drobo1

If you want high resolution music playback rivaling analog, then it is no contest. SACD is the format to use. It sounds better and has more software support. drobo

I have to agree with Ray Garrison. The Adcom 535 was their best sounding amplifier. I had a couple of 535's and a 555. A friend had 565's and another had the 5802. I still think the little Adcom sounded the most musical and least abrasive. Since going to tubes to drive my La Scalas, the huge solid state amps are in my distant past. Most Klipsch speakers are drawing .1 to less than 5 watts of power most all the time. These big amps don't perform too well at the low end of their power operating range and Klipsch owners never experience these amps where they operate best, the high watt end. drobo

Get it quick. Cary makes great amps. The AE-1 Sig is well reviewed. The 300B tube sounds wonderful into my La Scalas and I think you can even use 2A3's in the AE-1. drobo

I had a buddy in college, early '70's, who had a PA company that did sound for local concerts in the Alabama area. He used multiple Pro La Scalas much like you describe. The purpose of the detached design was to allow various stacking configurations, such as two bass cabinets topped by two high frequency cabinets. drobo

I believe the black thing is a Japanese development. I just love the way my gold faced Sonic Frontiers preamp and Cary amps look in my setup. My visitors have no comment about the black pieces but go bonkers over the gold and silver stuff. However, it costs more to be different. drobo The problem with mass transit is the masses.

Having been through Koss, Sennheiser, and Grado I finally settled on Beyer Dynamics as my headphone company of choice. drobo

I am trying to get some action on this thread. I too am considering some in wall/in ceiling speakers for sites in my remodeling house where music might add a nice touch. Does anybody have any experience with Klipsch's products in terms of sound quality and installation? drobo

It's really not fair to compare many of the current Klipsch lines with the Klipschhorns, La Scalas, and Belle Klipschs. These are true horn loaded speakers over their operating ranges and many of the newer Klipsch speakers are cone direct radiators like so many other generic speakers. I mean to say that it's not fair for the non-horn loaded speakers. I have always liked my La Scalas since I purchased them new in 1979 but I didn't realize their full potential until I tweaked them and began to drive them with low watt SET tube amps a few years ago. I damped the horns with rope caulk, rewired the inside, and replaced the old AA crossovers with Al K's. I do believe a good musical sub woofer is worth the money to fill out the lower octave. I use an REL Strata II and with it's controls I can blend it quite well with the Scalas. Every few months I go to the high end stores to listen to the Martin Logan's, B&W's, Sonus Faber's, and Magneplanars. They all have their strong points but I never have an inferior complex when I get home with my setup. "IT'S ALIVE!". drobo P.S. I do have to admit that the little RB-5 is one hell of a speaker. It's my favorite Reference line speaker. This message has been edited by drobo1 on 09-04-2001 at 09:44 PM

Ray, I used the old brown Dynamat but I don't think I got it heated to the point you describe. I used a heat gun after applying it to my metal squawkers. The oven trick must be the way to go. Anyway, I am very happy with the performance of the rope caulk. drobo

Having tried both the rope caulk and Dynamat materials for damping my La Scala horns, I prefer rope caulk. It's cheaper, easier to work with, and I think it actually damps better. Part of my preference comes from the fact that even though I heated the Dynamat and put it on with pressure and even a roller, it eventually did not remain adhered to my squawker. This problem might be due to our very low humidity here in Colorado. drobo

I AB'ed the two speakers and I think the RB-5 sounds better. It also has a better finish which may be the reason it's similarly priced but with fewer parts in a smaller package. drobo

I have a lot of different music but if you want low frequency loud info check out Joe Satriani's "Engine of Creation". Get the SACD version is you have a Super Audio CD player. drobo

Last few posts are right on. It's the AC power. The whole system sounds better not just the speakers. drobo

I would like to see Klipsch produce a two way horn speaker over the audible frequency range. A horn loaded bass section up to maybe 150 Hz and then one horn from 150 Hz to 18 K could be one idea. The option to use a crossover or only biamp between the two drivers thus eliminatng crossovers would be interesting. It would need to be of the typical Klipsch Heriage efficiency so as to be driven by low powered SET tube amps. drobo

