Doc's Tour

[DrWho]

Just thought I'd narrate my trip for the benefit of those that didn't get to attend.

I

left for Indy on Thursday afternoon the second classes were over. I

arrived a bit early and Colter wasn't at home yet so I chilled with the

Dtel's and Roger for a bit until Colter was ready for me to help out

with whatever. We went to a fancy audio shop in Broadripple where there

were lots of electrostats and other stupid exotic audio gear. It didn't

really sound that bad, but it was way fricken over priced. It was fun

nonetheless.

Later that evening I missed out on going to Roger's

place, but everyone ended up back at Colter's to partake in the ribs

that Coytee brought with him. Colter had ordered that fancy mail

ice-cream for us all too. It was a good time chillaxing outside with

the few people that had made it into Indy already. Poor Customsteve

getting laid over by his airline...

Colter went to bed early on

Thursday evening, but the Dtel's and I stayed up chatting away the

night. I think we went to bed around 5:30am? []

Friday morning

we woke up bright and early to harvest Jay from the bus station. 19

hours on a bus? Talk about hardcore. Colter was off at work so it was

basically up to me to entertain the guests at the "House of Klipsch"

(is that trademarked yet?). We listened to an entire album of Jazz in

Mike's gallery where he's got the khorns powered by an HK430. After

that we ventured into the living room where he had a wall of Klipsch on

demo and then the rest of his normal setup. We started off with a Yes

concert on DVD, playing Starship Trooper. There's this crazy bass line

where both Dtel and Jay looked up to see if the AC had turned on. Nope,

that would be the subs blowing them away. We knocked over a lot of

stuff, but nobody tell Colter about the china cabinet..... [] Roger

came by to visit too and then everyone headed over to his place to

check out his theater and to meet up with Hurd and Picky and Verna who

were coming in. Sadly time slipped away and I was only able spend 30

minutes there until I was "needed" at Klipsch. I am glad I got to swing

by Roger's a few weeks ago since that is an experience you really don't

want to miss.

I showed up at Klipsch to help out (which was convenient since I

already signed a nondisclosure), but really it was more like hanging

out. I cannot believe how busy everyone was trying to get all the rooms

setup and ready to go. I watched Steve Philips nearly throw a receiver

out the window in the Reference room and then got spun around in the

engineering lab where Roy was finishing up the 510 networks and then

Mark showed me some of the innards to his newest product. Once the pug

uglies and electronics were loaded up we all headed over to the Hotel

to set it all up for the mixer.

It seems I was the only one that actually brought tools, which was

funny. I believe I was 3 for 3 until I started making fun of Roy? I was

kinda hoping to measure the systems since I can only hear measurements,

but I forgot to bring my colorimeter. Oh well, it was pretty obvious

they were really dark and certainly not transparent. I blaim the room

though - it was way too bright. [8-|]

It wasn't a normal mixer this year because none of the pilgrims brought

their own gear. People started showing up randomly through the evening

and it took a lot of work to meet everyone. In fact, I don't think I

managed to get through the whole crowd. It was hilarious how Trey could

get the bulk of the crowd to move around the room. They would move

forward and back, side to side depending on which pair were playing.

I was kinda annoyed when I met Anarchist in person. The guy smells like

clams and potpourri, or something to that effect. No seriously, he was

actually pretty cool, though I'm wary to say that not having a

thermometer handy. It was crazy, but at one point I coulda swore he was

making out with IndyKlipschFan in the corner. [] I'm glad we got to

meet because seeing his body language and hearing his inflection makes

his posts that much cooler.

I stuck around on Friday night until the very end of the mixer when

they were shuffling everyone out. I was starving having only eaten

breakfast and asked Coytee if he wanted to grab some food. He turned

around and shouted an invite to the dozen of us that were walking

out....which was awesome because Roy was there and joined us. We hung

out until 2am or so and then played with Hurd's sub in the parking lot.

3" P-P is pretty sick.

The next morning everyone was meeting up in the cafeteria where a

simple breakfast was being served. They split us all into groups and we

headed off on a marathon journey through all the rooms that were set

up. Our first stop was the Khorn room which as always sounded pretty

good. I think the awesomeness impact of heritage is starting to wear

off a bit, but man oh man those inwalls sounded good. The khorns were

of course better, but I had remember hearing in the past that Klipsch

inwalls suck....not these new inwalls! Man they rocked the heeze off mushroom dust.

