Thoriated_Tiger

Formby's products are well-regarded in the antique wood world, and I've used their cleaner and oils to pretty up my OW Fortes. They glow. They don't have that tacky Pledge-like shine -- they just seem to sit in the room, glowing as if they had a light of their own. I wouldn't use 409 or Fantastik or noththing like that on wood... nor Pledge, for that matter. As for grills... uh.. I don't use 'em.. I just store 'em.. =o) Vacuum cleaner perhaps, with a brush attachment?

Hee heee... finally got the whole Synergy setup put together and calibrated. I'm pleased. Dialog and music is indeed clearer than with the old infinity SM line. Not a bad investment, the SF2s, in retrospect.. not my sonic cup-of-tea for music, but seem to do pretty well in an HT context. Now I find the cheap little sony receiver I'm using, while not being harsh / cold, just doens't have the sheer *whack* of my main music rig.. oh well.. the search continues.. How's H/K stuff mate up with the Synergies? Should be good, yes? The projector comes first, tho -- the sound's OK for now. Thinking about the panny AE-700 onto a six foot screen (I sit about 10' from the screen's planned location.) The SF2s are so skinny compared to the Infinities.. they're gonna look great book-ending a huge six-foot screen. ^.^

---------------- On 1/8/2005 10:37:36 PM Cleve wrote: Are these decibel levels "A" or "C" weighted? It's hard to compare these figures without knowing. ---------------- I use "C" weighting.

Most of us seem to hover around 80-90.. we'll throw the 160 out as a statistical anomaly, those speakers must have unobtanium drivers Last night I was thinking about this while I listened (I know, bad music lover, thinking while listening..) I start "feelin' it" on well-recorded music at about peaks to 70-75. I find myself playing peaks to there late at night, when I want to relax. Sometimes peaks to 70 is enough. Seems Klipsch is capable of makin' you 'feel it' at much lower volumes than other speakers I've used in the past.. The Fortes made it so I can do the 70db thing and still feel it.

How loud do you play your rig, to get to feel the music? One thing that always strikes me when I go to hear live music is -- it FEELS loud, but it really isn't.. not in the cheap seats anyway. I keep peaks below 90 for the most part. At 80 this thing's allready thumping me pretty good.. most of the material comes out at around 70 peaks to 80, 'super peaks' (kettledrums, etc) to 90. Wasn't always like that, even with the same speakers.. I had to go up past 90 and beyond to get the same effect. When I had really craptacular stuff I had to approach 100.. now, a harpsichord or trumpet at 70 is *LOUD*. As it should be.

---------------- On 1/5/2005 11:12:53 AM mdeneen wrote: Note that my comments about "treble sounding like SS" had to do with regulated supplies in tube amps, not SS diodes in tube amps. Different issues. ---------------- The amp I currently use has the most liquid, detailed, defined, refined treble I've yet heared, with absolutely no trace of hardness, harshness, lack of spatial cues, or anything I'd associate with run-of-the-mill SS designs. The clarity and spatial cues in this amp are very reminiscent of a really nice triode single ended, however, it's actually a somewhat bizarre pushpull design using a pair of beamies per channel. And it's fully regulated. The regulating is done by transistors and tubes. If this amp had *any* trace at all of SS-like sound, the Fortes would immidiately alert me to it -- but all I get is just music. The only SS-like behavior in this amp is the woofer control. The fortes are now ruled by an iron fist in a velvet glove. That's the one and only SS-like trait I seek. The rest of it is just magic, as magical as my choke-regulated, 5AR4-rectified Dyna Stereo 70 was -- just more magic, and about 20 times cleaner at any volume with even the most demanding of passages. As for regulation "sucking the life out of tube amps".. I'll also have to disagree there. This one has more bounce, more swing, more mojo, more slam, than just about anything I've heared short of live music. And it's fully regulated. And so's the preamp (tube signal, SS rectification and regulation.)

I've found little, if any difference, provided both are well designed and constructed. What I've found makes a much more profound difference is not wether the psu is sand or vacuum, its wether or not it is voltage regulated. There are many other factors such as impedance, total energy storage, etc -- but it's really tough to beat a fully regulated supply, regardless of how it got rectified and regulated.

www.milbert.com -- 6JN6 mil-spec stereo power car amp. What I wanna know is if anyone makes a coax horn tweet / cone woof car speaker.. I recall Panasonic making something liek that back in the stone age...

