Ski Bum

Mercola is a discredited fear monger. Tremble in your boots after reading him if you choose, or better yet, consider the source, and seek out others that have survived peer review.

If the public were well versed in basic high school level biology vaccinations would never be a political/legal issue. The government mandate for vaccines is the only response in the face of sheer stupidity and ignorance that threatens public health and has already resulted in unnecessary deaths. Tragic. And I find it tragically stupid to argue the uninformed anti-vaccine side, as some are doing here. Google up the term "herd immunity". This is basic epidemiology, with gobs of supporting evidence in it's favor, as opposed to the uninformed (or worse, ideological) anti-vaccination fear campaign. Public health via vaccinations is NOT a conspiracy. Your belief that vaccines do more harm than good is wrong (demonstrably, wildly wrong), but it serves as a perfect example of providing false witness and spreading dangerous lies. If you have any peer reviewed research supporting your claim that vaccines do more harm than good, please present it, or stfu and stop carrying water for The Stupid.

Two channel, stereo vs. multi-channel or home theater. You have center channel speakers at your disposal, and the fronts, and the rears for that matter, so I thought you may want to try that. If not, at least you have more value in each of those center speakers than you spent on the whole shebang. Quite a windfall, you're one of the lucky ones. As to what to choose, you'll probably be limited to used gear, of the two channel variety, or a mid to high tier AVR (even for stereo use). You shouldn't have to spend much to get busy with the music. Peruse your local craigslist and let us know what's available. Academy centers are in demand here, so you may get lucky with a forum member who wants to swap an old receiver they have lying around for it (start a thread in the garage sale forum).

Since you have a dedicated room, and since even bass coverage is more easily achieved with properly located subs (plural), and that those sub locations for optimal bass rarely coincide with that of the mains, I'll throw my vote to the Heresy/sub array option.

You may want to choose an amp with 4 ohm ratings. Speakers like the klfs with their dual active woofs demand some juice. How much power you'll actually need depends on your rooms and how loud you like it. If you're a newb to Klipsch, it wil be far less than you may imagine. THIS is what I use (when I'm not using tube amps), although I got mine for slightly less than that. There are probably even better values out there if you scrounge around, but the ATI have exemplary low level performance and come with gain controls (a feature you'll come to appreciate with high sensitivity speakers). Are you setting up stereo rigs in two rooms, or will one be a HT type system?

These sort of immunological therapies hold great promise. The research and clinical trials involved are anything but cheap. I personally believe that putting an end to cancer is worth the effort and expense. The questionable morality comes into the picture when some third party, who is neither health care provider nor patient, impose their values as expressed by what they'll choose to pay for.

Why are we stuck on the idea that future generations pays for our stuff? If you want to look out for yourself, then how about you just save your own money which will pay for your own stuff? You'd come out way ahead. Otherwise, you're doing it for humanity reasons. And if one were to do as you suggest, they'll probably have more to leave for the betterment of humanity. See Gates Foundation.

Needs more profanity, but otherwise spot on.

Reference to Huxley's Brave New World...Soma was the pharmacological agent that "had all the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects" in terms of controlling the population. (Oh, shit, now we have to lock the thread, sorry.)

Most put the boot to their own throat by succumbing to the temptations of short-sighted, immediate gratification consumerism. It's a great means of controlling the masses, better than any autocratic dictator's wet dreams. The illusion of choice and all. It works like Soma, only without the group sex and euphoria.

Why you...! Kurt said it's ok to eat fish, they don't have any feelings.

Maynard, question for you, if you can discern the answer from the videos. In the sixth or seventh video he's installing a bias switch on the input. This seems a bit odd, assuming there is one particularly ideal part choice given that particular tube and the circuit it's in. Could you explain what he's doing? Is this to facilitate input tube rolling from the 6n1p to other options?

