Holy Smokes, What a great Evening!
Dear All,
The dinner event at the home of Titanium Dome will surely be one of the highlights of my career at JBL. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of good wishes and thanks for years of design work. It is most humbling for me to be held in such high regard by so many folks. Obviously I had a great time and I was very sorry to see the evening end although I was having trouble keeping my eyes open for the drive home. My special thanks to Doug for organizing and hosting this event and also to George and Shane for the unbelievable food somehow smuggled out of Denver on public airways. The dinner and dessert was simply fantastic.
It is fitting that Titanium Dome has chosen that moniker as I have never seen more Domes assembled in one location at one time. Granted they were all not titanium, but they were domes all the same and there were herds of them all over the house.
I need to make one correction to Frank's post regarding Howard Durbin. I was pushed by Tom Frisina, a local JBL rep to apply for the JBL opening. When I started working for JBL, Jim Barthell was VP of Engineering. Howard took over that position about 3 years later.
I did notice the constant flashing of camera's during the event. I hope the holders of some of these pictures post them on the forum. I had planned to take some pictures myself but I was so busy talking to people I never did get to it. Thanks again to all involved. The evening, food, conversations and the beautiful plaque are things I will cherish forever.
My very best regards to all,
Greg
1 Attachment(s)
Commemorative Program Front
Everyone got a copy of the commemorative program, and Greg got a copy of this with the signatures of all who actually showed up. This is the front:
1 Attachment(s)
Commemorative Program Back
On the back was some info about each of the systems featured that night.
The K2s' little, new friend
This was also the coming out party for a recently-acquired Parasound Halo P7 analog pre. Even though I've been driving the K2s with an Oppo BDP83-SE source to a balanced pre to the ATI amps, I actually preferred using the digital out from the Oppo with the pre I was using. This made me think that the upgraded analog stereo from the Oppo was highly overrated.
After installing the P7 (and getting my ear fixed), there was an obvious and immediately pleasing reconsideration on my part regarding the Oppo's upgraded analog output. It was heavenly!
Since the P7 is analog only--no digital inputs, no DACs, etc--it was a big gamble considering there was no recourse to switch to digital if I still did not like the analog. I could put the old pre back in but didn't relish the idea, but, no worries, I'm so happy with the P7 that there's no chance that it will leave the chain anytime soon.
It has analog bass management, so the K2s cross over to the S2S subs around 50 Hz, which is perfect. It also has balanced outputs, which allows balanced connections to the amps, and it's got two triggers so I can get remote turn on of the amps which are on opposite sides of the room. It's also got two balanced inputs, which allows me to dream about the upcoming Oppo BDP1050 with its balanced outs and improved analog stage.
With the P7 and the Oppo being relatively small and the big ATI amps hidden in the corners, the K2 system has a very minimalist look to it. Yet the soundstage is bigger, deeper, and more precise than before--by a long shot--and the bass is even more refined yet convincing at the same time.
Glen, Tony L., and Dave have heard the K2s before with the old set up, so they can comment on their own. You don't have to take my word for it. I'm pretty sure Glen had some reactions to it.
I honestly don't know if Greg listened to them at all, since I was here, there, and everywhere. So I can't say if he thought the Oppo/P7/ATI combo did them justice or not.