The next stop was the one I was looking forward to the most: The

Chamber! Roy was his normal boring self and dragged his feet talking

about how lame the chamber was. [] He did let us hear a lot of music in

the chamber though. I think we managed to hear every key? It was

profound, lol.

After the chamber was the heritage room, which I believe normally

contains the Klipsch Ultra2 system? In all honesty, it was the most

depressing room on the tour. In fact, our tour guide thought the

Quintet SL's were playing when it was really the Cornwall 3 based

surround system! Yikes! Maybe it was just too many people in the room?

(I think we had the largest group - I dunno why everyone wanted to hang

out with me) [^o)] The KPT-8001's for surrounds were pretty cool and so

was that special center channel. Klipsch needs to do something with the

MF/HF section like they did with some of the older KP-362's (?) that

had the rotatable top section that unscrewed? I didn't realize that

configuration would work so well []

After that we went up to the conference room where they had the RF-83

system set up. It was a pretty decent configuration. I was kinda

annoyed with the DTS demo disc that they were using everywhere (rather

hokey), but whatever. That room was a lot more live than the other

rooms which was a nice change of pace. Our tour guide actually lost

half of our group when going from the heritage room to this room -

likely because we were travelling all the way across the building. I

love going up to that conference room cuz you're greeted by a nice and

small MCM stack [H]

The next room after that involved a look at all the patents,

electronics lab, and library on the way to a special room where Mark

Blanchard is working on a special project. Man that guy must really

love efficiency....always trying to make things crank with less and

less! I must say that his room was by far the most innovative and

coolest of the trips (minus the chamber cuz nothing beats that). I

can't wait until the product hits the market and we can all start

talking about it!

After we done gone finished up there, we headed over to the CS-700 room

where they were demo'ing that product we all heard about months ago. I

don't think anyone was unsurprised by the absolute amazing sound

cranked out by those bad boys. I don't know what the deal is with them

not being released yet, but that is definitely something that will

revolutionize the small speaker market. That wireless feature is absolutely amazing too....

The last room of the tour was the AB listening room. We didn't get to

listen to much, but got to sign up for a drawing to come back that

afternoon for a true AB listening session. I didn't get to participate,

but apparently it was super secret whatever was being played in there.

We don't get to learn what it was until the products hit the market!

After lunch I spent the rest of my afternoon with Roy and Trey with the

measurement equipment. They were measuring all sorts of stuff that

people had brought in which I thought was really cool for them to do.

Claude brought in an EV DHA1 mounted to some old EV horn that Roy ran

polars and frequency response on. That turned out to be a very

education experience where Roy was explaining to us why his horns are

better and how he does it. Claude seemed interested in the Jubilee and

it seems he's gonna use this top section with a bass bin he's gonna

build himself. I think he's also looking into extended flares or

something like that to make the Jube play even lower. And then at the

very end Roy let me bring in my measurement rig to compare against the

$300K setup Klipsch uses. I was very impressed how well my $200 rig

compared and will be putting together a website here shortly to

document the rig for anyone else that wants to put one together. I

think Roy mentioned a possibility for another forum too, but that might

be a bit excessive unless there's a lot of interest.

After the tour through the plant we were quickly ushered out of the

building and had a few hours to kill until the town meeting. The few of

us that didn't have hotels nearby to crash in headed up to help set up

the PA and then waited as everyone filtered into the room. The dinner

(again provided by Klipsch) was very good and we had a good time

sitting back and chatting with the board up front. We were surprised by

a visit from Fred Klipsch and I think he spoke a lot of encouraging

words. The home audio industry has been going through a few turning

points the last few years and I'm looking forward to seeing Klipsch

coming out on top over the next few.

That was pretty much the end of the official pilgrimage, but a bunch of

guys stuck around for the weekend to check out Roger's and Colter's

pads. I never had the opportunity to swing by Roger's (which I wanted to do), but as always things were

always crazy hectic at Mike's and I got caught up in the whirlwind. I don't remember the total order of

events though as I was essentially stoned outta my mind from lack of

sleep. All I know is we listened to a lot of fun music and did some

measurements and crap. Somewhere in there I lost the keys to my

apartment and then my cell phone died Sunday night so I didn't make it

back to Champaign by 8am like I had intended. But I'm glad it worked

out that way because I saw a very very awesome concert on DVD last

night. It was Pink Floyd - Pulse. We listened at concert levels and

holy fricken crap was that intense. Everything in that room was falling

over when those explosions were hitting. I am going out to purchase the

DVD this afternoon it was so crazy awesome.