Thanks for the replies, folks. Upon further reflection, I called the vendor and had him switch the SB1s for a pair of SB2s. My reasoning is: They won't do HT duty forever, and when their time comes to play music in some kinda garage or office system, I'd rather have the SB2 than the SB1.. So SB2s it is. I can't wait to get all 5 of 'em together -- I allready heared my SF2s in an HT context, and they blew the Infinity SMs away in terms of clarity and non-harsness, even with a mediocre Sony receiver.. so I'm hoping an all-synergy HT will do well. Pictures? I'll take those after the next upgrade cycle -- ditch the 35" sony CRT in favor of a Panny AE-700 lcd projector and six-foot-wide screen.

Greets. I've had a pair of SF2s for a few years, they were displaced from my 2-ch system by Fortés. They're just collecting dust. Since the original Synergy line was replaced, I just (without ever even listening to 'em ;o) ordered an SC1 center and a pair of SB1 bookshelves to complete a Synergy 5 ch setup (thusly displacing my 15 year old Infinity SMs.. good riddance..) Question: All of the Synergy line uses aluminum tweets... except the Sb1. I plan on using the SB1 as rear channels only, with the SC1 in the middle and the SF2s L and R front. Will the difference in tweeter construction make for an obvious discontinuity in F/R pans? Of course, I found this out after I ordered the SB1s.. grr. Oh well, at least they were *dirt* cheap. Thanks for any and all responses.

Another transplant to FL here, Pompano Beach.

Yup! Or Matsu5hita.

---------------- On 12/11/2004 1:31:05 PM Marvel wrote: Nope, they are all black bases. a heavy seam going one way on the top and a thinner one perpendicular to that. ---------------- Matsu****a they are, then. Still a good li'l tube. Kinda tough to find, they show up on ebay from time to time.

---------------- On 12/12/2004 6:02:08 PM tkot wrote: just wondering, why three tone arms?? jay ---------------- One for stereo, one for mono, one for 78. Some folk keep 2 or 3 tables instead of using one with 3 arms.

Transcriptors, late 60's made some showpieces, Kubric fans may remember Alex's 'table in Clockwork ;o) Hydraulic Reference, yessss? The breakthroughs were done at the record manufacturing end. All a smart turntable maker had to do was build a backwards record lathe, with the same attention to detail, quality and precision. Such work doesn't come cheap. Which is why a good 'table, regardless of form or adornments, will cost more dosh than a 'record player'. So ask yourself, do you want man-jewelry, or do you want a finely crafted precision machine which will do its designed job faithfully and competently for decades? The line between the two is ofeten very blurred. If you think those turntables you posted are overpriced and over-pretty, I submit to you what every turntable ever built aspires to be: A cutting lathe. http://www.4sync.com/rc/picdisplay.asp?itemkey=954 Kinda makes even an Avid Volvere, or an Orbe, or a VPI look kinda plain, ne? Cost? Enough to get several hi-end tables and arms. That's the precision it takes to make a record, to play one back properly requires the same.

Howdy. They could be mullards, most likely XF2. Brown micanol base? Check for a "crossed hatch" seam on the very top of the tube. If it has that, then the tubes, regardless of what they say, are Matsu****a (japan.) Another good tube, I still have a quad of 'em. In current production, my favorite is the SED (winged-c) EL34, followed by the Electro Harmonix 6CA7 beamie. As for the 5AR4, the Mullard one lasts a good long time, far longer than any current-production 5AR4 I've used. Russian and Chinese 5AR4s last about a year on my amp. =o/ Which Curcio board did you go with? Mine has the PC3-R clone of the original board, with blackplate RCA 7199 on it.

