I am sitting here reading through all the threads and I am listening to some pure jazz. The stuff that the tradition was built on. I am listemning through a pair of M3's and my vintage Stromberg / Carlson tube amp. It is simply incredible. I am having such a good time I thought I would tell you all. The music and you guy's a girl's make my evening's the best.
thanks,
oz
I have NickelBack on at about 100db and it's sounding mighty good
. Before that it was U2, Stanley Clarke and Keb Mo.
Isn't it great just to sit down on your a** and listen to music? I swear that you guys on this forum are the only people I know that have the patience to do this and actually enjoy it. Most people I know have to be doing something like riding in a car, doing housework, etc. because they find *just* listening to music a waste of time. I don't find it any different than watching TV. But to be honest, I was guilty of this myself until I got my Axiom speakers and actually heard was music was *supposed* to sound like. I've never enjoyed music as much as I do now.
Ah! Then you know what I mean. What I love about this set up is this. I am listening at reasonably low levels but at nearfield. The speakers are no more than 40 to 45 inches away. I couldn' be accused of disturbing anyone even those in the very next room. It's like headphones but better. The baby is asleep. No one is yelling turn it down and I am drifting.
I have gone through 2 weeks of hearing problems. I have a history of this. The last 2 weekends I have lost virtually all of the hearing in my right ear. The left ear has had 70 hearing loss for years. So I was running on empty you might say. The 60's (years not the speakers) were very good to me. I thought I was going deaf. I went to the doctor and I had an ear infection and sinusitus. Imagine I had no pain and I felt fine. I have been on drugs for the last couple of days and things are sounding so wonderful again. See, I knew drugs put you in a more... never mind.(flashback) It's just the music tonight is incredible. I am listening to Les Davis on Pure Jazz Sirius Satellite. I highly recommend it. When I was first getting into Jazz in NY in the early to mid seventies Les was a DJ on WBAI, NY, listener supported radio. He was great then and he is greater now. Sorry for the grammer. I was so suprised to find all these DJ's I knew from back then on Sirius. Highly recommended. The sounds just keep on coming!
oz
Would that be the "All the right reasons¨ CD Rick?? You haven't worn that one out yet? I love that CD. Their best yet IMO. I've been rocking out to some old SRV and Double Trouble lately. It's been a couple years since I listened to him, and I forgot just how good he can play that guitar. I'm also listening to the new Switchfoot CD. Pretty good - at 100 db with the 600 augmenting of course
. The new Hawthorne Heights is pretty damn good too.
Oh now you've done it. You've mentioned house work. Now I have to get up and find the vacuum and put on a load of laundry. Oh wait... it's not Saturday.
Whew!
oz
Yeah it is Mike, I have it in heavy rotation
. I really love track #2 on this cd. The bass licks on that track is amazing imo. SRV is one of my favs.
Interesting story! I'm glad to know that your hearing is back and it wasn't anything too serious! I can't imagine not being able to hear. I'll bet it's like discovering music all over again, huh?
Sonic
It is great! I love to sit and listen to jazz and read a good book. TV just doesn't do it for me except on Monday nights. I have to catch 24, about the only thing I watch on the tube these days. Wish it was on cable so I wouldn't have to sit through ads. Can you say TIVO? Haven't been able to justify the cost yet.
oz
Yeah... it was very strange. I had no pain or any other signs that anything was wrong other than severe conjestion, which is pretty normal for me. The hearing loss was very sudden and instantanious. I though it might be allergies. After the first weekend each day starting with Monday it got better to where on Thursday I thought I was ok and then on Saturday morning when I woke up my hearing was virtually gone in my right ear. Just glad it is back. It makes you wonder about that old thing " if you had to choose one sense to loose what would you choose? I know it wouldn't be my hearing. But I am a photographer, so I guess it wouldn't be my eye sight either. Anyway all is good now.
oz
What an evening! I was listening to some Big Head Todd and the Monsters whenever you posted this Oz, was about to reply and had a great phone call from a far away friend so am now in the middle of Steve Earle ... at the lower levels believe it or not. Sometimes it's great just to have *one* of those evenings, although it's now 10:16 and I'm thinking whenever the alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m. for work I'll be wishing I didn't stay up so late. Oh well.
