well a short bit of research tells me that Line Magnetic in China have based their product line on an homage to classic American cinema gear, so the amplifiers are in the style of WE and the speakers Altec. As far as I can tell the line Magnetic 812 is a modern copy of the original, but if my google-fu is correct Altec used a field coil for the woofer back in the day. Wild guess was that LM didn't want to pay to tool up for a field coil design so found someone who could make a modern speaker with close enough parameters to put in the box.
All the above could of course be horribly wrong.
These kind of listening bars pop up everywhere now, they mostly use Altec, JBL or Kiplisch speakers (or at least inspired by them) and vinyl. It's a thing that comes from Japan, where listening bars are common. You won't find often more modern designs, only old type speakers that look impressive (but not always sound good).
But it's a lot better than most bars and restaurants where audio is often an aftertought. And the music selection is mostly a lot better also. I like it, but it would be better if they really took time to tune the system right to the space (room correction and/or good acoustics/speaker placement) because now it's a bit a hit or (often) miss in the setup. I know about a private listening bar where they have the big JBL 4350's driven by Conrad Johnson amps (very good amps), but set up in a way that they manage to make this sound very bad. The space is too small for those speakers, and room reflections and room modes mess it up totally. You can have all the best gear, but if you don't set it up like it should, it will still sound bad.
But it's a lot better than most bars and restaurants where audio is often an aftertought. And the music selection is mostly a lot better also. I like it, but it would be better if they really took time to tune the system right to the space (room correction and/or good acoustics/speaker placement) because now it's a bit a hit or (often) miss in the setup. I know about a private listening bar where they have the big JBL 4350's driven by Conrad Johnson amps (very good amps), but set up in a way that they manage to make this sound very bad. The space is too small for those speakers, and room reflections and room modes mess it up totally. You can have all the best gear, but if you don't set it up like it should, it will still sound bad.
Line Magnetic makes Altec and Western Electric style speakers and electronics, but with own made modern parts. They have a similar style and sound, but are not clones. But they are well build and do what they say, and even their relative cheap amps are very good for their price.
I think that's great. Being a self proclaimed speaker geek, I always check out what's playing music wherever I go. I've yet to be impressed on the level of those mentioned places in this posting, but have come across a few "upscaled" systems a few times. It's nice to meet the people behind said systems as we have something in common. I appreciate it, it's pretty cool... especially in this day of soundbars and BT speakers.
So they adulterated a box by putting an 18" where a 15" belongs and use the title of custom to justify it?
I guess if I were in marketing I would try a little harder than that. Mind you that might involve lying.
AFAIK, that cabinet dates back to before permanent magnet speakers. So I am thinking you are right Bill. It is only used because it has a certain visual appeal, I am guessing. It was used for so many different drivers over the years as it was a utility cabinet that sort of 'worked' for small installations.
For the SOUND PRACTICES partisans the first and most interesting of these would be Sakuma's CONCORDE
That's why I stay home. Maybe invite a couple friends over.
Yeah. I do too. Restaurants have meanwhile become a pretty expensive affair and the way stuff is served is also often so so. The price/quality ratio is more often than not suboptimal. Since I cook fresh about every day I started to do so in the Covid period also for others without thinking. The challenge is to up your own standard, try new stuff, improve cooking skills etc. and since everyone does a task cleaning the kitchen is done in a breeze too. No parking fees, no taxis, people can drink wine, cheaper. In case things might go wrong we joke that the nearest chinese take away is not too far but it was not necessary (yet). When someone returns the favor you can try new stuff once in a while too and you don't need to cook & clean every day yourself.
Yelling in professional kitchens used to be pretty standard. As a student I worked in many restaurants and total humiliation and cursing at personnel were fully normal. Despite that (or because of that 🙂) I learned the cutting styles and quite some methods because of that. Still can't bear to see some can't cut an onion or a pepper correctly.
Most don't bother about music (just something in the background) as people generally like to chat and music is only annoying then.
Yelling in professional kitchens used to be pretty standard. As a student I worked in many restaurants and total humiliation and cursing at personnel were fully normal. Despite that (or because of that 🙂) I learned the cutting styles and quite some methods because of that. Still can't bear to see some can't cut an onion or a pepper correctly.
Most don't bother about music (just something in the background) as people generally like to chat and music is only annoying then.
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Maybe it depends on what has your priority. Do you care about good music in a restaurant or is it the food you are after when you are hungry?
Well, from someone who spends a lot of his time in the kitchen while listening to music, I applaud a place where the food is good and the clientele understand why they are there.
It’s a break for me. A very pleasant one.
I don’t wish to have dinner at a live show, but nice canned music is welcome, especially when the owners do it right.
It’s a break for me. A very pleasant one.
I don’t wish to have dinner at a live show, but nice canned music is welcome, especially when the owners do it right.
Charles, apparently the bar (which was open a few years before the restaurant) was inspired by the Japanese bars.
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