Pomp & Pipes in the house!

[HornEd]

To all the Forum Friends (except Clueless who doesn't do organs) who followed the saga of trying to get delivery on "Pomp & Pipes" from V-stores... well it was in my mail box when I returned from a trip in the wee hours.

TheEar(s) recommended it as an album that would challenge subwoofers to the point that only the more worthy would pass the test. I ordered the disk in late February as I recall... they promptly charged my credit card... and after a month or so of waiting... and more weeks of trying to make contact... I finally got through by calling their corporate headquarters in Arizona.

Once in the "head shed" things got better. They saw to it that all charges were reversed on my credit card... and said that if received the album to keep it as part of their apology... and that if it didn't arrive they would send me one free of charge. Well, the freebie has landed!

The legendary organ builder, C. R. Fisk of Gloucester (MA), used solid cherry wood and polished tin pipes towering 50 feet high... with 84 ranks and 65 stops... a masterpiece considered the finest pipe organs built in the last half century. The Meyerson Symphony Center (named after Ross Perot's right hand man who raised the dough to build it), with its gigantic Lay Family Organ (the potato chippers), is considered as one of the finest acoustics environments for music in the nation. Also quite rare is a professional wind symphony in this day and age. The combination allows certain music to be heard as it was intended.

I am excited! I've heard this magnificent beast in its acoustically rich den soon after it was completed... the prospect of comparing memories of the organ to what comes out of my Klipschorn based music system fills me with intense anticipation.

So, Boa, Justin, Manuel, TheEar(s), and all Forum members and lurkers... after I get some zzzz's and run a few errands, I will finally be able to give you my comments. -HornED

This message has been edited by HornEd on 05-23-2002 at 12:32 PM

[HornEd]

WOWs>... TheEar(s) was right... this little High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) disk will flat out test your subs' intestinal fortitude... and it will give you some "gut level" satisfaction too down around 16Hz with headroom to spare.

Of course, if you like some of the not too often recorded classical pieces for organ and band, this CD is a must have.

It took some huffing and puffing to get disassemble the SVS tower and carry it downstairs to the music room... but it was worth it. Pomp & Pipes provided a commanding presence when played in the upstairs HT room... but had an enthralling, mystical magic to it when the might K-Horns had their say... with a good natured, seamless SVS boost on the bottom end.

Track 4 (Arthur Wills, The Vikings) has the most bottom scraping bass that grabs you by the gut and musically vibrates you to basophile ecstasy!

Track 9 (Jaromir Weinberger, Polka and Fugue from Schwanda the Bagpiper) is a bit easier on non-classical ears. Schwanda nearly made it as one of the newbies added to Disney's Fantasia 2000. It a fun, easy-listening piece by pipe organ standards that just rolls right along...

Considering how magnificent the is in person... and how much expression there is in a wind symphony... this recording might be even more fun if it was a video DVD in 5.1 dts ES. -HornED

PS: Clueless this is a monkey short of your kind of organ grind!

[boa12]

yea ed those pipes do go low. the mixer coulda put some more decibles in those lower freqs for my tastes, but it does have impact. we don't get cycles that low from music material too often.

------------------

My Home Systems Page

[HornEd]

Hmmm, Boa, that's interesting because the SPL's on my rig were so high in the low range that I chose to cut the volume on the subwoofer amp for this CD! Do you have a player that properly decodes the HDCD format? Maybe that's where our systems differ on the SPL.

You are so right about the lack of low end in most music source material. It is frustrating to invest so much time, money and attention to outstanding bass and then have mixers prepare the material for the average quality prevalent in the existing installed base. Although the theoretical range of 20Hz to 20kHz has long been stamped on spec sheet... the tendency is to not get very close to the 20Hz.

That's even more frustrating when you consider that an LFE track only takes 10% of the bandwidth of any other of the discrete channels... that's why it is designated ".1" in the nomenclature.

