musicook Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Wasn't sure where to post this. As Tasdom mentioned in his Garage Sale post, I now have the Belles. It started with a 6 hour drive Friday night from the Denver area for which 3 hours I was entertained with quite a lightning show. I arrived at Tasdom's home the next morning and he had the Belles all hooked up for test drive. I learned quite a few things from him and his current setup. Thanks again Tasdom for the beautiful speakers and education on your setup. So I spent the afternoon working on the Belles. One of them had several gouges and chips. I decided to try the dark walnut Howard's Restore Finish product with some steel wool. It actually brought out the gouges even more, but there is a nice even color on the speakers now. I had some leftover stain from my recent refinish of some Heathkit/Altec Valencias so I used a small touchup brush to cover up the chips. Based on Tasdom's setup, I considered trying to have both the Belles and the Forte IIs upfront, to use the Fortes for the home theater daily use and use the Belles as dedicated two channel music. But once the LaScalas were out of the way and the Belles in place, it looked too good to clutter it up with 2 sets of speakers. What I did do is hookup my vintage Altec tube receiver and used an amp/speaker switcher. The home theater is hooked up to a Pioneer receiver. The Altec is hooked up to a Onkyo CD player through an Emotiva Stealth DAC so I can adjust the volume. This worked out well, because the the vintage Altec receiver has a bass and treble control, along with a rumble filter and loudness switch. I'm able to dial up the bass a bit - Tasdom had the Belles going through an equalizer to bump up both the bass and treble. So far everything sounds great and I think it will be movie night tonight. I like the fact that the Belles aren't as deep, as the LaScalas were sticking out much further forward than the media center. I plan on using them stock for a while, and then upgrading to the ALK Universals. I use the living room system (I have a full home theater in the basement) more in the winter, because it's nice to watch football and movies near the wood burning stove. The Academy center is a little off center in the photo, but the tv is on an adjust mount and is off center. I may stain the Academy with some matching walnut. The furniture movers seem to fit underneath the speakers just right, so I'm going to leave them for now. Edited July 27, 2015 by musicook 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Nice read & pics. Congratulations!!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yes Congratulations for sure. Ok, names with faces. In the first picture who's on the left and who's on the right? Enjoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yes Congratulations for sure. Ok, names with faces. In the first picture who's on the left and who's on the right? Enjoy I'm the good looking guy on the right... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Looks great Dwight! I bet the furniture movers are great to move around and set up but you'll probably get better bass response if they are sitting on the floor. Again, looks great and I hope they bring you many years of enjoyment. Was a pleasure meeting you....enjoy! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks Tasdom, cool now we all know. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicook Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Looks great Dwight! I bet the furniture movers are great to move around and set up but you'll probably get better bass response if they are sitting on the floor. Again, looks great and I hope they bring you many years of enjoyment. Was a pleasure meeting you....enjoy! So the slate floor tiles are very unevenly textured. Is there anything you suggest to use on the risers or the floor? Remember when I was commenting how awesome your surrounds sound? You said I should snag some of those reference surrounds if they became available. A Denver member posted his reference speakers today, but I don't have the money at the moment. It was a pleasure meeting you too. Edited July 27, 2015 by musicook 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalcomfort Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Very nice congrats they look great!, 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 This picture really made my day! Those poor Belle's have sat unused for over a year in my spare bedroom and I am so happy to see you kicked back and enjoying them the way they were meant to be. As for the floors I don't know but maybe some carpet and pad or a couple of area rugs might work. You should of grabbed more carpet tiles while you were here. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Very nice! Football, wood stove, horns. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Now that is something to see. Smiling for sure! Congrats 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I really like the symmetry with the Belles, very pleasing visual stage. I also like the white area around the TV, no visual clutter to the sides or directly above. I think most people position their TV's like you do, relatively low, but I find when I sit on the couch in the center LP, my head naturally points a little more up to the center of the wall instead of the lower one-third. Have you ever considered mounting the TV up, towards the center of that white space? I'm not suggesting it, just wondering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicook Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 I really like the symmetry with the Belles, very pleasing visual stage. I also like the white area around the TV, no visual clutter to the sides or directly above. I think most people position their TV's like you do, relatively low, but I find