Seems germane to this discussion and as relevant in today's age as it was in the post WWI era it was written. He seems to make a huge allowance for capitalism and investment in the real economy as virtuous. Would you agree?

In the 1950s, "the leisure society of the future" was a constant theme in magazines like Popular Mechanics. None of those so-called futurists had any understanding of how the economy works. You sound like the sort of person who is pissed that they misplaced their keys for the hovercraft. Here is something I think you'll get a kick out of. Now where is my robot slave to fetch me my coffee and irish cream?

Robot slaves for everyone! Bring on the Leisure Society! Let's party!

Sad state of affairs? Maybe to Ayn Rand fans, but I don't think the Randian reaper has come to Gravity's door, at least not yet. Yes, some of the middle manager types were suddenly on par with others of less merit, and they felf peeved, and one or two left. That's not a sad state of affairs for those who stuck around, or for the business in general, which is booming:

You don't need any sort of processing beyond what you'll do in the Marantz (don't hesitate to take advantage of it's capabilities), so there is no need for a full featured integrated tube amp. It may be beneficial to choose an amp with at least a volume control for gain staging purposes. If you go with a straight up power amp (no volume control), choose one that requires 2v or slightly more on the input side for full output. (What's the point of having high voltage pre-outs if you cannot use them to full advantage, right?)

I think Steve Deckert has a good ear for this sort of thing and makes some very nice sounding gear. His single ended amps without feedback tend to share a rather airy presentation. They manage the single ended trickery quite well, but can tend to be on the lean side. The Mini Torii happens to pair very well with Heritage. It sounds a bit beefier and darker than the SE84 and SE34i amps. Forum member Erik2a3, who knows a thing or two about single ended amps, has a Mini Torii and has had only good things to say about it.

http://harmful.cat-v.org/people/basic-laws-of-human-stupidity/

Typcially (not with the Quad you just sold, though. Man, that one went quick! I've been wanting to get my mits on one of those for some time.)

I don't think you need any tubes upstream. (Why no tubes upstream? The SET sound is achieved by a SET amp driving speakers.) I prefer a nice, simple, clean digital front end. Well, maybe not simple, as I apply eq, but it's all on the digital side of things. Anywho, your Marantz is more than up to the task, it's a nice piece of gear. Audioholics had a lesser Marantz AVR on the bench and it's pre-outs could put out 7v unclipped. If yours follows suit, you're golden.

Right on, toolshed matt.

Don't let any of this detract from your expectations. This digression has more to do with Matt's demeanor as a vendor than the performance of the amps he sells, and hopefully is just a reflection of being unaware of how well informed and open minded this joint is. Other vendors manage to negotiate the terrain in here pretty well, some not so well. I really like the looks of his amps, so hopefully Matt will remain engaged in the discussion. It might even earn him a sale or two.

Yeah, this is a veritable hive of sweep tube ninjas you've stumbled into, they're not novices. I think there is a shared appreciation for these devices around here, so don't bristle at friendly requests to share your approach. If you do, I think it would only help you in the big picture. If one amp is "better" than another is a pissing contest that should be avoided, particularly if it's based on reviews in an audio rag, and in this realm, where some wiggle room for idiosyncratic approaches should be accommodated. I would like it if you would at least discuss what informs your taste when balancing the trade offs and compromises involved with choosing a particular design, whether that's a musical background that's trained your sensibilities, or more specifics on your amps and how they get you there, if you choose to disclose such info. All I can say is that a Dennis Had derived amp wrapped in beautiful cosmetic packaging for under a grand grabs my attention. The defensive stance exhibited in your last post, not so much.

That can be compensated for, at least to some extent. This is more room/placement and psychoacoustics here, so pardon the digression. Taking advantage of time/intensity trading via heavy toe in can help expand the sound stage outside of positions equidistant from the L and R speaker. It doesn't fix the phase/delay, but given how our perceptual filters weave together the illusion of stereophonic sound, it seems to work surprisingly well.