March Music Appreciation ~ Happy Easter And More 31Mar24

It's a mixed up month with fewer nice days than typical for us... winter continues despite Puxatawny Phil suggesting otherwise. I've been building and testing speakers quite a bit this month and haven't documented the new music I've liked. This will be a quick dive into my YT history to post March findings. There's a bit of a country bent to this list, including outlaw. But there's other stuff too.

• Jacob Collier (with Chris Theil & Madison Cunningham) "Summer Rain" for Mahogany Sessions 21Mar24 ~ I like Chris & Madison and this new guy is fabulous; this is a great cut.
  
• Adrianne Lenker "Free Treasure" on Tonight Show 19Mar24 ~ Cool song from a keen modern American folk singer.
• Waxahatchee (w/ MJ Lenderman) "Right Back To It" on Colbert 27Mar24 ~ Her latest album Tigers Blood recently dropped; it holds a number of good songs, just like the last one.
• Sarah Shook & The Disarmers "Criminal" OV 28Mar24 ~ I just really like North Carolina artists I guess, especially this one who also recently dropped a new album, Revelations.
• Eels "Goldy" OV 26Mar24 ~ Wow, wow, wow... It's been a long time since Eels dropped anew; this is a teaser for a new album slated for June 2024. Cool.
• Margo Cilker (silker) "Steelhead Trout" @ The Panther 23Feb24 ~ Obviously the subject is of interest but I've really been diggin' Margo, a cool alt country kid. Kala & I will catch her live at Planet Bluegrass this summer.
• Anais Mitchell. "Flowers" (from Hadestown) on Articulate 06May22 ~ Reprise, 'cause it's Anais Mitchell, always worth the time.
• Taylor Demp with Brad Brownfield "I Remember Everything" Cover, Live Vid 06Mar24 ~ Another cool southern emerging country artist.
• Ratboys @ KEXP Various Songs 02Jan24 ~ Tight Chicago alt rock/roots rock... worth it. Latest album, The Window, from late last year is again very good.
  

Nest Music Theater Part Thirty ~ The Road To 5.1.2 & Building MiniOnken Surrounds 14Mar24-29Mar24

I can't leave good enough alone. Plus, I found a pair of my favored full range 4" Fostex FE108EZs for sale; they were used but I snapped them up and they are in great shape. Getting five channels of gear all on Fostex ESigmas will make the timbre of the entire soundfield more consistent.

I have to decide how to deploy these great drivers AND I want to find the right path to get to an even more immersive 3D surround setup. Dolby Atmos (and indeed many DSP derived modes built into AVRs, esp Yamahas') needs "height" speakers. I have just the spot already plumbed that'll serve for the "height" or "front presence" in this new 3D scheme, and I have the channels, with both derived and discrete signal and power, already in the Yamaha 7810. This next step for the NestMT will require I more normally locate LS/RS speakers to ear level just behind the listening spot and use the suspended speaker spot for "height." The objectives here are to optimally deploy the Fostex FE108EZs while configuring a 5.1.2 system.

5.1.2 Layout... The "new" nomenclature for audio surround speaker systems has the 1st # indicate the number of ear level speakers (usually 2 front mains, 1 center, and 2 surrounds), the 2nd # indicate the number of subwoofers, and the 3rd # indicate the number of "height" or "presence" speakers. For the NestMT: the 5 refers to the FL/FR mains, the CC, and the SL/SR surrounds (once redeployed to ear level). I have one subwoofer; that's the .1. Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Yamaha Cinema 3D DSP recommend "height" or "front presence" placement be in line with and above (at basically ceiling level) listening position - that is exactly where I built hangers already and these will be the final .2 (FPL/FPR) in the 5.1.2 designation.

The 5.1.2 Experiment... To assure I was making a subjective improvement, I set up the NestMT in a trial 5.1.2 config using the Blanda 108s as surrounds and converting the suspended Tang Band Tri-Ports to FPL/FPR speakers. I balanced the setup manually by simply using noise on each channel and making volumes @ listener equal from each speaker. This is important as I have a variety of different amps driving the various channels in the NestMT. Then, auditing even derived stuff sounded amazing and modern discrete soundtracks were immersive. Fortunately speaker stands borrowed from COS are the perfect 34" height and I found great surround placement in reasonably correct but protected spots. I will have to figure out how to hide the speaker wire runs however. The Yamaha shows 5.0.2 because it is not responsible for generating the subwoofer signal and really it's just pumping 3.0.2 as I have a separate signalling and amplification system for the mains. Actually I'm even just using the center channel pre-out from the Yamaha and amplifying with the Willsenton EL34 amp.