Dude... Why so early? Do you have to set your hair?
oz
No, we are in the air at daylight and I have a 2 hour drive to work ... been doing it for years so I am well adjusted. I think.
Some GREAT posts Oz. There is nothing like being taken to a different place on the wings of music you love.
I read that you are saving toward a center and surrounds. I suspect that when you get them, you'll find yourself spending more time with your TV (watching movies) than you do now.
Sorry to hear (no pun intended) about your hearing problems. Having been a sound man for a regional band for a number of years I know of what you speaketh. I have tinnitus in my right ear. Strangely, it rarely ever bothers me, which is good, cuz I have no control over it. Every now and then, the tinnitus will ring much louder than normal for several hours. And, on occasion, I lose hearing in one ear or the other for 24 hours or so. Such fun.
Enjoy the music, Oz.
Jack
I have had the problem with tinitus also. I have found that caffein or rather too much caffein makes it much worse. Are you a coffee, tea or soft drink junkie? I'm currently up to way too many cups of coffee. About five years ago I had to give up caffein totally for about 2 years. That is when I noticed that the tinitus virtually went away. I swore that I would never get hooked on coffe again. Now it is back (the coffee and the tinitus) with a vengence.
What can I say I love my java.
oz
Know the feeling about just sitting and listening to music.
I have spent most of today and part of yesterday re-discovering many of my favorite CDs and hearing things for the first time that I didn't know were even in there.
It is good; very very good.
No coffee or tea. But, I have a Coca Cola jones that is ongoing. It started in Viet Nam when I'd drink a six-pack a day. But, these days it's about one or two eight ounce glasses of Caffeine Free Coca Cola Classic per day.
In reply to:
I read that you are saving toward a center and surrounds. I suspect that when you get them, you'll find yourself spending more time with your TV (watching movies) than you do now.
Well we do watch movies once in a while. But not much of the regular stuff. Like Springsteen said all these channels and there is nothing on. The sub, qs8's and the VP 150 are just because you people here have got me hooked on the Axiom upgraditis never ending cycle. Actually my daughter is getting married in 07 and if I can get it all together for the upgrade I would like to give her the existing HT for her new place.
oz
I sat down and listened thru Duran Duran's album "Big Thing" the other day and it sounded really good. Last nite it was some Moby, "18: B-Sides" which is a VERY smooth and sometimes mellow album. Sounded amazing in NEO6.
Oh ya, everyone needs to have a DVR of some kind. I thought TV basically sucked, but I found when you can record to shows to watch when you have the time (and skip thru commericals easily) you may find there are actually some good shows out there to be watched. I will have to say, 24 is probably the best or one of the best shows on TV.
Great posts, Oz. I'm glad the hearing thing wasn't permanent.
I think you nailed down what this hobby is all about for some--sitting down and appreciating some music. Well said.
Ah yes; tinitus. Bummer.
Got it too, but thankfully mine is also chemically induced....
....by my heart medication!
(been living with congestive heart failure for the last few years)
When I want to do any critical listening: a new CD or long awaited DVD; then I just cut the meds for a few days til the ringing clears up.
Glad that you guys problems are just as easily controllable!
Caffene isn't much of a prob since the doc insisted no more coffee.
Still drink coffee however, just that half caffene stuff...ugh.
But I also have a similar listening affliction as you; Oz....I just can't listen and do ANYTHING else at the same time. Put a nice sound system in one of my cars a few years back, but found my driving habits followed the tempo and tone of the music.
That can be bad.
And...
When I turn the tunes in, I tend to tune the Wife out.
That can be worse!
...oh,...and the new cans are FAB! Grados' RULE!!
Well, I am on the verge of being re-born for HT. We moved to what will be our retirement home last June. In downsizing, we ended up with everything on one floor. The great room is terrific, but the open floor plan doesn't lend itself to placement of 5 speakers and a sub.
Since the first weekend in January, a friend and I have been working to finish a basement room that is 20' x 28'. This weekend we will hang 3 doors, finish the small remaining pice of the ceiling, put the molding on the walls and finish hooking up the electric. The carpeting comes Tuesday morning.
First order of business on Tuesday afternoon will be to bring the TV stand and 50" LCD from their spare bedroom location and pull the boxed up speakers from the other side of the bedromm and - FINALLY- hook it all up. This will be followed by many hours of catching up with my music and watching the DVDs I have been stockpiling to watch on the full system.
