Hello From rural NC

[Vinyl Rules!]

Greetings, all. I live in rural Appalachia with no good audio dealers near me.

I actually live in West Jefferson, NC, a town of approximately 1,100 hell-billies in a county with a slowly declining total population of about 21,000 hell-billies.

The major industries here are meth labs, covert weed cultivation, moonshiners (yes, it’s still a thing here), bluegrass music, gun stores, and NASCAR.

Believe it or not I actually chose to retire here from an extremely interesting (and stressful) career as a field operator for a well-known 3-letter agency.

Why? If you’re not in the drug trade virtually no one bothers you, and everyone leaves me alone (particularly if I mention my former employer). Owning 20 or more firearms is quite normal here. However, if one owns NO firearms they are viewed with great suspicion and ostracized.

In my former life I was an expert with most military firearms, light weapons, and explosives, so here I’m considered just a mostly-normal (I wasn’t born here) local when I show up at the local shooting range with a variety of weapons chambered in domestic and international calibers.

So, back to audio. I have pretty bad PTSD from my years in the field, and listening to good music is therapy for me – I haven’t found any meds that work as well as a skillfully-recorded classical symphony, or classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s, or good jazz, or good bluegrass, or Tuvan throat singing (https://youtu.be/qx8hrhBZJ98?si=jLP6izQVN4-XfHHo)

My current system uses B&W DM3000 speakers with a B&W HTM centre channel for the 20% of the time I view and listen to a movie. The DM3000’s were B&W’s TOTL domestic speaker in the early 80’s and they preceded B&W’s introduction of their 800 series of speakers.

Now, I have some investments maturing this summer and I’m going to replace the B&W’s I purchased in 1984.

I have a very short list of candidates for new speakers:

Number one on my list: Canton’s Reference (2015)1K (the ~ 300 lb. monster), followed by:

Graham Audio LS5/5f’s; and

Amphion’s newly updated Krypton 3x’s

I’ll likely purchase 3 speakers to use in an L-C-R configuration (but not Krypton’s as they are specific L and R speakers - Amphion advised me to use their top studio monitor as the “C” speaker if I select Krypton 3x’s for my front channels.

I feel like the new Canton 2023 Reference’s aren’t as good. The ~ 300 lb. 2015 Reference 1K is the one I’m chasing: The new 2023 Reference 1 is a different speaker design, and it’s much lighter, so I don’t think it will be as good.

In my room (24’ x 12’ x 8’), the B&W’s are flat down to 30Hz, and I have an 18” Hartley, and a couple of Bob Carver’s Sunfire subs for the infrasonics on movies.

Two of the three speakers on my short list claim infrasonic response (Canton’s 2015 1K’s and Amphion’s new Krypton 3x’s) and Graham’s LS5/5f likely comes close with it’s tower configuration, and I would love to get rid of my subs.

I’m very open to all thoughts, suggestions, and comments.

Kind regards,
Vinyl Rules!��

[dkorbal]

Welcome. Come on in. We love to spend other member's money.

[Masterlu]

Tim… Welcome to AA!

[brownbear]

Hello and welcome!

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by Vinyl Rules!

Number one on my list: Canton’s Reference (2015)1K (the ~ 300 lb. monster)

I feel like the new Canton 2023 Reference’s aren’t as good. The ~ 300 lb. 2015 Reference 1K is the one I’m chasing: The new 2023 Reference 1 is a different speaker design, and it’s much lighter, so I don’t think it will be as good.
Kind regards,
Vinyl Rules!��

Welcome.
Ivan - (Masterlu) can help you out with Canton. I certainly enjoyed my 9Ks and am looking forward to hearing the new Ref 9. I'll wait to pass judgment on the new Ref line until I've heard them or, at least, have read a couple of professional reviews.
I shoot competitively. Perhaps we'll bump into one another at Camp Butner.

[audiogear]

Vinyl Rules! Welcome to AA!

I don't have any experience with three brands you've listed. But as Glenn shared above, Ivan would be the go to expert. Enjoy the next journey and this group will definitely spend your money.

[LCS]

Welcome to AA!

[sslbun]

Welcome and I gotta say that's one of the most interesting introductions I've read recently. I'm using music to heal as well from childhood trauma, great to hear it helps you too.

[vintage_tube]

Welcome to AA and can relate to some of your background to a degree (worked at a facility where there was a Colonel in the so-called Commanding Officers Office; yet, he was a figurehead -- only a deception. The real guy in charge was a civilian GS-15 Step 6 belonging to .......). A great & immensely memorable assignment it was.

Was assigned to MACV-HQ back in the day. Another interesting assignment -- too damn many incoming rockets into TSN at times at night. My friend was shot coming down the stairs of the airliner after landing at TSN. Shortest combat tour in Army history -- he survived, lives or lived a great life -- I lost contact with him 5-6 years ago. He was single, no kin & thinking he just passed.

Hey, you're only 200 miles from my hectic abode; but a lovely 3 hour drive -- maybe next time I make it to Boone, I'll contact you (or vice versa if you're ever headed east).

Would your first name be Tim? Nice article -- I may have strayed, but I still have Mcintosh in my blood.

25K LP's and a big Shure guy (V-15vMR). Holy smokes.

Best to you Sir,

Bob

[Vinyl Rules!]

Bob,

I made 3 trips to MACV-SOG HQ in summer of 1969 to fix some I-D-TEN-T crypto problems they were having. My first experience having a grenade tossed at me