Surround Cabinet Alternatives... Use of the "new" FE108EZs will be as SL/SR surrounds. The question is in what cabinets they should be hosted:

• The very best enclosures would be brand new back loaded horns (BLHs), Frugal-Horn-Alikes, or TQWT transmission lines built for purpose for this driver (EBP=240) and location... these would also require the most work.
  
• The 2nd best choice in my mind is a 2nd set of Onkens, like the dual center channel I already built; probably an alternative, smaller, and simpler Onken however... this also requires a decent bit of work.
  
• The 3rd idea is a single new center channel cabinet being driven by the Yamaha's CC power (and using the Willsenton amp elsewhere), or not, and redeploying the current Onkens to the SL/SR locations... slightly less work than above but also a greater unknown.
  
• The 4th notion is to replace the Tang Band drivers in the Tri-Ports with the FE108EZs for surrounds and build new FPL/FPR cabinets for the suspended Tang Bands (or FE108NSs)... again slightly less work than the more complex cabinets but also likely less performant. Yet, given pre-existence of Tri-Port cabinets, it's measurable now.
  
• The 5th alternative is to build new Blanda bowls for the FE108EZs... easier to build (I'd stain them black like the rest of the NestMT) but again likely less performant. Yet again, I have Blanda's and can use them to measure performance before going this way.

I chose #2 above without much further analysis and will build some new smaller Onkens with bottom-aligned restricted bass ports. #1 was too much work; #3 held too many unknowns; #4 was the same work, so why; #5 is not right for this driver.

Building The mini Onken... I built a pair of speakers approximating Dave's mFOnken. Super small (<5 liter), super nice homes for the venerable Fostex FE108EZs serving as surrounds. I just needed to find a metric or decimal inches ruler to make things easier from my metric drawing.

I found the ruler for just $10! It is just simpler ~ whomever believed we should stick to inches and ratios was not thinking ahead - decimal inches are OK but metric is even better; it is the 1/8ths and 1/32nds that are far from intuitive or useful for precision work. I found all the 15mm Baltic birch needed to craft a new pair of mini Onkens from prior builds' scraps, so that's nice. Bring out the table saw ~ I made all the cuts in mm measurements as in the drawing. Here are all the raw pieces, the driver hole setup, and the final parts ready for Titebond III.

I glued the front to the top & sides first as they were easiest to align. After a skosh of dry time I added the the bottom with the back in there as dry fit to assure all is square. I did a quick driver dry fit and then clamped it all well for a longer dry time. Clamp city baby.

I removed the back and installed all the port makings and eased an area around the driver hole on the rear of the baffle with a dremel tool.

I made a keen 45° side bevel cut 15mm deep on each front side vertical edge. Harrowing time, but all's good. Small full range Onkens are well served with good dispersion, and this finishing touch on the baffle increases that. But where are the ports you should ask... I wanted the front to be all one piece so I hid them. I then drilled through the baffle with a 12mm bit, chiseled, and filed to expose the port infrastructure hidden behind the front baffle. Clean.

I glued the back in place; access to the innards will be strictly through the driver hole. I sanded the speakers all around, though I will wait for warmer weather to stain them. I installed the binding posts and wired the drivers. I loosely stuffed the entire cabinet and secured the drivers with #8 1" black wood screws and some foam tape for the driver-baffle interface. Rock solid.

I did ask Fostex and Madisound how to interpret the "date code" stamp on the back of the drivers but Fostex would not answer either of us. I'm pretty sure it is a manufacturing date but don't really know.

I tested the new speakers independently at the 2m listening distance... awesome. I did not expect much bass below 100Hz and performance is about as expected. They are actually excellent from 70Hz-14.5KHz, though a little narrowly tuned for bass. These are fabulous in the mid-range and have a decent high end, though rising. They are keen, small, responsive, full range, dynamic speakers. I do see the rising response and sense I perhaps should've left the baffle un-beveled, the step would likely have helped... too late now but I might experiment.

