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Post by pedrocols on May 26, 2020 16:18:12 GMT -5
Did a huge closet cleanup today, and found this at the bottom under a ton of other stuff: Monster Cable XP-C1 spool - Good for in-wall use if desired, and features: "Specially designed cable windings for more accurate transfer of music signals" ( ) Patented "Magnetic Flux Tube" construction breaks up internal magnetic fields for more natural music reproduction (ditto) Linear Polyethylene (LPE) insulation around conductors reduces dielectric signal loss for greater clarity (What?) Unique round shape with smooth, flexible jacket for easy installation ("unique round shape???") And in spite of my skepticism about their claims, this is pretty nifty cable. Was originally a 100-foot spool, but I'd guess that only about 50 or 60 feet are left. $30 with free shipping to CONUS. Are you sure this is speaker cable? Just by reading the description I would be scared to own any of it...
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Post by boomzilla on May 28, 2020 2:40:48 GMT -5
Are you sure this is speaker cable? Just by reading the description I would be scared to own any of it... It IS speaker cable, and it WASN'T cheap... Monster Cable's advertising verbiage may be opaque to the point of meaninglessness, but they generally did at least a fair job of making wire. What they don't specify on this spool is the resistance per foot. I suspect it's pretty high...
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 4, 2020 16:36:52 GMT -5
The Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers arrive tomorrow for review. Are the Cornwalls my "end-game" speaker? I'd rate the chances at no more than 50%, but it's possible... I've liked the Cornwall One models that I've owned, the Two model, not so much. If Klipsch has fixed the problems with the Cornwall Ones and not stooped to the "smooth" sound of the Cornwall Twos, then maybe. Supposedly, the speakers have been "revoiced" (Klipch's term) to match the Klipschorn and La Scala models (both of which I've ALWAYS liked). The speakers certainly have the cone area to energize the room with bass. One major question is whether or not they'll go a few Hz. deeper with equalization. Yes? We may have a winner. No? I'm not spending a lot on speakers to still need subs. But I'm not looking any farther down the road until I hear these and measure them against what I'm wanting to hear. I've got high hopes for the Cornwall Four models, but am prepared to be disappointed if that's what happens. Kind of like a first date with a supermodel - Will she be as nice, funny, intelligent, and warm as she is visually gorgeous? We'll know soon...
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Post by brubacca on Jun 5, 2020 13:49:20 GMT -5
Did you get that BlackIce DAC yet? Would like to hear how it sounds and operates wirelessly. Info from them is hard to come by.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jun 5, 2020 14:40:45 GMT -5
On electricity... I gained my respect for electricity at the chemical plant (50,000 Volt switchgear). I've racked many a 2,000 volt breaker in and out. But the concepts are simple, and if you respect the hazards (and double check everything), you'll be safe. The first house we bought had a 220 volt electric stove. We decided to put in a gas stove, and to split the 220 circuit so we'd have a couple of heavy-duty 110V circuits - one for the new dishwasher, the other for the microwave. So I went to the breaker box, turned off the kitchen circuits, came back to the kitchen and checked - the stove was still hot. So I went back to the breaker box, turned off every breaker in the house, came back to the kitchen and checked - the stove was still hot. So I went to the disconnect switch for the whole house, and disconnected the house from the power grid completely. Came back to the kitchen, and without checking again, began separating wires - until I noticed a spark! I went back to the disconnect switch, opened it up, and discovered that whomever had installed the electric stove (most certainly NOT an electrician nor anyone who understood anything about electricity) had tied in the stove wiring UPSTREAM of the house disconnect switch - directly off the meter pan! Having no other choice (it was a holiday weekend and the chances of finding an electrician were nil), I put on rubber boots and rubber gloves, and removed the (still hot) stove wires from the meter pan outlet. I then went to a hardware store, bought two new breakers, and installed the breakers on the two new 20-ampere, 110V circuits. Lesson learned? NO MATTER HOW SURE YOU ARE THAT THE CIRCUIT IS DEAD, TEST IT ANYWAY. So I understand and respect electricity. I used to know how to wire house circuitry per the National Electric Code, but being old and lazy, I no longer do it. The cost of hiring an electrician gives any future potential purchaser of the house confidence that it is wired right, and that adds to the value. But even when I hire an electrician, I bird-dog her/his work to satisfy myself that it's done right. Cheers - Boom This very much relates to my post about no longer being able to say I have not been shocked. I was changing an external outlet from regular to GFCI. I turned off the breaker, switched the outlet, turned the power back on, and the GFCI popped. I tried a reset and it popped again, and again, and again. So, I figured I had a bad GFCI. I turned off the power to remove it and then did. The box had a line in and a line out. I grabbed the bare end of the neutral line out to move it out of the way and I felt a strong tingle! The was power coming through the OUTGOING neutral line! After much tracking of circuits and specific lines, I learned that somehow someone had rigged a 3 way switch between the upper and lower ends of the stairs, and in doing so...somehow the neutral line that went out of the outlet box got tied to a hot line from another circuit. To this day, I have NO idea how the 3 way switch even worked. I rewired that circuit and removed the circuit crossover, re-installed the GFCI, and everything worked happily ever after. Mark
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Jun 5, 2020 15:05:52 GMT -5
Electricity is a lot like a gun, ITS LOADED! It’s HOT = It’s Loaded Electricity is actually much more dangerous because caps store power (energy), whereas a spent round is spent. There’s no more energy in the bullet or shell unless you throw it at somebody. 😏
They’re both dangerous and require respect!