In any event, it was nice to get the reward after all the hassle. Supposedly what happened to me is not possible in the V-store system... but I have learned that it has happened to others as well... and their only resort was to call the corporate headquarters. I suspect they also got the embarrassed apology and a freebie like I did. -HornED

PS: At least this was one post where I did not pipe up with some Clueless re-organ-ization humor.

This message has been edited by HornEd on 05-24-2002 at 12:26 PM

[justin_tx_16]

Greatness! So, who should I order it from? I definately want to get one of these bad boys gonna test it out once i get my university horns and my sonosub built.

------------------

-justin

SoundWise Support

A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers

I am an amateur, if it is professional;

ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665 or for an RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5

Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH

RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150s>

[boa12]

ed, i was talkin about the real low stuff from the hgs-18. like down around 8-10hz.

maybe that was beyond the range of their eq.

no just the old sony dvd-video player here. you have an hdcd decoder in your player? i thought this was the old hdcd that was more a gimmick. anyway it sounds 'bout as good as any other pcm cd on my sys w/ an average mix. does have the pipe organ though for some low cycles. now know what they mean when they say the hgs-18 extends flat to 12.5hz. if i could only get it in a corner.

------------------

My Home Systems Page

[cluless]

Horn-Ed

Your first Pimps and Pipes Post of the day had my sulking in my cubicle, feeling like the fat kid who said they "really didnt like ice cream"

"To all the Forum Friends (except Clueless who doesn't do organs)"

BTW - I really hate snippet posters.

Now I get slammed again...LOL

"PS: Clueless this is a monkey short of your kind of organ grind."

And then in one stellar and shining moment, I combine all of the conversation, innuendo, fact and fiction...and once again fall off my chair...Bad Habit....Horn-Ed...you are a clever word-meister.

[HornEd]

Cluless you are one of the most fun posters on the Forum... you defuse potential flaming situations with your wit. Like admitting to buying a Bose Wave Radio and liking it... as an alternative to having your cats sharpen their teeth on your Walkman wires... and that on a Klipsch Forum thread designed to flame Bose buyers! Now, that's either showing the courage of your convictions, cat lover comic relief... or asking to have your cool avatar melted in knee-jerk, "Bose Smelter" flames.

Here's your earlier cluless comment of 04/17/2002 at 07:36 a.m. "Since I have no real interest in pipe organ music here's the 3 tracks I have used (so far) to tweak my system: Jeff Beck - Cause weve ended as lovers; Spyro Gyra - Catching the Sun; Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Tonite/Tonite".

I spared you visions of Mellon Collie chasing "wire-munchkin" kitty... why, I even put a capital "C" and added an "e" to "cluless" as a cover... but you have exposed me despite such elaborate attempts to hide your Infinite Sadness identity. (Hmmm, tongue-in-cheek may no longer be a viable solo performance.)

And, yes, I tried to make some humor out of your remarks... especially since it had some double entendre aspects that might be carried through this thread. If anything, using your rapier-like organ diminishing comment as the base of a comic ploy should be taken as my tribute to your intelligence and wit... for it was not meant as a "slam" on the essential you.

Hey, if more folks liked pipe organ music... good recordings wouldn't be so hard to find... and so many pipe organs would not have been left to rotten ends in the last half century. So, since you are self-admittedly in the Smashing Pumpkins majority and seemingly a good sport... I tried to inject a little levity with you as a whimsical foil... and seem to have shot myself in the "foiled again" foot that was already in my oft insensitive mouth!

Apparently, part of my failure stemmed from not equating classical organ deflation to classical ice cream metaphors... now, after climbing up in your esteem upon my "verry cool" coffee table, I have fallen in "verry uncool" disgrace for causing you to feel less than you are... not to mention the unmentionable that may have been bruised falling off the chair.

While there are some Forum deviants worth spearing for acting below and beneath the call of duty... clearly, you have never been one of them! And so, cluless, I humbly beg your pardon.

