Strabo

Nice summary guys. Here's a little more on my experience. Craig is being modest. That Pereaux amp is something special. I wish we would have listened to it more. That was part of the reason I volunteered to pull the VAC after a few songs. It was definitely the lesser of the three amps there. Given the shortage of time I figured why continue when there were better choices. "I wish" is probably my biggest take away from the day. Time wasn't on our side and "I wish" we could have tried a lot of things. The KG4's were the biggest surprise to me. IMO, the high frequencies were tamer than the Heresys, and the mids were great. What surprised me was how well they handled echo on vocals. It was a very natural and believable sound. I would have liked to play with that more. I have a feeling that they might have been the best at it. The Heresys seemed to go lower though. It was a tough call between the two. Both very good at what they did, but they did it slightly different. I'd rate the KG4 as sneaky good. A great sleeper in the Klipsch lineup. The Lighting guy was Lightning Hopkins Going Away, a reissue from the Analog Productions label. We only heard the faster tracks. That's one of my favorite blues disks. He really lets loose with some boogie. I also would have liked to do two more cuts of PF's Time. I noted more sibilance in the CD versus the LP. It would have been interesting to try it in the Denon and versus the 30th anniv SACD or the Mofi CD (yes, we had 4 copies of DSOTM in 4 different masterings available yesterday). I'll see if I can find more info on that disc for you Craig. Btw, the LP was the 30th Anniv reissue. IMO that is the best vinyl pressing so I didn't bother bringing any others. I thought it beat the CD handily, but I may be biased since it was my TT and LP. [] The hotel was nice. The food was good, price was great for a meeting room. They were nice enough to give us the code for the back service door which was right next to our room, so we didn't have to truck all around the hotel. My biggest problem was the room had bad echo which was noticeable when I first walked in and no music was playing. I don't have much experience with hotel meeting rooms but I expected it to have better acoustics. You would think they would want some absorption to keep the sound in. They could have been designed to be sound sealed which made them echo bad. Who knows. Things I learned for next time: Bring long interconnects. Bring long pre-made speaker wire with banana plugs for quick changes Bring extension cords and power strips. I might even bring some acoustic panels next time. Plan to stay the night so we can have a few beers and not be so pressed for time. Lastly, my amp issue has been bothering me all day. What I used to think was a problem with my speakers now looks to be an amp issue. Some tube rolling may be in order soon. Or, I might have to see CraigNos about the Smilin amps he and Steve are concocting. Craig if you're reading this, four mono's are about the same price to build as two right? [] Oops, the boss is home. Better go.

"Audiophile quality CD's" to me means CDs published by labels that care about sound. Maybe what we need is a list of trusted labels who consistently put out good sounding music. You could probably start with the stalwarts: Mobile Fidelity Audio Fidelity (although they seem to be MIA for the last year) Blue Note Living Stereo (SACDs but they still have a CD layer so I'll count them) Channel Classics (again, Hybrid SACDs) Linn Mapleshade Telarc Please add to the list because I'm sure there are more. I usually find better sound in the used bins versus current remasters from one of the big five (Sony, WEA, BMG, EMI, and UNI). Their interests seem to be in reselling product by maximizing (squashing dynamics) and repackaging. [:@] You could almost generalize that any CD not published by the big five will sound better than what they put out. It's sad, and they wonder why there is no interest in CDs (sorry, end of rant).

It was a great time. Nice to meet Craig. He's a great guy. We might have to go fishing sometime. Dan and I have known each other for a long time (he's a good guy too) []. Only three of us showed up due to the weather. Might have to plan the next one during warmer days. As you can tell by the other posts, after shoveling in the morning, hauling equipment out then in, then out, then back in again, then more shoveling after getting home, I was too tired to even sit at the computer. For me, it was a long day that started around 4:30am. Dan and I arrived at the same time, probably close to 9:30. Took a couple hours to set up a couple systems then spun some vinyl, and CDs on (in order or size) Heresys, KG4s, and KLF-20s. I better get back to work now but more to follow. Craig and I took some pictures. I'll try to get some posted in the next couple of days.

I seem to be having mental issues tonight. Must be the snow (note, we are in the middle of a big storm in the upper midwest). PM responded to. [:$]

I just noticed the address listed in my profile was incorrect. It has been updated. Could you resend your response, or send it to the address noted in my original pm? Sorry about that, Kyhl

Thanks for offering them up here. I'll take four. E-mail sent.

Supposedly? At 39 I can hear 12khz the same as 1khz using a cd with step tones (set as 1khz at 75dbs as a base). My left ear rolls off above that but but I can still detect sounds to 16khz with it. My right ear can detect sounds to 18khz. Having my hearing professionally tested is high on my agenda. It would be nice to know the specific roll off values at which frequencies. Protect your hearing! When it's gone, it's gone forever. Wear ear plugs when using machinery including mowing the lawn. I know someone that goes so far as to wear hearing protection when vaccuming. At 40 he can still hear 18khz just fine with both ears. Another tip, keep the drivers side window closed when driving. Use the air conditioner or open a window away from the driver.

