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The under the skirt view of all these Moondogs and Erik somehow can somehow follow all the wiring. Very cool Eric. The one with the battery bias is indeed mine. It was assembled by an experienced builder from NJ and not by me. Eric is correct the input was moved to the top plate and the voltage switch on the side plate is for KR tubes which tollerate greater voltage to the plate resulting in some increasde in power. Some report 4.5 watts. The C-5 cap is removed with this mod and perhaps R-2 also. Here is an under the skirt look at her sister. Reg B.

The little zen select was the first tube amp I tried with my Cornwalls. I still have it....very sweet sounding mid-range. The bass has been called polite which translated means not all will be satisfied. Two selects bridged may be much better and the bigger decware mono blocks better yet. Later I picked up a pair of Bottlehead Paramours and the bass was no longer polite. It was big, tuneful and organic. Lastly a pair of Moondogs with a few tricks arrived. The search has ended for now. Liquid mids, bass with authority and much more silent than the Bottleheads. The Moondogs get most of the play, the Paramours will be sold but the Decware will remain to await a comrade. RB

Who will bring the camera ?? Ya gotta tell the story and show the crowd

LAVA LAMP...........VERY COOL

Many have seen this before... For those who have not, fasten your seat belts http://www.royaldevice.com/custom3.htm

Hey Rick What might ys be selling? Reg

I'll offer this polarity test which can deternine if the speaker is or is not incorrectly wired from the factory (I told it happens). I'm told car audio installers use it when questioning aftermarket speakers. Be advised, I don't know if it is totaly safe to do (maybe someone can confirm). Connect a tired 9 volt transistor battery for an instant to the positive and nagitive terminals of the speaker. If the speaker is correctly wired (labled), the speaker cone will move away from the speaker frame. RB

Taylor I like the Foreplay and have heard many of them in different levels of tweakage. The thing to keep in mind here is that this preamp is an excellent learning tool if you first build it stock form and later add some of the many upgrades mentioned on the Bottlehead Forum. By doing so you can learn what each change will bring to the sound of the unit. Let the sound evolve with the changes. If you plan to just build it and then sell it, you may miss half the fun. DO NOT overlook the link to the Bottlehead forum Guy Landau posted. There is a lot of help there should you just ask. Also be sure to check the section at the top called "loose parts". Many experienced builders have gone to great effort to place valuable info there to add to your education. Great satisfaction can be had when you can say "I built it myself" and then play it for your friends as their faces express their disbelief at its sound quality. RB

Ok, is this a third version of the Cary SLP-70 ? This one has no cathode follower and no seperate power supply but it does have a toroidal trans. Cary hasn't done a very good job differentiating models changes with this one. Are there any more preamps changes with the same model designator "SLP-70" I'm begining to see I better know one from the other if I'm going to continue to hunt down one of these preamps Here's the link.....check the photos http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1083620940 RB

The seller has his Cary preamp back on E-bay with the correct link this time. He has proven to be an honest gentlemen and if others who whant to try this very lovely Cary should ****** it up. Maybe my reaction was a bit knee-jerk as both Kelly and Jmon report good results. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3081140598&category=14974 Kelly you stated his unit has lower output impedance, which I miss read, thinking that the pre amp might have trouble driving my M-dogs. I know that lower OUTPUT impedance is good for driving an amp with lower than normal INPUT impedance but as I reported I misinterpreted in the early hours (6am) and jerked my knee. My apologies to Mr Sharpe. Reg

First off big thanks to the ever watchful Kelly. You went out of your way to contact me and I much appreciate the help. I did believe this preamp was the most current with external PS and cathode follower, as you suspected. It was easy for me to make this assumption with the link to your web page which the seller had listed in the auction description of the pre. I talked with the seller by phone today and we both decided to not complete the sale, saving ourselves any feedback ramifications. I do beleive he did not intend to be misleading and he agreed to return my check and just submit the preamp on e-bay again with out the confusing link. I have always wanted to try a Cary preamp. The 98 based on the AES-1 is too expensive for me and I thought the 70 would be a good second choice. I may look for another one. The Moondog problem turned out to be a very small one but I did need Mike Paschetto (from Progressive Engineering TT) to help make the repair. They are running strong again. Reg

Is it not true that many audiophile reviewers are confused when trying to review tube amps. They measure all that distortion and yet it sounds good. They search for a way to make sense of the poor test findings and the findings their ears are reporting to the pleasure center in their brain. They seem reluctant to say they realy like the equipment they review without leaving some escape hatch to justify the oscilloscope. Could it be a similar event when they talk about Klipsch speakers. Maybe the phase is shifting allover. Maybe that's what ALK networks are correcting. What I'm saying (be it poorly) is it may be difficult for them to integrate the pleasent sound of the Klipsch speaker and the confusing test readings. Just my $.02

Rob Six Chorus channels HT, are you nuts. Your head will explode.