I'll make do until the new furniture arrives at the end of April, but having the system back in place will be a slice of pure heaven.
Now, if I were finally setting up my equipment, which had been sitting idle for 9 months, I'd get everything hooked up, push the "on" button, and get.........................................................................nothing.
Argh, tinnitus, I've been having the condition at least 15 years now. I've got it playing keyboards in a rock band, I used to stand close to the drummer
. Also, it may have being the fact that I used mainly headphones to play keyboards at home.
I agree, caffeine and salty food (for me) makes it worse.
I don't want to bum anyone; it may be worth mentioning this here: depression makes tinnitus terribly worse, seek help if anyone thinks they may have both.
~Jaime
That's interesting I never heard the link between depression and tinnitus.
Be careful Ajax your little emoticon's have been crying a lot lately!
oz
Welcome back to the world of music OZ! You have great taste! Stromberg Carlson made some spectacular SET tube amps and I think the Axiom M3s are the best Axiom speaker for tubies. SETs are sweet at any volume, but playing music at low volume is a tough test for an amp, a test that most solid state amps cannot pass.
My dad is going to ship our old Harman Kardon Citation II tube amp to me here in California. I'll modify it and it will end up in my main 2 channel system. I have had my eye on some Stromberg Carlsons over the years, just never had the chance to grab a minty example. The S/Cs are some of the best tube amps ever made. Sh*t. Now their bid prices will go through the roof on ebay, and I haven't gotten mine yet.
Thanks!
You are right about the M3's sounding great with tubes. Believe it or not I hooked the 60's up to the SC also and it was pretty nice. Amazing that with 7 watts per channel I was able to drive the 60's to volumes that had my wife yelling at me. I love when she yells.
It sounded very good indeed. But I liked the slightly "rounder" sound of the 3's. It made me really wonder how a nice set amp would sound with a pair of 50's. I think I would like that a lot.
SC did make some nice set amps and those can get pricey on EBAY. Mine however is a beautifully restored Stereo 24 push pull. When I first got it it was absolutely silent. It has now developed a slight hum. I find I can control it by turning up the individual gains and keeping the master gain around 50%.
Not sure if I'll get it fixed or not. I just spent 200.00 to get my Vintage AR SS amp fixed. I know, I know even the repair guy told me not to bother but they sell on EBAY for 300. to very recently 450.00. So I figure I'm not out anything should I decide to sell it later. I just have always loved the way that thing sounds. I also have an immediate buyer if I ever decide to get rid of the SC. I won't do that until I can get something else. I'm looking at Tube Audio Designs 150 and their Pre Amp to go with it. Of course I'll probably change many times before I have the money for this. The guy I took my AR to also makes his own tube amps and they look and sound very nice. A bit more money than the TAD-150 though.
I was considering the HK Citation II but I thought I read you cannot get the parts and they are a bear to restore. I think the current issue of TAS has an article on it. However they don't mention the difficulty in restoring or modifying it. I read that on the web somewhere. Good luck with yours and be sure to post your impressions if and when you get it all modified.
oz
I had a pair of M50s, tried them with my SET tubie. Not a good match. Dunno why. The M3s truly shine with a good SET tubie.
On the other hand, I have a pair of Michaura M66s (same 2x6.5" drivers, 3/4" titanium tweeter, but with hex shaped antistanding wave cabinet) and these guys are the best speakers I've ever heard with my 5wpc SET. I also tried a pair of M22s, but was disappointed. On the other hand, the M22 like Michaura M55s (2x5.25" axiom aluminum drivers and the 3/4" ti tweet) are spectacular with the SET amp.
It's not that depression causes tinnitus, it just makes you more aware of it...
I've learned to live w/ it, for me its really bothersome when I'm in a really quite place, drive me nuts. I’ve read that ‘white noise’ helps mask tinnitus, I sleep with an really noisy air purifier. Kinda funny when I bought it, I told the salesperson, "what's the noisiest air purifier you have?"
~JAime
In reply to:
when I'm in a really quite place, drive me nuts
Jaime
I know exactly what you mean! Michael's sig says silence is silver, but to some of us it can be deafening. I need to stop contributing to the cause. Time to go cold turkey on the caffein!
oz