Friday visits

[Doc B.]

Just a quick note - we typically have a few people stop by on Fridays to have a listen, which has become a real end-of-week treat. The snow never fell here at Bottleheadquarters (while our house was in a weird vortex that got 6") so it would be an easy drive tomorrow. However I was just informed that the contractor will be using a concrete saw in the space next to us where the new winery is going in. Gonna be noisy tomorrow, and probably smelly.

[Jim R.]

A winery on one side, a brewery on the other, and audio in the middle?  Now that sounds like a little piece of heaven :-).

-- Jim

[Reap]

OK cool. Cancel me coming over.  Anyway, I picked up a pair of Klipsch KG5.5's on Wednesday. 8 ohm, 98dB. What amp you recommend? Is the Stereomour the same as a pair of Paramours with 2a3 tubes or a little different? Have you considered a single chassis for the Paramours with 300b tubes? Would it be feasible to do that as well as add the Pre Bee to the same chassis? I'm probably asking stupid questions, but I don't mind looking ignorant to learn something.

[Paul Joppa]

At 98dB, most audiophiles would find 2 watts adequate. Some Klipsches are said to like a bit more power than the rated sensitivity indicates -  maybe someone who knows their Klipsch will respond?

Yes the Stereomour is basically a pair of Paramours on one chassis (with a shared power transformer).

Yes, of course a stereo 300B amp is a possibility. I have a "short list" of a dozen or so possible new products and it's one of them.

Combining BeePre with a stereo amp would become very large and heavy. That is NOT on my short list! If I felt a need for a 3-stage amp I'd probably do it differently anyhow.

[RayP]

What is a good time to turn up for a visit? I am hoping to be in Seattle for a few days in late August and I have to plan this trip way in advance.

ray

[Doc B.]

I'm trying to be sure to have the listening systems and a Tode warmed up every Friday. But any weekday is fine with a bit of notice and occasionally a Saturday can work out too. The only thing I have relatively firm in next year's calendar is that we will be going to Axpona in Chicago in early March.

[corndog71]

Bottlehead is coming to Chicago?!   Sweet!  I wish I could get to the west coast but unfortunately it never seems to happen.  Who's coming?  I was planning on going to Axpona.  Maybe I can bring my Ultimate Quickie over to show off.

[Doc B.]

It will be Eileen and I. I have been asked to participate on a panel, and we won't have a formal exhibit. Not sure if I will be at the show for the duration, maybe just for a day.

[corndog71]

It will be Eileen and I. I have been asked to participate on a panel, and we won't have a formal exhibit. Not sure if I will be at the show for the duration, maybe just for a day.

Ahhh, bummer.  I'd love to have you come over for a drink and listen but it sounds like there wouldn't be enough time.  One of these days I hope to thank you in person for all you've contributed to my crazy hobby.

[Doc B.]

That would be awesome, Rob. Maybe in the future, as now that my mom is gone we are more free to travel and my brother having a condo in Chicago makes it a pretty easy getaway.

So far so good around here today, no concrete saw. But the smelly part is there. The beer is great, but the brewery's cooking mash smell permeates the building and makes us a little sick sometimes.

[Doc B.]

I will probably be out of the office a bit today, but if anyone plans to come by you are most welcome. They have been pulling chunks of concrete out of the floor next door, but I think they knock off fairly early, so mid afternoon might be a reasonably quiet time. I have rearranged my speaker setup to a sound I like better, got the Nagra T running well, and we have new, very comfy listening chairs.

[Hank Murrow]

If anyone plans to come by you are most welcome. I have rearranged my speaker setup to a sound I like better, got the Nagra T running well, and we have new, very comfy listening chairs.

I can confirm Doc's assessment of the comfyness, I described the sound as like an IMAX theater in scope, with imaging as high as the top of the windows and well beyond the speakers. We spent three hours evaluating the BeePre in comparison with my BH Customs Linestage____ with Tape Project tapes, CD's, and Vinyl as sources. Most illuminating! Paul Birkeland can be very proud of his work on my Linestage; as well as his contributions in the BeePre development. The BeePre is as Doc has described it elsewhere here.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

[Doc B.]

Hank, I took your observations and processed them for a couple days. The speakers have been reconfigured with the mid and tweeter moved down and two woofers now sit above them, two below them. While I haven't made a decision yet, I think I'm liking what that has done for the mid/tweeter integration, and it definitely lowers the slightly high sound stage a bit. We're gonna  run it this way for a while, shoot the room to fine tune it and see how it works out.

[Hank Murrow]

Gee, I look forward to visiting in February to experience the differences with some additional source material.  I will try to make it on a Friday, as I imagine you'll need all the work time you can scrounge to fill orders, etc. Meanwhile, though my system is dialed in, the room has not been altered. I think I will do some live-end/dead-end treatment to get the Orcas playing in space rather than off of nearby surfaces. I wonder what absorbing devices behind/around the Orcas you'd recommend?

May spring for a couple of JJ 2A3-40's too, to bring some of the 300B 'magic' into the equation. As it is, the BH/Blumenstein combination has 'beaucoup de magie'. Thanks to you all at BH.... and of course Clark & Molly.

Hank

[Doc B.]

I like the Bonded Logic cotton insulating material. It can be found at green building supply businesses. Just build a frame, put some of the standard 3-1/2" wall insulation into it and cover it with fabric. At the very least treat the first reflection points.