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I wish this stereotype was not passed on and on, like a cliche planted with a grow light.... In a good relationship, a relationship where you actually share in the love of music and what brings it in the home, this should not be an issue, on either side. One thing that hurts it is that many men (and women, sadly) have the aesthetic acumen of a five year old with horse blinders on. Some of the rooms you see posted online make one recoil in horror. On the other hand, many of the mediocre touches come from the knick knack beautification you see attempted whether it be stuffed animals, Home Shopping Network Ceramic figuroids, and psuedo oak laminate surrounded by overstuffed furniture circa Ranch House Living ala 1975. I dont know which sorry magazine came up with "WAF" but they should be beaten about the head and shoulders with a bag of loose change. I first remember reading it in Stereophile back in the 80s and groaned then. It had catch phrase written all over it, surely to be abused by every reviewer hack running through the treadmill of cliches. To be honest, gear and all things associated with it must meet my own aesthetics, as well as Audrey's. And when I purchase something, I weigh in the appearance of the gear as well. On the other hand, different situations call for different solutions. A NYC Loft apartment can really pass with the industrial aesthetic which might not float elsewhere. Of course, taste is pretty relative as are most things. Regardless, I find it unfortunate that these articles bring forth the Cliche, carrying it high, reinforcing the stereotype adinfinitum... kh

Most music sounds like dung and is poorly recorded. I do most of my listening to below. - Stereophile Test CD 1-3 (No cannons, but there is some awesome bass guitar and bells and whatnot) - Telarc 1812 (cannons are awesome) - Telarc Sampler CD (Fanfare for Common Man is awesome - Firebird kicks it) - Pomp and Pipes ( The pipes are ok but the POMP brings house down!) - Conan the Destroyer Soundtrack (man, this is awesome, too! No modern explosions, though) - TOTAL RECALL soundtrack (this DOES have modern blasts! Subs to the rescue!) - Arnold Soundtracks (you can just skip looking and get this one if you want. HasteLaVistaBaby!!) - Pearl Harbor (Want to hear a Zero at 11? That first bomb drop is ecstasy!) - Jazz at the Pawnshop (not really a pawn shop so a bit disappointing. No bass but GREAT crowd clapping!) - Sheffield Drum Record (man, if you like drums you gotta get this one. No explosions though) - HFNR Test Record (one side has no tracks but cool to watch tonearm skate on record!) - Sara K. (Any thing by her rocks. Sounds like Jesus in heaven)

Hey Mike! Hope things are going well your way. Frankly, you wont recognize the place. You'll spend more time shaking your head in disbelief than anything else. It's the old one step forward, two steps back syndrome and this place might as well have added a "trip" in the middle of the second step back... kh

It's turning into an amazing statistic.... so much of what I read in this place appears to be off, one way or another, and with a stygian certitude with ignorance held high with pride, albeit unknowingly. Whether it's backed by a ream of misused technical info or an amazing combination of little experience mated with even less ability to hone in on the variables, nothing can surprise anymore within the Klipsch 2 Channel forum. The latest list of prolific newbies will undoubtedly join the old timer 2 Channel diehards, now full blown members of the Klipsch Contradiction Brigade, all who managed to eat crow as if served from a Texas-sized, all-you-can-eat trough. Dont worry though. The great thing about Klipsch 2 Channel is that time erases all and you can issue the most misguided statement one moment, turning around to say the opposite a while latter, all usually without much worry, since little is read with care and even less remembered. Some here made an art (or science) of it and are no worse off; indeed, I would say they built on it. With an archive that is used as infrequently as High School book stacks, you can remain relatively trouble-free, no matter how many ill-fated assessments are made. Later, you can act like it never existed, moving on the mobius strip of post ad-hoc, post ham hock. Indeed, it's the Klipsch 2 Channel Right of Passage. kh

Into the archives we go... yet another beauty. kh

One thing I keep forgetting about ye olde Klipsch forum... Half the time, anything over two lines in a post is wasted, as it's either not read carefully, or at ALL. Gets me every time. kh