I was in talking with the seller at some length, seems like a real straight shooter. When he says perfect condition I believe him. These are the real deal and may bring a corresponding high price. Rob, The grain structure is similar to "tiger maple" with wavy lines at 90 degrees to the grain. This is unusual in maple and to my knowledge very rare in oak. Sought after by fine furniture makers. The seller reports this feature is matched on both left and right sides of both speakers. Someone should stroke a big check for these. Reg

Check out these fabulous Chorus II speakers http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3076709990&category=14993 RB

Hey Rob We miss ya in the old CT neighborhood. Congrats on the new job, baby and home. I may be coming to CO in Oct to see the audio show in Denver. So I may bump into ya. About you question on cd players. As my Sony ES is in the repair shop again,I started thinking about a second CD player to use. I've been wondering about players with tube outputs. Njoe Tjobe and Cary came to mind. Then a comparison between the Jolida 100A (tubed) and the well regarded Rega Planet (not tubed) posted by Neo33 came up. I've become more curious about the Jolida in modified form. Like the Njoe it can be ordered stock or with a couple levels of mods droped in. Unlike the Njoe it seems to be built in a HD chassis the CD drive in the center straddled by front to back chasis structures and a thick aluminium front. Even the remote is aluminium. These modified units have 2 levels of electronic tweeks sprinkled in. A search of Audiogon.com can locate them. Also check Neo's input in his thread a short time ago. Reg

Those are fine looking Paramours. I'm always dazzled by the work you Texas boys do. Here's a link from your web-site so all can see how productive the Lone Star Bottlehead group is. http://www.wardsweb.org/LSB/ Lots of Bottlehead Mtgs in many states makes Bottlehead products a good choice. Ya can't beat this kind of fun. RB

Two fine examples of Klipsch Cornwall speakers. If I didn't already have a pair I'd be knocking on their doors. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3070017547&category=14993 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3069645552&category=14993 One of these guys even has the original boxes.

PK I live here in Connecticut as you do and my wife would agree to let you park your Khorns at our place. You could visit them from time to time and your wife need not know about them. RB

I think I found It http://www.belgaudio.com/kcmap.htm RB

I got a pair of 84 Cornwalls several years back. They have provided the best return in high caliber enjoyment. Better than any other audio purchase I've ever made. I never grow tired of them and they can still startle me with ther performance. I feel that their best qualities are: emotion generating dynamics, liquid midrange and their musical and tunefull bass. Crossover B-3 tweeter K-77m squaker K-57k woofer K-33e Their midrange tends to be a bit forward and they work very well with low power SET amps. They play loud and clean with big power even down low. Go get em.. Maybe someone on the forum can provide the Belgium website for this lad. Lots of info to be found there.. RB

A major player in looks and performance. Most others pale in comparison. Thanks for the detailed look. I'm concerned however about the way the tube sockets are mounted on stand-offs below the top plate. When replacing tubes (read tube rolling) wouldn't the tubes be subjected to some unnecessary rough handling? It seems the tubes would be pulled out by their glass envelope instead of the plastic base. Wouldn't this cause the cement holding it together to fail? RB

Mike Terminal boards may be had at www.angela.com Also lots of high quality parts and supplies.

Neo I've been told this is a nice pre and it has phono http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?preatube&1074045029 I'm still in line for your AE-1 Reg

Colin, great review, enjoyed it much. Mark, I've had the opportunity to hear Steve's and other Straight 8's. I've draged my Cornwalls to steve's home for a mtg and had both speakers side by side. Steve is a high caliber host with a finely tune Bottlehead system. It's only my own taste speaking here when I say the Corns float my boat more sweetly than the 8's. The midrange and dynamics of the Cornwalls seems to tickle me each time I give'em the gas. I never grow tired of them. Remember the Klipsch signature midrange is more forward, "in your face" some have discribed it. My ears never fatigue however, and the hours disappear alomge with the speakers. Check out my Cornwalls at Steve's with a forest of other speakers. http://www.uvm.edu/~rboles/audio/ne_bot_may-17-03.html Reg