maxg

The Audiophile Club of Athens (ACA) is going to descend en-mass on my house and Tony's house to hear our systems, sample the music, and drink copious amounts of alcohol laced beverages. I realize it is fairly pointless bearing in mind the distances but I would like to extend an invitation to anyone on this board to attend (should they be passing Athens, Greece at the time). I would not suggest making a special trip for the event - it won't be that big - but if you are passing.... For those that cant make it there will be a summary of the event(s) posted on the ACA site. On the subject of the ACA I would also like to take the opportunity to shamelessly plug our forum - http://aca.gr/forum/index.php We rather need some input there - so again - if you are passing... ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

To hate someone over a few posts in an audio forum is really quite remarkable when you think about it. No wonder we are such a war-like species. Personally speaking I rather enjoy Ears posts - including the sarcasm - although that sometimes comes across a little close to the bone in a medium such as this. Overall I think he and I strive for very different things in our listening and we have disagreed in a few posts (for example the thread on speaker accuracy and various posts on subwoofers) but I always read what he writes and enjoy the discussion. The idea of hating him because he has different opinions from mine is ludicrous. Sorry Proj - you are way out of line and I put your post down to your youth. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

It is not a CD I am afraid but the best sounding anything I own is a DECCA recording of Bert Kaempfert Africaan Beat made in the early 1960's. This is the closed thing to being there I have yet come across and I am planning to surprise the Audiophile Club of Athens with it when they descend on my house in October. Other than that other worthies that I own on CD include: 1. Jacintha - Here's to Ben (XRCD). 2. Mark Knopfler - Sailing to Philadelphia (HDCD). 3. Sonny Rollins Saxaphone Colossus (XRCD - mono). There are many more but these are the ones that immediately spring to mind. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Jim, Methinks ya better talk to Kelly (MobileHomeless). If you are serious about getting into the tube thing he da man!! I assume you are thinking about SET - the first thing you are gonna have to decide is what flavour. The favorites here are either 2A3 or 300B based units with Kelly being firmly in the 2A3 camp. The nice thing is that with those big ole horns you can get away with very little power indeed. Arco (who also has horns) is building (has built?) a 1 watt amp for his. I dont know how its going - all I know is it weighs in at 50 Kilos (over 100 lbs). One day I am going to get Arco to come over with a selection of his other amps to play with on my Heresy's. Will be interesting to see if I can get the volume out of them as I have only 96 db/w/m to play with. What are you thinking of using for the pre? ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Skon, Funny how things vary in price across the globe. Over here Klipsch are generally 2 to 3 times more expensive new than they are in the US (even worse second hand - they hold their value really well). On the other hand the Strata 3 I picked up brand new and in the box set me back under $1000. My current system (which includes both Klipsch and the Rel) would cost almost exactly the same in the US as it cost me here - but getting there is a very different process. I am sure that were I ever to go into home theatre again I would revisit my sub choice (or at least add a second Rel) but as it stands now, for 2 channel, there are a lot of items I would upgrade first, before looking at subs.

Ranger, Excellent post - your sarcasm had me going for a moment there. Kain, It is difficult to know what to say - you seem to genuinely believe that no Jewish people were killed in the 9/11 attack and I am sure that no evidence we could provide will shake that belief. Your implication is therefore that there was a grand conspiracy and presumably you also believe that therefore it was the Israelis that pulled off this attack to frame the poor innocent Muslim fundamentalist group headed by a nice but misunderstood man called Bin Laden. Of course the last item - that the Israeli's did it has now been somewhat undermined by the admission of Al Quaeda itself. Which means that if the Israelis didnt do it, and I am sure you will agree it is fairly unlikely that Al Quaeda tipped all the Jews off, then there must be another reason none were killed. Maybe they really are God's chosen people and he gave them all a one day headcold to keep them from work. Does anyone who was in New York at the time remember any additional red-paint on some front doors - it is usually a give away sign (just ask the Egyptians). Everyone else (including Ranger), As for 11/9 (I am a european and we put the day first) I think you will have to get used to the constant bombardment of forced memories from the TV entering your living rooms faster than you can change channels. Is it overdone? Probably. Is that a major cause for concern? Probably not. Is it all over the world? Yes. As I think Tony Blair said (paraphrased) this was not an attack on America it was an attack on the entire free world. As such it should be remembered in its context as the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed. The last time such an act was carried out on American soil (although a smaller version - Pearl Harbour) it brought America into the Second World War. Note I said smaller - 2,200 people were killed in Pearl Harbour - over 3,000 on 11/9. This is a "Where were you when it happened?" event. It will be remembered throughout time and it should be. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Alcohol dulls the senses and this has been proven many times by the medial establishment. What has not been analysed is the effect of grass or equivalent on the senses. It is my (totally untested - I never did, I didnt inhale - oh hell I was a student once) belief that the dreaded weed does axactly the opposite in small quantities but in larger quantities reverts to having a similar effect to alcohol (makes me go to sleep). Now - how to put this - I know - A friend described to me extremely lucidly how he was mesmerised by Dvorak's New World Symphony whilst under the influence of the aforementioned item and has since been totally in love with the piece. Apparently he mentions it often in web postings... Disclaimer: I am not suggesting to anyone that they should take drugs. They are almost certainly bad for you and illegal in most countries. Get a life - not a jail sentence! ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