I would try a different dealer/setup. I own vintage La Scalas driven by all tube amp and preamp but auditioned the RB-5's as a second system speaker for my weekend place. The store, Soundtrack in Denver, had an elaborate Klipsch room with all their Reference speakers switchable with a low noise board and driven by Krell electronics. Although Krell is sometimes thought to be strident and forward, I was very impressed with the sound of the RB-5's. I liked them better than even their floor standing Reference big brothers. They are not bass giants and need a good subwoofer to cover the lower octave. I have yet to act on a second system speaker purchase but the RB-5 would still have to be near the top of my list. drobo

I have my SCD-777ES Sony SACD player set to custom switch which allows all frequencies to 100kHz to pass. I use Cary tube amps driving my La Scalas. There is no problem here, just the closest digital to an analog signal into my amps and speakers that's currently available. Super Audio CD is the current winner both in sound quality and software. Try it, you'll love it but beware. Your Redbook CD's will never sound the same after hearing DSD. Cymbals will sound like cymbals instead of thieves breaking your windows to steal you stereo. drobo

I connect my REL Strata II to the speaker output terminals of my 300B SET 11 Watt amps. No problems, sounds great, blends nicely with the La Scalas. I do think the speaker line inputs of the sub need to be a high impedance load. drobo

Glad to see some music lovers seeing the light. I posted a thread over a year ago about my abandonment of multichannel music/HT setup in favor of a traditional stereo setup. It did not raise an eyebrow compared to this. To repeat, I had the works. Lexicon processor, separate amps (7 channels, 1 sub), Laserdisc, HiFi VCR's, CD, Sony TV. It had its moments on a few action movies but was a total joke on music. I sold the whole damn gimmicky thing. I got out my old 1979 La Scalas, replaced the crossover, bought all tube highend preamp and SET mono low wattage amps. I upgraded my turntable to a VPI with a Dynavector 20XL moving coil cartridge into a Lehmann's Black Cube, added an REL Strata II subwoofer, hooked up my old oscilliscope Marantz tuner, bought a Sony SCD-777ES Super Audio CD player, bought a VPI vacuum record cleaner. Finally I cleaned the AC with a PS Audio P300 and Ultimate Outlet. Yeah, it was a lot of money for "only two channels", but all my multichannel advocates say it smokes anything they have heard within its price range, stereo or HT. BTW, I watch movies on a 27 inch regular TV through my Panasonic DVD player with no HT setup. I seem to hear the dialog better than I did with my big HT rig. Stereo rules, drobo

It was 1969. After much study and consultation with the dorm experts at college, I bought an AR turntable, the AR amp, and a pair of AR 5 speakers. Jimi Hendrix, the Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, the Yardbirds, King Crimson. The setup really cooked. drobo

Get a Panasonic. They are made in Japan, not China. They build their own MPEG decoder which does not have the dreaded chroma upsampling bug like most all the rest such as Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, etc. All the Sony's except for the older 7000 model have the chroma bug, even the SACD capable 9000. If you don't want progressive scan, see if you can get the discontinued RV-80U (54 Mhz processor)for around $275. If you want progressive scan go with the new RP-91 for less than $500. You will not be disappointed in the video/audio quality of these two machines. drobo

Thanks DD2, It's difficult to tell what's going on in these HT receivers once an analog input has been delivered. Several have analog inputs but I can't tell from their spec sheets whether they are degrading the analog signal by digitizing it again. This ddddddigititus is driving me insane. drobo

Elso, I didn't say I did not believe you. I don't have the resources to test your statement. I have the ALK's that Al believes need the autoformer. They are much improved over my 22 year old stock X-overs. I am looking for responses to your opinion. drobo

REL is my sub of choice for music. I use a Strata II with my mod La Scalas. Very good integration. drobo This message has been edited by drobo1 on 06-20-2001 at 04:02 PM

I am out of the HT scene but wouldn't mind getting back in cheap with an HT receiver. One requirement for me is at least six channel analog inputs and the ability to pass this analog signal to the speaker outputs without any more AD/DA conversion. This is important for high resolution audio like SACD and I have a DVD with it's own DD and DTS decoders. Furthermore, I seem to be allergic to Redbook CD sound, so the less conversion the better. drobo

Yes, I rewired my La Scalas with Cat 5. I also replaced the X-overs with ALK's at the same time. Therefore, I can't comment on what percentage if any of the great improvement was attributed to the Cat 5. It sure looks better. drobo