Dup post. That said, I'll still be there. [<)]

A twin cities weather update for those that plan to drive some distances. Friday Night - Cloudy with snow likely and a chance of freezing rain. Snow accumulation of 2-4 inches. Saturday - Snow and chance of light freezing rain. Snow accumulation around 3 inches. Saturday Night and Sunday - Snow (how much?) Estimates say that the twin cities could have 12 inches of fresh snow on the ground by the time this storm passes sometime Sunday. The latest forecast I heard rounded the snow to 6 inches by Saturday afternoon with a lull followed by heavier snow Saturday night into Sunday. Basically, expect snow and plan accordingly, but don't be surprised when no snow arrives. []

Looking for some KG4's in St Paul? I'd focus on best offer. http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ele/281052441.html Note, I have no connection to this sale, seller, or speakers.

That's all well and good but are they also addressing the environmental cost of dealing with the mercury in all those CFL's? Which is worse, burning extra coal in a plant that currently runs 90% cleaner than it did 15 years ago, or the gallons (???) of mercury that will end up who knows where at this point (land fills?) as people dispose of their burned out CFL's? IMO they should wait until LED's are perfected for home use before taking legal measures. Edit, wasn't California debating this also?

Just for clairification because Denon used a confusing model number system when they rolled out the XX10 series. By price point: The 2200 was replaced with the model 2910. The 2900 was replaced by the model 3910. The 5900 was replaced by the model 5910. After that the model numbers became XX20 and XX30.

Good idea. Having a list will help me decide how much to bring. [] For now, I am planning to bring a Denon-3910 universal player and a KT-88 based amp. I'm hoping someone will bring some RF-7's and/or Bells or LaScalas. I'd love to hear a real audition of them.

I use a thin 2' x 4' x 1" fiberglass panel to cover the TV screen when listening. It probably only reduces the high frequencies, but it makes a difference to imaging. You mentioned adding a cabinet to house the TV. I wouldn't know for sure without trying but I would bet a cabinet would increase your imaging problems. Basically you will be putting a bigger box into the soundstage. Front projection seems to be the only way to get the box out from between the speakers, but I don't want to put up with the fan noise from the projector. Life is a collection of trade offs.

Your post gives me hope. I have the 3910 which was a big jump forward over my previous entry level Sony SACD player, which was a jump forward over the previous DVD player as a CD player. It's better than good but not what I'd call great. I don't know that I can go with a modded player but my next upgrade will be either to an external DAC or a dedicated CD player and it's good to know that digital can sound better.

Bump. PM sent. [Y]

I'm not familiar with the 2200 but the 2900 is the same model line as Denon's current 3930. The 3910 replaced the 2900, then the 3920 and now the 3930. So if you want to compare them to today's standards, the 2900 except for being a few years old, would cost more than $1200 new. You might try making them an offer on it, see if they will take $250. I'd look up the value on Audiogon first though.

Wow, good to see this has some legs. Sunday works for me, or moving it out a month works also. 9 or 10 sounds better than 8am. I'm an early riser but a slow mover. [] Even with coffee. I don't have Klipsch anymore but would love to hear some stuff, and meet some people. I could also bring an amp, and/or pre, and/or universal player, and some music. Don't know if I want to lug a TT around but that doesn't mean I wouldn't. I'll kick in my share of the room cost too.

Congrates! [Y] Should be a wonderful piece. I have to wonder what makes it glow like that in the picture. Is the case made of a special run of unobtainium? []

Any more news on this? I would definately drop by for a listen and to meet some more twin cities audiophiles.

I keep waiting for those. [H]

Craig, you're up to no good. [] I was expecting two quads of KT-88's for something in the neighborhood of 120 wpc.

Seriously, at a minimum you will need a meter, some test tones, and a parametric eq. Without those tools you are guessing. If guessing, then err on the conservative side. Too much bass is fake bass IMO. If you notice the sub then it's too loud and detracting from the music. The volume should be set so you don't notice it when it's on, but do notice when it goes off.

Here's the foolproof method. Works every time.

Madeleine Peyroux update. After a double cleaning (VPI fluid, scrubbing, and vacuum, followed by RRL fluid, scrubbing, and vacuum, followed by a liberal rinse and vacuum) on the VPI 16.5 the disc is at least playable. One more round of cleaning should get it to almost new condition. Still not what I would expect for "Audiophile" vinyl though. For the record, I have a few other recent Mofi pressings that didn't have this problem.