Audible Nectar

My wife says it smells in here.

NOW. []

lol, nice. i hear ya - which is why i dont watch his concerts. I feel the same way about Phil Collins I like Peter Gabriel....but prefer his Genesis and early solo work over what he's doing now. He's become a bit too "adult contemporary" for my taste, but I have tremendous respect for him as a musician, and love his theatrics too.

Pack is the class of the NFC - I am waiting to see which AFC team with a real QB will find a defense to go along with it (which is why I doubt the Pats right now).

They did a lot of things extremely well..... I'm quite sure they did[] Especially with a pair of MC30s drivin' 'em.......not much doubt in my mind[] I gave consideration to a set of these - both S7R and S8R systems as my "for life mains", and found that much like the Klipschorn, I didn't have the proper space. Even more than the LaScala or Belle, the Sovereign and Apollo cabs need lots of room to breathe. I also gave much consideration to the JBL alnico vintage drivers - the LE85 and the king deluxe, the 375, which possesses midrange energy of the gods, but I found the Klipsch is much more a match to my spaces, and I can still do driver and horn upgrades on the Belles if I ever get the itch (and haven't after five years). I also like what PWK was able to accomplish with much more budget minded - and dare I say, longer lasting designs (foam JBL surrounds, anyone)....and I don't regret the choice one bit. Klipsch is good for me, for a lot of reasons. Looking at your room, I can see how Klipschorns would serve you well. But I can never look at a set of these big old JBLs and wonder "what if...."

Which JBLs are those? Do they have the S8R kit (LE15 + passive + 375 + 077)? Curious as to your impressions of the change.

Nice gear with those Epics. Nice Nagel print, too.

And therein lies the problem. There are only so many who will spend for the premium product, and that number is reduced in the current economy. It is perfectly understandable why manufacturers have taken the current path, asit is a much bigger risk to put too many eggs in the high end basket, when the the numbers willing to spend that much are relatively few. Many of those former "high end" customers are now "mid level", and if not in actual earnings, then in mindset, due again to the current economic zeitgeist.

That's a pretty nice set, especially once you get about 15 foot away. Any closer and the reduced edge brightness becomes a bit of an issue, but it's quite impressive, especially for the price. The best part of that TV is that it shows us how close we are to getting to 70+ tvs for a really good price. I’m probably going to wait and see what comes next. But that TV came out in May 2011 so maybe around April 2012 that TV might dip under 2k. If it does I might buy it. Yes.....and no. Yes, we are getting bigger and bigger sets by the day, with very respectable performance, especially at the "mid line" price points. But the high end, manufacturers seem only willing to go so far. See AVS forum regarding the Pioneer Kuro plasma sets - a level of performance not seen in current machines, because of what that performance does to the price. See also how few LED sets have true line array with local dimming and you'll see how rare the best performance is. Most companies don't even offer it, I think only three exist in current production. We should be seeing an increase in the use of this method, but don't. That said, the "MIDLINE" machines are very encouraging, and get better and better each day. But I'm already seeing attempts to level off the performance curve and just try to make sets cheaper.....a phenonemon that is occurring much too soon given the relative infancy of HDTV.

I am in the process of engineering some solutions to deal with this. I am considering the use of a piece of memory foam beneath the lowboyed Cornwall, then a similar piece that will reside atop the Cornwall - then another "firmer layer" to set the TV on. I think I can curtail the vibrations in this way......if not I will fashion a three sided stand or table to sit over the Cornwall as a long term solution. I think that I will be seated far enough away for the lowboyed Cornwall to be effective. At least the horns will be horizontal and should present themselves well at 10-11 feet out.

Not me....I would tell him to see if you can mount the plasma on the wall, then obtain another RF82 - a third identical main - to be a proper and perfect center channel.

YEAH BABY[H] This is where I am going with my Cornwall HT. Currently perusing the 55" to 60" HDTV selections in search of a proper choice. I have a pair of 1968 Cornwall II with vertical horns, which will allow me to "lowboy" one as front center and double as TV stand. I have no plan to do the reconstruct as has been done here, but if sonics require I do so I will hunt another CII down for the purpose.

That's a pretty nice set, especially once you get about 15 foot away. Any closer and the reduced edge brightness becomes a bit of an issue, but it's quite impressive, especially for the price.

.......one other item I need to test: I have a spare K33 woofer that I need to test the effects of that magnet on the proposed screens. I have been told that magnetism doesn't affect these TVs, but I plan to set it atop a "lowboyed" Cornwall II as center channel, so I hope to hello that this works.