Good one. Even if in jest, several things are apparent. This is the lowest wattage Crown made, not the 150-1000w behemoths, and it was acquired by Leo because of its untypical SS behavior of exhibiting very low distortion ratings at very low watt levels, something that most SS amps DONT do (and an important attribute when dealing with high efficiency speakers). Two, Leo has FOUR amplifiers, and I am betting he is mainly referring to his 2A3 Parafeed SET amplifiers with probably have the sweetest top end and most open mids, also REALLY excelling at microdynamics, quite possibly over any of the other subjects. Lastly, I tend to not hold hardly any weight with specs, definitely as much as Leo, who is a distortion hound. I dont like distortion either, but have ultimately found it a poor measurement gauge relating to sonics, just in my personal opinion. Leo has done a LOT of thinking about getting the lowest distortion at a fraction of a watt, again, this where most SS amps suffer. One of the problems with simple discussion of dynamic range, headroom, etc, is that it has far more variables than most even take notice of, which is why stock figure quotes to define it often miss the boat when you weigh in all the factors. Add to that the basic misunderstanding here as to what dynamics really mean and you have a mess. I usually side with Leo's take with amplification; as for the Crown D-45, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. IT was reported by DJK that the earlier D series were quite different sonically. It's hard to remotely imagine the three Crown D-75 I had on hand even coming in a Top 100 of amplifers if looking at something like Microdynamics. I can only assume the D-45 Leo has is a different animal altogether. kh

I generally think this topic has been a sordid joke with more misinformation than anything else, especially in Ben's thread, which practically turned into an embarrassment as the overal picture was overlooked time and time again.I have to say that Leo's post above is one of the few reasonable takes on the issue with a balanced view of his own needs with a proper conception/understanding of the idea of dynamics, both macro and micro. Well done, Leo (even if you are wrong about the Belkin with your MoonPaths...heh) kh

The number of drummers in this forum is a bit frightening. I played drums in bands since the age of 13 but now have to store my set of mid 60s Ludwigs/50s Zildjians at my friend's studio for lack of room. I miss being able to sit down on a whim but get over there a few times a month to play. I personally hated any ear protection as it removed a layer of enjoyment and link to the music - It was like a filter that I always wanted to toss . Amazingly, I still have pretty good hearing although I havent been tested in too long to remember. I never found any protection that wasnt a compromise in this fashion though havent tried the devices that Duke just mentioned. Another interesting point is I find myself disagreeing with about 90% of what drummers have to say here...heh. Damn, drummers.... kh

Appears you are confused as ole Parrot might have slipped one by you. Then again, I remember the days long gone when I thought Parrot was Neo... It would have been the all time wool over eyes with enough irony to power Saturn's moons but I cant give Sir Paul this much credit. kh

Nice to see you retaining a fine sense of humor through it all, though. We're going to be needing it for 06. Parrot made an excellent start with this classic post.

Matthews, how can we take you seriously after that horrifying headroom thread? For the love of St. Nick, I dont think you could perceive the difference between a tin whistle and someone strumming a loaf of bread...

I smiled inwardly at the beauty.... Join the club of the Klipsch Forum Crickets. It's an honor to be a member (and it's all we have left).

Nothing gets by the crack staff of the Klipsch 2 Channel Forum... I am not rethinking my original answer, however. Paul, you thought about about moving to VTL MB-750 Monos for a nice 750 watts in Tetrode? Can you imagine the realism and palpable presence of the six shooter? This combined with Fini's theory might push you over the edge of HT Nirvana. The Willing Suspension of Disbelief would become mere hyperbole!

Have you ever thought of recording the first version of the Telarc 1812 field cannon and speeding it up to mimic gunfire? If you're good, timing issues might be taken care of. A second system with remote will come in handy. You might have some volume matching issues again but I think it will float if used in conjuction with 1000w of Crown "straightwire with gain" Micro-Tech Ampcake.

