I've been using my ST-70 pretty religiously for the last 4 or 5 months on my modified Speakerlab SK's.  It's all those speakers really need as far as power goes.  But, coming into summertime, I'm not really needing a tube amp to help heat my upstairs room so I've been looking for/at smaller SS amplifiers to run them.  Only other power amps I have are a 250wpc Rockford Fosgate RF2000 and a 460wpc Carver M-1.0t MkII Opt 002.  But they do sound good on them, too.

Yeah, I'd have to remove that decorative trim, too.  Raw birch won't really stain that well, either.  If it's flat and a good substrate, you could just veneer over it and other areas and call it good.  Or, paint them satin black.  Many options.

I've always been a fan of Bob and he was always a blast to talk to.  I guess I've known him for about 35 years now and still email on occasion.  I have an M-1.0t amp signed by him (in avatar pic) and a picture of him with it somewhere in my files.  The rep firm I worked for from 2001 till 2009 represented Sunfire and Elan (home control) and we had an event called, "A Night With Bob Carver".  It was a great time and dealers came from all around with various pieces for him to sign.

You have made a lot of progress with the whole listening environment. Looks good.

I think the reason people seem to always sell their 396's is because it seems capped/rolled off... I'd never own a pair unless it was for a commercial use case.   The 402 has similar 'rolled off' nuance, but with the 402 it is worth trying to work with... the three nine six, not so much.

I didn't mean my post as a general comparison of 2-way vs. 3-way speakers. For example, I am an absolute fan of my three-way 1977 LaScala with "air". In the specific case of the 2-way K402, I think a little bit of "air" suits it well. And this is achieved in the way described in this thread without going three full ways where everything gets much bigger in dimensions.  I also believe that a full three-way UJ with a K510 tweeter horn only makes the sound homogeneous over a greater distance than a normal living room can offer..

Good thread. If Jensen was still around I would still be building with them. 

And this years Golden Shovel award goes to ... Jmm 😀, congratulations.

This is an interesting topic my 335's and the forte IV's have that open airy sound that the ki-396's do not have both of those are three-way vs the two-way but my ki-362's are three-way and do not have it and my 325's which are two-way do? Don't believe it's really a 2 vs 3 way necessarily?  

A while ago, I was able to acquire a 45 SET from someone. To be precise, it's the Welbourne DRD45, but I never really gave it a fair chance. I quickly went back to my DIY 300B SET or my Melody 2A3 PP. However, for the past two weeks, I've reconnected the 45 SET to my AL5, and I'm genuinely amazed by how good it sounds. Maybe everything is falling into place now that I've also addressed my room acoustics, I have no idea... but what an incredible match with the speakers this is. The sound is very realistic, the imaging is excellent, it sounds open and fresh, dynamic with more detail, and especially the vocals have gained a kind of magical realistic glow. This is the best amp for me so far, and it makes me want more.   I read that many people who appreciate the 45 tube find the 46 to sound even better than the 45. Are there any Klipsch enthusiasts who have experience with the 45 vs. 46 SET? And is it true that you can use the 46 tube in a 45 SET with an adapter?