The Ever-Changing HT - Page 2

Thanks BigRed. It was frustrating at times, but the end result was worth the effort.

Thanks much. I'd be glad to offer up my help with making your own cables if you want to go that route.

Here's everything you'll need. No soldering involved.

Cable: Canare L-4CFB (pick the color of your choice)
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...fb&pagesize=20

Canare crimp RCA connectors
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...fb&pagesize=20

Canare TS100E 5-Way Cable Stripping Tool
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...ip&pagesize=20

Canare TC1 Crimp Tool
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...ol&pagesize=20

Canare TC1 Crimp Tool die set
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...ol&pagesize=20

Instructions on attaching connectors to cable (very bottom of page):
http://www.canare.com/ProductItemDis...oductItemID=40

The tools will set you back a few hundred dollars, but they will last a life-time and with the low cost of the cable and connectors you will still save lots over exotic ICs.



If you want to get fancy, go to www.cableorganizer.com and pick the braided sleaving and shrink tubing of your choice to dress the cables up.

Thanks Bradon.

Things have not been the same for me around here since the perfect speaker thread went silent. It had it's ups and downs, but it was something I really enjoyed being a part of.

I hope the Salks are still shinning brightly for ya.

Dan & Mike -

Glad to help. Let me know if you have any questions once you get your hands dirty.

Well you certainly started quite a following. That Salk thread is massive.

Sorry I missed your post, but thank you! What self-respecting male doesn't love carbon fiber?! Lighter than wood, stronger than steel, and it's all shimmery and woven. What's not to like?

Thanks Kevin. If you are referring to the evil MS empire, makes no difference to me since I work for Mario the plumber, if you get my drift.

Hey Greg! Good to hear from ya. Hope your new set-up is still treating you well.

I'll admit that there are still times when my system sounds better than others, but I've been through enough gear to know when it is best to leave well enough alone.

It would be nice to have the means to just switch things out every other year, just for a different perspective, but there is a lot to like about the WB / Classe combo, and thankfully, it doesn't nothing offensive that would get under my skin over time.

tenderlips -

Thanks for the compliment. I admit that while this system sounds great, it was just as important that it make a visual statement too. Audiophile jewelry if you will. It's like owning a nice sports car. Sure you could trick out a Honda to match the performance of a Porsche for a lot less money, but I think most would still rather own the Porsche.

If you look behind the right front speaker, you will see a JL Audio F112 subwoofer in the corner. While it certainly is needed to get full range sound, the Discovery's (the main fronts) are solid down to 40Hz, and they can pump that out at very high levels without compression or bottoming out.

One of my goals was to get the biggest, most effortless sound out of the smallest package possible. I don't know if you noticed, but there are three 7" drivers in each of those "stand mount" Wilson Benesch speakers. There's the mid/bass driver on the face of the speaker, and then two more bass drivers in an isobaric clamshell configuration on the bottom of the speaker. Wilson Benesch affectionately refers to the Discovery speakers as "micro floorstanders", and that's really how they perform-- like a medium sized floorstanding speaker crammed into the size of a standmount. The smallish JL sub was also chosen for this reason. I owned a somewhat large Velodyne DD15 sub prior to the JL F112, and honestly, the JL with a 12" driver, clearly provides a more visceral and dynamic sound than the 15" driver in the Velo.

Here's a look at the isobaric woofer clamshell inside the Discovery speaker.




You can see one of the woofers hanging out the bottom of the speaker in the shot below. The other is tucked inside.



Now if you'll excuse me, I got to go rock out!

So Mr. Lips , I see that you work for the Magnolia division of Best Buy. You must have access to some pretty nice gear at a discount. Which speakers do you own? Def Tech, Monitor Audio, ML, Vienna?

BTW - did you know that Magnolia AV originated here in WA state? It was named after a ritzy area of Seattle where the first shop was located.

ldg -

I've been wondering when you would come around. Of course I remember our exchanges. I really thought the Revels would be the end to my search too, and even I'm surprised that I had to delve into the world of obscure speaker brands to get what I was after. For God's sake what will it take to please me?!

I've come to realize that no speaker will ever be perfect, because the music I listen to varies in recording quality so much that no one speaker can get it right for all of them, but, I am off the speaker buying merry-go-round thanks to my acceptance of this fact, and the help of some EQ for those particulary dissatisying recordings.

Good to hear from ya!

ldg -

First, you are riot! Second, I like having you around. It makes my efforts toward perfection all worth while. Third, if and when I die, my system is yours. I'm altering my will right after this.

I'm sure that if you were to sit down with me for 30 minutes, I could teach you how to make your own interconnects. Its no more difficult than a snap together model.

Yes, I have listened to the B&W 800 series, and I really wanted to like the 803D's as much as I liked the 802D's, but they are not all that similar. The 802D's are much to big for my room. I think the Classe gear would sound great with any good set of speakers though. It has very little if any character of its own, and a wonderfully smooth yet high resolution sound.

The speakers in the game room are Monitor Audio Radius's. I was going to go with a cheap HTIB in that room, but all of the all-in-one systems I listened to made me cringe. The little MA's though, those will make you think twice about small speakers. I like the sound in that room almost as much as the big room and it was a drop in the bucket of the total cost of the main system. Go figure.

PS - I'm still laughing.

Sorry if I hit a sore spot with my reference to getting a deal from your place of work. I'm sure you know that I wasn't digging for a deal, just curious if you yourself had used it to your advantage. I go broke if I worked at an AV store.

I like your sense of style. Mozarts in white will make a statement for sure. Do the Mozarts come with the cool metal base like the Beethovens? That powder coated black base would provide a nice point of visual contrast, and a nice finishing touch to a gloss white speaker.