I dropped the Mini Onkens into the the NestMT 5.1.2 surround spots and re-balanced the system... I also "told" the Yamaha that the surrounds were "small" and should be cutoff at 60Hz. The sub handles all the bass smoothly and mostly omni-directionally anyway. I remeasured in the actual listening position... better actually. I also "hid" the speaker wire runs under the baseboards and carpeting for a clean and finished install. I await warmer weather at 10Kft elevation for final finishing.

New & Deleted Connections... I've been able to delete the OREI and get 2 chan PCM from the TV back to the miniDSP. I also tested and approved use of the Sony TV's speaker array as an augmented center channel (at least for now) as the Yamaha drives the pre-outs and the powered outs simultaneously and the TV speakers can be driven externally by an alternative power amp. Cool. The new connection diagram for 5.1.2 and this special CC augmentation is shown below.

Derived and Discrete 5.1.2 Soundfield Impressions... OMG, in just 18 moths I've gone from 2.1, to 3.1, to 5.1, to 5.1.2 and would not go back. All the speakers are custom designed, single driver dynamics, full range, and hand built. Sure I do sometimes mute some of the presence and surround stuff for some music pieces but mostly it is all active; I definitely keep it all active for movie soundtracks. Being immersed  in the 3D soundfield is a trip ~ even the Dolby PLIIx/z derivations from 2 channel PCM are great. The Cinema DSP 3D derivations from Yamaha (various concert halls, etc) can be a bit much for me, though I do trial them occasionally. The 5.1.2 system is most thrilling when a modern Atmos or other 6-10 channel soundtrack is playing, but that's less frequent for me than listening to tunes on the Nest Music Theater. I guess I need to lash in a BluRay player and check out some of the concert footage with discrete multi-channel soundtracks I used to enjoy.

Good Spring Rides & Runs 23Mar24-25Mar24

This early spring weekend in COS was fab... Kala & I dusted the bikes and spun out a nice Foundry ride to America The Beautiful Pk. It was great riding with her again. We also enjoyed some hazies afterward at Red Leg and then soaked in the hot tub. Great start to springtime in the Rockies before the next storm.

The clouds were gathering as we finished our soak and I decided to make the drive to Summit in attempts to beat the pending storm. The drive was simple and snow didn't start in earnest till Sunday PM ~ whereupon we received a decent and fluffy 6" at the Nest. Monday AM I hit Breck for some of the best skiing of the year frankly. I was knee deep in untracked Whale's Tail after grabbing first rides on Imperial. And, I enjoyed great runs in Contest and Horseshoe bowls from the T-Bar to boot. Breck said 7" to start but it snowed all morning. You can't tell it from the white out that I'm atop the Tail but yeah... awesome.

I stopped at Dillon Dam for the 1st time in a while. Good nosh and surprisingly good The Hazy... not high ABV but the scarcity has them only offering snifters. Very worthy.

First Fish Of The Year On A Mayfly 21Mar24

It was a very good day fishing on the PT. The weather was stupendous; the bite was on; I saw my 1st mayflies of the season; I caught gobs of fish. I went to the Nature Center and hit the river as 2nd person at 9am. I was immediately into nice cutbows at the farm and farm-across, and continued to do well at the big weir and hook weir all morning... I did not wander from these spots and was alone at them till noon! Most of my catch was on a blood midge or a grey Pop Top. About 11am I noted a smallish BWO in the air and tied on my Destiny's Child imitation. It worked well and I caught a couple of 18"-19" cutbows on it. The spawn seems to be waning with less action on the redds than on my last stop here. However, the fish still have great colors and are very strong. I took the Rodfather T5 hoping for even larger fish. I lost more than half my pics due to my failure to not delete them.

Another Quick Recon Of SPlatte In 11 Mile Canyon 19Mar24

Well it was 17° through South Park coming from Summit to El Paso through Breck... cold compressed air in the park. After Wilkerson it warmed to ~40° but dropped again as I entered 11 Mile Canyon at 10:15am. Only 17 cars this day; probably because the temp was just 20° in there and the road is barely cleared from the last snow storm. As anticipated, the big storm continued to delay better fishing in the canyon ~ it was cold and slow. I did catch fish this time but just smaller ones. They remain stacked up in deeper pools. I saw no bugs but did observe plenty of finned off redds, but there were no fish on them yet. Blood and Awesome midges fooled the fish but I left in just 90 minutes.

