Dick

quote: Originally posted by John Warren: I was told by an astrophysists that hand ground telescope mirrors larger than 4" in diameter, even done well, are a complete waste of time because the tolerances are piss poor for decent resolution and the advantages of the extra light gathering capacity are lost. Well, take it from a guy who has made astronomical mirrors and flats for the old National Bureau of Standards (flat to less than 1/2 wave length of light across 18") and other interesting things, it ain't that hard, just verrrry tedious. You might be interested to know that the original front windshields for B-52 bombers were also parallel and flat to within 1 wavelentgh of light and were made by hand in a commercial operation in a little town in South Mississippi named Ferson Optics. No great electronics or high falutin machinery just good old hard work and trickery to verify the results. I will admit that highly complex aspherical shapes are very difficult to do by hand but the result is at least as good as those made by machine if done carefully. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Sure, why not? Hope is not bad in Jan/Feb, and this time I might remember more of what I hear. Of course, I'm only 80 miles away... There is a lot I forgot to look at in the museum and the plant as well. Then there was the visit with Paul and his wife. What a pair! I'm in if it makes... ------------------ Richard Hemmings

I still say give me some #14 zip cord and let me at 'em. All the rest is overkill. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Ray, I tried this as an experiment with my la Scalas. I made and I-beam out of 3/4" plywood, put felt on the ends to avoid scratching the cherry veneer I had lovingly put all over them and then clamped the I-beam in the mouth of the horn woth 4 small clamps from Home Depot. I tried several positions including the 2/5 ratio suggested by Bill McD. I cranked them up more than normal but never noticed a change. Of course I hadn't heard a problem before I tried the experiment. It did however make a great difference in the movement of the sides of the la Scalas. If you've got a little extra time to kill you might find a ready solution to your problem. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Apparently, it seems that the only thing consistent about conservatives is their inability (or unwillingness) to recognize that citizens and patriots can come in many different flavors. The freedom to express one's ideas is one of the premises of our this country's society. Those who have difficulty making up their own minds about what is really important in life sometimes parrot what they have heard rather than do the difficult work of reading and studying the ideas with which they disagree. The light of day is a difficult taskmaster for all ideas conservative or liberal... And about "having to get personal," its not necessary to apologize, just get it right next time. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

So Boa12, who stepped on your twinkie? You sound really mad about something that you can do nothing about. Get a life fella. Its time to laugh about it and go on to better things. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

CC1091, I'd be most interested in taking those Heresys' off your hands. Just send me a private note...

So I guess that dubya hasn't been there long enough for y'all to get upset with him... I imagine that he too will get kind of ripe before its all over. Let's see, just to start.. backtracking on CO2 emissions, uuh... now where did I put my list of campaign promises?... ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Perhaps, Bob really meant can't instead of won't.... ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Well, you might want to get a Cornwall for your center speaker. That would give you a good idea of the difference. Then when you decide to get another La Scala for your center you can sell me the Cornwall. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

First, try 16 gauge zip cord. If you don't like it try something else.

From my experience in the computer industry conduit size is a conundrum. No matter how big you make the conduit you will probably want it to be larger 6 months after you install it. I would suggest that if you get some professional advice you should take it and then increase the crosectional area of the recommended size by at least 100%. (Of course, this must be controlled by economic good sense.) Reason: as soon as you start construction the technology will change and more or different cables will be required. It is very seldom that cable is pulled out of conduit when "replacement cable" is added simply because it is still in use when you need to add more...

Bring 'em on. Should be great! ------------------ Richard Hemmings

There were several pieces of trains in the house, well, all over the house. Several cars on a chest, an engine here, a caboose there. As more people post photos I imagine you'll see several. There was a story about an engine that I only got a part of - maybe one of the other guys heard it all and will repeat it. It really was a great time. The most impressive part, at least to me, was the hospitality with which we were treated. Paul and Valerie were most gracious and Trey and the guys did their best to see that we had a great time, and they really succeeded. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

