Great Polkie Get Together

heiney9

opus wrote:

I guess my invitation was lost in the mail. Sure looks like fun:o

Hey Kevin you are welcome anytime. Didn't think you wanted to come up. Anytime you are in the area or visiting friends look me/us up. Rumor has it you might be up this way to make another purchase .

opus

just kidding Brock.

And yes the flea market express will be heading north this weekend:)

dorokusai

I see nothing but clay, being softly molded into an unstoppable audio killing machine.....sweet. You guys rock

hearingimpared

This makes Lou's, Dave's and my get together this past Saturday look like a pikers meet!

heiney9

hearingimpared wrote:

This makes Lou's, Dave's and my get together this past Saturday look like a pikers meet!

Hey it's all about getting to know some crazy Polkies and sharing gear, ideas, beer, opinions, dinner conversation, etc.

Now a few comments about the gear.

Biggest surprise were the Epos ELS-3's


The surprise of the day was the Epos ELS 3. A very diminutive speaker with a pretty big sound. Shorter, shallower and lighter than a pair of Lsi 7’s which makes them very easy to place. They have a 1” aluminum dome tweeter and 5” mid driver and a rear port. If I would have seen these in an audio store I probably wouldn’t have given them a second look; too small to possibly sound all that good. Well I was pleasantly surprised at the detail and openness of the aluminum tweeter. Not in your face and very smooth and just enough air around the upper frequencies to be very enjoyable. The bass was remarkably taught though not deep (how could it be with a 5” driver) but it was convincing and didn’t sound strained or hollow like many small enclosure speakers do. It was a very balanced speaker considering its size and reminded me (as Doug mentioned) of some of the characteristics of the Lsi 7’s. At about 1/3 the cost of Lsi 7’s; I could live with these in a smaller room with modest electronics for a long time. In a word Effortless

Biggest disappointment was the Cambridge 640 cdp. I have never been a fan of Wolfson dac chips and this just reaffirmed my dislike. Tizzy, a bit harsh, very little air and closed. Jewel's vocal was especially strident to the point of making me cringe. The Audcom tube pre tamed the sound a bit, but it was not at all what I'm used to hearing using the Adcom GDA 600 dac. The 600 is so open, smooth and effortless, many of the things the Cambridge was not. For the cost I expected it to perform a bit better and certainly give my GDA 600 a run, but it didn't even come close.

The 5b's (my first Polk in 1985) were nice to revisit again. That sl2000 certainly is bright after listening to the Vifa in the Lsi's. I never noticed too much when I had my RTA-11T's, but they are really headache inducing after longer listening sessions. No matter, I'm going to enjoy re-capping the x-overs and adding the RDO's, then they should sound fantastic. I have them running in the computer/office rig right now and they sound pretty good.

The Audcom certainly had it's moments. It's much more rounded and a bit mushier on the bottom end than what I'm used to. I look forward to getting some good listening time in since dkg999 left it for me to use for a while along with some Signal Cables and the homemade Canare (w/nanners) speaker cables.

I still had a great time and it always amazes me the subtle differences in equipment, cables and such. It's good to get your ears on as much different stuff as possible to get an idea what your OWN likes and dislikes are.

H9

P.s. I'm on the hunt for a pair of those EPOS ELS-3's; I was that impressed.

schwarcw

Some nice gear guys and gals! Thanks for sharing your little party with us! Rock on!

reeltrouble1

Just put the pictures of Michelle up. I saw some fat guys in white socks drinking beer as noted I can see that in the mirror anytime I want.

Glad you all got your groove on, H9 you wear pants when listening to music? Dont they get in the way of......oh nevermind, i gotta go do something right now....

RT1

RuSsMaN

Doug, I have exactly the same feelings about the Cambridge CD players. That being said, a lot of members right here love them. Makes the hobby fun, doesn't it?

That Epos has gotten a TON of good press. They made Stereophiles Class C recommended components list, they go The Absolute Sound Editors Choice award for 2005 AND 2006. The Needle Doctor did a nice write up also, among others. The Stereophile line that REALLY got my attention was :

"...I can think of no speaker that produces greater sound quality for the dollar."

That is a BOLD statement.

You can grab a pair used, but Elusive Disc and (i think) Audio Advisor still sell them new at under $300 a pair. HiFi has come a long way, hasn't it? The line between happily ever after in mid-fi, and high end continues to blur more and more. What a value.

Cheers,
Russ

heiney9

RuSsMaN wrote:

Doug, I have exactly the same feelings about the Cambridge CD players. That being said, a lot of members right here love them. Makes the hobby fun, doesn't it?