Repairing The Leaky Nest 16Mar24

Aquahawk, offered to me through BMMD, tripped thresholds that indicated I had a water leak at the Nest. It'd clearly been happening for a while (see graph) but had not tripped indicators till late Feb when we were "using" 11gal/hr when not even in Summit. Yikes. I ripped up to Summit and checked all the possible culprits like faucents, toilets, outside nibs, new washer hook ups, etc. but no sounds were tipping me off.

Even in the water heater closet there was no unusual noise at this leak rate... but I checked the various hoses into the drain and discovered the one attached to the pressure-temperature relief valve was squirting. I tested the valve with the lever there and it continued leaking ~ I found the cause. I got the specs for the part: a Watts L 40XL 200psi/150°F; kind of a heavy duty one as our water heater also runs the radiant heating. But no plumbing supply place was even open in Summit CO on the weekend. I ordered the right part for $240 from AMZ but they would not deliver to my house or PO Box in Silverthorne so I had it sent to COS and I returned to the Front Range to get it. I couldn't turn off the water as, as mentioned, it heats the house too and at 10K ft elevation we need the heat on to stop stuff from freezing even when not there.

Then, an epic storm hit the southwest and the part did not arrive as hoped in the 5 days promised. So, I canvassed COS plumbing supply spots and found Rampart had the part in stock. I rushed out to buy it for $130 all up and headed back to Silverthorne. The other part will serve as backup, whenever it arrives.

To remove the old valve I had to take down the hard copper drain piping first as I couldn't rotate the valve before removing the rigid structure. Not a great plumbing design IMO. I turned off the main water supply and drained the top of the tank to below the relief valve. I initially tried to heat an appropriate spot on the structure so I could disassemble it and then reassemble, but it was old and didn't loosen. I ultimately had to cut the down drain pipe.

Once removed I observed the corrosion and sediment in the old relief valve which fouled it. It was likely caused by the harder water in Summit Co. I reused the down drain copper but redesigned the bottom of it with a removable horizontal run so when it happens again I won't have to do too much work to replace the valve; heck, I even have a 2X priced, late-delivered backup now. I sanded the pipe, wire brushed it, added flux to it, and sweat the 3/4" to 3/4" threaded female adapter to it using a torch and solder as normal.

I reinstalled the down pipe and used a plastic screw-in elbow from threaded to nib and attached a reinforced plastic pipe to run to the drain. All done. The Nest isn't leaking now. However, the months of slow leaking very hot water and the delays in receiving the replacement part allowing repair made our water and power/gas bill go up by at least a $1K for the period. Sheesh.

Pueblo Tailwater Before The Storm 12Mar24

I caught some cutbows on the Arkansas tailwater in Pueblo today. I hit the town section and Nature Center. Caught nothing but 16"-17" fish like these today though... the farm was occupied all day and I didn't dredge the bigger one from the walkbridge show hole. I remembered my net and Hero cam. RF Bombadeer was again stellar and fun. Blood midge and grey Pop Top were the performers.

SPlatte @ 11 Mile Canyon Reconnaissance ~ Not Quite "On" Yet 11Mar23

I stopped in 11 Mile Canyon as I was returning from Summit via Breck. The road was decent, a grader actually was working the entire stretch as I was at the head end, though 30% was covered in snow & ice making somewhat slower going. I was there mainly to find out how to get an annual pass ~ which I could not from entry signage; my check & letter was "returned to sender" using the same scheme/address I used last year and RMRC doesn't have a "Pikes" landing page either any more. I wrote Angler's Covey but they didn't respond. Mystery. I'm just gonna jam my check into the "stuff tube" next time I am out there.

There were ~25 cars in the canyon and plenty of fishermen; I can't quite tell you why though. I fished only briefly and didn't catch anything (likely my 1st time being skunked in 11 Mile) but checked out most of the deep holes along the head end from the last bridge to the dam. The water was cold and the fish are concentrated still in the deeper holes without much current (still conserving energy). The fish are not spread out at all. The air was nice at 48° or so and sunny. There was no sign of cut's and 'bows spawning and precious little redds already finned well... it is just a bit higher and colder here. The feeding I observed was on super tiny midges I couldn't see... I expect my #24s were huge in comparison.