A coffee book and now a series - hmmmm - Sounds of the Rich and Famous perhaps? Dont think you could make it Klipsch only though... ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Glad to be of service Jazman....amazing the results of a post sometimes. Enjoy the music....

BobG, Very odd - my friend tony swore he had seen them at Laios last week - I wonder if he was fooled into thinking the commercial version was the home version? Saturday will tell if they are all barking mad!!

Ear, In your wide experience of all things sub-woofer have you come across the Rel? I would be interested in your impressions - although as I have said repeatedly I think we look for different things in a sub. Of course, from what I understand they are rather expensive items in the US so it may not be the good buy over there that it is on this side of the pond.

If anyone from this forum decides to go on holiday to Greece I can bore the pants off them with systems / vinyl and all things audio. Enough to make you choose another country no doubt!!

"who wants to boast about a 10 inch sub" I will. I am totally delighted with my REL Strata 3, 10 inch sub. I have no idea what the output levels are, of course, but I talk in terms of integration to a system - not the abilities to blow the doors off the house. I do know it goes down to 20 Hz if that is any help - for all I know it may go lower - but the test CD didnt. On the other hand, as a box, it aint exactly small - I dont know what is in there but it is one big unit!! (Not SVS big, but big - at least twice the size of my old KSW 10, maybe more) ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

I am kinda disappointed. I was expecting a Hobbit at least. Unless he was inside the SVS of course. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Talking of the Jubilee I heard from our local distributor that they have arrived. Hoping to get away at the weekend to take a look - maybe even get a demo (doubt it though - there is no way I can claim any real interest in buying them. Well interest yes, its the funds that are problematic!! Will get back to you all if I manage to swing it.

John, I am sure you are right - its just not what my ears tell me. Therefore there are 2 possible conclusions: 1. Believers in one or other of the 2 technologies are deluding themselves, or, 2. There is something inherently wrong in the test procedure. I remember an advertisement for Maxell tapes claiming that in dbt's no listener could distinguish between their tapes and CD. Maybe its true - maybe it is the test procedure. I am not claiming there is something wrong with the procedure, just that there might be. A few issues that spring to mind that may or may not have been catered for in the procedure are: 1. Audio memory. Mine is fairly bad. I find that I can retain a sound for less than a minute in my head and so comparisons that make longer pauses do not work for me. 2. Familiarity with the music / systems under test. I am much better at spotting (apparent) differences in my own system and listening to my music than I am with other people's systems listening to their music. For example I have 2 copies of DSOTM on vinyl, one produced in France and one in Greece. I prefer the Greek version and have on 2 ocasions sat down and thought "Oh crap - I put the French one on by mistake" and strangely I was right each time. Of course I have no idea if I missed the same issue at other times. 3. Time. Sometimes I make a change that does not immediately strike me as an improvement or particuarly even a change. When this happens I tend to leave the change in place and see how things develop. This happened most recently with my phono stage (which I mentioned in another post). At the time of replacement I thought there might be a change but a subtle one, and was not sure I prefered it. Now, having given the thing some time on my system (a week) with regular playing I can say that, for me, it has made a positive improvement. Of course all of my "evidence" is very anecdotal and would not stand up to even the most gentle scientific investigation but I will stand by one of my statements, namely: I have not yet found an SS amp at or near the price of my tubes that matches the sound. For reference my previous SS amp was a very respectable Accuphase E211 integrated amp (at twice the price of the tubes). Not only did it not sound good to my ears it seemed to be unable to drive the Heresy's anything like as well as the tubes bottoming out at 63 Hz as opposed to 47 Hz for the tubes at my listening position. I can see no reason in the specs why this should be so - it just was.

Whoops. Lesson one - engage brain - then type. I meant to write Audio Net not audio note. My bad! you can see them at http://www.audionet.de/indexe.html Hopefully that will link you to the English version of the page and not the German version. Good at typing - bad at thinking!!