What I was really trying to say was that "Pomp & Pipes" is more for classical pipe organ nuts and wind symphony aficionados... and not those who are into more mainstream music. Since my eclectic tastes cover a wide variety of musical genres... and even some "bottom-bumping-bass-in-any-form-factor" foibles... I lost sight of the possibility of bruising your sensibilities by embellishing your comment that seemed to place you on the popular sane side... rather than being grouped with those bass personages who wallow in pedal pushing pipe dreams.

I thought that your earlier comment about not being into organ music followed by an adroit shift in thread focus was a nice touch... a tribute to your independent thinking and self assured ways... and a "literary device" that could be used to illustrate that "Pomp & Pipes" was more for the odd ball classical buff... and probably not for folks with your kind of cool. But, alas, I seem to be the cause of your snappy "Pomp" to "Pimp" snippet... and that skewers me to my Plebian core.

You must admit that, despite my years in Manhattan, I have not turned a single "Jersey" quip in your direction... oops, I hope that's not one. You have proven again how easily one can fall off the "Good Humor" vanilla wagon... into the hot vinegar vat of snippet hell... where fat old ice cream loving over-age kids like me eat their words... now frozen-in-the-thread of bad taste... churning my literary underbelly with... hasten Jason bring the basin...

Good Humor Vinaigrette!

For whatever its worth, cluless, your every post has brought joy to this Forum IMHO... and if my well intended humor has brought you pain... than it is I who must doff my monkey's cap in shame and return the respect that is your due...

-HornED, the organ grinder's monkey who dreams one day of becoming housebroken.

This message has been edited by HornEd on 05-24-2002 at 02:01 PM

[cluless]

Horn-Ed,

You obviously didn't read the bottom line.. Also, I don't normally hand out compliments in this way. Perhaps your conversations with crash had you had you a bit on the defensive...

To SNIPETIZE MYSELF- YUcK

"And then in one stellar and shining moment, I combine all of the conversation, innuendo, fact and fiction...and once again fall off my chair. ( I meant in Laughter here)..Bad Habit....Horn-Ed...you are a clever word-meister."

This message has been edited by cluless on 05-24-2002 at 08:31 PM

[HornEd]

Actually, cluless, I did indeed read and appreciate the bottom line from the get go. But, just accepting and appreciating your bottom line did not seem enough. I really do respect you, cluless, but I also thought that most folks would not see the continuity of my comments being based upon something you had said in an earlier post... as you probably did.

Moreover, your right, after the heavy-handed thread on THX fuzzpoles vs. Klipsch monopoles, I thought that it was time for a little lighthearted acknowledgement that sometimes anyone can go a little too far... and step up and take responsibility.

Picking an opportunity in which the person on the other side made the situation clear enough for me... but maybe not to all seemed like the time to make a statement in concert with you that crisp thinking not loose flames make this Forum special.

Believe me, cluless, if I thought you hadn't paid me a complement and figuratively fallen out of the chair laughing I would not have tried so hard to make an entertaining and positive response.

Oh, yeah, and I probably need to get some life beyond the snippet lessons from you in your spare time.

And, your observation as to my being a word-meister was particularly appreciated... because that was the nickname folks put on me when I was 16 and had a byline in the San Francisco Examiner. It stuck throughout the next forty working years... but I thought perhaps it had faded after so many retirement years. Thanks for making an old guy feel young again!

Frankly, I was hoping you would read my last post... reflect on it a bit... and have another good laugh! So, it looks like I didn't hit the objective. I look forward to more productive interchanges as we meet on other threads. Be well my Jersey friend. -HornED

[HornEd]

cluless, I have just returned from another thread where I was "flamed" for having done you a disservice in the comedic (I hoped) "organ" bit. I responded in effect that, to my knowledge, there is no ill-will between us... only respect!

I'll be waiting for a confirmation here in Snippet Purgatory... waiting for a clue from the Jersey angel of the Snippet Redemption Center. -HornED

PS: And, do have a great Memorial Day weekend in whatever state you find yourself!

