Mallette

10w will blow you away. Best to add a sub, both to cover freqs the Forte doesn't as well as to make best use of the amp power. I'd forgotten just how efficient the Fortes are...true "Heritage" lineage. Dave

Lots of excellent choices. IMHO, for your use you won't see much of a quality bump with more spent. Good SS choice would be one of the classic Pioneer receivers. No huge fan of SS, but these sound as good as any SS to me and for 600.00 you can get pretty much top of the line in looks and performance. Class D is also a low cost option that supplies some of the "warmth" of tubes at very low cost. I've driven K'horns with a 100.00 Class D and found it superb and superior to SS for my own tastes. Likes silly having a tiny palm sized amp with these giants...but it works. Tubes you can get in the upper range. Sometimes less. I have a 10w Jolida I paid 150.00 for used that I love and use in one of my systems. Can't recall Forte efficiency, but I drive 4 Frazier Mark IV and Mark V with mine through a DynaQuad and have all the volume I need. Sometimes all you get by spending more money is a reduced bank account. Dave

These are very rare. Not having heard them I can only say that I've never heard a Frazier that wasn't equal to or the best in class. In good shape and right priced, I'd jump on them. Dave

65 here here at the intersection of boogie woogie and rock n' roll. Warmer tomorrow... Dave

@oldtimer I really like the reduction I get. Very flavorful! Can't see any reason not to roast as you said, then reduce. Can you? Dave

Today that Thursday Texas Red served to make up another Texas tradition, stacked enchiladas with a fried egg. Made for a festive supper on a cold day. Dave

No, you don't have to be careful with me. I've been doing this for awhile and I can assure you my colleagues and I are only interested in protecting the Forums and Klipsch. Aside from that, "The policy ofletting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is designed to promote the flourishing of the arts and the progress of science". However, having had the honor and privilege of spending some time with PWK, and recently the honor of archiving his 400 or so reel of tape including his stereo experiments, I can tell you this: They are equal to or superior to 98% of any recordings made since. And you are quite welcome to listen to them on my system anytime...forum members are ALWAYS welcome in my home. If you still think it's all about amplifiers, fine and dandy. I've always said that it's both metaphysically absurd and supremely arrogant to think I know what someone else hears. I know people who can hear differences in power cables and resistors. I don't...but who am I to doubt them? In my case, I can tell a quality recording from not-so-much on a car system. On my all Heritage system it's painfully obvious regardless of the amp running it, and I've had many from bottlehead 1w amps to megawatt amps to drive them with. Compared to the differences in source material quality, all differences are relatively minor in amps for me. Dave

Beg to disagree. PWK would. But I believe he'd also say that even with great speakers it's all about the source material...you can't fix crap. Dave

Good grief man, get a grip. My 1944 78 album "A Symphonium of Swing" is one of my favorites. Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Bunny Berigan, Tommy Dorsey Orchestras doing their very best. Gene Krupa playing "Sing, Sing Sing" with Goodman is spine tingling...finest drumming ever! As to the death of jazz, it's greatly exaggerated, just as with classical. More symphony orchestras now than ever, and more jazz groups. I can hear fine jazz any weekend here in Texarkana, which has a rich jazz tradition. Jazz is a VAST area, and I love it all. Dave

Get'em on Amazon, @Dave1290. Just follow the instructions...it is NOT rocket science and it's fun. Any of you guys who try it post your experience and your pictures. Dave

Done a lot of orphan training, but first write up. Since I am "stringing" for the Gazette I will do more...next one, as mentioned, will be the art of milk gravy. Almost forgotten art! Dave

You know your stuff, Dr. Hot Sauce. Might try that sometime. As to the cumin, might try that as well...but I've been highly satisfied with the Bolner's ground comino as it is fresh, fragrant, and keeps well. Dave

