ChrisK

---------------- On 3/26/2004 1:39:50 PM pierceb wrote: Nice corns Chris! Did you just restain them, or did you completely reveneer them? Here one of my decorator models, the other is in exactly the same condition. They are 1975 vintage, haven't had time to take the backs off. The guy I bought them from had a cheap set of radio shack foam grills on them and stained the sides and edges of motor board only. I plan on re-veneering, but if they are any suggestions to save some time and money to refurbish without re-veneering, my ears are open. I would like to keep the unfinished edge look on them. They don't look the best, but they sure sound nice. I hope the picture works. -PB ---------------- All I did was sand...and sand...and sand some more. Then I brought them to a local furniture refinisher (The Strip Joint - Redondo Beach, CA) that stained and sealed them. You may not have to re-veneer them. If you did, you would lose the exposed edges of the wood and completely change the look. You could probably find a refinishing shop near you that could strip, restain and seal them for less than you might think. Chris

---------------- On 3/26/2004 11:46:04 AM edster00 wrote: Here is one of Chris King's decorator Cornwalls-one of the nicest looking speakers I have ever seen! ---------------- Thanks for the compliment. BTW, Joshnich found a pair of 1977 "Decorator" Cornwalls with all the right stuff in them (Alnico, Type B crossover, etc.) that are in pretty bad cosmetic shape. We are partnering up to completely restore them and possibly sell them either here on the board or through eBay/Audiogon. Believe me, we're not in this for the dough. But the process of restoring mine was so enjoyable that we're going to do it again. We're thinking about finishing them in a sort of piano black. The construction of the project pair is exactly the same as my pair (stain grade motor board, NO mitre joints, etc). Chris

---------------- On 3/24/2004 6:27:55 PM synthfreek wrote: Someone stated being treated like a criminal while trying to make a retrn at Wal-Mart???!!! Is that a joke? It's been a running joke for many years that Wal-Mart will take back ANYTHING? I've seen a comedian say "I wanna return these diapers...pause...Well the sh*t was already in there. (clerk) Thank you sir, your refund is $6.50." I work for the company that supplies/owns Liquid Audio to Wal-Mart. If I'm not mistaken they're not even MP3's but WMA files. Another refund story. At one of the stores I service this guy came in and said his wife threw away a brand new table he bought there. The store actually gave him a new one. ---------------- My colleagues that do business with Wal-Mart tell me that often times vendors are forced to pay for returned items plus a processing fee for doing so. Also, many vendors have to pick up items that Wal-Mart can't or have decided not to sell. I don't think "win-win" is in their vocabulary regarding vendor/manufacturer relations. Remember, much of this behavior trickles down to all the employees of Wal-Mart vendors. It has to. Whether we like or not, companies have to make a profit. Regards, Chris

Walmart's prices are not always as low as you think. They haven't reinvented the wheel. Think about it. Their "model" is to pass on as many costs as possible to their vendors, local/state governments and whomever else they can. Some of my friends that do business with Walmart tell me off the record of serious strong-arm tactics, veiled threats and demands that prices go down or else. How do vendors cut prices? By cutting their costs through lower wages, less benefits and out-sourcing. Not to mention, where do the vast majority of Walmart employees get their healthcare? From their local and state governments that you pay for. It seems to me that Walmart is good for an individual shopper in the short run and maybe not so good in the long run. Is it possible that many of us end up working in enviroments similar to where we do our business (shopping)? Chris

Allan is truly one of the good guys around here. He GAVE me a Teddy Edwards record I had been looking to find for some time. The Jazz Sensei seems to really enjoy spreadin' the word. Allan, Really sucks about Chuck Niles doesn't it? I've learned almost as much about jazz listening to him the last couple of years as I did being in contact with you. My Jazzaholic in-laws are not optimistic about what direction KKJZ might go with Chuck gone. May he rest in peace. Regards, Chris

Gary, I received this record last week and honestly was not very impressed. To me the music itself didn't have the "legs" I thought it would. My copy is dead silent most of the time, but the bass seems a little strong for my tastes and the top end is a little shrill. But hey, it's probably my system that makes it sound that way. On the other hand my daughter liked it very much. If you like country/bluegrass music, try the Doc Watson "Southbound" reissue on Cisco Music 180g vinyl. Wow! This record really blew me away. I never really appreciated Doc Watson even when he was involved with The Dead. Big mistake. Regards, Chris

Has anyone been following some of the debate over on Audio Asylum regarding SACD v. DVD-A v. Vinyl v. high-end CD? It gets pretty damn heated over there. There are even a few posters espousing a belief that hi-rez digital is a scam perpetuated by the recording industries in order to extract higher prices and limit piracy. I can't say much about that but SACD does sound noticably better than standard redbook to me. Not to mention my SACD player seems to even sound better than my old cdp when playing redbook cd. Back to Max's question....I have about 20 SACD's, these are my favorites - Bob Dylan, "Blood On The Tracks" Los Lobos, "Good Morning Aztlan" Weiner Philharmoniker/Kaplan, "Mahler: Symphonie no. 2" Rolling Stones, "Aftermath" Nickle Creek, "Nickel Creek" Vince Guaraldi Trio, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan, "In Session" Various Artists, "Reggae in High-Fi" Chris

I have a NOS Valves 299(A MKII) playing right now and Craig has a 299B of mine awating his TLC. The only thing better than listening to one of his pieces of handiwork is chewin' the fat with him on the phone. Chris PS - Would Craig be considered a good example of one of those "Metro-Sexual" guys?

