Marvel

If someone drove through my front window, I might feel like my life was threatened. But I have a permit for where I live. If you ever find a book called "The Best Defense", give it a read. It is stories based on actual events, culled from newspaper articles and interviews. From store owners in the Carolinas with 357s to a little old lady in Florida with a .25 calibre. Or take Kennesaw Georgia for instance (not too far north Atlanta): Kennesaw rocked the world when on May 1, 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring all heads of households to maintain a firearm and ammunition. The law was passed partly in response to a law passed in Morton Grove, Illinois (June, 1981) banning private possession of handguns. Since passage of the law, the burglary rate in Kennesaw has gone down significantly, while the rate in Morton Grove has gone up. "Before the law was passed we had 11 burglaries per 1000 in population. As of 1992 we had 2.7 burglaries per 1000 population. Over the years, it may fluctuate 1% higher, or 1 or 2% lower, but its something that's stayed in line from '83 all the way up to today." (Kennesaw Police Chief Dwaine Wilson, 1994) As of 2000, the burglary rate in Kennesaw was even lower making it one of the safest cities of its size in the United States. It is all the more astonishing given that Kennesaw has quadrupled in size since passage of the gun law. The law was mostly symbolic, but ceratinly made a point. While it scares me greatly to think of ever having to use a weapon/handgun, many people defend themselves often, without a shot ever being fired. There are more than enough real statistics to show that. But gun owners must also obey the given laws where they reside, and know how to properly handle (fire and clean/maintain their gun). A lack of responsibility will ruin it for us all. I have good friends whom I respect, who don't believe in owning firearms. It isn't worth the argument with them (or them with me), to get into it with them. We just happen to disagree. Marvel

kenratboy, Was going to post this from work, but we were working on the firewall today and things were up and down. I'll be showing my age here, but way back in the '60s either Popular Mechanics or Popular Electronics had an article on how to build a speaker system that used 16 five inch speakers (called the "Sweet Sixteen"). Each speaker didn't have to work much, because in total they moved a LOT of air. This is the principle of Steve Decker's line eight I believe. Many speakers working in unison means none of them are very stressed and work well (insert own opinion here). If you want to use multiple speakers, you just have to calculate the impedance values so you end up with what you want. You don't need a crossover. For example: four 8 ohm speakers can be connected to yield an 8 ohm load, a 32 ohm load, a 2 ohm load, or others. Resistance in series: R total=R1 + R2 + R3 + etc Resistance in parallel: 1 R total=----------------- 1 + 1 + 1 --- --- --- R1 R2 R3 Hope that is clear. Speakers are measured in ohms as impedance, which is a combination of resistance and reactance (inductive). Resistors have a fairly linear resistance to current flow. Coils (inductors, coils in speakers, etc.) have a reactive opposition to current flow, based on different things, but it varies also with frequency. This is why a speaker's impedance varies depending on the frequency of the signal being fed to it. Certain crossover filters present no load depending on the frequency. This can be fatal to an amplifier. Inductors (chokes), are measured in units of the term Henry. It is the measurement of Counter Electromotive Force, or cemf. School's out for the day. We could talk about litz wire (which is used in the inductors Al K uses for his crossover), and why it is better than solid wire (it's the skin effect). Marvel

Duh, I was asleep at the wheel. I knew they were way cheaper than the regular 1010, as it puts everything in a breakout box. People either love the M-Audio gear or hate it. It has worked excellent on my Dual Athlon 1.4Ghz box. Samplitude is next! Marvel

This has 6x6, 24/96, uses the same driver as Audiophile 2496. Has 4 analog, plus spdif: $299 http://www.zzounds.com/item--THKMIMD662 The 1010LT (same driver) does 8 analog i/o, spdif, midi, 2 mic inputs(XLR). Uses a fan out cable instead of a breakout box: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOD1010LT But the cost is getting up there (around $600 or so I think) Marvel

I use an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 in one of my computers at home (used for video editing and audio production. It uses the same DAC?ADC as their other 4 and 8 channel cards. The quality is outstanding. I know many professional musicians/studios use the same cards. The cost is about $150 ($229 list), and it has spdif i/o as well as analog i/o. It will allow DTS and AC3 through the spdif out for external decoding. If the Revolution is the card you got, it provides 7.1 etc and decoding. It should do nicely. I hate those mini plugs. At least the one I have uses rca jacks. They are a little more solid. You may need to download the newest drivers, even though the card is new they probably already have newer. The Card Deluxe is another great card, but was too expensive when I got mine. Marvel