when I sit on the couch in the center LP, my head naturally points a little more up to the center of the wall instead of the lower one-third. Have you ever considered mounting the TV up, towards the center of that white space? I'm not suggesting it, just wondering. Hi and thanks. The room, if you look at the photos, probably has a 30 foot ceiling. I read up on TV height positioning and had a friend help mount the stand. I admit I often have my laptop on my lap when watching the TV. I like the TV to be viewable just above my laptop monitor and the current height works well. When Tasdom posted the Belles, the consideration of raising the TV to fit a lascala or a cornwall as a center speaker came to mind and I was seriously going to consider trying it, but I don't really want to give up the media center. I also have walnut finished Altec Bolero speakers, I'm curious if it would blend well as a center speaker. I may try it and it it works better than the Academy, I will need to raise the TV a few inches. I would've considered a huge theater screen when I got the house, but there are a whole bunch of windows at the top of the vaulted ceiling and the sun pours into the room all day. I also at one point considered having a custom mantle made from some old reclaimed wood. One that would potentially house an academy above the TV. The real reason the area above the TV is empty, is because I moved out of my last house which was an old 1890's house with horsehair plaster walls, and didn't have too much wall art. This house looks kind of like a lodge in the when you walk into the house, and I have nothing suitable to hang above the TV, because I've spent all my money on speakers! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 A nice big area rug (or two) would help a bit with the slate tiles, acoustically as well. Beautiful room! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicook Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) A nice big area rug (or two) would help a bit with the slate tiles, acoustically as well. Beautiful room! Thanks. And I agree on rugs. I need to get a bulk discount on rugs. The upstairs loft is my office and listening room and it has bamboo floors. The basement home theater still has concrete floors. Edited July 27, 2015 by musicook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingman Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Congrats and celebrations! Nice nice nice, I'm jealous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 27, 2015 Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2015 I'm the good looking guy on the right... Still looking Looks like everything worked out just fine, good looking speakers, I have never heard a Belle. The room looks great, I like everything about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wipster Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Musicook, Congrats on the Belles! They look great and I'm sure sound even better. Believe or don't, I'm in a very similar situation as you in that I bought a pair of '87 Belles (Oiled Oak with cane grills... my mouth is watering just talking about them) last week that should be delivered next week. Currently, I'm using my '75 Heresy's for two channel audio with a Micro Seiki DD-40 table and Eico preamp and amps, and for video, digital, and surround sound needs, I use a pair of '87 Fortes with an Academy center (makes a really nice soundstage IMHO) and 4 KG1.5's for surround with two KSW200 subs, powered by an Onkyo SR805 receiver. I've got dedicated switches for both of the front speakers and the amps (I just have to remember which switch is switched at times... hell to get old). This is all in an 18' x 18' room, so because of size restrictions, I am also planning to use just the Belles for all purposes. Since you're already set up in virtually the same manner mine will be, I've just a couple questions, mainly how do you feel the Academy matches with the Belles in sound "equality" (don't really know what to call it, but the reason I got the Academy is that it was made to match the Fortes... kind of at least... and it matches up really well with them)? Because they're both heritage speakers and have tweeters and midranges that are close, I'm thinking that a Heresy might be superior as a center for use with the Belles. My only problem is I have the Academy in the same stand my Vizio M701 sits on and the hole it's in is 1/2" too small for a Heresy! If the Heresy is a better fit sonically, I may have BluesBoy build a custom one for me... same guts but slightly different cabinet. However, if the Academy matches up, it may not be necessary... I look forward to hearing your opinion. Second question, I notice you have wheels on your Belles... at 125 lbs each, I can understand why! I was considering doing the same even before I saw your post, but was concerned if you noticed any difference in performance not having them directly on the floor? I would expect it would be similar to your LaScalas... Anyway, congratulations again! I'll keep you posted when I get mine in house (no small task in itself, thank goodness I have strong friends who like beer!). FYI, I also ordered a pair of AB-2's from Bob Crites today, and we plan on replacing one at a time and doing some A/B tests in mono to see how much of a difference there is. Stay cool and have another! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wipster Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Just so you can see how close we are, here's a quick pic of my current set up: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wipster Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Just for shiites and sunnis, here's the Belles I just bought (you might have seen them on eBay): 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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