When I got started in earnest in this hobby, say in about 1971-72, the younger hobbyists regarded horn-type speakers as outmoded hold-overs- A-7s were still used for sound support at concerts, but not considered quality stuff for hi-fi and the Klipsch was regarded as an historic anomaly- sort of like seeing an interesting car from the 40s or 50s go by on the highway- cool, but not sure you'd want to drive one regularly.
My first real encounter with the big K horn was a little later- in about 1979- an older neighbor had a pair of corner horns being driven by mono Marantz tube amps, Marantz 7c preamp, think he had a Thorens table (that was pretty decent then).
Big, wide sound, did some bass, but a different kind of listening- the fact that they were like 35 feet apart, in the long corners of his room, didn't make for a soundstage since the rest of the room was too shallow by comparison, and you didn't really get much of a stereo effect.
At that time I was fully committed to my old Quad ESLs, so something should have told me that old tech might still be good tech. While I was aware of the experience in the Far East, it was largely anecdotal, I couldn't do anything other than look at the pictures in the Asian hi-fi mags, and there wasn't a very strong movement, even in NYC at that time- other than the Futterman thing- which tied to electrostats- to use arcane tube amps and something other than conventional monkey coffins.

whart May 29, 2006 17:39

CD's could also be used for skeet shooting. Probably along with that $8000 Krell CD player I wasted my money on.

nrostov May 29, 2006 16:35

Maybe it was the 3 watt SET it was being driven by.

I think so. The lower power SETs are very seductive but I've found that the Duos do benefit from an amp with more headroom.

herman May 29, 2006 16:21

My fascination with horns began with the klipschorns and ended with Avantgrde. I never owned either because my room was too small. But for the first and only time I heard a full symphony. I could place each instrument section and sometimes individual insturments. I found its' only shortcoming was its lack of dynamic contrasts. Maybe it was the 3 watt SET it was being driven by. My experience. What's yours'?

gregadd May 29, 2006 16:09

Thanks, Thomas. I have admired the simple beauty of your set-up, despite the complex of costly components. Two questions: given the host of tonearms you have, are you running several different tables? And, out of curiosity, what do you use your Quad IIs with (I have a pair that I occassionally hook up just to revel in how sweet they are, but they are not in regular use at my house).

whart May 29, 2006 13:54

Great System. I agree, analog air waves in the area of both ears are healty, less depressing and much more exciting.

thomasheisig May 29, 2006 06:59

Nrostov- you are even more cynical than me. When I got my first 'platinum record'- not for anything I really did but because I had worked long and hard for a client on other matters in the recording industry, I knew I had the perfect place for it- for a while, it was over the toilet in the laundry room, and now hangs in the garage, next to the air compressor and the tool box.
Kuzibri- I have admired your system on this board. I am looking forward to doing some serious listening this weekend.

The Air Line pump was plugged into an outlet on the house's regular electrical system and when it surged, it also not only caused the room lights to dim, but sent a nasty electrical 'zip' through the system that could be heard when the gain was up and no music playing. Today, my electrician, who had the foresight to run an extra cable to the room when he installed the dedicated lines for the hi-fi, set up a new outlet, just for the compressor, running on a dedicated line to a different subpanel of the house system, ie it is not on the subpanel for the hi-fi. (See other thread for lengthy discussion about how the dedicated outlets would be set up for the hi-fi). I am hopeful that this will eliminate the surge/electrical noise triggered by the compressor.

whart May 25, 2006 18:09

Whart,

it's a very logical step to move from electrostats to horns. Changing form electrostats to dynamic speakers, though, is very unlogical. The sonic characteristics of horns do come close to electrostats, without the disadvantages of electrostats, e.g. dynamics - bass performance, etc.

regards

kuzibri May 25, 2006 13:13

Digital does have it's place in the home system. It's perfect when I need to burn in some cables or a new component. I can just put the CD on repeat and leave the gear on the whole day. Otherwise I totally agree with what you said about analog.

nrostov May 25, 2006 01:54

System edited: new pics to follow

whart May 23, 2006 21:04

Thanks, Oz. New pics soon. The XL and Air Line are now up and running on the proper stand, tweaked by Bill Parrish. Thing sounds pretty awesome.

whart May 23, 2006 20:47

Whart,

Love your system and your attitude. Especially your take on the vinyl vs. digital thing. Most refreshing.....

Oz

ozzy62 May 23, 2006 16:01

I don't let the devil in my house. No digital in this system. One source. TT. Vinyl. Call me a luddite. The amount of work and expense necessary to get digital into the ballpark can, to me, be better spent making the analog stuff even more musical.
I confess I haven't listened to the latest crop, ie the one box dcs, lector, etc. But, when people tell me that their Zanden at 40k sounds almost as good as vinyl, I say WTF? Now, I grant you the shiny disc is more convenient (I don't have a TT in my car), but when I listen to the 'big' system, I don't mind a little inconvenience. In fact, the whole thing is an inconvenience, which is part of its joy. :) Regards....

whart May 23, 2006 15:29

Actually I was about to buy a pair of the Lamms when I was talked into and decided to go with the TEAD.I had a custom 5watt SET based on the 45 tube and it was a great amp,amazingly powerful sounding for what it was and clear as a bell.But the TEAD stuff,especially the amp,is in a whole different league.
BTW,what do you use for digital?Would be curious about your thoughts on youranalog vs.digital reproduction?

clfcarney May 23, 2006 07:38

Thanks, Clfcarney. Let me see how things shake out with the new TT and arm. I have heard good things about the Tom Evans equipment- also told that the Lamm tube monoblocks sound superb on the Duos. (Is that what you tossed in favor of the TEAD?)

