Knives are like speakers...

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
26,375
Ever get a new pair of speakers? sound great for a while, soon, they don't sound as great and you start looking at OTHER speakers ;)

I think knives can be a similar thing, you see a new knife and think, yeah that's the one ;) then you get it and in a short time, you think...well this is ok, but that other one looks really nice :) and so it continues.

My speaker days are behind me now, but for a while, it was touch and go.

G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Ever get a new pair of speakers? sound great for a while, soon, they don't sound as great and you start looking at OTHER speakers ;)

I think knives can be a similar thing, you see a new knife and think, yeah that's the one ;) then you get it and in a short time, you think...well this is ok, but that other one looks really nice :) and so it continues.

My speaker days are behind me now, but for a while, it was touch and go.

G2
Click to expand...
My BIL bought some crazy speakers a few years ago. Guess they were recently discontinued and he found the last pair in the area...paid like $3k or something. Couldn't brag enough about them, and then he blew one, but got it fixed under warranty. Fast forward to now, and maybe a month ago he ordered some new speakers that are $10k...few more weeks till they come in. I like music and all, but no way I'd pay that much. My humble 5.1 system sounds great and will shake the house if I want it to...good enough for me.
 
Anymore I mostly listen to music at the computer.
I have a nice set of Klipsch promedia speakers for my primary machine. Got no-names for other machines.
Very clean sound and excellent base response.
 
Nothing sounds quite like a quad of pre-rola greenback Celestions crammed into a 4x12 Marshall cabinet. The older mine got (in a 1969 cabinet) the better they sounded.

But I digress. Y’all are talking hi-fi speakers. 🤭
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Ever get a new pair of speakers? sound great for a while, soon, they don't sound as great and you start looking at OTHER speakers ;)

I think knives can be a similar thing, you see a new knife and think, yeah that's the one ;) then you get it and in a short time, you think...well this is ok, but that other one looks really nice :) and so it continues.

My speaker days are behind me now, but for a while, it was touch and go.

G2
Click to expand...

No, I think they are more like potato chips....and when you are on the forums you tend to get the munchies.

n2s
 
Not sure actually, I've got a really nice pair of higher end Wharfedale's that I've had for a decade now, I love the sound for everything from Beethoven to Bowie and I've not felt that I've needed any upgrades. I've changed amp 3 times during that period, they don't seem to last as long as in my youth, but the speakers have been fine. I've not yet achieved that status with a knife as yet. Good enough that I don't look elsewhere. Perhaps one day and I'll just own a single knife but I'm not holding my breath. :D
 
I have a pair of second hand Rectilinear Hi boys for about 45 years now. My son bent the spools on the woofers so I replaced the woofers with a pair of Electrovoice. They are still smooth, but they will rock if asked....:cool:
(knives are easier to store)
 
I once looked at it that way and then I had a change of heart. I realized that after looking far and wide. Variety is not the spice of life.

In use I like what I like and often the best knife out there or my favorite knife is not my most useful or most carried. I now tend to focus on what I like to carry.

More often than not its an FRN Spyderco, a 3 ounce or less pocket knife, an ALOX. I may or may not take a peek but I always gravitate towards thin and pocketable. I also like lockbacks and I tend to carry those if I'm on a motorcycle. I have a PM3LW which I love but that lock mechanism won't hold a blade shut if you even drop it lightly.
 
Sometimes you do find the "one". I bought and sold a bunch of used high end stereo equipment in the 90's. Then I bought a pair of ProAc Response 2s speakers. I think it was around 1999-2000. I stopped buying other speakers and still use them today. I did the same thing with amps until I scored a Marantz 8B. Still use it today too.

I've gone the exact opposite with pocket knives. I carried the same knife for around 10 years. Then replaced it and carried that one for around 10 years. So two knives over 20 years. Now I sometimes carry more than that before lunch :p
 
Ouch. Selling or losing equipment always hurts. Sounds killer just from the description. I recently found a pair of human a200 (I think) for about $20. 2 10's and 2 1" dome tweets per cabinet. Fat magnets, square on the woofer. Padding was nearly shredded all the way through from the hammering the woofer threw at it. While being inbedded into the spider. The Surrounds were dust. Some of the cones were sepperating from the voice coil and spider.

Now get this. Each cab. was missing a dome tweeter on the box. Leaving a "port hole" behind about 3-4" wide (hand size which is important in a min.) These speakers are not cheap to repair or replace in true to form factory settings. I wasn't aware of that durring my thrift store shopping spree lol. You can buy sh*t randoms and slap it in but it's iffy game to play with quality retro speakers as old as I am.

Ok, now here is the best part. I, in no way condone any use of controlled stimulats. But I know people who use so I am no stranger to... "the craft". So as I'm pulling the sound padding from its slumped position at the bottom of the cab. Packed around the woofer. I find a nice thick spoon of older quality. Sprinkled with some macik dust next to a very cheap plastic, 3 piece scale. And thus why why the tweeter was missing to quickly retrieve the "gear" inside.

I Immediately understood the poor conditions that these classics must have endured and i sadly do not have the desire to sink real money into retro speakers that will not fetch me a profit. So they sit in the garage taunting me saying diy 🤔. But even the slightest distortion or scraping would blow all the effort and money. Fortunately I have an older pair of fisher 3 way 15's and a pair of klh 4 way 15's to enjoy my pink floyd with.
 
stevewest said:
One of my big regrets in life was selling my sound system - Marantz 2270 receiver, Marantz 6300 turntable and a pair of JBL 100's. Added some Sansui tower speakers, but the JBL's were fantastic.
Click to expand...
I've been considering selling my setup because I 1) mostly listen to talk radio, not blast Rush and 2) use the Bluetooth speaker. My ears aren't what they used to be, and talk radio doesn't require a subwoofer. However, I think now I'll save it all for the inevitable "mancave" that's in my future. Thanks for the wake up.Screenshot_20210912-211030_Photos.jpg

Regarding the OP, I bought great homemade no-name speakers once. Had Focal kevlar cones, crazy cabinetry... $400. They blew away speakers 3x their cost in this high end audio showroom in Sacramento called Audio f/x circa 1993. Unreal... they had a shoe print on the top in the paint. Whatever, they cranked. Wound up selling them to a great friend, so it's nice they stayed in the family. Then I bought a better setup... as good as I felt my ear could discern. Done. Gotta be! Lands of diminishing returns are dangerous! Especially when they involve a wife and talks of getting "better speakers!"
 
stevewest said:
One of my big regrets in life was selling my sound system - Marantz 2270 receiver, Marantz 6300 turntable and a pair of JBL 100's. Added some Sansui tower speakers, but the JBL's were fantastic.
Click to expand...
Still have my JBL L-100s. With the orange foam grills for the win. Not saying they are the best sounding speakers ever (I'm sure they're not) but they are maybe the most legendary speakers ever for rock music. And I happen to love their sound. From the first time I ever heard them, in a "record store" (Google it, young'uns) playing "Life in the Fast Lane" . . . I fell in love with that sound and I knew I must have a pair of those speakers.

Unfortunately, my wife made me eliminate all visible wires in the entertainment room, for aesthetics. So they are now in a box in the shed. 😢 Replaced by Boston Acoustics and Speakercraft speakers and subwoofer in the walls, the ceiling . . . . The overall setup sounds pretty good, but I still miss my JBLs. Some day . . . I will retake the throne!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top