$SANTA="vixen.northpole.us" if < -e /usr/bin/world/peace.on.earth.pl > then echo "All is good, we need nothing else" exit 0 else for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 do cat $SANTA/secret_stash/amperex_6922 > /dev/replicator cat $SANTA/secret_stash/tung_sol_6550 > /dev/replicator cat $SANTA/secret_stash/rca_clrtp_6fq7 > /dev/replicator done for i in 1 2 do cat $SANTA/workshop/klipch/khorn_zebrawood > /dev/replicator done echo "thanks for the haul, jolly one" cat /dev/fridge/milk > /dev/table cat /dev/cookiejar/cookies > /dev/table fi #hi-fi! exit 0

if < -e $PEACE_ON_EARTH > # segmentation fault, core dumped. @$@!#! forum's been acting weird.. I hit preview, not submit.. of that i'm sure. =oP

Close, but not. The subject of the thread is upgrades which make you do strange things, or have strange things happen. Like spouses noticing a change, or cats lying in the sweetspot vs. running away in terror, etc. In my case, my system was just there, till I threw in the last upgrade -- that's when I found myself not being able to read with it playing, driving like a loon to get home sooner to hear it, etc. Going to a friend's house and scoping out their gear, yeah, that's indicative of audiophilla. But then, aren't we all allready afflicted to one dregree or another?

I use the Audio Technica 440ML. Output is ~4mv, it is hi-output MM. The stylus is a microline, digs deep into the groove and offers *very* little noise even on so-so vinyl. This match is a little marginal, the 440 has a smidge too much compliance, so warped records will elict a bit of 'woofer pumping,' but this problem is rather minor, not violent. I'm still searching for that 'perfect' cart for the TP16 arm.

250 isn't too bad for a TD145, provided it's in el-minto condition with intact dustcover. They are a good table, capable of surprisingly good sound. While it may not be a Teres, it's not exactly chopped liver either. I paid 200 for mine, instead of buying a near-1000 dollar 'entry-level' table. The little TD145 does better than those 'entry-level' tables, by quite a stretch. The V15 may be a poor match for the TP16 arm (the one with the enormous headshell). Later versions of the TP16 had a lower effective mass. The TD145 is basically a 150/160 with autostop -- which is optical. No mechanical interactions to muddle the sound, plus if you have records with tiny leadout grooves, this one will play 'em all the way out -- the autostop senses the *speed* of needle travel, as well as the extent of travel. if its fast, it trips. if it's slow, it won't trip. I say do it. Imo.

Wonder how long before Panor Co. sues him into a smoking hole in the ground. =o(

You break all sorts of traffic laws so you can hear it sooner after work. Your friend with the glorified TV speakers is transfixed and left speechless by whats pouring out of your horns. Same friend is committing sacrilege by having thoughts of abandoning his glorified TV speakers in favor of glorified theater speakers. Same friend is left aghast by how clear crisp and liquid a non-set amp can be. You can't have the system play background music while reading anymore. It demands your attention, and is quite adamant about it. What's your criteria for "Was a good upgrade?"

Um.. wow. Just looked at the D-160. No, the D-70 is *nothing* like it. A much simpler machine. Just the cap count in the d-160 is enough to scare me away. ;o) Same thing, btw, that pretty much eliminated the D-76 from contention for my system. Too much stuff, too much chance of something going ker-blammo. I haven't shot mine yet, but here's arcdb's entry for the d-70: http://www.arcdb.ws/D70/D70.html

The D-70 MkII is *in*. Got it monday, hooked it up tuesday and played it for a couple of hours, biased it wednesday (biasing this is like playing Operation, only with 450vdc in the game!) and balanced the driver tubes' DC.. all is good, all is well, but had an lf hum at 60hz.. not the amp, the preamp..*boggle*.. Lifted the ground on the amp, and now all is tomb-like quiet. I must say, the D-70 works wonderfully with horns. I was expecting something different, perhaps even un-refined, but alas, the opposite is true. This amp has clarity and cleanliness to spare, without sounding 'clinical' or 'audiophile-ish'. What it does have is utter control over the Fortés. Much more control than the Dynaco. Almost solid-state like control. What it has is a truly transparent window into the music. A big, fat, powerful explosive, brilliant sound which defines "High Fidelity" or as ARC puts it, "High Definition." And it's still excellent with little-girl-with-guitar music.. but oy, it can pound out the Beethoven without ever feeling strained (which the dyna did -- only a little bit, and only on some recordings -- I wonder if its the dyna's phase splitter design dirtying up the sound, it's a cathodyne.) I think I've abandoned my thoughts of building a pp or pse amp. At least for the time being. This thing is four tetrodes hurling lightning into the night, 60w per side of sheer sonic bliss. And I *still* can't make sense of the design. I swear it has a Flux Capacitor in it somewhere..