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Jun 5, 2020 15:16:32 GMT -5
I’m looking forward to your review of the Klipsch Cornwall IV‘’s. I’m searching for an efficient set of speakers for my restaurant, the space in which you’ve dined in. Big room with 10’ ceilings. At this time I have a Yamaha RX-A 3020, Samsung Blu-ray plater.(CD player) and KEF LS50’s. The KEF’s are actually putting out too much base, I’ll have to rectify that until I find a more suitable speaker. They do fill the room pretty well but I believe the space is just too big but I may be wrong. I’ve never attempted to put very good sound into a space that large, except for when I’ve had life music in the room. Have fun with the Klipsch
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 5, 2020 18:04:42 GMT -5
...I learned that somehow someone had rigged a 3 way switch between the upper and lower ends of the stairs, and in doing so...somehow the neutral line that went out of the outlet box got tied to a hot line from another circuit. To this day, I have NO idea how the 3 way switch even worked... Many homeowners who THINK they know what they're doing mess with house wiring to save money. Since I never know who has messed with the wiring previously, I test EVERYTHING before messing with the wiring. I've found circuitry with 44 volts on it before! For those who don't KNOW what they're doing, a licensed electrician is cheap insurance!
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 5, 2020 18:10:21 GMT -5
I've spent the afternoon listening to the Cornwalls. I can tell you that the woofers apparently take some time to break-in. Not so much bass yet...
But the midrange and treble are definitely right. Klipsch's new horns make a difference. I've run the CWs with the Emotiva PA-1 amps, the Heathkit 12-watt tube monos, and a 10-watt tube stereo integrated from Monoprice. The tube amps are definitely a better match in my room. The PA-1s (surprisingly) don't have much bass.
I don't know how long the woofers will take to become more relaxed, but I'm expecting more from them when they do.
I can also say that the Heathkits ARE quiet enough to work with the Cornwalls. The little Monoprice tube amp is also quiet enough. I had my doubts about both, but the work swimmingly!
Boomzilla
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jun 5, 2020 20:50:58 GMT -5
...I learned that somehow someone had rigged a 3 way switch between the upper and lower ends of the stairs, and in doing so...somehow the neutral line that went out of the outlet box got tied to a hot line from another circuit. To this day, I have NO idea how the 3 way switch even worked... Many homeowners who THINK they know what they're doing mess with house wiring to save money. Since I never know who has messed with the wiring previously, I test EVERYTHING before messing with the wiring. I've found circuitry with 44 volts on it before! For those who don't KNOW what they're doing, a licensed electrician is cheap insurance! That experience certainly taught me to do this also. Mark
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Post by dsonyay on Jun 5, 2020 21:04:19 GMT -5
I've spent the afternoon listening to the Cornwalls. I can tell you that the woofers apparently take some time to break-in. Not so much bass yet... But the midrange and treble are definitely right. Klipsch's new horns make a difference. I've run the CWs with the Emotiva PA-1 amps, the Heathkit 12-watt tube monos, and a 10-watt tube stereo integrated from Monoprice. The tube amps are definitely a better match in my room. The PA-1s (surprisingly) don't have much bass. I don't know how long the woofers will take to become more relaxed, but I'm expecting more from them when they do. I can also say that the Heathkits ARE quiet enough to work with the Cornwalls. The little Monoprice tube amp is also quiet enough. I had my doubts about both, but the work swimmingly! Boomzilla Very curious how this ends.
