Lets talk car/home audio..

[jmvotto]

Brian, you mentioned mcintosh . Always wanted one.. most power amp cube ever made. They are right down the road in binghamton, ny and making a nice comeback since the 70's and 80's. WWW.mcintoshlabs.com

[sandm]

IT's called "Cyclone", and it never went into full production as a product but it so cool it warrants an explanation for ya all.
Brian

I remember the cyclone. they must have had some leak out as one of the dealers here had one in their shop. never did see it make an install in a vehicle.

[sandm]

I run Polk audio towers and surrounds right now. 6 years old

which ones you runnin?

really miss the deals, but when I worked at circ city, I attended a polk training class. by going, had the opportunity to buy 1 set of home theater speakers at polk cost
had the rt2000 powered towers, ls/fx surrounds and the cc400(I think) center channel. circ city retail was north of $2600, paid $680 shipped to my door. they were sweet speakers..
only lasted 7 months at circ, but man-oh-man.. phil probably remembers the "accomodation program" that they had. cheap deals for employees and in turn, manufacturers hoped the sales counselors would promote their products.. you always knew when someone was going to quit as they would all of a sudden come in and charge $2-3k worth of merchandise, then resign the next day

[rdlangston13]

lets see home audio...yamaha htr5990 amp. all speaks are klipsh, not sure of the model numbers but in 2005 when they were bought they were the most expensive thing best buy had. we had a 5.1 set up but just moved and have not installed the rear speakers so i guess it is a 3.1 now. 12 klipsh subwoofer. monster power unit and an old school 65 inch mitsubishi that weighs about 1000 lbs.

the other living room had all in wall speakers including sub and i have no idea what those are as they were installed when we bought the house. we have a older pioneer vsx-56003s powering them though, and that room is 5.1

truck is very basic. alpine stereo with 4 alpine type S 6x8 inch speakers

[EarmarkMarine]

Yes, I remember the Phoenix Gold Cyclone (Maytag). Alot of excursion but very little exposed surface area. Great marketing item used for posturing but no real practical application based on its inherent limitations. The ESS Tymphany is another subwoofer departure (really cool looking with a great story) that while unique couldn't make the grade. But these items make up the history of an audio industry that once was more innovative and interesting.
Check out the Klipschorn from the 40s. This folded corner horn used the walls in conjunction with the enclosure to complete the low frequency section for a mouth that had incredible surface area. The cabinet alone was 51"H x 31"W x 28"D. Per the woofer's horn loading the excursion is almost immeasurable and the efficiency is incredible.

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/product...horn-overview/

http://www.volvotreter.de/khorn.htm

http://www.volvotreter.de/downloads/klipschorn.pdf

David
Earmark Marine

[sandm]

totally agree that home audio has lost all innovation, but with the advent of 5.1/7.1 home theater, most have shy'ed away from a dedicated 2ch speaker system, and the guys that are still dabbling in custom 2ch don't offer the other .whatever's to make up a home theater unit..
the stereo shoppe is our local highend dealer. the majority of their business is theaters and the segment buying an amp, source and speakers are vanishing quickly.

[kaneboats]

Yea, if I listen to music now I put on the DirecTV streaming channel and use the 5.1 system. The home theater speakers aren't bad at all and I'm not exactly rocking out when I'm making dinner. I just have a basic system in each TV room with a Pioneer receiver and Sony sub and speakers. Sounds great for movies and OK for music. If I crank it up at all it is out in the garage with the old 2 ch. stereo receiver and my outdoor speakers.

[jmvotto]

[Check out the Klipschorn from the 40s. This folded corner horn used the walls in conjunction with the enclosure to complete the low frequency section for a mouth that had incredible surface area. The cabinet alone was 51"H x 31"W x 28"D. Per the woofer's horn loading the excursion is almost immeasurable and the efficiency is incredible.

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/product...horn-overview/

[David
Earmark Marine[/QUOTE]

David, big day in HS day in 1984 was going to pick up my buddies Klipsch Cornwalls with his Yamaha rack mounted seperates ( not the same today)

still has all the same gear in his basement man cave, still sounds aewsome.

In HS with no parents around, we would crank up ( to 11 of course) Van Halen onthe system and see how many neighborhood blocks we could walk until we could not hear it anymore.

funny, we now do the same stupids stunts 20 plus years later in our boats

[maxpower220]

Sony XBR4 TV, Yamaha 613 receiver, PS3 Bluray, Paradigm Monitor 5 fronts, mini monitor rears, and 370 center channel, Polk Audio 12" sub. The speakers are great for the price. I wish I had held out my money til I could afford B&M, but Paradigms are good. I replaced a Sony receiver with the Yamaha and what a difference in sound quality.

[EarmarkMarine]

There were so many speakers, especially in the 70s, that brought a fresh approach to home Hi Fi. Each had a different innovation. But here are a few of the more memorable ones for me.
The Design Acoustics was an omnidirectional speaker with a downfiring woofer, upward midrange plus an array of tweeters.

http://www.hifi-museum.com/pa/da/da_index_p.htm

[url]http://1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg120/retrobhoy/3_3010/100_1126.jpg

Dahlquist was a 5-way mirror image speaker that placed the drivers in an open array to minimize the front baffle effect. This was one of the first attempts to create a transparent speaker and it soon inspired many followers like Vandersteen and more.

http://www.blackswampaudio.com/Inventory/Listing.php?pk_inv=729

The ESS was a true rock monitor. It didn't image very well and it wasn't as precise in its linearity as some other speakers of its era. BUT...nothing sounded better on ELP!!!

http://audio-database.com/ESS/speaker/amt1-e.html

The IMF monitor was the best speaker I have ever heard until you get into the current class of $20k+ speakers (B&W 801, etc.). The KEF flat 9x13 woofer in a folded transmission line delivered the smoothest authoritive bottom end to date.

http://www.imf-electronics.com/Home/...rence-speakers

Honorable mention has to go to the early Infinity speakers, early Celestion, Hegeman omnidirectional with aluminum-drivers and the DCM Time Window.

Hope this introduces you to a few products that you were unaware of. Many of these shaped today's speakers.

David
Earmark Marine