That Epos has gotten a TON of good press. They made Stereophiles Class C recommended components list, they go The Absolute Sound Editors Choice award for 2005 AND 2006. The Needle Doctor did a nice write up also, among others. The Stereophile line that REALLY got my attention was :

"...I can think of no speaker that produces greater sound quality for the dollar."

That is a BOLD statement.

You can grab a pair used, but Elusive Disc and (i think) Audio Advisor still sell them new at under $300 a pair. HiFi has come a long way, hasn't it? The line between happily ever after in mid-fi, and high end continues to blur more and more. What a value.

Cheers,
Russ

Russ, I said that about the Cambridge, It's Doug's piece but my comment. And I truely was disappointed because so many on here rave about them as you say.

H9

dkg999

I got mine from David Michael Audio. I had to look it up tonight because I was travelling and just happened upon their retail store in CA. $225 shipped to me, they were low mileage demos.

I have mine locked up because H9 is just a few miles away

Russ - the Cambridge CDP was just great with my SDA-2A's with RDO tweeters and my Yamaha AX-900u integrated. I have used it with the Audcom pre, the Parasound HCA-1000 and my Monitor 10's with the RDO tweeter, and it sounded great. I tried it with my Magnepan's and ouch Doesn't matter if I use the Audcom or the Rogue, the Cambridge CDP is way too analytical to use with the Maggies. That's why I switched to the Jolida with the Maggies.

heiney9

dkg999 wrote:

I got mine from David Michael Audio. I had to look it up tonight because I was travelling and just happened upon their retail store in CA. $225 shipped to me, they were low mileage demos.

I have mine locked up because H9 is just a few miles away

There is an almost new pair on the 'gon for $225 obo w/ boxes and packing. Very tempting, but the 5b's are my project speaker of choice right now. .

Most people lock up their daughters but dkg999 is locking up his speakers :eek:

H9

RuSsMaN

Doug, Brock:

Synergy, there's something to be said about it. Besides, if we all liked the same things, life would be pretty boring *short of Polk speakers that is.....

That's one of the neat things about meets like this, impromptu, a good selection of people and gear, and EVERYONE got to experience something new. The attendees audio hitpoints just doubled.

Now, where is my good friend James Beam and my 12 sided die?

Cheers,
Russ

halo

Can't believe I didn't see this until now. Sounds like a great time was had by all. This place is really something special for so many different reasons.

RuSsMaN

http://www.polkaudio.com/images/showcase/372_3_big.jpg

Hello??????

Any chance you two might attend Polkfest? I need to know how much chloroform to bring.

Cheers,
Russ

F1nut

heiney9 wrote:

C'mon Aaron we proved cables don't matter. Where is that John K T-shirt we were all going to wear

Too funny!!!

Nice to meet you folks....well, sort of and thanks for sharing the day with us. It's stuff like this that makes CP the great place it is.

F1nut

Russ, I've got it covered!

Lowell_M

heiney9 wrote:

working on the pics......

I'll switch to .JPGS and upload to photobucket and put a few captions on the pics to make it more user friendly.

Thanks, I'll send you a few more pictures. Gotta find one of me that looks better I guess. ...and find a gas mask for next polkfest.

heiney9

a_mattison wrote:

Thanks, I'll send you a few more pictures. Gotta find one of me that looks better I guess. ...and find a gas mask for next polkfest.

DO you need my e-mail? And I believe high quality gas masks are available at our local Army/Navy surplus.

Lowell_M

H9, Hey, I've tried posting the pictures as you did and I'm apparently retarded. Please PM me your email address.

And, for the next polke get together.... I just kegged a Belgian Ale (Chimay clone), and am brewing a stout and a Blue Moon clone. So, I'll be all stocked up for future listening.

halo

RuSsMaN wrote:

http://www.polkaudio.com/images/showcase/372_3_big.jpg

Hello??????

Any chance you two might attend Polkfest?
Cheers,
Russ

Yes we'll both be at the Chicagoland PF '07 (unless her work schedule changes).

RuSsMaN wrote:

I need to know how much chloroform to bring.

:rolleyes:

heiney9

Aaron sent me a couple more pics so being the pic **** I am I posted them


Testing out the Audcom tube pre (on top)


Another (better) group photo. a_mattison and dkg999 on the couch; myself (H9) kneeling. Michelle behind the camera

Aaron is a brewmaster and he is brewing what sounds like some great beer for our next get together. I want so see/feel his new HT. Plus we still ahve to check out dkg999's Magnepans and several other goodies he has at his place.

H9

dkg999

That sounds like some mighty good brew I guess it's time to call the house cleaning fairy so I can have you'll over for a listening session.