This message has been edited by HornEd on 05-26-2002 at 08:37 AM

[cluless]

Horn Ed,

Happy Memorial Day to you also. Spending the weekend largely in the state of confusion. Trying to catch up on the odd jobs that never seem to get done, and take twice as long as anticipated.

Well, I decided to let you out of snipet purgatory, for a while at least. That is of course, unless you start making disparaging remarks about my current state of residence (remarks about my mental state are just dandy). Just to repeat, I never took any offense at any of your remarks, they were received in the spriit in which they were offered.

P.S. I still aint gonna spend the money for a CD of organ music, ....funereal...yuck..

I'd rather save up for a bose system for my bathroom. Hmmm put the subwoofer on the toilet tank, 2 cubes in the tub, one in the bowl, ....

TTFN

The Jersey angel of the Snippet Redemption Center

(I accept greenstamps also)

Just to make sure you know...a snipet is where a poster copies a snip of the post they are replying to into their own message.

[HornEd]

Thanks for the reply, cluless... I needed it and so did a few other denizens of this Forum. And I can understand how quickly a snippet can become a quote out of context... which is why I usually put the link to the whole thread next to any partial reference. But, your good nature has created an extra area in which I shall exercise future care. May fall on my butt... but I will try!

One of the reasons I enjoyed this particular CD is that the selections are written for joyous wind, brass, and percussion setting the tone for a happier organ than the funeral exercise that one might anticipate. Still, in all, probably not your cup of tea... just not as far from it as you thought.

What a great place this Forum is... to be able to have an interchange as we did and have it result in mutual pleasure and an opportunity to know another human being a bit better... despite the potential culture clash of musical tastes... and distastes.

How does a person who obviously has more than a clue come up with the cluless disguise? -HornED

[chuckears]

Man, would you guys get a room already? You're like a pale BB version of David and Maddie from Moonlighting...

(And yes, my tongue is firmly in cheek, so to speak.)

[cluless]

chuckears,

Have you ever considered that the worst possible place to store your tongue is in your cheek? There are very large molars in-between. OUCH...

[Manuel Delaflor]

I finally found it! It is indeed a nice recording, this is the third HDCD I listen and the three have been fantastic recordings. And the bass, this is indeed a nice test for it. No longer I will need to recurre to some MP3 bass tests to show my friends what my equipment is able to do.

[kenratboy]

Crap, I forgot about ordering it! I guess I will order it on Monday. Amazon hopefully, I need some books, CD's, and DVD's anyway.

[TheEAR]

He he I told HornEd this CD would blow his SVS Ultras into overdrive.Track four has some awesome energy around 20Hz so awe inspiring most subs crap out.

The HGS18,Revel B15 and Aerial SW12 all handle this extreme low end with grace,and all three form a SUPER WOOFA to really take you there.Its quite an experience,at over 110dB you can feel the power.AWESOME The Sunfire subs start to spit the voice coils and cones at higher SPL.The poor Klipsch KSW subs fart and call for HELP.

6-10 SVS Ultras(have two ATI amps to power up to ten subs!) should do the trick,I plan to buy a few.Only next year will I have the funds to do so,I have to renovate my room and make some changes before.I cant wait,I should be able to reach my goal of 120dB at 16Hz with the improved subsonic army.

And the first CD I pop in is ... YES you guessed.

[boa12]

i still think the mixer could have leaned on the sub-1st-octave slide control for more input db there. but no its not because i don't have enough low bass w/ my set-up. if i crank the overall volume up to the 115db there's more than enough low bass from the pipe organ.

maybe i need a preset on my pre/pro that boosts the sub output only for this or other low bass fests where the mixer doesn't meet my tastes. believe it will boost as low as the range around 20hz.

[justin_tx_16]

ok. i am going to buy this cd. i have fallen in love, again, with the symphony, even bought season tickets!

what is the best place to get it?