danbry39

It states, "It transports you - to Carnegie Hall, to La Scale" Poor word choice? I know that they were referring to Milan's (?) opera house, but my mind immediately jumped you know where.

The ad that came with my local Sunday newspaper says per/pair and buy one/get one free. This would be in keeping with the MSRP's. Hope it isn't a just a local thing. I thought these fliers were pretty much national. By the way, the paper where I live is the Sacramento Bee.

For anyone interested in buying some reference speakers, I noticed in the ads for Good Guys today that the RF-3II and the RB-3 are on sale for, respectively, $424 and $324 a pair at my local Good Guys right now. Hope this helps somebody. To top it off, looks like you'll get 30 months no interest payment deal too.

Depending on how much stock is left, I'd think they might, especially at places like UBid. However, I'm not sure if Ubid is an authorized dealer and I've heard some stories about how damaged some goods were on arrival.

I have a Monster 5000 and, no, I can't tell any difference in how my system performs. I hadn't been in the equipment buying arena for a long time and, unlike the wiser posters above, I probably way over paid for mine. It offers some flexability over a standard surge protector, but, in my opinion, is not worth the money it costs, that is, unless you can find a deal. Now, luckily, I'm a seasoned, very proficient, deal hound.

I've heard the RB-3's and really liked the sound. Of course, I'm a bit against the grain altogether as I prefer the RB-5's over the Rf-3's. It's really a matter of ones own ears I guess. Anyway, I do like the fact that you can order them with the nice veneers and also, if the line is being discontinued, it might be a great opportunity to get some RB-3's on the cheap. Newer doesn't always mean better. If you like them and they fit into your room, buy them. You might wish to add a nice sub like an Adire or Hsu VTF-2 later to fill out the sound some. Good luck.

Go outside. Find two sticks. Paste them on the sides of the SVS. Get a balloon. Use a marker and paint eyes, a nose, and a mouth on it. Put a straw hat on top of the balloon. When your wife comes home and asks what it is, say you heard on the news that there was a crow problem in your area. You bought a scarecrow to keep crows out of the entertainment room I know this is hard to believe, but she WILL comment, "Gee dear, it's doing a good job. No crows here. Keep up the good work."

Michael, My wife wishes to convey to you her approval of this idea. She said you know how to treat women better than I do.

My wife is actually so nice about it that I constantly feel guilty, which, in turn, motivates me to finding the best deals possible. Also, we have an understanding that, if I buy something I want, she gets the same treatment -and she does take very good advantage.

Now that is a good idea.

Good Grief, I just showed my significant other pictures of La Scalas over at Ebay. She giggles, and said repeatedly, "You're joking right???" I said no, but she truly was convinced I was. She said, "Those are the ugliest speakers I've ever seen." Later, she added, "You cover them with a cloth, don't you?" Oh, crap... What I think I'll do if the price is right is take my wife over to Sandy's place and have her look in person at the La Scalas. She might be pleasantly surprised and, if she listens, she might side in my favor.

Thanks everyone. Lynnm, Yes, my wife did OK the Klipschhorns, but it was only after she saw the picture of those beauties and fell in love with the looks. That's why I have to say, "Boy, I bet you could make these pretty nice stained the way you want." The truth of the matter is that she could care less about the speakers, but loves making and/or beautifying furnature. She at first said "no way" when I told her the size of the speakers, but later approved if it would make me happy. I know she understands my hobby and all, but it does make me feel guilty. And, as it is, another co-worker told me he has an old Scott tube unit in his attic. He told me it's been sitting there for years. He was thinking of throwing it out until I told him it was worth money. He rethought. I'll wait until next week and see what Sandy (the owner) says. If she says, $750, it's on. My Klipsch owner friend, Dave, looked at me after she left and said, "You're going to get them, aren't you?" This is going to sound strange, but I kind of made a killing on one of my tech stocks this week. I think I made about 6-7 K profit on it the last three days alone, so I do have a little money to spend. By the way, I've lost a hell of a lot more than that on stocks the last couple of years. So, if she wants to be very nice to me, it's a go. We do get along really nicely as it is. Thanks for all your help. While the memory of first hearing the La Scalas has lingered for over 30 years, it's reading all your posts about your Heresys, Klipschhorns, La Scalas, etc. that has really whet my interest. I love my reference set up in my bedroom and it sounds great for two channel as well as HT, but a dedicated two channel system would be ultra sweet.