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 6, 2020 8:58:13 GMT -5
Very curious how this ends. So is my wife!
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 12, 2020 19:50:00 GMT -5
And just a by the bye... I'm beginning to appreciate XLR interconnects more and more. Currently reviewing a single-ended tube amp and fighting hum at every turn. I know the cause - the rats nest of power, signal, and digital wiring behind my equipment stand with a few wall-wart transformers and a cable box thrown into the mix. It's Hum Hog-Heaven! With RCAs - Hum hum hum till her daddy takes the tube amp away. With XLRs - Nothing but the sound of the Roon source laptop and the data HDD to distract from the music.
Next mod = Remove the source laptop, data HDD, and outboard ripping CD from the music room. Just too noisy! Go back to Ethernet data transmission. Roon does that without issue, but I DO need a Roon-ready destination to Ethernet to. Currently, my Oppo is lost somewhere in the tender trucks of FedEx, and my Auralic Aries streamer is on loan to an audio amigo.
Cheers - Boom
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Post by garbulky on Jun 13, 2020 9:58:35 GMT -5
And just a by the bye... I'm beginning to appreciate XLR interconnects more and more. Currently reviewing a single-ended tube amp and fighting hum at every turn. I know the cause - the rats nest of power, signal, and digital wiring behind my equipment stand with a few wall-wart transformers and a cable box thrown into the mix. It's Hum Hog-Heaven! With RCAs - Hum hum hum till her daddy takes the tube amp away. With XLRs - Nothing but the sound of the Roon source laptop and the data HDD to distract from the music. Next mod = Remove the source laptop, data HDD, and outboard ripping CD from the music room. Just too noisy! Go back to Ethernet data transmission. Roon does that without issue, but I DO need a Roon-ready destination to Ethernet to. Currently, my Oppo is lost somewhere in the tender trucks of FedEx, and my Auralic Aries streamer is on loan to an audio amigo. Cheers - Boom Chances are it's the cable box
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 15, 2020 5:34:23 GMT -5
The AURALiC Aries streamer wandered back home and now the noisy laptop and data USB HDD are out of the listening room (blessed background silence!). An audio amigo with a phono setup has generously agreed to test that part of the Monoprice tube amplifier for me.
In the meantime, I'm REALLY enjoying the Black Ice tube DAC. It took a few days for the output tubes to burn in, but now it's sounding better and better by the day. I haven't even tried the wireless streaming or the DSD capabilities yet, but on 44-16 material this is one of the very best DACs I've heard at any price! And it's still getting better!
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 15, 2020 9:41:42 GMT -5
Did you get that BlackIce DAC yet? Would like to hear how it sounds and operates wirelessly. Info from them is hard to come by. Full review on the way - Spoiler - I LOVE it!
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 26, 2020 10:29:49 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, I asked Yamaha when they might be releasing 4K disc players. This was their reply:
Hello Glenn,
At the moment, we have no plans of releasing a 4K disc player.
Kind Regards, National Technical Support Yamaha Corporation of America
So, apparently, their prognosis is like Oppo's - all movies in the future will arrive over the internet via streaming. The silver disc is dead.
Boom
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Jun 26, 2020 11:33:30 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, I asked Yamaha when they might be releasing 4K disc players. This was their reply: Hello Glenn,
At the moment, we have no plans of releasing a 4K disc player.
Kind Regards, National Technical Support Yamaha Corporation of America
So, apparently, their prognosis is like Oppo's - all movies in the future will arrive over the internet via streaming. The silver disc is dead. Boom Or, they have decided that they can't compete with the current providers such as Sony and Panasonic and make the sales they need. Also, I believe Oppo was doing fine with the audio/videophile community. My guess is the parent company which is mainly a cell phone company decided that the return on their investment was not high enough to stick with the division.
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Post by garbulky on Jun 26, 2020 14:55:50 GMT -5
Though 4k releases have been significantly slowed down compared to earlier, it's still kicking and the big blockbusters are still receiving some good 4k releases. With 3d gone, it would be very sad if the flagship quality is simply Blu ray. Because streaming can't hold a candle to a real 4k UHD blu ray release.
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Post by boomzilla on Jun 29, 2020 16:07:05 GMT -5
T2 speakers with footsies installed:
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