Yes, I've noticed this[] I don't necessarily need to worry about the "smart TV" feature too much (although most have it now), because the BR players (especialy premium models) are very well featured in the "internet TV" area. So I am mostly shopping for the TV as "monitor" mostly, with best 2D picture, and looking at BRs with a more audiophile and internet based feature set. The TV contenders so far (all in 55"): Panasonic plasma ST (very good picture for the price) and GT series (same great picture and a few more features, but a better looking machine overall)... ...and the Sony EX720 LED Bravia with matte finish, with an eye on the NX720 as well, which has the "gorilla glass" from Corning. We are a bit unsure as to just how a gloss screen may react in the room (even the well treated ones), as well as trying to determine which traits of LED V plasma we can live with the best, but it seems we are circling in on a more narrow set of choices now. I think I would rather buy a car[H]

Thanks for the responses! If I can get a 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS optical signal from a Blu-Ray combo player on BR and DVD to my Krell - that sounds as good as 5.1 DD and DTS does on DVD - I would be tickled pink[8-|] I just wanna be able to keep my pre-pro for a while longer, and not lose my surround because I went to Hi-Def video. It does appear that what I'm looking for is available, but there are a host of arrangements on these outputs that differ from machine to machine. This HD stuff can be a MAZE, huh?

No kidding - it's almost akin to a funeral or something. That's a heart-ripper - and the stuff that Klipsch Forum nightmares are made of. I guess one positive is that the OP is in the right place to begin what rebuilding is necessary. Sympathies, empathy, and best of luck on that. BTW - any chance this stuff was insured on any level?

Very nice[] The Marantz 8b is probably the only amplifier I do not own that I can say that I would like to own. Trouble of it is, when one has three rebuilt-to-the-hilt pairs of tube monoblocs it's hard to convince the wife and my wallet that I need another[8-|] One pair are the NOSValves VRDs - a custom built for Heritage Klipsch amplifier solution that possess a stellar combination of fullness, warmth, flow, and authority in a tube rectified KT88 ultralinear design. A simple search here will convince you of the "hit" these amps have become around here. Then I have two sets of McIntosh MC30s, which have been rebuilt with two differing parts packages. I went whole hog with about $800 worth of parts (75% of that was coupling caps - Sonicap Platinums) on the first pair - the end result (thanks to a fellow forum member) of a series of cap evaluation experiments. This was a real education as to what parts can do for the sonics of a build, especially when the finer points of the sonic finish are paid attention to. These are about as close sonically to triodes in push pull I've come across without actually being triode, as the caps completely get out of the way of the build leaving a wonderful sounding circuit remaining. I also have a second set of MC30s with Russian PIO caps, which are intentionally "laid back", having that PIO kind of sound that I like in a vintage amp. This being the culmination of my search for the ultimate amplifiers for my Heritage Klipsch. With all that said, the Marantz might well be the amp I shouldn't have left behind. In a world of limited resources, I had to make choices. But I can absolutely tell you that if I were required by the audio powers that be to rescue another vintage amp, the 8b would top the list. One of a select few "all timers" absolutely worthy of restoration and play. Thanks for sharing your results. That's absolutely valuable information - how to rebuild/what parts to use are always interesting conversation, and it helps the board at large consider choices that have worked for others.

The multichannel inputs on my Krell are optical digital only. No analog multichannel inputs..... So this all leads me to believe that if I use an HD disc on a typical bluray player wanting the optical out for audio, I get "old school" 5.1, and if I use a DVD in that bluray machine the best I can get is stereo out of the optical connection.In other words, it "downgrades" my optical audio out "one level" or "generation" from what the source disc actually is. Hmmmmmm...... My Krell does have DTS 5.1, so if there's a player that will convert all to DTS on an optical out that would be good......

Interesting.....that's basically what I do with the NTSC setup[] Run the video from sources to TV, audio to the pre. I was under a mistaken impression (and maybe I wasn't mistaken at the time) that the only way to get 5.1 Dolby Digital or multichannel audio from HD sources was HDMI. This was when HD/Blu-Ray was first coming out, and I skipped it waiting for a better price/performance curve, while I got my 2 channel tube gear in line. I recall also that many were quite upset that there were no 5.1 analog RCA jack style outputs like on multichannel audio decks. The display device I am strongly considering (Panasonic 55" ST series plasma) was arrived at with quite a bit of reading over at AVS and a number of other reviews - and then seeing the set. Trouble is that I have only seen it at big box outfits where I have gotten a different answer about the audio stuff from every salesperson....and I don't want to go into a high end shop selling displays out of my range just to get free answers on this. While in the big boxes I went ahead and asked, but now that I'm getting some firmer ideas it's time to check in here. Oh and the other thing I got answers about all over the map: magnetism issues with HD flatscreen displays. While I was assured here in the spring that speaker magnets don't affect these displays like they do tube TVs, for some reason I got a host of answers and explanations at the big boxes that made zero sense. I want to get the video now, be able to use my old school Krell for the 5.1 audio, then get a newer pre-pro later if deemed necessary.

