The Corona Effect- Affected your audio journey?*

I find that, as well. Harder, but not impossible at times. I suppose many of us are feeling the same thing?

(It became easier once I stopped watching the daily updates on TV. Now I just look at the Johns Hopkins map and read the paper online. The information is there, without all the painful emotions.)

 

Both pieces look pretty nice. Though, has the cat tried to claw the woofer? it looks to have marks that ONLY a kitty cat could make.

A song with rich, deep base could really warm them up and accentuate the scent. However, let us not forget that when a human likes our stuff, it is a compliment. When something with four legs likes it, it can spell only ONE thing - trouble.

I was thinking more " Don Lafontaine."

 

Sh****t!! I would be a total nerve wreck if I were in your shoes. Luckily, I'm allergic to cats ...

 

I ordered a Bottlehead Stereomour Kit before the crisis hit. Bottlehead sent it 2 weeks ago but now USPS cannot deliver in time to Switzerland and the Kit is stuck in San Francisco since 10 days.
Bummer... Would be great to build the kit during the crisis.

 

I sold both my vintage ish TTs recently and had plans for demos at our local Hifi dealer . But they've shut shop temporarily , so that's on hold.
It's all academic really , as my employer went in to administration yesterday , so the future is quite uncertain on that front .
On the positive front , there's a pile of CD's that are still in their cellophane , which need a good listening to.

 

No, the woofer material is hemp and it has little flecks in it. If she had actually clawed them she would have been thrown off the balcony and my marriage would be over.

Now that you mention it, music with strong bass attracts her to the speakers like a magnet.

Yeah it’s stressful and at the moment it is actively sucking the joy out of my life. We’re trying not to overreact while still enforcing the message that she is not to touch. If the amp was running she would not be sitting there. The wrong move could spell death for the amp and maybe even her, if not from the voltage then from me. I hate cats.

She gives me a chance to stop her haha...

 

It is a strange situation...being retired I am not faced with an uncertain job but it still does make an impact....Music wise I have not stopped looking and ordering the odd album (CD and LP) but i'm being careful. As far as listening is concerned my system sits in the lounge with the main TV, and with my wife now not working her 2 days listening is restricted quite a bit so as I can be a bit of an 'Owl' at night late time listening with just one small lamp lifts the spirits and sends me to bed happy...

 

I love the look the cat is giving you - WTF - you hid the drivers.

Stop the thread - where did you get the covers - what are they - Audio Note supplied - magnets - how do they work - I have never seen them before. It reminds me of the Trenner and Freidl RA one of my all time favorite speakers. Looking close I think I see some sort of wire/string holding the cover in place.

Cute cat by the way - I had 2 for 18 years and my Tuxedo cat would hide inside the speaker - the front port was large enough for her to get inside. And any sort of a box is a gold mine to a fur-ball.

 

There have been 2 positive effects. Upgrade-itis is gone because I have no desire to receive more deliveries than absolutely necessary, and compulsive CD-buying is over for the same reason. I am growing more content with what I have.

 

Haha, yes she makes no attempt to hide her expression. The grills are a DIY solution and the Trenner & Freidl design was 100% the inspiration. We found some 14” embroidery hoops which are just large enough to cover everything while still leaving a bit of wood showing on either side. It was very easy given the hoops are designed to tension fabric and hold it in place anyway. Once the cloth was held down with the outer ring, my wife just went around with a glue gun. You could leave the outer ring on for a different look, but that would put the edges of the grill right at the sides of the speakers and I didn’t like that.

Loops & Threads™ Wooden Embroidery Hoop

Mounting them is the problem. You are correct; at the moment they are dangling from a bit of string. I am still brainstorming for acceptable ideas. I don’t want to have anything adhered to the wood, so that rules out normal grill mounts, Velcro, etc. Suction cups tend to react with wood finishes, leaving a hazy spot where they’ve been. I might try those little super strong magnets. Some of the hardware is close enough to the edge of the grill that it might work. Open to hear other ideas if you’ve got any.

 

I have just upgraded my Rega Brio-R to the Elicit-R at a good price.

Covid seems to have lowered (some) auction yields on eBay, which is good for buyers. Oddly, some kit is selling way over what it usually would.

 

I guess you could say im "lucky" in that i have records that are new that I havent listened to in probably a year because of school so im excited to have time to sit down and enjoy!

 

Well, Amazon I mostly use to buy new vinyl. But damn, I need another pair of sneakers so.......hope they fit!

 

Amen to that. I'm continuing to plow through the massive quantity of music I've bought over the past two years that I haven't even listened to yet! On that topic, this article is worth a look.

 

Good article! Also irritating in its' expectations of what a listeners' "responsibilities" are. We grew up in a "marketplace", and the free market is where we have chosen to focus our patronage. At least though, it helps us reassess our relationship to our own listenership habits.

 

My audio diy projects; building new speaker crossovers for my Altecs and building another tube amp have been put on hold. We are spending time away from Seattle in a very rural area.

 

I would urge people that feel financially secure enough to spend the money start looking for good deals on the Audiomarts and Audiogon. In 2008/9 when the stuff was really hitting the fan I was in the market for B&W 803D2s. The list on them was $10K at the time and I seem to recall a pair showing up for around $5K. (I can't recall the number precisely, just that it was enough to make me say Holy Cow.). But I couldn't get myself to pull the trigger. By the time it was obvious the smoke was starting to clear the asking prices for that speaker were back up to where they'd been: around $7-8K. That model was still relatively new at the time. People just sometimes find themselves in deep financial trouble and are willing to (or have to) unload gear at fire sale prices out of desperation.

Speaker Shop just contacted me with the best offer I have ever got from them on a unit they know I've been dreaming about. And the offer included one year free financing. Once again, I had to play it conservatively and say, "Regretfully, I have to pass. But thanks." I have to wonder how many of the small audio salons are going to go under because of this.

 

I have a small playback problem with my turntable. The hi-fi shop is open for telephone calls but I can't take my deck in for them to have a look. I'm not clever enough to fix it myself. Just gonna have to wait. I can still play records though. It's a minor issue.

 

Ok, I am officially on the hunt for deals !

 

The last couple weeks I have been home a lot more than I normally am. Being home has allowed me to listen to lots more. I am working two less days per week and was sick and out from work for a whole week a couple weeks ago. So I am completely happy to be home spending time with my kids and listening to music.
The bad news is my local record shop is closed. I really miss looking through albums and getting some crate digging. I really hope my local shops stay open since I also have $18 store credit once they hopefully open back up.
Overall happy to be able to enjoy my collection and have recently purchased a pair of Elac Uni-Fi towers apparently at the right time.

 

C'mon!

 

Well... if something "unfortunate" WERE to happen to the cat because it murdered your amplifier, you could blame covid-19. It seems to be the scapegoat for everything lately.

And here is what it looks like when a kitty cat sticks it's nose in something electrical -

 

Can one truly be considered an audiophile and also own a cat? Seems dichotomous, at the very least.

 

An excellent point. Give it 6 more months and the deals will be copious indeed. I've been planning out a speaker upgrade, but didn't think I'd pull the trigger for another 2 years. With the economy about to tank, and my job seemingly secure, that timeline could shorten dramatically.

 

Interesting thread to read! Personally, was thinking of building a Philharmonitor BMR, but the RAAL tweeters are completely out of stock thanks to Serbia going in lockdown.

Least of everyone's problems surely, but yet another gripe to add to an ever expanding list of Covid related pains.

I guess this means I'm building the C-Notes or LX Minis instead! Heh.