Obviously this B&W design is something you are either going to love or hate. It is very space age so if you have a modern look I can see that it may well fit in better that a pair of wooden boxes. On the other hand if you have a more homely look to your listening room that these would stick out like a sore thumb. Personally I couldnt live with them - however they sound. On the other hand it is not often that you hear people compliment the Klipsch look for their speakers. Mine are a black box afterall - hardly the last word in design. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Mine are mounted on cupboards about 3 feet high with no risers. Work fine and go down to 47 Hz audibly but nothing below that. Corner placed Rel Strata 3 addresses the missing range nicely. For reference they are about a foot out from the wall. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Here we go again - SS verses tubes! FWIW my take is really quite simple. Subject to: 1. The music you listen to. 2. The speakers you run. 3. The listening environment. 4. Your personal preference. 5. The source type. 6. Probably many other factors I cant think of right now. You will discover that either SS or Tubes suit your desires. I have heard similar systems that blew me away using SS amplification (for example a pair of Final 0.3's driven by I think Audio Note monoblocks and an Audio note pre-amp) and systems that sounded comparitively poor (Final 0.3's with an Electrocompaniet integrated amp). I can cite similar for Tubes. My read. There is no overall winner and space in the market for both approaches. In my listening room, with my music and my speakers I prefer the tubes I have over the SS amps I have tried. I would further be most surprised if I could match my tube sound with SS amplification for anything like the price I paid. I could, of course, be wrong - in the area of audio I have changed track so often it is bewildering! ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Wife away for the weekend. Baby in the safe care of our daily help. Tony, my fellow audiophile and great mate free for the day. All a recipe for vinyl shopping! So we found another excellent source of vinyl and I picked up 18 titles over the weekend. 6 or 7 of these were audiophile, 180 gramme affairs (including Brubeck's take five, THELONIUS MONK/STRAIGHT, NO CHASER (which I also have on SACD - an interesting comparison in the making if I can find a spare player!!) and a fabulous blue note which humbly describes itself as "the best Jazz since 1939!"...) Aside from the Jazz audiophile records I found, to my amazement, a copy of Stevie Ray Vaughan's In step - on 180 Gramme, another copy of one of the early Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy again both on 180 gramme. Anyway all of the above came to $220. All were new, original and sealed. Not the steal some boast of but still a bargain and a half in my book (i.e. cheaper than the equivalent collection on CD). Amongst the other titles on normal vinyl were: Stevie Ray Vaughan live (double album), Marvin Gaye's What's going on, a Kate Bush album (a personal memory of mine), Janice Joplin Live, Barry White, ELO's Greatest hits, U2's Boy and a whole host of others... Now all I have to go is intercept the credit card statement and I am fine. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

Any business transaction, with the best will in the world from both sides can go horribly wrong. When that transaction is carried out over the internet there is simply more scope for this to happen. When you further add in shipments between countries, irresponsible couriers, derranged customs officials, airport baggage handlers, security scares from one side of the globe to another, packaging mishaps, inadequate insurance with complex claiming procedures and a bunch of unnamed third parties you have a recipe for disaster. Frankly it amazes me that I get my goods when I buy. So far I have been lucky - but this will certainly put me off buying high value items over the net.

Typical - make a post and immediately get an update: There is a law but it is not exactly as stated above: From one of the daily newspapers: Quote: On-line chess banned from Internet cafes? Three months after promising to instantly outlaw all electronic games from the public domain in the wake of a heated public debate on widespread illegal gambling, the government tabled a bill to that effect in Parliament yesterday. The draft law, presented by the Economy and Finance Ministry, bans any form of electric, electro-mechanical and electronic game devices, including computers, from hotels, coffee shops, club premises and public areas in general. This will not apply to Internet cafes, which, however, will not be allowed to offer their clients computer games. The police will be responsible for catching offenders, who will face fines of 5,000 to 75,000 euros and imprisonment of one to 12 months. The blanket ban was decided in February after the government admitted it was incapable of distinguishing innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines. End Quote It still seems rather drakonian but it is not quite as bad as portrayed. You can play games in your own home safely.

This seems more and more likely to be a joke. I have searched all the Greek sites and other than the one referenced can find no mention of law 3037 anywhere, nor any legal provisions made during this year for gaming of any form. Further, I spoke to a company that is launching a Fantasy gaming on-line / interactive TV / mobile telephone enabled service on Monday of next week - hardly likely if the above were true (they have had full legal advice). Put it all down to web BS until further notice.

Now that is funny!! Welcome to the world of Country and Western y'all. Kinda reminds me of the lines: "Well maam, what kind of music to do normally get in this place?" "Oh we have both kinds - Country and Western!" ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm