Hot Day @ Rainbow Falls With Andy 13Jun24

With most rivers raging Andy invited me out to Rainbow Falls. We knew the day'd be hot and departed at 6:15am for the spring-fed paradise. Even arriving that early we needed to move on to spot #2 on Andy's list of favs. NP, the whole stream is teaming with fish... or so we thought. Oddly it was 90 min before we hooked up in earnest. There were some faint passes at Griffith's Gnats prior but no subsurface strikes! It was very surprising for Rainbow Falls. Undeterred we swapped bugs, stayed top surface and ultimately broke through. Me with a brown on the chubby and Any with a decent 'bow. Ultimately we caught a couple dozen or so ~ a far cry from some 100 fish days here. It wasn't really and issue as we had a blast; this despite a Healing Waters mentor dropping right in on top of us. Hard to complain exactly as their doing strong work with vets, but yeah...

As mentioned, nothing worked early, but then the gnat worked a bit. I used a micro-caddis dry on RF Endless Wisdom, which got fish to look up but didn't fool any. Ultimately midges and mayflies and even the Perdigon took fish when flung on the Rodfather True 3. RF is a cool spot in a nice canyon with rampart cliffs, willing fish, but especially with a good friend.

 

I didn't eat out on the stream as we did depart early given the early arrival and the heat building, even @ 8Kft elevation so was famished when arriving back in COS.

June Music Appreciation ~ Back To Variety Dropped Now, Mostly 12Jun24

Sierra Ferrel @ the current 31May24 American Dreamin’ & Dollar Bill Bar ~ Crazy good “country.” Dunno about the range of wild outfits normally, but she’s very cool.

Pixie & The Partygrass Boys @ Winter Wondergrass Tahoe 04Jun24 No Friends On A Powder Day & More ~ Saw them in Keystone last year but they didn’t play this opening song & we didn’t hit Winter Wondergrass in Tahoe or Steamboat this past season… hmmm.

Mipso OV 18Apr24 Green Jesus ~ Christianity or weed; whichever, I’m obsessed with these cool NC artists.

Grace Potter @ Sonic Forrest Sessions 31May24 Lady Vagabond ~ Channelling Tina Turner still and always rockin’ the rafters. Missed her show @ Ford Amp last year, sad.

Southwest Throwback - Katie Toupin @ Audiotree Live 26Aug21 Sedona ~ she wrote it so I’m very excited it’s here; OG with Houdsmouth is very good too HERE; collab leader is very good but Houndsmouth is so much less w/o her. We love Sedona.

Dehd @ Fordham 08Jun24 Mood Ring and Dog Days ~ Maybe a top 10 album of ’24 (Poetry) was dropped from the keen trio from Chicago. Certainly some weird vids were.

Waxahatchee @ World Cafe 19Apr24 Crowbar - So southern sweet… sometimes flipped dark. Completely great sophomore rock drop with Tigers Blood album. Still a big fan.

Lawrence @ Clyde’s Cave Probably 26Apr24 The Only Thing That Matters ~ So good to see Clyde in front and at the grand again; can’t wait for Nov in CO.

Chirstina Vane on Western AF 18Apr24 Small Town Nashville Blues ~ Cool resonator and voice as always.

Kaitlin Butts OV 16May24 Roadrunner and on OurVinyl Sessions (Nashville Studio) Various/It Won't Always Be This Way 24Oct23 ~ Since I'm doing some country; she's cool.

Lobing Accoustic Interference ~ How The Dual DRC Onken Center Channel Performs 01Jun24

Directivity... in audio describes the way a speaker’s frequency response changes at off axis (off straight ahead) angles. A wide directivity speaker is one from which sound amplitude (sound pressure level, SPL, often expressed in dB) is maintained on and off axis and a narrow directivity speaker is one where off axis SPL is different from on axis, often lower. As frequency increases, a driver's directity is very likely to increase/narrow. These effects are often rendered in polar plots like below, where dB are plotted versus frequency or wavelengh (1st example is pretty wide directivity; 2nd shows narrowing directivity). Driver manufacturers also often provide off-axis performance in a normal superimposed SPL sweeps (0°, 15°, 30°, 60°, etc) graph.

Fostex FE108EΣ Directivity... It's better if you can measure the off-axis performance yourself, or access data from a lab who has done that... as from HiFi Compass below for the Fostex FE108EΣ. You can create a polar plot from that data ~ for me it is a more visual representation of the directivity... these graphs are with on-axis performance normalized to 0dB; also these are 2D while the sound really is emitted 3D from a speaker. For a full representation one really should use a 3D sphere "graph;" the polar plot is accepted for my use here and round drivers typically work nearly equivalently above and below as they do left and right (though of course there are baffle effects and wall reflections in reality).  While I completely enjoy the Fostex FE108EΣs, one can clearly see the directivity of my drivers increasing/narrowing as frequency increases. However also, notice the widening from 8KHz to 10KHz; weird. The directivity behavior is also called beaming.

Beaming Affects Audio Performance...  Not just in speakers but in microphones as well. Polar plots of responsiveness/sensitivity are commonly included with many mics. In speaker-created soundfields, often, listening to music off-axis is not as good as doing so on-axis ~ this is kindof why every image of a key listener in home stereo is shown directly in the center of the soundfield, often on-axis. With this general attribute in most speakers, one knows why if you sit dead center on-axis, you often get full signal amplitude across the audible spectrum and it just sounds better.

Theater/club horns are less directed... the audience is known to be widely spread out and the sound produced better be darn good wide across the stage/theater/club. So, why not just use horns every time? Oh baby, were we able... the best horns need to be very large and cleverly placed in a room; they also cover only a couple octaves each as their throats & mouths are finely tuned. A gigantic 4 way horn system is spectacular. Anyway... suffice it to say you can't easily get there in "your" room... argh, digression.

If a speaker is big it will start to beam sooner as it goes up in frequency. The frequency at which a speaker will start to beam can be determined by f = (2 * c) / (π * d) where c = speed of sound (343 m/s) and d = effective diameter of speaker (m). For my Fostez FE108EΣs that's f = (2*343)/(3.14*.1) = 2184Hz. That's born out in the graphs above where 1KHz and 2KHz are wide but 3KHz substantially narrows. The dispersion of tweeters is important as they render the highest audible frequencies where directivity is most noticeable ~ this is why many tweeters are domes, which disperse sound better.

Comb Filtering & Acoustic Interference... are audio terms to describe how multiple sound sources interact with each other, and combine, when playing the same signal. Comb filtering occurs when a delayed signal combines with another equivalent signal. These can be two drivers emitting the same signal (separated in space) or a single driver's signal interacting with a reflection (from ceiling, wall, etc). Sounds are oscillations and can be thought of as having + and - phases and are added linearly in time in space (and in math and in our ears); the result of combining can be reinforcing, + with +, or cancelling, + with -. Combing causes lobing (C, constructive or D, destructive) and is measurable acoustic interference, the degree to which changes in space and distance from the driver and the distance off-axis.

The amount of combing and acoustic interference in a soundfield increases with the frequency of source material, which often increases directivity of the driver, which is the source or more frequent interference off axis. There's plenty of debate whether this effect is audible in many situations, but we know it exists and is measurable and many speaker and sound designers must deal with it, especially in multi-driver systems, especially at crossover points, and especially when listeners will be known to be off-axis.

Light Lobbing Math... For the multi-driver case, if the distance between centers of the drivers is less than than 1/4 wavelength then lobing is not an issue. Plus, I sit dead center, so not an issue for me, ever. Yeah, I have my guests sit abreast me in the NestMT so it might affect them. If speakers are allowed to operate over a frequency range above where the physical distance between the sources is large compared to the wavelengths of sound, then acoustical interference may become a problem. That said, realize in home audio it's not like a pebble in a still lake, it's like a fistful in a toilet bowl ~ there's tons of reflections and wave interaction. I'll try to isolate for the specific direct lobing effects but it is a challenge without an anechoic chamber for a room.

NestMT Center Channel... I use two DRC Onkens for my center channel and drive them with the same signal. The drivers are 20" apart center to center. Why is this design performant when the driver has been shown to beam and the same signal is applied to both while delivering frequencies above 2.2KHz? First off, there is lobing (as in nearly all audio systems) but I cannot really discern it. We sit at a critical distance from sources and much of the sound is nearfield but a good mix of reflections are in there too; we have two ears and integrate sound across that space; from psychoacoustics, in humans loud supersedes quiet and there are 9 other drivers delivering content simultaneously in my music theater; and I am doing some DSP to widen the sweet spot from the mains. However, I have now placed the center channel drivers much closer together and mathematically they have a much larger sweet spot (green “rays” represent “destructive” lobing).

Empirical Measurements...  I made multiple SPL sweeps of just the DRC Onkens CC driven alike; I did so at all five listening positions and at three dual CC center to center distances of 20", 11" and 9" separation. The target center is listening and is excellent always, but empirically the flanking seats are great too. At 20" I do measure lobing at 4.6KHz and 8KHz, but of just 3dB at the flanking seats (~3.5' abreast); at another 3.5' abreast of even that I see it again at 8KHz especially but the rest of the curve is largely coincident, but just down a skosh overall. Fine for dancers.

At 11" c-to-c separation there was improvement in lobing-based acoustical interference observed from on axis to flank seating as the curves are more proximate ~ but not much. The curves were closer together but the lobing was still present at 4.5KHz, 7.2KHz, and even 10.2KHz, again by just several dB. Not surprising as in the NestMT sweet is 8'2" and flank is 8'7" so not a great difference ~ but axis relative to driver 0° is important. The dual DRC Onkens CC is lobing but powerful and full to sweet spot and not high interference for flanks or even wide of flank. Yet, be invited to center if you can.

Even @ 9" driver separation... lobing interference was noticed at 4.4KHz and 9KHz, again of about 3-5dB. This really is not much. And, wider yet is similar. This is insufficient for me to re-orient the center channels from vertical dispersion to horizontal... as my ears are ~2ft above the drivers and I like the vertical dispersion aspect.

Most importantly is whether the sweet spot is affected much by these driver separations. A smidge... the flipped DRC Onkens with closer center-to-center drivers measure and sound better. The 9" vertical arrangement may be modestly better, but is more problematic in my music theater. I will flip the speakers.

In the midst of our returning to the Nest for these measurements, K crushed a super dinner of Asian chix thigh and asparagus... so good with sriracha cashews, scallions, and cilantro mated with marinate and sauce. I've been cookin' a bit recently with K failing to retire and earning $ for us, she's too good and back on the task.

This entire shit storm, and improvement, is sourced in a question from my young & clever Kiwi friend, Curtis Gray. Rock on Gray.

Twisted Pine & Tonewood Concert @ Velvet Elk Lounge ~ And Dinner Meet Up With Wilkes 07Jun24

Scooter & I drove the 2 hrs to Boulder yesterday to catch the unusual "bluegrass" band from Boston called Twisted Pine. Drive was sane really except for the last bit to Boulder on #93 during rush hour. We caught up with T&L in downtown Boulder at Japango for some fine sushi. They were well and glad not to be in Scott's shoes. I was glad to be in my new Twisted shoes - which Kala got me for dad's day, and she calls "clown shoes" ~ so little undue respect.

Scott & I were able to walk to the Velvet Elk and we were way before doors so sat in a booth and chatted. The bar was decent and affiliated with the micro-brewery next door. IPA was "ok." Yet dinner and brews were all on Scooter since I drove so, "pretty good" really. Opener was Tonewood, a new bluegrass band from Denver. They were good and displayed good 3 and 4 part harmonies, but often the fiddle or guitar guys would lead. They cheated a bit and added a capable percussionist; the crowd called him "box boy." A small treat when Anh Phung, the bluegrass flutist/vocalist from Twisted Pine joined for one cover song. They have a self-published EP but are starting a Kickstarter to do there first full length album.

Velvet Elk sound was "ok;" I did have to cup my ears toward the band on occasion to get better high-mids. Twisted Pine quickly followed the opener and started great with some of their "hits" and better covers (Lucy In The Sky). Twisted Pine is an unusual Boston-based "bluegrass" group of mandolin, fiddle, bass, and flute. Band leader and fiddle-player Kathleen Parks does a lot of the writing and is the lead vocalist; I noticed Anh doubling her vocals on many occasions during the show however now. Ultimately there were 100 folks in the club with us... not too crowded and the owner shared with us early that the pre-sold gate was just 44 tickets, so $1000 gate became $2K ~ wow that's small. You have to be a very hard working musician down the ranks to make a living. As Twisted Pine wound through the 70min mark though things changed... after a Zappa-esque cover they began playing longer jazzy instrumental segments. While well done, these weren't our favorite. Scooter said "they've lost their way," but one guy on acid thought these were the best parts and was dancing like a demon. We left a bit early with the turn so I did not grab the setlist. Good show and great with Scooter and seeing Wilkes.

Wow, Where's A Guy To Wade ~ Flows Are Raging "Everywhere" 06Jun24

I guess 11 Mile Canyon section of the S Platte will be pretty crowded... and it's kindof low. Elsewhere, river dancing is likely...