Dr. Who, I just spent some time with Nightwish.... my first reaction was, is this the new millennium's Spinal Tap? My second reaction after I got over the music was how different we view recording attributes. I think these selections represent examples of some of the horrors of recording but do realize we're talking MP3 versions. If you could load a WAV file, of two of the songs off this last album, I'll give it a go. As is, songs like "Dark Chest of Wonders" leave me shaking my head on several fronts. We are talking totally different perceptions of quality. This is one of the most sterile, pumped up, artificial, mediocre recordings I have heard in awhile. After listening to one of the 192kbs MP3 from each of the albums, I came away realizing that no qualifiers are being used here. When making assessments on gear attributes, you MUST realize the variables and limitations and list these qualifiers when making judgments. This has been the bain of this forum's existance. I now have a much better idea of where you're coming from. Dean used to do this with Mudvein.....heh. kh

Lordy, Tom...Amazing. Hit it on the nose? Hmmm...It's like almost being on a different page, in my view. I have heard so few 300-600w solid state amplifiers that I thought did the music justice, it's almost tragic. I have NEVER heard a 1000w amplifier worth a Sh*t in most things important. I dont know what criteria you are using but most of these specimens, including some heavy hitters, have trouble with microdynamics and the more sublime, subtle shading. Some of the high power amps DO ok with macrodynamics but sometimes at the expense of the micro level and with suffering in the tone/timbre, harmonic richness department. They dont do subtle shading well; musicality and nuance suffers. I am really wondering what the people here are used to hearing and comparing, gear wise, this in their home. Looking at the amplifier that Dr. Who is currently using, I personally cant imagine how this is coming about. We might just be on a whole different experience level here. Only the very BEST high power solid state amps get this right, and in my view, most of them fall short. The fine gradiations of the dynamics are something not always brought to fruit with high power amplifiers. Indeed, in my experience, it's MUCH harder to make a quality high power amplifier that does all the things right. The last high power SS amplifers that I had were higher quality amplifiers than listed by most of the SS users in this thread. They were B&K Sonata Series M-200 Monoblocks, which would sonically smoke the Crown listed. They were 200Wpc into 8ohms and 400Wpc rated into 4ohms. Frequency Response was 1-45kHz and amperage peak to peak was @150. SN ratio was over 95dB A Weighted (I personally am not into specs because of the lack of always corresponding to listening impressions, this noted over the years). The amps were actually rebiased at the factory to run 100w in Class A. They were hot running beasts. Remember, as Monoblocks, they had separate dedicated power supplies and were actually run off two different circuits in my home. These amps had excellent top to bottom coherency and were tight, quick, and detailed while still being musical. They could also has some impressive slam factor. They went on the chopping block after being in and out of various systems in my house when both my vintage PP tube and 3.5w 2A3 SET amps sounded more musical, more realistic, and amazingly enough, revealed more dynamic contrasts in the Micro region. My tweaked 14w PP EL-84 amp was actually more OPEN and let go of the notes with more ease. The B&Ks pushing something like My Bloody Valentine at 110dB via my ProAc speakers was a ball and impressed many. But my EL-34 PP gave the recordings more life and vitality. Personally, I think we are on different pages here with different experiences and reference points, not to mention different criteria for what constitutes quality sonics from top to bottom. kh ps - On the Home Theater front, I dont mix the two. I have not heard a home theater system do music anywhere near the capability of my dedicated music system(s). It's a whole different ballgame. On another note, I put the Watts ratings of the B&K in bold since most evidently dont read more than a few words per paragraph.

Actually, most of the BEST recording are of LIVE sessions with care taken from the mic to the mix. Minimalist techniques with attention to detail bypassing the standard ape at the mixing board brings far better live recording sonics than most. Most engineers couldnt produce a decent recording to save their lives....