Well I think that pretty much sums up the entire trip? I wonder how

many have actually read this post and made it all the way through. I hope I get caught up on my sleep tonight.

[Arky]

Nice write up Doc. I'm sure your help was appreciated more than you realize. I wasn't a big Floyd fan until I bought "Pulse".

[Jay481985]

Hey doc you forgot the great breakfast we had with Eldin and Buddy!

[DrWho]

I didn't forget....I just don't remember which day it was! Friday morning? Somewhere in there Dean swung by too and we played with Colter's crossovers and tweeters. We also played with an Academy versus KLF-C7. We ground planed Hurd's TC-3000 as well. We also had a long tour of downtown Indy trying to find a Chinese restraunt (which ended up only a few blocks from Mike's place) [6]

I'm still burned out...

[rcarlton]

Terrific write up Doc. Thanks! Maybe next year (I Hope).

[Jay481985]

I didn't forget....I just don't remember which day it was! Friday morning? Somewhere in there Dean swung by too and we played with Colter's crossovers and tweeters. We also played with an Academy versus KLF-C7. We ground planed Hurd's TC-3000 as well. We also had a long tour of downtown Indy trying to find a Chinese restraunt (which ended up only a few blocks from Mike's place) [6]

I'm still burned out...

Friday morning, also how did hurd's tc3000 fare?

[michael hurd]

I could tell you how it fared, but Doc can give you more specific info. The impulse response was actually pretty good, according to him.

[colterphoto1]

Thanks for the write up Doc. I think you got here Thursday night, right? Dtels showed up and we had that Ribs and Ice Cream dinner with Richard 'Coytee' and stayed up late. Friday I had to work so you guys picked up Jay 481985 all played around and you met me at the shop. Yes I crashed early on Friday, I knew Sat was going to be a BIG day. I remember checking around on you and you were always 'interviewing' someone on some very deep topic- Roy, Mark Blanchard, Richard Paynting, etc. Way to rub elbows young man!

On Saturday Trey had given me no assignment. I did not present a room nor direct any tour group. He said that this was my first Pilgrimage and he wanted me to enjoy it. Did I ever, although as a member of the planning committee I was a bit wired up about all the company and pacing like a nervous father on prom night. I made my plan to see every room and hang out with every group by travelling 'against the grain', so I did the rooms in reverse order, taking time to help a couple of groups through the library and patent wall since I know a bit of Klipsch history. Good to see everyone having such a good time. Special thanks to Jason Kaeding (CS700 ) and Mark Blanchard (secret project). I gained a lot of respect for those guys listening to their presentations. Quite frankly I was plesantly surprised at the professionalism of their presentations and their ability to explain technology in layman's terms. Their passion for Klipsch and their roles was something that just could not be overlooked. It's clear that they dig their jobs.

Saturday night it was great to see the surprise on everyone's faces as the Town Hall panel assembled and Mr. Fred Klipsch entered the room. I quickly got a round of coffee for our hosts and things settled down for the meeting. I thought Trey's MCing was spot on, humourous and engaging. That he was able to fly freely with open questions and keep the night flowing said a lot about the degree the crowd got into the festivities and his ability to keep it lively and interesting. Many of the comments you all heard were items that a company of Klipsch's stature would have never discuss openly and early to a group of fans, and in that way the pilgrims are indeed fortunate. I cannot go into detail obviously, but there were some very exciting products and strategies shown and discussed this weekend. Please treat this information with respect.

Sunday was THE day at Colter's 'House of Klipsch' . I remember waking up at 8, making some posts and lying down 'for a while' because everyone else was still crashed out. I woke up for real around 1:00 PM (remember Colter never sleeps?), just in time to see a house full with Mr. Paint, Jay, Dtels, Doc- I elected to race Jay to the Greyhound station just to have time to spend with him (didn't want Christy getting lost again). Nice lad that Jay. He was all smiles after hearing Heritage and winning his prize (unnamed at this time for security purposes). Someone told me that when Jay first came to my place he tentatively entered, asked 'is this REALLY the House of Klipsch', turned the corner to see CW, LS, and like 12 Heresies whereupon his face nearly split in two with that huge grin of his. He said later that if there was no show at Klipsch that the trip was worth it just to hear all the speakers at my place. That really made me feel good.