Piranha, There is going to be a get together of the South Bay Audiophile Society at Classic Records in Hollywood Feb 22nd. While I haven't been to one of their soirées before, some of the guys I've met at the SoCal Horn Group meetings will be there. If you're interested, there will be some amazing music to hear. Regards, Chris PS Andy K, if you're reading this I hope you attend too!

I have 2 Sony ST-5000FW's and would be willing to sell one of them for $100.00 plus shipping. The 5000FW is considered a real sleeper by the tuner crowd. It was way overbuilt by Sony to compete with the megabuck tuners coming out of Japan and the US. I also have an Accuphase T-101, Sansui TU-919, Scott 300, and Kenwood 8300 along with Sony's. I know that's a little overkill, but I get them cheap from a guy that cruises estate sales and knows of my interest in tuners. Anyway, the 5000FW sounds better than all my tuners except for the Accuphase. It's been my experience that tube tuners (while VERY cool looking) do not always sound as good as the better solid state units available. BTW, tuner performance can be an extremely location subjective concept. A Marantz 10B (probably the most sought after tuner and usually costing over $2,000 on eBay) may not sound it's best if you have location issues that it cannot handle (sub-carriers, etc.). Here is the Tuner Info link for the 5000FW - http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsO-Z.html#sony Good Luck, Chris PS Almost all of the tuners listed above will work fine, but the most important thing often is what type of antenna you will be using and what issues your exact location may have.

Please add me to the "thanks for the recommendations" list. I am just barely coming out of the stage of classical music listening where you have 5-10 different selections and merely rotate them in and out when you're in the mood. The cd "Classical Music For Dummies" was a big help for me. Now I can actually differentiate between some of the composers and have some favorite conductors and musicians. I particularly enjoy listening to the classical music PRI radio program "From The Top" with Christopher O'Riley. It's broadcast on a local Los Angeles classical music station (KMZT, 105.1) Sunday mornings at 8:00am. The enthusiasm and energy of the young musicians is great, and the show is very educational to boot. My 9yo son and I listen almost every week while eating breakfast. Unfortunately breakfast only lasts about half the show, then my son is wanting to go watch classical cartoons. Chris

---------------- On 1/19/2004 12:17:58 AM mobile homeless wrote: ...What's my point? The Klipsch Cornwalls, which are one year after Tad's and also Decorator Series with the grill kit, are the only speakers that I think sound BETTER with the grills on. While I have occassionaly run them off, it sounds as if it was voiced with them on. I was actually at Tad's house late last night and told him to ditch the grills for a bit as I thought his system/setup and room might actually appreciate the CW sans grills. While some stuff did work well, just as noted, the majority sounded more neutral with the grill. Removing the grill seemed to push the reproduction just a "Tad" into the hot zone. So I still prefer my CW WITH the grills, whether digital or vinyl sources. kh---------------- Couldn't disagree more. I listened extensively to my Cornwall's both with and without grills (comprised of cane, linen, and speaker cloth from various mfrs.) before the final refinishing and found virtually ZERO difference. Oh sure, if you were sitting in the "sweet spot", didn't move your head and concentrated real hard, you might hear a minutely small difference. But then again, was the difference good, bad or "placebo"? Can't say for sure. But I will say when compared with source material (cd, sacd, vinyl) differences, it wasn't even worth discussion. Regards, Chris PS The guy on the website listed below seems like kind of a wacko, but some of the points in the article seem to make sense. Any comments? http://www.diamondcenter.net/digitalstress.html

---------------- On 1/16/2004 9:46:59 AM Colin wrote: I know that NOSvalues specializes in refurbishing vintage tube amplifiers for big ole horns, but who upgrades vintage solid-state receivers? ---------------- You might talk to Mike Zuccaro. He's pretty well known and has a very good reputation. http://hometown.aol.com/mjzuccaro/myhomepage/business.html Regards, Chris