This is a point that needs to be stressed over and over, especially in a number of these threads, notably this one. I think there is quite a bit of tech info use without real world experience that can show how much can be contradicted. Actually, I dont think this place is a paragon of experience with different solutions. But I agree with much of your post here, Dean. Yet, I think headroom doesnt always equate with watts as used in your formula but it's a start. As you know, amplifiers in real world conditions have a lot more going on. This simple forumla doesnt always get the nut in my view and some monkey going out to buy and amp with his THD and Wpc specs is in for a rude awakening when comparing the sonics...

Ahhh...The Duke. As par for the course, you read two posts of mine, possibly one, and make the nice judgement. Anti D-75 agenda? I played in bands since the age of 13 till college and ran an in-home recording studio for a few years in the mid 80s. Had a seven year stint at a radio station where I brought up the reference to the D-75. During my time playing in bands, I've been around a number of Crowns, including quite a few D series and versions of the 150 and 300, along with various Micro/Macro Tech.. Between Phase Linear and Crown, this probably accounted for 90% of our support sound for the band from monitors to the PA. This doesnt include the Crowns you run into when playing at clubs, venues, or in the studios that favored them. It was THE amplifier to have for band work. So I'm on no anti-D-75 campaign. Simply put, I think Crown amps are pretty coarse and lacking in all the things I take as important for musicality and reproduction in home use.I found Crown a solid pro audio device when working. I found EVERY one I have had in home inserted into a system FAR less rewarding. And the recording industry is not something to tout as a "standard". I can name about 10 different amplifier companies I would choose over a majority of the Crowns you see floating about. I went through the low/high power solid-state solution for many a year with quite a few extremely nice SS samples coming through (among others, Classe, Krell, B&K, Adcom, Bedini, Monarchy, Aragon, Krell, Sumo, PS Audio, Conrad-Johnson, McCormack, Musical Fidelity, Creek, Bryston, Threshold, etc ). While I have not heard the Crown Reference series, I would put the amps I have heard and used way down in the list as musical solutions for an in-home system. Obviously, it's my opinion derived from my experience with my taste. I would surely rate the amplifier higher than 10-15% of the musical chain, though. But I would probably rate the PREAMP as even more important. And I have also heard other speakers besides Klipsch and horns in general that float my boat. I've had monitor speaker systems do very well with different goals. On the other hand, there's nothing like the immediacy and dynamics of good horns but I've found them far more senstitive to mediocre amplication than other options, especially in normal sized listening rooms.

This says more about your noise floor, ears, and general understanding of all things music and audio than you even realize. Sadly, you'll miss the point of this post, as well. The main thing of concern in your case with the little Crown Micro-Tech 1200, is the saved location down to the second of the canon blasts so you can tell your buddies to come back in the room to hear the bombast. The rest of the time, the eyes will be glazed and looking for things to read such as the Telarc WARNINGS, sure to get the neophytes eyebrows in motion. The Crown M-T 1200 is a mediocre, pedestrian sounding amplifier that is more akin to using a baseball bat as a bow for a cello ......The Telarc 1812 attempt is one of the most flaccid, subpar performances by a "Pops" symphony I know, mostly used by new stereo attaboys as their Classical Selection that will make the stereo go boom to a round of mental "high fives." WOW, did you realize these are real field canon recorded using DSD? Maaaan. I cant believe your 'system' can handle that!" And the final irony is it appears the Klipsch 2 Channel Forum is now the Telarc 1812 of the Forum world, with 120dB of dynamic detritus, with points missed, specs abused, and just enough technical understanding to dig a virtual Black Hole....

This one's a sure winner for rules to be broken, whether in or outside of Jean-Francois' front loader. Nice Tree. That's a high as hell noise floor.

C'mon, stehr, where's the old Mike? Besides, we both know you need to put that thing back to 300B watts for the Cracks of Doom!

I heard that one a bit differently.... lordy, you've got ole Coltrane on his knees begging Gilmore for lessons? Hey, it's almost 2006... by 07, Coltrane will be Gilmore's second wife.... You can make a Wikipedia addition! heh. Hey ben, it must have been one dull Christmas eve.... kh