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There will always be the need for somebody who knows traditional relational databases - just like we still need good technicians who can repair vintage SS / Tube audio gear. But the days of Oracle and Microsoft charging HUGE license fees for their relational databases are coming to an end. The future belongs to big data and NOSQL DBs IMHO. Cloud economics and hardware architectures are dictating this. my .02

I'm not sure about the best ever, but here's two memorable ones from movies I recently watched (which may be why they are memorable...): True Grit (2010 version): Leaning on the Everlasting Arm - Iris DeMent The Big Short (2015): When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin Both songs ran during the closing credits.

Yesterday, I was swapping back in the K-77-D tweeters into my La Scala II's after running CT120's all Summer. Noticed some of that sshhhh sibilance that I remembered on the stock La Scala II's. But this time, I have REL along with a calibrated UMIK-1 in my toolkit. Did some measurements and comparisons. SPL graphs looked normal for K-77-Ds. Then I hit the distortion button on REL and the graph the left K-77-D looked out of whack compared to the right. Notice the distortion peak on the left tweeter starting at the crossover point 4500hz. Re-checked all my connections - still the same. Removed the tweeter and checked it alone - distortion still there. Removed the four screws and separated the magnet assembly from the horn, reseated the bug screen and gasket, blew some air in there, tightened everything back down, and distortion is gone. Wonder if the bug screen wasn't seated properly and was resonating? (Looked at my REL data from a few months ago, and the distortion was present back then so I wonder if this was my problem with the K-77-D all along....) Everything is buttoned back up and sounding great. Going to run the stock K-77-D's again now for a while. Anyhow, I hope this info helps somebody.

Keep both and board-up those doors on the left there. Get your priorities straight!.

I don't know anything about Cambodia or your particular situation. But if I was living someplace remote "off the beaten audio path," I would stick with my recommendation above - a pair of R-15PM's. Brand new, everything I needed in a reasonably small original factory box, insured from a reputable reseller that ships to Cambodia. It sounds like they meet all your requirements except they are not "heritage." If Cambodia is a temporary assignment for you, then the R-15PMs may be all you'll need. If you are going to be there a while, then I would look to buy new H3's, a sub, and an integrated amp from an online retailer that ships to Cambodia. I would avoid buying used gear that I couldn't listen to ahead of time, from somebody that's probably not adept at packing and shipping large electronic items to a remote foreign country, and without any return privileges.

What's the condition of the drivers? They may need a little maintenance if they haven't been touched in 37 years.

Shipping large, heavy, valuable boxes full of electronics to Cambodia - what could possibly go wrong?!?!?

I ordered mine from minidsp.com - $75 plus $20 shipping from HK. After it arrives, you can go back to their website, look up your mic's serial number, and download the calibration files for it that plug right into REW.

I picked up a UMIK-1 about 6 weeks ago. Been playing around with it and REW software. I'm still learning, but the combo has helped me dial-in my La Scala II's and subs. Well worth $95 IMHO.

You can find 1-2 year old La Scala II's being traded in for a variety of reasons - usually wife-related - for much much less than $8K.

Just throwing an option out there for you: a brand new Klipsch R-15PM set of powered monitor speakers? It might be easier to procure in Cambodia. Just hook up your turntable and whatever digital source you want, and you're done. If you really get crazy, add a subwoofer down the road.

Just want to be sure you are using the remote to wake up the speakers from stand-by? i.e. you are not expecting blue-tooth from your music source to "wake up" the speakers? I leave mine in standby most of the time. When I want to play music, I turn on the speakers via the remote, then turn on the blue-tooth service on my device (macbook pro), and the two sync-up. the speakers make a soft beep when blue-tooth is in-sync.

If you're talking about a Medicare Plan-F (medigap) insurance plan, I recommend it. Medicare only covers 80% IIRC. My mom had a stroke 12 years ago and her BCBS supplemental plan has been a life saver.

I love the guy in the background of that pic checking out the frame geometry...

The cat tree isn't helping matters either ;-)

Do you have solid corners? How high are the ceilings?

As long as your in there, you should probably check your 710 cap when changing the blinker fluid. http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=44

Another vote for the R-15PM recommendation above.

If I was a little quicker on my feet, I would have said "those things are shot, I'll take them off your hands for $175."

Sounds like a bad tweeter. Check Bob Crites' site for a titanium diaphragm replacement. Might as well do both so they match. www.critesspeakers.com No affiliation - just a great guy who's happy to help the community.

I live nearby and these are lovely. But at this point in my Klipsch speaker journey with my accepting wife, she would be more tolerant of me bringing home a 27 year old girlfriend than a 27 year old pair of Chorus-2's.

On my stock La Scala-2's, the CT-120's were louder than the K-77 and I needed to quiet them down with some foam to make them more inline with the other drivers. I would guess they would be even "more wicked" on your Belles. After several weeks, I prefer them over the stock K-77s. If you liked the difference between the stock KLF tweeter compared to the same tweeter after a titanium diaphragm upgrade, then I'm thinking you would like the voice of the CT120 (even though it's mylar not titanium) over the K77. One of the reasons I pondered the CT120 upgrade on my LS2s for a while was I always liked the cleaner sound of the K-107 titanium tweeters on my Heresy 3's over the K77s on my LS2's. We're probably getting into personal preference territory here but I feel the CT120s have a cleaner modern sound while the K-77 is more old school. It wouldn't be a $200 gamble considering you could easily sell them here if you don't like them. Hope this helps.

My LS2's have the 'new' grill design and they are almost 2 years old. I bet those were in storage at the authorized dealer for a while. I would consider this new-old-stock not new. Go back with pictures and ask for a two grand off the purchase price or they can exchange them for new ones from the factory with the correct grills.

Update - I've been running CT120's in my LS2's for nearly week - fantastic. However, after further listening, I did need to attenuate the CT120 a bit because it was just too hot relative to the mid and bass. Here's a comparison of the K77 vs CT120 using REW. (Note I'm a REW novice just using my Macbook mic to take some simple measurements.) This graph was produced with the K77 in the left speaker and the CT120 in the right - so there are some room variations in play here - but close enough. After installing the CT120 in both speakers, I tried attenuating them with the treble tone control but didn't care for that approach. Then I tried a super high tech method - I stuck about .75" then upped it to 1.5" of open-cell foam into the throat of the CT120 horn. I like it. The foam knocks down the volume evenly across the frequency response of the CT120 - very much inline with the rest of the drivers now. I'm going to run like this for a while to see how I like it. Two things are easily noticeable: 1) the CT120 is an exceptionally smooth and revealing tweeter. 2) It has a different timbre than the K77 - I think because it gets rid of that hump in the 6.5Khz to 8Khz range - it might be my personal ear/preference, but I don't like the sound in that frequency range. Kind of a cupped sibilance ssshhh sound to the K77 that always bothered me.

My H3's in my room positioned against the wall produce plenty of quick, taught bass down to maybe 50hz. I have a sub for anything below that, crossed at 50hz.