I mounted the speakers on the apex footers supplied by Grand Prix- using the silicon nitride bearings- I have run new dedicated power to the system, and just added the Lamm line stage- while I was first using the Steelhead straight up, through the mc inputs and very little added gain, I am now experimenting with the MM input and cranking up the gain stage on the steelhead, into the Lamm.
I suspect that the new table is going to make a huge difference in bass authority. I will post some pics of the revised setup in a day or two.

whart May 22, 2006 20:53

Great system,but as a long term Duo owner I've got to say,if you are not completely happy with your amps(bass not as good as you would like),you must hear the TEAD Linear A or B with your speakers.It would be a revelation.The LinearA is the best amp I have ever heard on my Duos,by far.It just replaced a $25,000 SET in my system,and I couldn't be happier.Especially if you like to rattle the walls occasionally give it a try.If interested check out Jeff DAy's reviews of the Tom Evans gear at 6moons.com.Everything he says is spot on.

clfcarney May 22, 2006 00:33

I loved the last line about the car. That was great!

Yes please let me know. I would prefer not to use power conditioners also but my current situation requires them.

Justin

nrostov May 07, 2006 23:40

Nrostov- I'll be able to give you a better assessment of the Hydras once I complete the electrical system makeover that is now started in my room. (See other thread on what not to do).

I bought the combo of Hydra 4 and 2 simply because I needed the flexibility of some distance between the sets of outlets, since the Hydra 2 is currently being used with my Avantgarde Duo woofers, some small distance away from the rest of the system.

To be honest, my preference would be no power 'cleaner' at all.
What I am hoping to accomplish is as good a source of AC power for the system, without add ons or band-aids, first.
Then, I will experiment with the use of the Hydras.
And, yes, the room serves double-duty as both the HT room, and the hi-fi inner sanctum. Truth be told, it would be my preference to have a separate room for each- there is now far too much equipment in one room. But, for now, I sort of 'flip' the seating around, depending on whether we watch a movie, or I am listening to the audio only system. (I then have to put the various baffles into place to minimize the 'glare' of the film screen as my 'back' listening wall. I use the REalTraps on stands for that purpose. Otherwise, the
bass traps, positioned in the corners of the room, remain in the same position for both HT and hi-fi.).
The car is a totally unnecessary extravagance, which is why I enjoy it. Thanks.

whart May 07, 2006 21:39

How do you like your Shunyata Hydra's? How come you did not buy the Hydra 8? I am thinking about getting the Hydras and getting rid of my Monster Power cleaner. Any opinions would be helpful.

I really like your system and your room. It looks like you use it as a home theater as well. So the screen is on the opposite wall? I think that is a very wise use of space.

P.S. I love the car.

nrostov May 07, 2006 14:56

System in new state of flux: Stabi XL delivered today- many boxes; Air Line arm and compressor arrived as well. Finite Elemente heavy duty stand, now en route from Germany, should arrive early this week. New separate electrical system being installed this week, along with set-up to isolate arm compressor in an adjacent closet/room. System should be back up and running in about 7 days in the latest front end configuration: XL/Air Line/Titan(i)-Steelhead/Lamm Ref. Line Stage. Also added: an additional Grand Prix rack with Carbon shelf to house the Lamm and its power supply.
New pics to follow once room is reconfigured and equipment re-installed.

whart May 06, 2006 17:27

6.0 Diablo in Rosso Vik. I bought it from MCI in Missouri a little over a year ago- if you know anything about Lambos, this is one of the more desirable modern ones- it is the last of the Diablos, with many improvements, mechanical and aesthetic- and signals the end of the pre-Audi era at the factory (built under Audi's ownership based on an older design). There are not alot of them, and after having a bunch of cars from that 'other' Italian marque(that begins with an "F" and yes has a relationship to FIAT), I decided to give the L-car a go. Big, heavy, very exotic muscle car, Italian style. The musical aspect is in the roar of the engine at speed.

whart May 01, 2006 16:54

What's the story on the wheels?

pawlowski6132 May 01, 2006 16:24

Herman, due to the weird configuration of the room, and the fact that the video system had been installed a couple years before, the best placement for the audio-only system turned out to be the 'back wall' of the video 'room.' Thus, when listening to audio, the seats are positioned back against the screen or 'front' wall- when I watch a movie, I pull the seats to their original 'video' position, almost between the Avantgarde Duos. (There is additional seating, if necessary, that gets pulled from a side 'lounge' area of the room).
That is why in the 'audio only' configuration, the projector is facing 'backwards.' (I use a series of RealTraps to mask the effects of the Stewart projection screen which is the 'back wall' of the audio listening setup).
The racks contain the hardware for the video system- HD Leeza and SDI DVD player, a pair of small video monitors, a video switcher, on the one rack, and, on the other, a series of amplifers for front, surround, center and woofers, along with the Meridian processor. The racks are made by Mid-Atlantic, are fan-cooled, and powered by a 240v step down transformer.
The a/v system and the audio-only system are totally separate.

whart May 01, 2006 11:13

Isn't the projector pointed in the wrong direction?

What are the racks that look like mainframe computers?

herman May 01, 2006 03:54

System edited: Lamm Line Stage definitely does not suck.

whart April 27, 2006 01:49