After all the comments so far there's not much left to say. But it was great to meet "the man " himself. And his wife is a really gracious hostess. A salute to all who put the "jamboree" on. And to those who attended - thanks you were a great group with whom to share the experience. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Well, its mid-February. Just returned from Hope trip without drowning. (2 inches of rain fell while I drove to Hope this morning). Will post details later. Suffice it to say it was a great trip - more than any of us expected! With great thanks to all the people who put this together, Trey, Phil, Josh, Jim, Bob G., the Klipsches, and who knows how many other people. Its great to be a customer of a company who (and I use the personal intentionally) know how to excite their customers. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Sal, Just heard tht you have had another quake. Since you're still posting can I assume that you survived? ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Just a short travel note for those who are dirving. The forecast is for rain - up to 2 inches on Thursday and into Friday. The rain is heading NE at latest look toward Little Rock and Memphis... Drive Carefully and see you there. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

OK, if you ant to talk about low power ... When I was refinishing my La Scalas out in the garage, I used a 6 watt per channel Radio Shack amp to drive then when I was relaxing. If I turned them up even close to 50% the neighbors would come over and ask who was having a party... It certainly doesn't take much to drive those monsters. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Hey if you guys think you will leave too much money in Hope, you can always stop by Shreveport on the way there and leave some of it at our casinos... Mardi Gras is a great time to be in Louisiana. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

John, I'm not sure of the ingredients of the Liquid Gold either, but it certainly doesn't smell at all like turpentine. I've used both and they seem to work pretty much the same. Turpentine is probably a little more effective, but it does have to be mixed, so to keep it simple, I use the Liquid Gold. It too will amaze you at what will come off the surface. In an earlier house I had a den wall with cherry paneling and decide it needed a little cleaning in one spot an it looke dso good there, that my wife wouldn't let me stop util I had finished the whole room. It took a day and a half but, hey, keep the woman happy whatever the cost... Dick

It ain't mid-February yet...

The following can be used for OIL FINISHES ONLY. IF its varnished, shellaced, or whatever else try something else. For an old oil finish I would give it a light touch of Scott's Liquid Gold to clean it up and get the grunge off. Then let it set for several days. Once you are ready to refinish I would use something like WATCO Danish oil finish. (Try Lowe's, Home Depot doesn't seem to carry WATCO anymore.) You can use a clear one or a walnut stain - of which there are two shades. I have found over the years that the WATCO stains work really well. You can put on several coats and if there are some dings etc. you can use a little 0000 steel wool doused in the oil or stain, which ever you're using and a light but thorough rubbing with the steel wool will clean up some of the thin dents. Once you've put on as many coats of oil as you deem necessary let it stand for several days agaiin to dry completely. Then use either a satinn finish or high gloss hard wax that has a lot of carnubba wax in it - and a ton of elbow grease. You'l;l love the result. Of course after all the work you'll have to love it. If it were new wood the rule for oil finishing (without wax) would be 1 coat of oil each day for a week, then 1 coat each week for a month, then one coat each month for a year. Then once or twice a year therafter to keep the finish in top shape. Of course you have to be really anal in these days to go to that extent to get a super finish. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

Phil, I too appreciate the expanded comments on Klipsch's "listening" habits. I'm sure that the posters here have given you a lot to think about. I do have a little more to say about authorized dealers in name only. I live about 200+ miles from Dallas and New Orleans and travel to either relatively often. For me it would be relatively easy to stop in at a 'real' dealer in either city. I think Klipsch is hurting the name in Shreveport, LA by having a pseudo-dealer. It would be better to have no dealer here, than to have the current situation. The company could probably spend less money and get better results by doing direct local advertising (how about a single, well placed billboard?) for an 800 number( or the web address) where the potential customer can get the name of a real dealer. ------------------ Richard Hemmings

In refernce to Klipsch being more selective in their dealers: They could do that if they'd create "Reference" or "premiere" dealers and allow them to sell via mail order and/or on the Internet. The whole idea of selling a product is to sell it! If Klipsch is selling everything it can make and making a reasonable profit that's one thing but I would bet a boatload of Bose systems that with a simple change to their marketing plan they could double their sales: Allow dealers who are willing to maintain some predetermined level of inventory to sell via mail order at a price of their choosing. Then support their dealers by providing some national advertising or at least the easy availability of advertising copy. ------------------ Richard Hemmings