in Acuras and Cadillacs.) As soon as the kiddies hear what a subwoofer channel really sounds like, they will all rush to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Circuit City and get a new deck. There will then be a flood or surround discs on the market. The multichannel format that has the best chance of catching on is: DualDisc. That way, we can still rip the CD side for our MP3 players. I have to buy CDs, too, for my purchases in the other formats. I haven't the patience or computer program to re-engineer a surround recording back to stereo. Now, if they can only decide on one flavor of surround to put on the DVD side... The closet thing is the Kenwood DVD stereo deck, for hours and hours of MP3s on one disk. You wouldn't need a CD changer anymore. They just forgot the multichannel option! I hope it is the next generation. I considered a video player to get DTS and Dolby D, but I wouldn't be able listen to my DualDisc, SACD and DVD-A software, so forget it. I grew up with stereo and I love the wide soundstage most record producers can build. But I was sold on the separate speaker for high-mid-bass (a long time ago by a pair of Magnavox w/15" woofers and later by a Klipsch salesman,) and that follows through to a separate channel for each instrument/sound (except orchestra, of course.) When Neil Young sounds like he's sitting in my corner chair picking and singing, with the rest of the band sitting in other corners, I'm floored.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Bad Santa? My wife and I find the unrated Badder Santa very funny, but very adult. I re-watch the Pixar movies all of the time, with Monsters, Inc. at the top. I have no young children. I think they are like Warner Bros. cartoons: made for adults and safe for kids. Terry Gilliam movies are usually funny, though tragic, especially Brazil. I laugh throughout Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (goodbye Hunter...) Even 12 Monkeys has its hysterical moments, especially the ones with Brad Pitt. I still watch Time Bandits. These bizarre funny ones are subtitled French films: Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, and Amelie. Funny but sentimental: Pieces of April, In America, High Fidelity. Two Coen Brothers movies were already mentioned: Raising Arizona and Fargo. Don't forget O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Hudsucker Proxy, and The Big Lebowski. They are a matter of taste. Not everyone likes them. There is subtle, intelligent humor in The Royal Tannenbaums and The Life Aquatic. In a completely different venue: The Good Girl. You'll either get their humor or hate them. I hope I'm not the only one who thinks Being John Malkovich, Mars Attacks!, Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimention, and Addams Family Values are funny. They're sci-f/fantasy farces. Dark humor in Igby Goes Down and Secretary. Someone already mentioned Dogma and The Meaning of Life. Brazil falls into this category, too. There are plenty more, but I'll finish with The Guru.

I have both LaScalas (for 17 years) and RF-3s (<1 year) and I like both. RF-3s are a great substitute for LaScalas on a budget. The bass on the LaScalas is strong. I tested my RF-3s with my 30-year old Cornwall. Cornwalls have the same horns as the LaScalas. Yes, the RF-3s had a better sound than Cornwall from the horns, so your assumption about LaScala horns is probably correct. The bass was equal. Both RF-3s and Cornwalls have vented bass, and the LaScala is a folded horn, so, yes, the bass sounds different and hard for me to describe. I keep getting advice to "buy a subwoofer," but I have no taste for Rap and I don't listen to DVD movies very loudly. A Perfect Circles' "Mer de Noms" CD shakes my whole body. I get plenty of bass from these with my media choices. Stick with the RF-3s until you happen across a pair of used LaScalas. (Mine were 5 years old when I bought them. They were, and are, still perfect. I paid $950/pr. in 1984. I have upgraded to newer x-overs recently.

I got a Wave radio years ago and it has had absolutely no trouble. Of course, it sounds barely adequate, though passable, with classical music and garbled garbage with rock. Bose saved lots of money by not having a tone control, but didn't pass on the savings. Sorry about the Velo trouble, but it sounds like it is the Marantz. Time for a swap test with another receiver, like dragging the old Sony over, just to see if it pops.

