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JBL - Greatful Dead's Wall of Sound
Everyone knows the Graetful Dead used McIntosh amplifiers exclusively. They also had the same dedication to JBL speakers, too.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#2
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Dan, you've hit on a topic that is close to my heart! The WOS ran at 26.4 KW's, Ivan's Room is a few KW's short of equalling the Wall. The tweeters were made by Electrovoice, all the cone speakers were JBL's.
A few bits of audiophile related and other trivia: 1- John Curl was an engineer for the Wall, he designed a special preamp for the vocal microphones (using B & K capsules) used in the system. 2- Curl hired a brash young engineer named Mark Levinson to build the mic preamps. 3- Levinson used to sell his early gear by setting up his amps driving JBL speakers stacked up as they were in the Wall. 4- The Wall was so heavy that it required a specially designed stage to hold all the weight. There were two stages constructed, so that one was in use and the other was being set up at the next venue on tour. The stages leap-frogged one another around the country. 5- People I have spoken to who experienced the Wall in person said it was utterly amazing. One fellow told me that he did not realize how loud it was until he tried to have a conversation with the person next to him- clean sound! 6- There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert. And sadly, there never will be again. 7- The WOS is why I own McIntosh gear. Until his departure Jerry Garcia's on-stage guitar amp was an MC2300. |
#3
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Grateful Dead's wall of sound
This photo is always awe-inspiring to see!
Pete
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Pete No. 35 Main System: VPI Prime Signature TT in Rosewood, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Stillpoints LP1 V2, McIntosh: MP100, MR78, MCD1000 Transport on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, MDA1000 D/A Converter on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, MS750 Music Server, C40, MC501's (3), Soundcraftsmen: DC2215 Eq/AS1000 Real time analyzer, DBX 3BX II, Carver C9, Nakamichi Dragon, Crown SX724, Crown D-75A (as headphone amp), Sony XBR55X900E 4K TV, JBL L220A's, JBL B460, Sumo Delilah active crossover, WireWorld Silver Eclipse audio interconnects, WireWorld Starlight and Silver Starlight Coaxial Digital interconnects, Wireworld SuperNova 7 Toslink digital interconnect, WireWorld Aurora 7 and Silver Electra Power cords, Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 speaker cables, Terk AF-1 Powered Antenna, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-Ray Player, Bryson BUC-1 USB Converter, Wireworld Gold Starlight XLR Digital interconnect, PS Audio Direct Stream Power Plant 12 on Stillpoint Ultra Minis, PS Audio Dectect, FuruTech Flux-50 NCF Inline Power Filter, Add-Powr Wizard EM Field AC Line conditioner; Stillpoint Ultra SS's under (3) McIntosh MC501 Amplifiers Florida Room/Art Studio System: Harmon Kardon T60 TT/Ortofon 2M Black, McIntosh: MR77, C32, MC2205; Crown Power Line Four, Wyred for Sound DAC-2 Digital to Analog converter, Soundcraftsmen AE2000 Eq, JBL 4313B's, JBL 2241-based Sub, JBL BX63A Active Crossover, Oppo BDP-105D Blu-Ray Player, Samsung 5500 Series 32" Smart TV, Terk AF-1 Powered Antenna Master Bedroom System: McIntosh: MX120 Theater processor, MC206 6-channel amplifier; MR74 AM/FM Tuner, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, JVC HM-DH40000U D-Theater Digital VHS, Phase Technology PC80 Towers (now used as stands), (2) JBL 4401's, (1) JBL Studio 6IW speaker, (2) JBL Studio 6IC speakers, Sony XBR-49X900E UHD TV, Panamax 1000 Line Conditioner, (2) JL Audio E110 Subwoofers, Wireworld Solstice speaker cables, Wireworld Aurora Power cords, Wireworld Equinox and Solstice speaker cables and various other flavors of Wireworld and Audioquest cabling Office System: Marantz 150 Tuner, Crown DL 2, Crown EQ 2, Crown SA 2, Crown D-75A (as headphone amp), McIntosh MCD7009 (as transport), DBX 3BX Series II, Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player, JBL 4401's, JL Audio E112 Subwoofer, Samsung 5500 series 32" Smart TV, Wire World Oasis audio interconnects, Wire World Solstice speaker cables, Wyred for Sound DAC-2 DSDse Digital to Analog converter, Wireworld Starlight Coaxial Digital Interconnect, Sennheiser HD800 Headphones, Sennheiser HDVA600 Headphone amp, Wireworld Silver Eclipse Balanced Interconnects, Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB Cable, Add-Powr EAU-2 AC Harmonic resonator High Resolution Source: HP Omen 17" Gaming Laptop |
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Great history and info guys! I have always liked my Curl Halo amps, but there latest models seem somewhat cutback. Was not John also involved with the THX stuff and the Mobile Sound 1/2 speed albums too? I saw Kenny G one of several times at the Universal Amp Theater and they had MC gear, I no I was looking down on it. This was pre-digital cameras and cell days. Great stuff, funny yet neat to look back. Are there any really decent books that talk about all the names from the hey day like Bob Carver, all the companies, devorces etc he had, the Altec and more JBL history etc.... |
#5
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Last edited by metaphacts; 04-29-2011 at 12:44 AM. |
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US Blues........Thanks for that. Great tidbits of information. Of course there was the Grateful Dead's resident chemist Owsley Stanley, too. I drank a little of his punch at a Winterland Grateful Dead concert in 1969, and wasn't right until well into the next day. Phew!!! Those were some wild days in San Francisco back in the late 60's.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#7
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A couple more tech tidbits- the WOS was actually a collection of six separate systems that were stacked together. There were 2 guitars, a bass that could play quadrophonically (each of the 4 strings had it's own MC2300 and could be played through half of each stack of bass speakers), keyboards, drums and vocals. Each musical voice had its own system and there was no mixing of sounds, except for the drum microphones and the vocal microphones, but they stayed within their own system. The speaker arrays were designed as transmission lines, with the entire Wall operating as a point source to minimize phase distortion. The bass speaker towers were the physical height of the lowest note available on a 4 string bass- 38 feet. The center speaker cluster produced the vocals and the keyboards had a smaller curved speaker array on stage left (in your photo the keyboard cluster was not yet finished, note the curved stacking of individual speaker cabinets). PS- For the faithful, or folks with deep interest in technical matters, there is a wonderful book called "Grateful Dead Gear" that details the guitars, basses, drums, PA's and recording dates of the band through their 30 year history. |
#8
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Things like this are a real reminder of a different time. I lived on the East Coast at that time and I never saw the Dead live. I wish I had heard the famous wall of sound.
Sometimes, I miss the 60s.
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McIntosh: MCD205, MDA1000, C46, MEN220, MC402. a/d/s L980s, JL Audio f113, Accuphase E-460, Bryston Mini Ts, Squeezeboxes, Synology NAS. |
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So that was it |
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Very interesting post. That picture says so much. It's awe inspiring, and so much history. thanks for posting.
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