What are you listening to right now?

[Dr.Jass]

It's not the material to which I'm listening at the moment, it's what I'm using to do it. I'm breaking in a set of new old stock RCA (Radio Shack) Pro LX550s. They're more than two decades old but have never been out of their boxes until about an hour ago. Based on prior experience (Pro LX5s), the tweeters on these things are amazing. I expect the woofers will need some run-in time before they start to show their true colors.

Well, that ended badly.

After about an hour of listening, it seemed the bass on one track just wasn't quite what it should be. I kind of let that go since they were breaking in, but a couple of tracks later I thought, "That's actually worse than it was when I started."

So I popped the grilles, and lo:




Maybe I should've started a thread entitled, "What aren't you listening to right now?" instead.

Obviously, with no airtight seal between the front and rear of the speaker, they're not gonna output much. Foam surrounds have always been a double-edged sword: They perform exceptionally well, but they don't last. Being stored in the factory plastic wrap since new doesn't help. So I've got two NOS woofers that need new surrounds.

It's not the end of the world. When I bought these I was just shopping for the Linaeum tweeters they contain, but hey--brand-new speakers? Hell's yes! I'm simply back to what I originally sought, with the advantage that the tweeters are still essentially NOS (they have an hour of run time). That means I'll go forward with my original plan, which is a custom speaker design using the Linaeum design, which is like nothing else I've ever heard.

I did think the whole "NOS surrounds blew out in under an hour" thing was kind of comical, to be honest. It's the known failure mode of the design. I was just hoping to hear what they sounded like 100% stock since I'd already modified the LX5s.

 

[b-body-bob]

Well, that ended badly.

After about an hour of listening, it seemed the bass on one track just wasn't quite what it should be. I kind of let that go since they were breaking in, but a couple of tracks later I thought, "That's actually worse than it was when I started."

So I popped the grilles, and lo:

View attachment 27929


Maybe I should've started a thread entitled, "What aren't you listening to right now?" instead.

Obviously, with no airtight seal between the front and rear of the speaker, they're not gonna output much. Foam surrounds have always been a double-edged sword: They perform exceptionally well, but they don't last. Being stored in the factory plastic wrap since new doesn't help. So I've got two NOS woofers that need new surrounds.

It's not the end of the world. When I bought these I was just shopping for the Linaeum tweeters they contain, but hey--brand-new speakers? Hell's yes! I'm simply back to what I originally sought, with the advantage that the tweeters are still essentially NOS (they have an hour of run time). That means I'll go forward with my original plan, which is a custom speaker design using the Linaeum design, which is like nothing else I've ever heard.

I did think the whole "NOS surrounds blew out in under an hour" thing was kind of comical, to be honest. It's the known failure mode of the design. I was just hoping to hear what they sounded like 100% stock since I'd already modified the LX5s.

I gave up on worrying about quality of sound a long time ago. The stereo here in the house hasn't been on for years. My car has a Fender system in it, and Gina's has H-K in it, but that's because they came with the package.

That almost looks like you could glue some "Caulk saver" in place of the foam and move on with it.

 

[Dr.Jass]

I gave up on worrying about quality of sound a long time ago. The stereo here in the house hasn't been on for years. My car has a Fender system in it, and Gina's has H-K in it, but that's because they came with the package.

I've been into sound quality ever since I experimented as a kid with a pair of Manavox speakers my parents gave me that they'd gotten as wedding presents in 1959. A few bucks at Radio Shack and the improvements were incredible. I held onto those cabinets for around 25 years, upgrading a couple more times, but they eventually fell apart from too many moves.

I really enjoy listening to music, much more so when it sounds like it should. There a quite a few songs and even a couple of bands I didn't realize I enjoyed until hearing them on a good stereo. I'm not one of these guys that fools himself into thinking he can hear things others can't, either (no $1,000 RCA cables or $100/foot speaker wire). I enjoy the building, the planning, all of it... and the results are usually better than name-brand stuff costing 5-10x as much.

That almost looks like you could glue some "Caulk saver" in place of the foam and move on with it.

View attachment 27930

The original surrounds are a half-roll, flanged on both the I.D. and O.D. so there's a surface to which the frame and cone can be glued. Getting new surrounds inexpensively isn't an issue; I just don't think those woofers warrant the effort, NOS or otherwise.

 

[b-body-bob]

Imagine if you will, a world where Geddy didn't shriek and Neil didn't need to hit every drum he owns at least once per song and you might get this



Local H is a long time 2-man grunge band out of Chicago. The guitarist plays both bass and guitar - live he has a guitar with a bass pickup so he's playing both at the same time.

 

[Dr.Jass]

Definitely an impressive rendition, but I've always found that particular track to be somehow overwrought and clumsy at the same time.

This part of 2112 was the first Rush song to which I really listened. I was at a school-related retreat in the sixth grade, just when I was really starting to get into music and leaning heavily toward metal. One of the counselors was absolutely Rush-mad and insisted our group listen to "the most awesome band ever." We listened to the Overture/Syrinx in silence, and after stopping the cassette he looked around at us with this "Huh? HUH? See? I toldja!" look on his face. The rest of us looked at each other, none of us particularly impressed. I then spoke for the group when I asked the counselor, "Are all of their songs that bad?" He could not comprehend that we didn't enjoy it.

 

[b-body-bob]

Are all of their songs that bad?

Overwrought lyrics and overplaying, topped with screeching vocals, end to end.

 

[Dr.Jass]

I do actually enjoy some of Rush's material, but one album was enough to convince me I didn't need to collect 'em all.

 

[74DartSport]

Rush was an awesome live show. Saw the Power Windows tour.

 

[b-body-bob]

I do actually enjoy some of Rush's material, but one album was enough to convince me I didn't need to collect 'em all.

Same here. Usually 2-3 songs per album, the rest makes me cringe.

Rush was an awesome live show. Saw the Power Windows tour.

They are superb, driven musicians, but many times the lyrics and unneeded complexity just turns me off.

I was kind of mad for them in the Rutsey days and Fly by Night, then Caress of Steel slowed my enthusiasm, although the songs I liked on that, I liked a lot. But 2112 turned it completely off for the most part.

The should be admired as musicians, but as songsters, IMO not so much. I will read pretty much anything about bands/musicians including several books on the band and Geddy's book, and 2/3rds of the band wanted to retire for years but Geddy couldn't let it go.

FWIW ...