Leaderboard

All that stuff was designed when Laurie Fincham was the technical guru. He's still alive an kicking - for 20 years at THX in California http://www.aes.org/events/146/presenters/?ID=8239 He once explained to me that the now classic B139 driver was designed that way to avoid purchase tax (the product tax that preceded VAT). The legislation defined a loudspeaker as circular or elliptical. So Fincham designed the B139 as a circular driver split down the middle and two straight bits joining them. So it was neither circular nor elliptical. Mystical properties are associated with that driver, but its genesis was much more pragmatic - ie financial! The B139 is now being remanufactured https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/falcon-b139-8-ohm-kef-b139-sp1044-replacement-woofer.html . Seems like a lot of money for one, but looking back at the price in the 70's and correcting for inflation, the remanufactured price is only 20% higher in real terms.

I did, in fact, die from my pupils overdilating, but I am reincarnated. Unrelated: worth a revisit: https://neal.fun/deep-sea/?fbclid=IwAR00LxXPsOU-COCfkDU4aIi9q8smJZuItys2sYNjm_l_HeshqYRbrHqBPyw

KEF stands for Kent Engineering Foundry. Before they started manufacturing speakers, they made farm machinery, crop sprayers etc. Who would have thunk, looking at those gorgeous (and expensive) floorstanders.

Well, I've got a Niche Zero ordered. Will be selling blood later this afternoon...LOL. HS

Have a bacon filled day!

For a long time back in the 70's and 80's, KEF was also the major driver supplier for many of the highly regarded speaker manufacturers. I still remember the first time I heard the KEF 104ab in the store playing some violin recording, possibly driven by Audio Research amps. That moment for me in HiFi was akin to the first time I sit in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta in a show room. It changed me!

That was really interesting, Dusty - thanks for posting that link!

Rachel Maddow interviewing Lev Parnas. Compelling stuff.

Too old to directly relate to this but I get sort of Joy Division vibes updated to now through dance music?

Happy Birthday Grahame!

Happy Birthday, Grahame! Have a great one.

Happy Birthday, Gman! Here's to a day filled with summer fruit and bacon!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday Graeme! Cheers! ?

Happy Birthday Grahame!

'Appy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! Spot of tea and cake called for!

Happy Birthday Grahame! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers Grahame - may your day be filled with bacon and ice cream - and the usual. happy birthday

Got your favorite singer to sing you a special birthday song!

Happy Birthday, Grahame!

Happy Birthday!

espresso is way more important than audio.

Happy Birthday, Grahame!!!

Happy birthday! (party favour noise)

I use a Mahlkonig Vario, which is a 43mm flat burr grinder with a hopper feed. It is about the same price as the Niche Zero. So what would I buy now? Interesting question. The downside with the Niche Zero is the need to weigh the beans for a single grind, which is a longer process (but I listen the majority of the time to vinyl, so I'm no stranger to ritual). The upside is the gorgeous design, and zero retention. And, dare I say, British! The upside of the Vario is the hopper feed and very comprehensive range of grind settings. It is also compact enough to fit under the cupboards over my work surface. The downside is that it has coffee retention.

David Keenan's A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery

The album is simply spectacular. I really liked "September Second"

Are you Trying to kill Dusty, knucks.. ?

I commend this.

Neither the prior owner nor I had even opened the shrink wrap on this one. ?

It has been a long evening.... a long musical and sad evening. and lots of Mac 12yo...

Naim Uniti Star and Harbeths.

Quincy Jones - Live in Ludwigshafen 1961 "His Orchestra" were this bunch: Benny Bailey: trumpet; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; Paul Cohen: trumpet; Curtis Fuller: trombone; Melba Liston: trombone; Ake Persson: trombone; David Baker: trombone; Julius Watkins: French horn; Phil Woods: alto saxophone; Joe Lopes: alto saxophone; Eric Dixon: tenor saxophone, flute; Budd Johnson: tenor saxophone; Sahib Shahib: baritone saxophone, flute; Patti Bown: piano; Les Spann: guitar, flute; Buddy Catlett: bass; Carlos "Patato" Valdes: conga drums; Stu Martin: drums; It's a bittersweet experience listening to such good performers at their prime trying to succeed when their craft was losing the popularity contest. Such is life, who would have told Quincy in those days that he would hit it producing Thriller about twenty years later. He went next to bankruptcy because of that european tour in the early 60s.