I just finished up updating the A/V in the Regency. The original casette deck and 13" TV just didn't quite do the job (and dated the look of the front!).
I added a 22" wide screen LCD with video and computer monitor inputs to the overhead area. The casette deck was replaced with a CD / DVD / Ipod in dash head unit. This unit will drive its own 4" monitor, the 10" on dash monitor and the overhead monitor. It has inputs for an Ipod and the rear view camera.
The 10" on dash monitor will display the Ipod music info, play the DVD video or display the rear view camera. For a future project it is also a VGA compliant touch screen for connection to a computer (good for lots of music storage, navagation software and general computer use).
The 10" monitor did not look right sitting on the vinyl padded dash so I made up the Oak dash top. It stained cherry to match the Formica gauge panels. I think it came out pretty nice
The Regency actually had some pretty good speakers. I rewired the 4 speakers in the main room to work as front and rear channel surround sound, it works better than expected!
It didn't cost anywhere near as much as it looks like it did!

Very nice! I noticed in this weeks news the new Blaupunkt[?] units don't even have a CD player in them anymore. Just inputs for memory cards and i pods and all that other stuff that I don't understand. Dang! There goes another format that I finally got a collection of.

I still buy CD’s and then I can ‘rip’ them to the computer. I like the hard copy backup of the original.
It is really handy to have 200 CD’s worth of music all set to go. The MP3 style head units allow you to sort through it really quickly. You can even search by year or genre, its pretty handy.
It also makes it really easy to make your own ‘best of’ lists.
I resisted the whole MP3 thing for quite a while….it turns out it worth the effort to figure it out!

Alrighty then, I'm movin' on. Check out Alejandro Escovedo "Real Animal". http://www.myspace.com/alejandroescovedo
This is my new favorite musician and album.

Another medium is biting the dust! I have never fully embraced CD's and they're going away?! I'm still buying DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) tapes on line although they're getting harder to find in titles I'm willing to buy.

I have never stepped into the current reality, how does MP3 and the latest technology stack up to vinyl as far as sound is concerned?

Does this constitute thread drift?

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:

I have never stepped into the current reality, how does MP3 and the latest technology stack up to vinyl as far as sound is concerned?

Some answers will depend on source material, equipment and individual taste.

For us, it's no contest. It's all about bandwidth and sampling rate. CDs are getting better, but are still deficient. Time and again, I have compared a CD and an LP of the same performance, made from the same analog master tape. Vinyl always wins. Some of the Mercury reissues came close, but only because they hired back the wife of the guy who mastered the original pressings.

Of course, I am still stuck in analog, Class A SE 845 triodes, electrostatics, etc. Most of the music we listen to, live or recorded, is acoustic, so we prefer analog.

However, having said all that, I don't mind digital as a medium of reproduction of a digital or electronic original source, such as a lot of New Age music, for example. And most generic rock or beer bar band music seems not to sound any worse on digital.

MP3's are perfect for cars, busses, airplanes and such.
Critical listening requires nice equipment, I am still a dipole fan (Magnaplanars or Quads) with some good electronics behind them.

But for the Barth - Nicer to have easy access to the whole libary when away from home. Besides, vinyl dosen't work to well at speed!

quote:

Originally posted by chrisW:
I am still a dipole fan (Magnaplanars or Quads)

Yeah, same here. Good dipoles kinda ruin ya for anything else. Used to have Quads, too. Loved 'em, but couldn't find subwoofers fast enough to mate well. Presently have Sound Lab A-3s. Like dipoles so much that even my headphones are dipole electrostatic Stax relics from the '70s.

quote:

But for the Barth - Nicer to have easy access to the whole libary when away from home. Besides, vinyl dosen't work to well at speed!

Yeah. We do fine with CDs and cassettes in the Barth. We don't have enough space to store vinyl, anyway. Just storing the pizza-sized planisphere Rusty made me buy caused a major adjustment.

love ur coach .. ever in tennessee like to see it thinking about grading my dash also have new cb . t.v and stereo also 6x9 speakers have a bose ps 3 2 1 home surrond id like to install but dont use r.v. enough... have it so i can install for long trips though will take pics when i start ....

quote:

Originally posted by robert and kimberly delucia:
.. ever in tennessee like to see it..

Robert and Kimberly, it just so happens that 11+ Barth's are going to be gathered less then 2 hours from your house.

Why don't you stop by and say hi? Your not going to see, that many Barths, this close to your house, anytime soon and maybe never again. So... seize the moment and come on down.

September Barth Owners GTG - September 18-21, 2008

I don't think we use our coach enough to have justified replacing the TV but I'm sure glad we did. It comes in real handy and is a joy to watch when we're stuck inside the coach due to inclement weather or any reason.

When it comes to sound, I have to firmly say I'm on board to the music produced in analog form as opposed to digital. I have a boat load of older Technics pro series gear that in 30 years, has never skipped a beat. when it comes to the speakers, I am a diehard Klipsch fan. That is, the Klipsch of the 60-80s, not the newer stuff. Unfortunately, none of these speakers will fit in the Stagecoach.

Wow, I just sold a set of Infinity RS-1B's, but I don't think you would have got them in the Barth, well, and still have room to drive it that is!

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
when it comes to the speakers, I am a diehard Klipsch fan. That is, the Klipsch of the 60-80s, not the newer stuff.

I used to lust for Klipschorns, but had to settle for Altec Voice of the Theater, owing to the Wife Acceptance Factor. I even made my own crossovers to tame the horn midrange peaks.

I think it is interesting that owners of classic motor homes are into classic audio gear, too.

Anyone wanna up the ante and start talking about Karlson exponential slot-loaded enclosures?

Klipschorns you say?! I sold my 2nd pair of K-Horns on Monday. I sold my 1st pair years ago. Actually, I traded the 2nd pair for some stained Birch La Scala's + $1300. Now I know at this point you're wondering why on earth would I do that.

I've had the Klipschorns sitting in our bedroom for almost three years, it was the only room in the house that had corners they would work in. I used to have them in our family room but, since they weren't in a corner, each K-Horn had one side exposed and they didn't sound as good as they should. My original plan was to use the K-Horns in the basement when we finished our home theater. The theater still hasn't happened, thanks to the addition of the Stagecoach, and I finally came to the realization the K-Horns would not work down there anyway due to placement. I couldn't come up with a spot that was wide enough and deep enough at the same time without ruining the flow of the rest of the basement.

I put them up on craigslist last week and the new owner picked them up Monday. I tried to hold out for a pair of Belle's in a trade but the only set made available were damaged and he wanted a straight trade - no way! I think I made a pretty fair deal, the La Scala's are in great condition and have already replaced my other pair in the family room. I do miss my K-horns, in fact, it's time for a good boo-hoo.

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
I traded the 2nd pair for some stained Birch La Scala's + $1300. Now I know at this point you're wondering why on earth would I do that.

No, not at all. When the wife thing ruled out K Horns or JBL Hartsfields, I sort of narrowed down on either La Scalas or the Altec A-7s, in view of their placement options. Budgetary considerations caused me to go with the Altecs because plans were available for the enclosures, and the grille material was also available locally, since they were made in Anaheim. But the La Scalas and the Belles always looked best. Are you going to put grille cloth over the tweeter and midrange horns?

What are you driving them with? I always thought they sounded their best with tubes, preferably transformer-coupled single-ended class A triodes. 845s if possible, or WE 300Bs next. The beauty of horns is that they can be well-driven with the simplest and purest of amplification.