It appears that the migration to HD is about to proceed, but I want to ask a few basics to firm up just what I am getting myself into.... I plan to begin with a 55" Panasonic plasma and Blu-Ray player. Since the new pre-pro would come later, I am curious what "state" I will be in, with respect to audio playback, while using the existing pre-pro. There are optical digital audio outs on many of the new HDTVs as well as Blu-Ray/combo players. Will these outputs pass 5.1 on to my existing pre-pro, in either HD or standard DVD formats? I am considering using the pre-pro for audio switching only, and simply running the HDMI cables to the TV via those inputs, then hooking up the optical digital out to the existing pre-pro. What results can I expect from this? I looked a bit at HD stuff about 3 years ago and didn't like what I saw (unless I spent multiple thousands). My current TV is "on the blink" - literally - and am now going to begin the migration to HD. Thankfully I see more that I do like quite a bit - but wanted to "firm up" just what is in store to bring the audio along with the new HD video gear. Am I forced to get an HDMI pre-pro to take advantage of HD audio?

THIS, I can agree with! Hell, there is nothing wrong with questioning some of the bone-headed things that the goverment may have done over the years, but I also rather stick with what is provable from credible sources, not just some theory that somebody is trying to make up in an effert to serve an agenda. But here lies the problem: There is a near religious fervor applied to the ultra PC notion that if you do not accept the sum total explanation of the event and subsequent happenings - (takes deep cyberbreath) - that's "out of bounds". And that's a notion that I reject. It seems even ten years later that even bringing it up somehow makes you "cuckoo", because that's what the media and politicians want you to think. And that's enough reason to begin one's own path of reading and drawing your own conclusions. If you don't first ask questions, you will never find truth in any endeavor. I really hesitated to even respond on this in any form, because I know what a visceral reaction to questioning about this topic brings out in some people. But as I came to this forum in search of truth in audio, I approach these topics with same purpose. There is so much more to 9/11 than ever gets discussed in the mainstream media - and much of what gets discussed in the online independent news and "truther" groups gets lost in a minutae of speculation. There is enough out there on this topic to inform the most curious and truthseeking person you can imagine - but it's a matter of using the most close sourced info you can get ansd staying with what's provable. As I say, "From the horse's mouth", like "ZBig". There isn't much closer to source than that. I encourage people to read, think, read more and again, think, draw your own conclusions.

The real story of 9-11 will never be understood by the general public until they read the following: "The Grand Chessboard" by Zbigniew Brzezinski (written in 1997) "Rebuilding America's Defenses" by The Project For A New American Century (Sept 2000 - it's a position paper and available all across the web) "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson (2000) Once these are understood, then I recommend "Crossing The Rubicon: The Decline Of The American Empire At The End of The Age Of Oil" by Michael C. Ruppert (2004). After reading all of the following, it becomes apparent that the American Public is completely uneducated and uninformed as to how the world really works. Of course, the American people think that the press is really there to inform them - they get their news from corporate sources, and don't read what comes directly from the horses mouth. I would also state that while the "Loose Change" crowd asks a lot of good questions, I prefer to focus on what is proveable, and there is nothing more proveable than what those in government put in writing and signed their names to. "The American People Don't Read."

You lucky DOG[] I want one of those for my Thorens so bad I can taste it....I just haven't gotten to that purchase yet, as fiscal responsibility comes first.....but an NG is definitely on my list.

A tall tale..... A rock concert takes place a number of years back at a local arena, a band called "Boston". The dock manager oversees the incoming horde of trucks - at least fifteen - which took a number of hours to unload. The dock manager, obviously winded, then looks at the band's road manager and says "WOW - I've been in this business a long time and have never seen so much equipment. What are you doing with all of this?" So the road manager starts pointing out the contents of the various trucks, now spread at one end of the arena. "This is the speakers, this is the stage, over here is the light rig, and these crates are the band's instruments. It's quite a production." "I'll say", says the dock manager. "It's quite an array of stuff, and I'm sure glad we're finally done unloading it all!" "Not so fast", says the road manager, pointing out the back door, where ANOTHER caravan of twelve semis heads down the parking lot towards the docks. "What are THOSE? We have the lights, stage, speakers, instruments - what could possibly be missing?" aksed the dock manager. "Those are processors for Brad, who is our lead singer." [] I kid, of course, but the "autotune" reminds me much of those old jokes about bands using excess equipment to get those crazy sounding effects. Queen used to inscribe "No Synthesizers!" on album jacket liner notes to prove purity against the "backlash" against the use of "non-instruments" back in the day. At least Boston seemed to use that stuff to pretty good effect, whereas "autotune" sounds much like a chipmunk singing underwater, and might well be the biggest attack on high fidelity in the history of recorded music. Yes, it's worse than the IPod.