Grape Ck Outing 04Jun24

With the freestones mostly raging, the decent flowing tailwaters too crowded, and the alpine trails snowy and muddy, I chose to hit Grape Ck. I dropped in via the West Bear Gorge access; it's always an adventure. With #115 under construction it was 1 hr to Canon City; it was an additional 40min out to the West Bear turn; it was 30 min (1 album worth) down the 8mi 4WD path to the creek. I donned my Chota ultralight hip waders and Astral ultralight boots.

I was on the water 30 min or so later after rigging and walking 1.4 mi downstream to begin my pass back up. I moved past the barbed wire through fisherman access another 1/4 mile or so downstream and the wended my way back upstream to the car via the "upper" access point to the Crusher Too. Grape Ck is a quasi-tailwater tributary of the Ark available when other streams are in snowmelt runoff conditions.

Actually the ~60cfs here today was decently high (though I did cross in strategic spots) and the water was off color a bit. I kicked up plenty of yellow hoppers on the access gulch so went with a hopper dropper rig led by a #14 electric yellow chubby (I sense some of the wiser fish rejected it, especially on slower water). Given it's a trib of the Ark I rigged the Rodfather Endless Wisdom (ERN 2.8) like the Ark with trailer of chartreuse CDC caddis and rainbow warrior, to pierce the off-color water. I changed to BHFBPT during the meager mayfly hatch. My rigs worked decently well but nearly all the fish were in pockets along the banks. I caught nothing in typically great runs (I am a smidge early here) and tongues. The fish are NOT spread out yet at these flows.. they are bank-hugging. I nabbed ~20 fish but only landed about a dozen over 4 hours; 75% were on the chubby (read ~ fun AF). All were 10"-12" browns basically like those shown. I dropped quite a few with my landing technique today of flying them to hand mostly... I rarely used the net. No rainbows, which is a bit off for me on this stretch. The day was overcast but very warm and near hook-ups did leave me with a couple of tree rig losses behind me. Dang it.

Wildflowers are "on" here but few cactus had bloomed; I saw one. It was a blast being on Grape Ck as the only guy in the area all day. It's a beautiful spot. Downside was that no mates were able to join on the "investment" down West Bear.

Various Brantley Encounters & Other Endeavors In COS 02Jun24

Kala & I returned from Summit for some golf events and home duties on the Front Range after Memorial Day. But not before we sampled some trails in our 'hood... we passed through the "wildfire buffer zone" that save our home a couple years back.

Upon returning my research paid off and I convinced Kala to ride some cool eBikes. "She" chose (and I fiercely supported) getting the Santa Cruz Skitch. It's a killer gravel eBike with 1.75" AT tires, a strong motor, a flat bar cockpit and it's carbon and weighs <30#. Awesome. We also scored her a lighter bike tray hitch rack to tote it around. Yep... the maiden ride on the Monument Ck bike path!

I caught the Thunderbirds practicing for AFA graduation from our deck in Peregrine. Kala's lessons are going well and we hit Kings Deer for a fun outing with a dad & kid team (no pics). It was real graduation and we were delayed some in "Kamala traffic" on the way to the course with too many exists closed. We were fortunate to grab time with our world traveling friends the Brantleys, who'd just returned from Lake Powell visiting their kid, a federal ranger, with their daughter, a Blinken staffer and world traveler for sure! Always awesome. We hit Red Leg of course and had "lobstah" and nacho's on our 44th anniversary. Thanks guys.

My off-site camper storage site issued me a $70 to $92/mo increase notice (despite my having signed a price escalation agreement long ago, before 2 changes of hand however). I told them "no thanks" and secured a new, better, cheaper, and closer spot for the BC20X. I am pleased... I was always "dealing with the spot" in the old storage location and now it's easy peazy.

We were out again in COS to a new dining location for us ~ the SE Asia-influenced 503 for very tasty food, decent drafts, and camaraderie with Brantleys. We even returned for a pop on the deck for Scooter & me; we enjoyed a tasty Weldworks Space Tunnel XXX.

Update 09Jun24 - Ride Wrapped The Skitch... I bought the full custom RideWrap in matte for the Skitch... it is a flat olive color. Nice fitting pieces but golly that's a tough and laborious install. I took the 4 hrs today, after returning from Summit on Sat, to put the RideWrap on the bike. Looks great and will protect now some from whatever comes, that I hope never will.