Not sure what you mean be dbx "going under" unless you mean they are owned by the Harman Corp. now. They no longer make high end consumer items, but make great studio products (E.Q.s, Comp/limiters/gates, preamps both digital and tube combos). They are in daily use in so many studios (just not mine, although they make a couple products I would like to get). An easy way to add some dynamic range back into vinyl tranfers would be great though. Marvel

I could mail you the three CDs if you want. I already have them at work as we use Red Hat at the college where I work. I believe we have the current version as well. Drop me an email if you want, with your address, etc. Have the new Free BSD as well. More servers use it than RH. Marvel

An historian friend of mine presently works at the Edison Historical site in N.J. They are currently working on a project using Edison's original recording equip., and bringing in all kinds of talent. Jazz, folk, blues, rock, and recording them on wax cylinders. They are then tranfering them to digital format for archival purposes. They even recorded my buddy as he plays a good hard slide guitar (acoustic -- I think he used a Dobro that day). To record well it requirs pretty high volume since it was a mechanical recording. They gave him his wax cylinder at the end of the day. He said it sounded just like a lot of old old recordings that have been reissued. I've got the list at home, but they had done Peter Paul and Mary, Buck Pizzarelli (sp?), and some others. Marvel

Erik, Have you ever looked at Plitron transformers. Toroidial for SET and PP, etc. They have a couple stock ones wth close to the impedance for the primary that you mentioned. One is around 1885 ohms (model PAT 4006), another 1239 (PAT 4008). Lots of cool stuff. http://www.plitron.com You'll have to dig a bit, there is no direct link to the page with tube transformers on it. Cheers, Marvel

I'm very curious about the chroming on the transformers. I was showing the pics to a friend of mine. He agreed they are a work of art. He thought it was odd though, because he said the chrome will work as an insulator. He is a vintage VW buff, and said folks who chrome the valve covers on their VWs see a 30 degree rise in engine temp. I would hate to see the trannies get to hot. Don't see many chrome wood stoves either. But they look soooo coool! Marvel

Got this from the Berklee.edu website. Hope it helps. For starters, the DVD-A supports LPCM in a wider range of sampling rate options: 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k, 176.4k, and 192k, at bit resolutions of 16, 20, and 24 bits. At the highest sampling rate and resolution, this yields a theoretical audio performance of 96k bandwidth and 144dB of dynamic range! Note that there are now supported sample rates that are integer multiples of the current CD standard of 44.1k. This makes it easier to record a project at, say, twice that rate (88.2k), and do a simple downsampling to 44.1k for CD release, whereas downsampling from 96k to 44.1k is a more complex process with potentially greater loss in sonic quality. As in the DVD-V format, the DVD-A format supports bit resolutions up to 24 bits. However, unlike the DVD-V spec, the DVD-A has no lossy data compression schemes as a mandatory consideration, although provisions have been made to utilize them as options. You can see the whole article here: http://www.berklee.edu/bt/112/alook.html Cheers, Marvel

With the driver attached to the LPAD, use your meter across the input terminals (what would be coming from the amp). You should see the resistance stay the same as you adjust the slider. Make sure you have no power on (actually, disconnect the speaker from the amp). I could send a drawing if you need it. Marvel

Gil, I at first thought the colors were kinda pukey, but he is my son. I'm just impressed with the drawing of the player itself. This is a good sign that the money for this education will pay off someday. So what do you think of some of the color schemes that Klipsch has had for their web page? Marvel

Justin, The web site design you did looks nice. It loads pretty quickly. SOmething dial up folk can like. Some sitesa re pokey even when using broadband. I tend to like the les is more design philosophy. Marvel

Okay, it is a low rent amp, but someone has to have some idea here. The worst part is the output transformers are NOT very big (very little iron). I just acquired (for free) an old Knight Kit (Allied Electronics) tube amp, and need some help finding a schematic for it. Okay, maybe I don't really need a schematic, but they are always nice to have. The model is a KN928, and it has four 12AX7 preamp tubes and four EL84 output tubes. Anybody willing to guess what the output poewr of this might be? I'm guessing maybe ten tp fifteen watts per channel. I don't really know the EL84s that much. The amp is pretty clean, and has been stored inside. Not like someone putting it out in the barn for a few years. It is missing one of the EL84s, so at least one of those is in order. The EL84s are GE and the 12AX7s are Amperex (one is a Sylvania). A Raytheon 6CA4 for the rectifier. The chassis has more steel in it than most new cars. The wiring job was fairly neat, but the layout sure isn't what you would find in newer tube amps, where there is more physical symmetry. I'll have to get my variac out, dig out my meter and check it out. It looks like it will need less work than my Dynaco, as I haven't replaced the 7199 tubes with a different set of parts yet. I figure this might have been based on a reasonably good design. Then again, maybe it should just be tossed. I hated to pass it up. Marvel