My LaScalas, and the K-horns and Belles, use cones for the bass drivers and the wood cabinet to make the horn. It is for sending out a lot of bass, not necessarily low bass. Both of the other folded horn loudspeakers are rated 10Hz lower than my LaScalas, but I have not missed it. It is like being inside of the cabinet with bass coming from everywhere. I have a big room for LaScalas, though not dancehall size. In my opinion, you will come real close with the new RF-7 line: enough air movement to fill a small room and decibels to fill dancehall. I want to "ear" test the newer Tractix horns to compare with my RF-3 pair. The RF-3 came real close to the Heritage sound for a lot less money. The RF-7 are still less than half the price of Heritage (excluding the Heresey, which is not meant for bass and is not horn-loaded, nor vented/ported. When you are inside of the bass cabinet of the horned loudspeakers, the Heresey just fills out the soundstage of the HF and MF.)

I was late getting here. I was going to suggest letting them break in. I see you did! Does the harshness go away or do our ears get accustomed to the clarity? I recently added Infinity dome tweeters to my car (with a low bass cut-off to the my sqawkers) while many reviews were saying "shrill, harsh." I'm saying HF clear and greatly improved. Yes, I've got 40-something year old ears and they do have a HF roll-off. Maybe I don't hear what others do...

My Klipsch dealer has Paradigm and it was the latter that I went to do a listening test. I heard so much "better than Klipsch" in the reviews, I wanted to hear what the fuss was about. My wife & I auditioned several pairs in the size/power range of Klipsch models. We tried A/B comparisons with a known passage of music and DVD (try to make it a passage of real instruments you are accustomed to hearing live, not electronics that can be manipulated.) We had the salesman switch back and forth without telling us which pair he was playing and we stood back far enough to not be able to really tell which pair was on. We liked the sound of what turned out to be Klipsch speakers every time, thoughout the price range. It was the soundstage of the HFs that spread out. Your ears will hear things differently from mine. I was told to be sure to use an amp/receiver similar to the one you have/are going to get, but I don't think certain amplification could make the Ps sound better than the Ks. I like the HFs as much as the LFs, but Rap-Hop tends to be mostly LF and is not my style of music. And, there are always new models and I haven't done this for months. Maybe Paradigm has done it.

My dad owned a pair of Magnovox 3-way speakers with 15" bass speakers, so I new what LF was. I ended up sharing a system with a roommate: Sansui receiver (can't remember which model, but not cheap) a pair of black Cornwalls (labelled Cornwall II with vertical horns: I still have one) and a Garrard crap turntable. All I ended up with at our split was one Cornwall. I had to kick him out due to problems with his girlfriend and the equipment was gone when I returned from work. I built a copycat speaker, bought a Marantz 2270 and an Advent cassette deck. That kept me happy for 10 years. Then I got a pair of LaScalas.

The Classic specs show more efficiency for the Chorus loudspeakers. 96dB is the Heresey, right?

Agree with boa12. Heresey will sound more like LaScala, though I was never able to have a direct listening comparison. You may notice a difference 100-meters away: LaScala will still sound the same, but Heresey will begin to die out. Check the Klipsch Classic Series page for specifications. LaScala/Belle/K-Horn rated at 104dB and Heresey is 96dB. I am happy with the bass of LaScala, but my Cornwall can reproduce lower bass, just maybe not as clear as Belle/K-horn. The way LaScala reproduces the bass just sounds different than the Cornwall. The Heresey isn't even in a ported cabinet. Klipsch doesn't have a heritage-style speaker between the Heresey and LaScala anymore. The Chorus and Chorus II probably got as close to matching the Belle/K-horn in a smaller, more resonably priced speaker. Most threads I've read here about the Heresey bemoan the lack of bass, as some do about LaScala. I haven't had a comment from boa12 about my report of how close the sound of my Cornwall was to my RF-3 speakers (using familiar music, not test equipment,) so I assume he doesn't agree. He had his Cornwalls with his RF-3s, though as rear surrounds rather than mains. I get reality out of my RF-3s, especially with quality recordings like Disney's Fantasia 2000. I only use the front 3 speakers, but it sounds like I'm in a concert hall (using DTS mode.) It was a lot cheaper than another set of LaScalas. (Wife said no to LaScalas as main Home Theater speakers.) Though, now boa12 has a better amp driving his heritage speakers, so end of comparison. I haven't heard RF-7s and my local Klipsch dealer isn't going to stock them. I won't get a chance to travel to a large city just to hear them.