I arrived back home and shortly thereafter my old buddy Roger showed up with Picky and Verna in tow, Picky with his everpresent digital camcorder. We sat in the gallery for a bit, gave the Khorns and the Jamo C830's a listen, then the rain let up and it REALLY got busy. Michael Hurd and Doc got the WhoTestRig out and had that sick sub of Hurd's on the parking lot abusing my neighbors. I rolled the LSI stacks out and some pix were taken. One of them showed my LS brothers and I. How did that work? I had visited Picky when I picked up the number 1 pair as one of my first road trip acquisitions three years ago. Dtel had picked up number 2 pair local to him and held them for a few months until a buddy could snag them on a southward travel. Indy and I had driven to Miami last summer (?) to fetch the final elements of his 7x LSI setup. That photo of the 4 of us looking rock-star-ish represents a whole lotta travel, I can tell you. Sorry to take so long getting everyone fed on Sunday, but Some Guys didn't open until later and I wanted you guys to taste Indy's best! Those three large pies didn't last long, eh?

I was surprised when Dean G and his bubbly wife Debbie Sue showed up. Dean acts nothing like he posts, that is a fact. Nicest guy you would ever want to meet. I guess all my friends are like that, huh? He was soon taking my LSBR's apart and tweaking with some BEC parts. That he didn't try to sell me stuff and said I'd be just fine with my BEC upgrades was a bit of shocker, but I really enjoyed our chat. And Dean, what you said to me Friday night outside the mixer- about growing up on this Forum, that will stick with me- thanks man! Debbie, I really enjoyed our chats- you are such a sweetheart of a lady!

Of course there were the everpresent Dtel, Christy, and Buddy. I wish I could have spent more time with you guys, you know you're really special to me. Probably because we're equally crazy and passionate about Klipsch. I loved watching Dtel's face Monday night as we blasted Pink Floyd Pulse. I think Hurd turned him into a BassGuy! I don't think my paneling or china cabinet will ever be quite the same. Buddy even brought me a PWK hat from Hope. Thanks Buddy, you are my buddy! Christy I see you called, hope that means you're home safely! They are the coolest house guests ever. For a single guy to host a family and a couple other dudes for a weekend was a bit nerve-wracking for me at first, but I soon realized that they were here for the bonding and Klipsch, not to judge decorating style LOL.

Roger, thanks for being such a great Klipsch Fan and great friend! Nothing more needs to be said there except I'm glad I ran into you on the Forum a few years back and rekindled our friendship.

Off to beddies, it's part two of Klipsch University tomorrow. I ran the Reference and Qunitet SL for about 70 employees today.

I gotta get some sleep, see ya in a few hours. Nighty night all.

Michael

[colterphoto1]

Hey doc you forgot the great breakfast we had with Eldin and Buddy!

I sent you guys to my little hole in the wall- The Keystone Deli. Great stuff, aint' it? I wish I could have taken more time off to hang with you guys, but I was needed at Klipsch. Good that you could show each other around. Indy is getting to be Doc's third home.

btw, I have a camera that someone left here.

[soundbound]

DrWho,

You may want to check out Pink Floyd Live At Pomoeii too. It's an earlier movie concert release on DVD. * Watch the original film version!* Not the director's cut.

Also, thank you to everyone telling us who could not attend how it all went and all the great photos.

[colterphoto1]

DrWho,

You may want to check out Pink Floyd Live At Pomoeii too. It's an earlier movie concert release on DVD. * Watch the original film version!* Not the director's cut.

Also, thank you to everyone telling us who could not attend how it all went and all the great photos.

Trust me, I have lots of Floyd on DVD- Wall, Pulse, Making of DSOTM, Waters Flesh, Pompeii. Got to get the new Gilmour next.

Thanks for the reminder of the original film version, I had been watching the MAIN directors cut. The film is what we always saw in high school at the Midnight Movies. Very cool stuff.

[DrWho]

I think I left my Klipsch hat there too....