Not being from the other side of the pond, someone on the Steinberg/Cubase forum said it means a "masturbator."

The Pi speakers are more of a scoop than a folded horn. I have a bunch of different LS drawings that I got off the net before. I would be happy to email them to you. It will cost you more than buying a pair from someone. DJK built many pairs in the past. With modds and all. Some for P.A. use and some for HiFi use. I still haven't done it, still don't have the time or money, really don't have the room. A pair of Heresys however .... John, Hope all is well with you. Things are too busy up at the college to get involved in much. Marvel

With MY budget, I'm not going to swap out my zip cord any day soon. I just want to add to my speaker collection first. Hope Invidiosulus is feeling better today? Marvel

I can't believe I actually own some of this stuff. Not the higher priced articles though. I still have a Dynaco ST-70 (still awaiting a rebuild), and the Sennheiser HD-414 headphones. I still have three pair of those. I got them after doing studio work in the '60s, and loved them. The drivers on at least one pair are blown, but I can't seem to part with them. The DAL audio card is very good, although M-Audio gear is way cheaper and the converters are probably as good sounding. My daughter is still getting to use a Nagra at school as she does soundtracks for film class. I'm starting to feel old now. The Revox machines were to die for when I was getting into recording. Marvel

Upset. Of course not. Only that he has the speakers in Florida while I am here in North Georgia. I can't even convince him to let me have the JBLs (which are about 30 years old) to use as MY rear speakers. Actually, I'm impressed that he pulled it off. I am glad I brought him up to know what good speakers are really like. I've just about decided that I should find some Heresy pairs for myself. They would be cheaper that the LS and take up much less room. Marvel

My son just got a set of Heresy I speakers (2) off of Ebay for about $300! I send him of to school and this is how he shows me respect? He got the bid with 13 seconds to go. He says they sound absolutely wonderful. Little dings on the back, top corners. They are black, circa '81. I suppose he will now use the old JBLs for rears, but he hasn't told me yet. I had to put my building of LaScalas on hold, to send him away to school and then he does this to me! Hope you enjoy yours when you get them. Marvel

If you know anyone with ties to ham radio, or go to hamfests, you might still be able to pick up tubes there. I just looked at an old piece of Tektronix stuff our college had thrown out (my son brought it home, and it now collects dust in his room!). It has some GE tubes and one Telefunken 12AT7. They threw more away this summer, but I didn't get a chance to go through it much. Picked up a Heathkit, tube bench supply, and a Heathkit audio signal generator, also tubed. Way cool. Not sure how it fits in with all my digital audio recording gear. Marvel

Mallett, I agree that there is a price diff. Their price as a kit (which is supposed to be easy), isn't too bad. My own, as yet not upgraded, ST70, I purchased for $50, and have also had for over 25 years. I'll probably go with the Triode Electronics upgrades for it, and they are not very expensive. (Some would also say not as good as the AVA upgrades) I just don't want it to blow up form old caps that are dried out, etc. I bought mine from an acquaintance in the early '70s, and just this past Spring, started going over the schematic and instruction book. I found he had actually wired part of it wrong. I checked it, double, triple checked it. It really was wrong. I changed it, and is has made now difference in the sound. It needs a lot, and is too noisy to use right now. Marvel.

If you want to spend that kind of money, check out the Sound Values NEW model of the ST-70. Very cool! http://www.soundvalves.com/vta70i.html Later, Marvel

You may find the parts you need for Dynacos at Triode Electronics: http://store.yahoo.com/triodeel/index.html I have an ST-70 that I STILL need to get upgraded. hey have replacement cap boards that will fit inside the ST-70 chassis, and other tube mods, mostly to replace the 7199 with a better tube. They also have the schematic on their site. Marvel This message has been edited by Marvel on 08-06-2002 at 05:49 PM