Completed Orphan Training with my son last night. Gave him a certificate of completion in "Orphan Training 140: Texas Red." Wrote the following for the food page in the local paper. Since it has details I thought some here might find it useful. Also attached is a printable PDF with full spread of pictures I took of the steps. Passing on traditions to one’s children is a serious responsibility. Life is uncertain and to leave your children impoverished in the traditions of cooking is to, in this case, condemn them to a life of chili from cans or packages. That is CRUEL! I call it “orphan training,” and this installment deals with a particularly critical skill for Texas men. Of course, I am a born and raised “Texarkana Baby,” my father a West Texas cowboy and my mother an Arkansas hillbilly. That means I have double the traditions to hand down. However, in this case it’s all about Texas Red, made from scratch. For this project, my sous chef and apprentice was my 17-year-old son Thomas McRae Mallette. I’ve declared him competent in the art of Texas Red. Soon I’ll put him through my course in Arkansas milk gravy…but that’s another story. First, a few ground rules. I am NOT a chili snob. A good friend from Ohio once presented me with a bowl of red stuff with meat, green bits, tomato chunks, and beans. He said, “Do you know what Cincinnati Chili is?” I responded without hesitation: “Yes. A contradiction in terms.” However, I was kidding. When someone feeds me anything they’ve prepared I eat it and say “Thank you very much” regardless of how difficult the task of consuming it was. That is how I was taught and what I’ve passed to my children. On the other hand, there ARE rules within traditions if you want authenticity. While you will find those who cross a line here and there, purist Texas Red has no tomatoes and no beans. It is made from dried chilis, fresh coarsely ground beef and pork, cumin, paprika (mainly to brighten the color), chopped onions and garlic. Finally, note I will not indulge in the debate about chile, chilis, chili, chiles, etc. That’s a food fight up with which I shall not put. Just what chilis to use is a matter of personal choice. For those just starting out I’d recommend Bolner’s New Mexico Red or Hatch Red Chilis, and Bolner’s Chili Arbol for heat and flavor. No real preference here for Bolner brand, but they are readily available in many Texarkana area grocery stores or via Amazon. Job one is to produce a concentrated chili paste from the dried chilis. I would recommend the beginner produce each chili type used separately so as to be able to produce different blends and heat levels. In this case, I told my son as much but as we both know what heat level we wanted and so used a half and half mixture of Hatch and Arbol by weight. First, break the stem off and get rid of as many seeds as possible. You don’t have to get every last one but get the majority of them. Those remaining won’t impact the flavor and will be removed by the straining step later. Put them in a pot and fill with water until they are covered. I am a big fan of induction cooktops for a variety of reasons. One of the main ones is that they have incredible precision settings that allow one to bring a pot of water to a boil very fast and then maintain a given temp precisely. This is particularly important when simmering the chili. At the correct setting on an induction cooktop you may walk away with confidence that it will not scorch and will shut off at the time you set. Just remember they only work with pots a magnet will stick to. That’s no problem for me as I rely on cast iron and heavy steel-clad cookware anyway. Put the pot of chilis on and bring to a rolling boil. This induction cooktop maintains a good boil at 3.5 on a 1-10 setting scale. Set it for an hour and relax. What you want is a 2/3 or so reduction in the liquid. When you get that, set the pot in a sink with cold water to cool it off enough such that it’s not a scalding hazard, then transfer the mixture to an emulsifying blender. If you have too much liquid to fit do not throw it away. Add it later as it’s full of chili flavor. Let it run until the mixture looks like ketchup. Don’t worry over how thick it is as it does not really matter. For the next stage I use one of the very powerful centrifugal juicers I have from the juice and smoothie craze of the 80s. Think I paid 10 bucks or so for it, but it is invaluable for processes like this where you want to extract the goodness from stewed vegetables. This one was one of those things “made in America to last a lifetime” and features a 1/3hp electric motor and fine stainless-steel mesh to strain. Probably attains 3,000 RPM or so and takes a long time to spin down. If you do not have onOrphan.pube of these, just use the finest mesh strainer you can find and press the stewed chilis through it. While some skip this, I find it important as removes the little bits of chili skin that otherwise can stick in your teeth and be annoying. Add the chili mixture as the machine spins up, and towards the end of the process slowly pour any remaining liquid through to get that last bit of goodness from the pulp. And, you are done! The rest of the process is all off the shelf. You can do a considerable amount of puree and freeze it for later projects for efficiency. Now it is meat time. Choice is up to you. Main thing is to choose meat with plenty of marbling, like chuck. Same for the pork. I use marked down pork chops from the quick sale bin. My preference is about 2/3 beef to 1/3 pork. Since it’s just my son and I we’ll only make a pound or a bit over worth of chili. It’s easy to scale up or down. I grind my own using my grandmother’s Keystone hand grinder with a very coarse blade. You can get one from EBay for 20 or 30 dollars and they are wonderful. My opinion is that hamburger grind is not authentic and just too fine to get that real chili taste. However, use if you must but use one with at least 20% fat. Some grocers will still grind to order. For each pound of meat, mince half an onion and several cloves of garlic. I’ll throw in a little secret that it’s surprising how few know…just cut the ends off the garlic, place it under a wide knife or cleaver, and give it a major whack with your fist. The garlic will separate completely from the peeling. Put the meat, onions, and garlic in a pot and brown. Once browned, add a quart or so of beef bouillon. My favorite is “Better than Boullion” as it is richer than cubes and keeps a lot better than the liquid variety, as well as being cheaper. Add the chili reductions in whatever portions you wish. More arbols means hotter. If you want good chili with little or no heat, just use the Anchos or New Mexico reductions. Salt, pepper, Comino to taste. I would suggest a heaping tablespoon of Cominio if you are unsure. Simmer for at least an hour. If the weather is cold, leave the pot outside and covered overnight. If not, put it in the fridge overnight. That allows the whole thing to tighten and really bloom in flavor. The next day, take it out and the grease will be congealed on the surface. Remove and discard. Reheat the chili to a simmer and add Masa Harina. Here again, to taste. If unsure, start with two heaping tablespoons dissolved in lukewarm water and stirred into the chili. Simmer 30 minutes and FEAST! Here’s the recipe in condensed form: One pound of coarse ground meat, preferably marbled beef and pork as per preference. 1-quart beef broth Chili reduction made by boiling dried chilis, emulsifying in a blender, then straining. Try various blends for heat, starting with Bolner’s New Mexico chilis if you want chili flavor with minimum heat. Add Arbols, Cascavels, pequins, Habaneros, or similar for heat. Black pepper to taste Salt to taste Masa Harina, 1 heaping tablespoon per pound dissolved in warm water, or to taste. Brown the meat, onions, and garlic. Add all remaining ingredients except the Masa, simmer 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight. Skim off grease and reheat. Dissolve two heaping tablespoons of Masa or to taste and preference in lukewarm water. Gradually pour in and mix with simmering chili Simmer at least 30 minutes and FEAST! Orphan.pdf

Understatement if I ever heard one here. Dave

Times change. I remember, and still love, the smell of old leather and tobacco smoke. There was a time it was the smell of sophistication and manliness. Now...not so much. Dave