[colterphoto1]

I think I left my Klipsch hat there too....

no you didn't []

[picky]

Michael Colter: Sir, thank you so much for inviting Verna and I over for a visit to the House of Klipsch. You have a very nice place there and the lot is huge. It was very cool that you, DeanG and Debbie, Dr. Who, Michael Hurd, IndyKlipschFan, dtel and Christy were all there when we arrived. What a "love-fest!" LOL As I'd mentioned to you, you did an outstanding job on the new wooden floors. We are both quite envious. The rooms in your home are very large and they have so much potential. I think it's very cool that you have a fireplace in both drawing rooms. I wish we had at least one! I've always been a sucker for knotty pine, too as it reminds me of being "up north" in one of the many cottages my family has rented over the years. Needless to say, your Klipsch collection is unbelieveable. Your LaScalas seem to be properly dialed-in from what I heard, but I didn't get the chance to hear them at a higher volume as you and Dean were busy doing some adjustments to the networks. We wanted to get back home by dark so that's why we left when we did. We got home around 10 pm. Your collection of industrial systems out in the garage is incredible! It's a shame we couldn't roll the big boys out and light them up due to the intermittan rain. DRAT! I really wanted to hear them. There's always next time! Thanks for your gracous hospitality. Hopefully next time we are in Indy, we'll be able to spend a lot more time getting to enjoy the house of Klipsch. Please know that you are welcome at our house anytime!

-Glenn & Verna

[Daddy Dee]

Doc,

Thanks for the narrative. Good word on a good weekend.

[Deang]

"Dean acts nothing like he posts, that is a fact. Nicest guy you would ever want to meet."

All that work, down the drain.

I really enjoyed the stops after the Pilgrimage. Roger and Cindy are great, and I thought Deb was gonna ask if we could bring their kids home with us (great kids). Roger's HT system/room is simply awesome -- a little on the warm side signature wise, but really engaging -- the sound just envelopes you. The stop at Michael's was like being at home, and after 5 minutes I felt like I'd been there a hundred times before. I learned everything I needed to know about Michael by looking at the photographs in his studio room. I got to the third picture and started choking up. Some people are talented, some are truly gifted -- the gifted ones reach out with their soul. He's one of the most transparent people I've ever met, there's no pretense with him. Roger showed up after a while, but was still clearly wiped out from the night before -- hitting the chair and raising the noise floor with his snoring. When he's awake, Roger's a very quick thinker, very sharp -- and he has an awesome "what, are you stupid?" look that I'm sure took him decades to master. Christy and Eldon (Dtel) seem like polar opposites. Christy is full of fire and knows how to tell a story -- and if you told Eldon the world was coming to an end he'd probably ask you to pour him another cup of coffee. I had trouble getting a good handle on Michael Hurd -- really laid back and just seems to be one of those guys that takes everything in stride. This guy really knows his stuff, and could explain things to me in a way without my brain grinding to a halt. I suppose he could be a Canadian axe murderer, you just can't tell about people sometimes. Who is Who. Anal, but not anal retentive. Very personable, and not nearly as obnoxious as he can be in written form -- we bonded immediately. It would have been nice to spend more time with Glenn and his wife, but we kept passing like ships in the night. I hope to spend time with all of these folks again sometime.

We played with the system a little, but everyone was mostly into gabbing -- which was fine by me. Audio is fun, but it doesn't measure up to time spent with quality people.

[picky]

Verna and I would have enjoyed spending more time getting to know Dean and Deb, too. They are two really wonderful people. Here's hoping next year allows that to happen.

I must step in here and add to what Dean mentioned in his post above regarding Michael Colter's photograghic ability. Folks: I have been taken pictures since I was seven years old and I've become quite passionate and serious about the hobby. I've taken several semesters of phtography in college. But, you don't need any degrees to clearly see that Michael Colter has an amazing gift for being behind a camera! Dean said it so well that he was moved after viewing the first three wedding photos displayed about the room. I am totally envious of Michael's eye for composition and use of light! The only word I can muster for a one word description of Michael's ability is: MAGIC! Pure MAGIC!!! He is so blessed with talent, and I am proud to know him. - Glenn

[DrWho]

You guys oughta see him work a room with his camera...it's more than just good photos, he makes it an experience.

[dtel's wife]

Doc,

I have to agree with that statement. I have been to a lot of weddings and the photography always seemed to interfer.

With our triple wedding back in December Michael made it flow seamlessly and more importantly....it was actually enjoyable.

The man definitely knows how to take photographs and work a room.

[dtel's wife]

Dean,

I had to clean the computer screen after reading your "analysis" of dtel and I. You are right on...his opinion...if the world is coming to end...so be it....me on the otherhand.....well you can only imagine. I guess that why we have managed to stay happily married for twenty eight years.

BTW, Deb and I had a long talk about our "triple wedding" back in December and I just want to tell you renewing our vows meant even more to us after twenty eight years than the day we were first married. It was a wonderful experience....I felt truly blessed to be able to say "I do" all over again.