Over morning coffee today, I was talking with a friend about our Klipsch speakers. My bedroom has a reference speaker setup and he has two dedicated two channel systems, both centered around horn speakers, one with Heresys and the othe with a brand I haven't heard of, but that he bought in the early 60's. In any regard, a coworker dropped in and said she too had Klipsch, loved them, but was going to sell them as she wanted something smaller. When we asked what they were, she said they're LaScalas, still unfinished, with gentle use and bought, if I recall, in the late 70's or early 80's. She is the original owner. She asked if I'd be interested in buying them. I said I'd have to ask my wife (who's reluctant to put anything that big in our living room). Anyway, after talking it over with my still reluctant wife, she might be willing to bend, especially if she's able to choose the color of stain that we'd finish them with. My question is what would be a good price for these speakers? Also, if anyone could give me a good idea of how much it would cost to get a nice preamp/amp combo that would compliment them. I'm really thinking I'll probably not buy them because of the ton of money I've already spent on toys this year, but, then again, I can remember the exact moment I first heard LaScalas and the viceral impact they had on me.

I owned the 696, which was the previous generation 700 and was not all that pleased. First, it sounded to my ears to be bright and thus not the best match for Klipsch speakers. Secondly, the power was anemic. I think it tested out to 46 watts per channel, with all channels being driven simultaneously. Third, Onkyos have had a number of problems with their gear including audio dropouts and clicking sounds. I'm not sure if these have been resolved in the newest equipment or not. I'd check over at The Home Theater Spot where they have a dedicated Onkyo forum and currently have a thread listing problems owners are encountering. As for the newest models, at Home Theater Forum, there has been a lot of mention with the 500 not have a LFE line that functions properly. I don't know personally how isolated this is or if it extends to the 700/800 lines.

I, like most, haven't heard all the CD players out there, but recently auditioned a few in the $500-$1000 range. The one I ended up buying was the Arcam 72T because, to my ears, I loved its sound the most. It has a list price of $899, but I got the dealer's floor unit with only a few hours use (according to him) for $599. And, best of all, as I'm going with the silver look now, it matches my silver Rotel 1066. What I'd do is audition a lot of CD players to see what you like. They really can sound quite different sonically and, while I personally preferred the 72T over models like Sony's ES line and the Rega Planet, I can really understand others opting for those. Just depends on the sound characteristics you personally like.

I just noticed that Dblue recommends SVS. That would also be a great choice at its price and the guys over at SVS are absolutely fantastic with customer service - I can't think of anyone better. Over at Home Theater Forum, they constantly demonstrate that they're willing to walk the extra mile to accommodate their product users. Just this weekend, someone destroyed the amp for their SVS by through their fault, not SVS. SVS didn't bat an eye. They just agreed to fix the problem, even though they weren't under obligation to do so. Besides, they're great sounding subs and a bargain at their price.

Yes, I do. I recommend the Hsu VTF-2. I use it with my RB-5's and it's great, both in home theater and music applications. It should be just short of $500 delivered. Their website is: http://store.yahoo.com/hsusubs/vtf2.html

I just showed my wife the picture again and told her where we could build a faux wall to optimize their sound. She said, "They're very pretty," giggled, and walked out of the room. How am I to take this?

The seller contacted me and said he's relisting them at Ebay, this time with photos. Gave no indication as to how low he might be willing to go.

I sent the seller an email. Oh, the guilt. Oh, the temptation. I'll let you all know if/when he replies.

Well, I'm extremely tempted. I've wanted some great Klipsch speakers and do have some money set aside. This would be buying some history and the extra money would be worth it to me. I've been thinking about a two channel only system and these would cost less than the Vienna Mozarts I've been eyeing. They ARE the most beautiful Klipsch I've ever seen and I live within driving distance of San Jose. I'm tempted, my wife has said O.K.(she always does), but I've spent 15 to 20 K on tech and home theater toys this last year alone and I'm feeling very guilty about spending more, especially seeing that the spending would just begin a new cycle, what with a two channel preamp, amp, cables, turntable, CD player, etc. It would be a crime to match these speakers up with anything but the finest. Still, this is a once in a lifetime deal.

They're not the same company, but the Sherbourne pre-pro is a 950 clone, with apparently few modifications and a significantly heftier price tag. If I recall, the amps of Outlaw are made by the same manufacturer of ATI.

My sub and component cables are made by Rhino. The audio interconnects between pre-pro and power amp are AR. The rest are Signal Cable. (He's an independent custom maker, but makes fantastic stuff for a very reasonable price. I first learned of him when shopping for cables over at Audiogon. The guy has had 150 rate him and all have given him Audiogon's highest rating.) My next step is to replace my AR's with his interconnects.

Go to this link: http://badbusinessbureau.com/results.asp?submit22=Search+Latest+3+Months+of+Rip-Off+Reports+Now%21&q1=ALL&q2=&q3=&q4=&q5=digital+audio&q6=&q7=&searchtype=0

My wife is interested. Yippee. Just want to confirm they're cherry colored. We live all the way out in California also. Do you think you could pack them so as they would arrive safely? We're still deliberating about it as we're kind of broke due to the holidays and my wife's unrealisticly immature spending habits. Thanks Oops, she's right behind me now. I wish to edit this to read, "My wife's sensible spending habits."