I have a NV 299(A MkII) in my main system and a 299B in the "Queue" at his shop right now. Too bright is definitely NOT one of the terms I would use to describe the sound of the 299(A MkII) through my Cornwalls. The Scott replaced a Cary 300B based integrated amp that would NEVER have been described by ANYONE as bright and while there are a couple things I miss about the Cary, the Scott is NOT "brighter". In fact, with it's better bass and more power, the Scott has more control than the Cary had. I will agree with the poster above, both amps could use a tad more headroom (although the Scott has more than the Cary). The 299B will eventually reside in my second system as I am currently shopping for a power amp(s). Next week I'm going to hear a pair of 845 based SET monoblocs built by Cyrus Brenneman along with his new KT-100 (I believe) based integrated. The 845 SET amps are supposed to be fabulous. Did anyone here them at CES powering Dr. Edgars "Titan" system? I got sick, couldn't make it and haven't talked to the Doc since he returned. Chris

---------------- On 1/8/2004 5:15:19 PM Piranha wrote: Can someone please explain the differences between the three? SACD, DVDa, and CD? Thanks ---------------- Assuming you know what CD is, DVD-A and SACD are newer, higher resolution formats for digitally recorded music. SACD (stands for Super Audio C D) discs can usually be played in a regular audio CD player, but need a SACD player to get the sonic benefits of the higher resolution. DVD-A (stands for DVD Audio) discs need to have a DVD-A compatible player to be played at all. People argue back and forth about which format sounds better, but just about everyone agrees they are both substancially superior to regular CD. Hope this helps, Chris

Phil Hartman did album cover design prior to his career on SNL. I stumbled upon one of his covers while messing around on allmusic.com. He also did several covers for the group "America" This is an example of one of them - Regards, Chris

---------------- On 1/8/2004 2:29:06 AM AndyKubicki wrote: If my experience with DVDa continues, I will be buying more. I don't mind paying more when getting more, and with what I have heard on Fragile and Brain Salad Surgery, I can't wait for more. Perhaps some are indeed holding out for the newer releases on the newer medium? ---------------- Andy,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I've been following the SACD vs DVD-A battle with some interest. So far, it appears as though SACD is winning. Check out this article - http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073280831350&p=1012571727132 BTW, SACD sounds great to me. Almost vinyl, without the hassles. Although I do sometimes enjoy the "vinyl ritual". Regards, Chris

Hey Allan, Can you post a couple of those Blue Note/Andy Warhol covers? I thought those were very cool looking. Chris

---------------- On 1/4/2004 6:51:09 PM garymd wrote: There was nobody like Koufax but you had to love that high leg kick from Marichal. ---------------- Agreed. Koufax was/is a god. But don't forget Marichal was pretty handy with a bat. Chris

Right now I'm listening to Sonny Rollins, "Tenor Madness". What a record! It's one of the last three records in the first series of Acoustic Sounds "Best Jazz Ever" reissues. Listening to Rollins and Coltrane trade off is like watching Koufax vs Marichal. Of course Marichal wins. Regards, Chris

Max, I'm just getting over the flu as I type. The darn flu shot didn't work very well this year. On the bright side, most people I know are only getting sick for a day or two. Here in Los Angeles, we're just not used to the unusually cool weather we're getting. It was about 40° this morning and daytime highs have been in the high 50's and low 60's. I know, I know...we're a bunch of weather wussies... Regards, Chris Wheresmysweatshirt, California BTW what turntable did you finally decide on?

Made it to midnight for the first time in a few years. Big mistake. At 7:00am the next morning (thank you 9yo son) it was a handful of Advil, an XL n/f Latte (also Peet's) and 2 hours of classical music. Then I put on "Teddy's Ready" in honor of the Jazz Sensei. Thanks Allan, it's a fantastic record. All the best in '04, Chris PS Who wants a piece of USC now? Trojans are #1!!!

I have a H/K 630 that was only briefly (an hour or 2) hooked up to my Cornwalls. It sounded surprisingly good and has what appears to be excellent build quality. Now, it's in my garage system with a pair of Dynaco A-25's, Sony Walkman cdp and an APS whip antenna. For less than $200 total, quite a bit of good sound for the money. Thanks for the recommendation Andy, Chris

---------------- On 1/1/2004 1:18:25 PM Stovebolt6 wrote: ....radio station? and why? ---------------- Los Angeles Area local 1. KKJZ 88.1 (formerly KLON) - a wonderful listener sponsored jazz station with low compression 2. KCRW 89.9 - NPR affilate, I thought listening to it made me a liberal until one of my Jewish buddies referred to it as "National Palistine Radio". Go figure. 3. KUSC 91.5 - great listener sponsored classical station 4. KMZT 105.1 - very nice commercial classical station 5. ARROW 93.1 - commercial rockasaurus station, listen only when happen upon a "good" song But the best damn radio station in the world imho is KPIG 107 "oink" 5 in Freedom, California (which is near Watsonville, which is near Salinas, which is near Santa Cruz, which is near San Jose, which is near San Francisco, California). I pay $5.99 per month for a RealPass just to hear it on the Internet. KPIG is a combination of Alt Country, Rockasaurus, Indie, Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, social commentary and just about anything else they feel like playing. Even the commercials are somewhat entertaining. BTW, I was once told that KPIG was one of the most listened to radio stations on the entire Internet. Chris