Well, no one ever responded. How did your mods go?

Must have forgotten a followup. Any bracing added?

m1garand, I should have searched before telling you to. Here is a thread that tosses around many ideas for the ringing... http://216.37.9.58/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000110.html

m1garand, 1-800-Klipsch There was a link to a list of replacement parts on this site, but then the site was improved (read: web designers prolonged their jobs.) The ringing may be from the metal horn, if you have one. Search this BB for dynamat, unless you have already done this.

Since there is no mention of this in the specifications, I would say no.

quote: If it's a good movie, I'll just plunk down the 35 bucks and enjoy the experience there. Big movie sound effects have to be accompanied by movie size screens. Unless you live in the backwoods. All we get are googlplex theaters with screens slightly larger than at home and run by high school students. I got tired of asking them to focus the projector or turn up the volume so I don't hear the commentary from other viewers who think they are at home alone. The surround speakers sound like tin and are distracting. Films shown the third day are already full of dust and hair. Etc., Etc., Etc. HT Forever! This message has been edited by Pete C on 06-15-2001 at 07:50 PM

You won't be listening to MP3s forever. They are improving on the MP3. You could always resell lessor models on eBay, but it is a hassle (be sure to add shipping insurance.)

Yes, a model 4000. Why didn't Dish tell me there was a fix? Thanks for letting me know! I didn't want to upgrade because all of the better receivers used UHF.

The biggest problem with internet purchases is shipping companies. I bought mine at near-retail from my dealer. One speaker had been damaged in shipping. I drove it back to the dealer and had a replacement within minutes. You'd have to ship it back to the internet dealer and he could decide to have it repaired rather than replace it. That would be quite a wait. Do a search for other shipping company woes reported here on the BB. This message has been edited by Pete C on 06-11-2001 at 08:55 PM

The sound comes from the volume-size of inside the cabinet, and the strength of the wood with bracing. Adding a veneer to the outside won't affect anything if done right, i.e. not loose and rattling. I plan to do that to my Cornwall so it can join our household again. Comparing specs, more bass from the larger cabinet obviously. More dBs from the double woofers and less attenuation on that great horn driver design. It takes 2x the amplification to get a 3dB increase, if my memory serves me well. It is time for an A-B comparison at your local Klipsch dealer. A tower speaker has about the same room presence as a bookshelf speaker on a stand, IMO. I went with the RF-3s. (But my Cornwall has been black for 30 years and only recently did it fail the WAF.) You're right to think the RF-5 is a bit too high $$ for veneer and slightly better specs. BobG did say "better soundstage," but boa12 got that by bi-wiring. The KLF line hasn't reappeared in the Classic section yet, but I'm thinking it is the KLF-20 substitute made cheaper by not needing the 3-way crossover and tweeter anymore. My ears sure like the RF-3 horn and I'm sure I'd like the new one in the RF-5.

I was once told that the bass sound of the K-horn is like sitting inside of the cabinet. It is a much smoother bass sound, albeit not as low as the current LFE specs call for. The LaScalas and Belles are K-horn substitutes for those without corners in their rooms. The original, and probably still the best, center for the K-horns and derivatives is the Cornwall. It used the same horns. When you are inside of the cabinet, you don't really need to "match" the bass. The Chorus and Forte improved on the Cornwall design, but used different horns. All three are obsolete. The only thing left that will match is a huge, flat wall K-horn derivative. The Heresy is just a bit too weak in the dB area to match.

BTW, Klipsch and other users have recommended a Cornwall (or maybe Chorus or Forte) center to add bass. Others just say get a subwoofer. I love living inside of the bass cabinet and I like the way it sounds.

Don't be afraid to take the bottom off. It has a lot of screws, so use may want to use a powered screwdriver. Very interesting! I'm happy with my LF...