Endo

^^ Thank you, Tigerman and novisnick! I appreciate the responses and helpful info.

Question for the TT experts out there... Is it OK to use my stereo cartridge/stylus to play mono LP's from the 1950s? Can I hurt anything doing this? or do I need two different setups, one for stereo and one for mono? Any advice would be appreciated.

^ Would love to see pictures! Please keep us posted. Are you working from existing drawings?

Don't know what part of the country you're in, but CL in Boulder, CO has some CF3 v1: https://boulder.craigslist.org/ele/6184360578.html And also a pair of CF2 v?, in "Denver": https://denver.craigslist.org/ele/6207003723.html ! EDIT: Ok. so I went back and actually read the ad. This is just too funny: " The Epic series was Klipsch's one-and-only audiophile speaker series" -- WTF? -- (I'm laughing now, so I guess I have to "like" my own post.) Where is the tar and feathers? Does someone know where the tar and feathers are kept?

Russian baltic birch is good stuff. Available in various grades--its widely used throughout North America for better quality cabinets and casework; especially in drawer boxes where there is zero tolerance for voids. Russian BB is a creature unto itself. I have never seen a void in sheets that were spec'd void-free. For structural integrity, a careful shopper might find a "close" equivalent--but for what it claims to be... I've never seen better, at any price. (To re-iterate previous posts: "multi-ply" and "super-ply" products may look like BB; be cautious). I do not doubt that K.A. was experiencing quality control issues with their custom material from a North American supplier--but for anyone looking to invest the very considerable time and effort required for a quality speaker build--I would not skimp on the sheet material; and certainly would include Russian Baltic Birch among the better materials available. In addition to the common 5x5' sheets, in 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18mm;--I have also seen it as thick as 24mm (~1 inch) thick and as large as 4x8'. ^ A cabinet grade plywood could be a substitute; but it is not a replacement, and it will not perform like BB. "Multi-ply" and "SuperPly" are tradenames for products similar to BB, and would be an improvement over a standard, mixed-fir, cabinet-grade ply. If you've got a particular species, or grain pattern in mind--you might try to find a supplier to special order one of the available 'multi-ply' products that is already faced with the veneer. Otherwise, a BB build that you face with veneer yourself would allow you to hand-select the veneer; and might yield best possible results. This could be a source of satisfaction, you would enjoy for the life of the speaker. [As an aside: remember that different materials will likely mean different methods of joinery; miters, 'lock joints', glues and mechanical fasteners are all optimized for specific materials and may not "play well with others" (eg. stapling plywood may work, where the identical joint in MDF fails. So, if you follow plans that spec both materials and fasteners, changing materials could also mean changing fasteners/joints)] I thought others reading this thread might be interested in the Dope excerpt, below. MDF is not mentioned, by name, but the principles discussed are as true today as they were then. Screws holding in edge grain, "high-density", breaking strength, stiffness... these all apply to MDF; in some ways even more so.

[more bumps]

Goosebumps? Listen to David McCullough read from his own book, 1776, the story of men slogging the Gun [Goosebumps happening right now, just thinking... happened again] Anyway, listen to him read the account of the men slogging the Guns of Ticonderoga to their destination [bumps again] [more bumps... ] This stuff should be taught in grade school; then again in middle school; and high school. There should be a friggin' national holiday for this. The Guns of [bumps] Ticonderoga

Regarding ceiling bounce: Dope from Hope, Dec. '60; PWK writes about Dr. Boner's convex designs in masonite. I realize these may not be practical for a lot of us; but imagine if there were another material, like maybe cloth with batting of some kind? Just a thought. The ceiling has always seemed to me as one of the largest players in this game that gets the least attention.

Earlier comments reminded me of this video [disclaimer: this is not a Klipsch setup]: It may be a bit of a non-sequitor at this later stage of the thread, but mention of Mr. Abe's listening room would seem appropriate to any conversation regarding "acoustically large" speakers in a small space; While I cannot articulate the reasons--, it seems to depart from prevailing wisdom, (jump to 6:30 ~7:30, to get camera pan of room); do the floor-to-ceiling, album-lined shelves contribute to rooms effectiveness?... : Strikes me as inspired. Well considered.

That oiled walnut/fabric combo is gorgeous. Sets-off the copper badge nicely.

Whoooa, boy... I love this place. Conversations like this one are what life is all about! No one advances in a vacuum (I'm laughing at myself now, the pun was unintended). BTW--beautiful amp. Anyone bringing that level of finish and finesse to a product is probably producing a labor of love. MW's story about the inspiration behind the amp: very cool.

Thank you. This works. The pop still happens, but much quieter--not soiling my pants, as before. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll be sure to ask about this when I speak with the tech. I'm wondering if it was imported for sale in this country--or did somebody just bring this one in. I can't find anything about it on the web, like its uncommon here in the U.S.

^Thank you, everybody, for the helpful info. This is a curious little amp. Japanese, single ended with 6MB8 output; each channel has separate gain, separate tone. Inputs for two phonos, tape and tuner. Don't know if tubes are configured triode or pentode (is this discernible?). Externally, the design looks 1960s. Cannot find anything online. The last tech to work on it was Mike Zuccaro, in San Diego. I'm waiting to hear back from him.

^ Thank you. For what its worth, the gain had no affect on the loudness of the pop. Don't know if this means anything. I'm just wondering if I need to be concerned? Sounds like maybe not?

I've never experienced this before, with any other amps. Don't know if its tube related, or not; but it happens to be a tube amp, so I'm posting this here... Brought home a used amp. First time I switched-off the power, I heard a "pop" play through both speakers (loud enough to cause concern). After a long pause (during which I did nothing but hesitate, as my hands began to sweat), I powered the amp back up until everything was glowing, then turned gain back to zero, and switched the power off. It happened again, the same as before. Do I need to be concerned? Anyone have experience with this sort of thing?