texas42

Another pic

Adding some pics.

Well, never thought I would sell these but since I have two other pair of large speakers (KHorns and Polk LSiM 707s) and no one seems to want the Polks, I will offer up my one of a kind hand built Altec Speakers customized to an Onken design cabinet. Speakers were built for me by WPM Speaker Design in San Antonio. Here is some additional info: Horns: Altec 511B's, 500hz type. New powder coating. Crossovers: Altec N501-8B, very rare, made only one year and for only one pair of loudspeakers; VOTT A-7 500's. Woofers: Dayton Audio PA380-8 Pro Bass Horn drivers, spec'd very closely to the original Altec 416-8C, which were used exclusively in the Altec A-7 VOTT's. Wiring: 12-gauge flat braided OFC. Cabinet: Onken 360L, designed in Japan but perfected by the French engineer Jean Hiragas. The Onken 360L is a vented design, but is similar to a folded horn in efficiency. The cabinet is renown for its low frequency speed and definition. The cabinet was constructed using 1-inch China Birch plywood, and has been screwed, glued, internally braced, and finished in walnut veneer with 5-coats of hand rubbed satin polyurethane. I really hate to see these go (and will keep them if I sell my Polks first). These are gorgeous speakers and in mint condition. Less than a year old in fact. Note in the pictures they are actually sitting on floor dollies so I can move them better as these are extremely solid and heavy. They have large feet and will couple to the floor nicely. How do they sound? In a word---Stunning!! Very fast (as only big horns are), dynamic and tremendous bass. They actually sound a lot like my modded Khorns in my living room but with better, deeper bass. Due to their size and weight, I will not ship these. They are available for audition and purchase in San Antonio (actually I'm north of San Antonio about 20 miles). You would need to bring a large vehicle and help to move these as they are quite massive and heavy. I'm also selling a pair of Quicksilver Audio Mini Mite Tube Monoblocks that really work well with the speakers. If you buy both speakers and amps, I will deduct $200. Price of the speakers are $2750 (and they absolutely shred most $10,000 speakers I've owned and/or listened to). The price of parts and to have these built is far more than my asking price. Quicksilver amps are $750. Email if you have any questions and I can send additional pics.

If all 3 were free, which would you pick 1st? And why? Just curious on opinions on this. I know there is no right answer and it would come down to which sounds best to me (if I can get all 3 in the same room at the same time, that is), but still curious.

No, a friend here in San Antonio made them. They are incredible for vocals; maybe the best I have heard but are lacking in other areas (obviously) due to being a single driver speaker.

I did list the Polk's on the Polk board and got some interest but don't want to ship them.

Time to thin the herd, so offering blowout prices on the following items: Audible Illusions Modulus model IID tube preamp. Recently re-tubed. $350.00 Class D Audio Model SDS-470, 4 channel amp. Allowed me to run bi-amp my Polk LSiM707 speakers (2 channels to the bass and 2 channels to the midrange/tweeters) with tremendous results. This beast runs cool but puts out 300wpc into 8 ohm and doubles to 600wpc into 4 ohms. Extremely stable and sounds great. Cost me $1275 new. Sell for $750. More info at classdaudio.com Polk LSiM707 speakers. Heard these at RMAF and thought they blew away most of what was there at many multiples it’s price in both looks and performance. These are mint with boxes and will astound you with their pinpoint imaging and coherence. New they are $4000. A steal at my price of $1875.00. Quicksilver Audio Mini-Mite Tube mono-block amplifiers. A Mike Sanders Classic and sure to be collectors items. Tremendous tube sound and dependability. $775.00 Sony DVP-9000ES SACD/CD/DVD player. Built like a tank and heavy with a vault like sound when you load a CD. I used it as a world class CD transport (it was built from the lessons learned from the Sony SACD-1 which is still considered in some circles the best CD player ever made). $250. Audio Nirvana Single Driver Speakers- Utilizing Audio Nirvan 8” cast frame full range drivers in a very sturdy cabinet these offer incredible sound (maybe the best I have heard) on female vocals. Not a head-banger speaker but incomparable with smooth jazz and vocals. $375.00 Lastly is a pair of DIY 5” full range speakers. Sound really nice and in nice cabinets. $150. Equipment is located in the San Antonio area. Can ship the electronics but for speakers would prefer local pickup or handoff in Texas. Email if interested.

Shameless bump. No one needs a pair of Tube Mono-blocks specifically made for horn speakers? I had these running my KHorns and the sound was incredible. Will give it a few more days then list on Audiogon if no one here is interested. Thanks much.

Thanks. I might also consider some trades, or trades +cash. Looking for some vintage gear (silver era receivers) or possibly even a pair of Klipsch Forte's, Chorus, EPIC CF-3 or 4, or maybe even a KLF 20/30. Just part of the wild cycles of changing gear I get into every year or so.

Circumstances dictate I clear out a bunch of my audio gear. All is in excellent to mint condition with original boxes, manuals and remotes (where applicable). Email if interested. All gear is available for audition in the San Antonio, TX, area. Shipping is extra but will be actual cost via FEDEX ground. Polk LSiM 707. Polk's current flagship that still sells for $4k+. Cherry finish, mint with boxes. Absolutely gorgeous build quality on par with Thiel and Sonus Faber, in my opinion. Very well balanced speaker. Asking $2150 Cambridge Audio 840a V2 integrated amplifier. Built like a tank using Cambridge's XD amplifier technology. Great integrated amp. Asking $675 Quicksilver tube mini-mite mono-block amps. Mike Sanders classic hand built tube amps. $750 for the pair. Sony DVP-7000ES DVD/SACD player. Very heavy, well built and sounds great! Like a vault door closing when you feed it a CD. $275 obo Audio Nirvana 8" Single driver speakers. Built for smooth jazz and female vocals. Very detailed and tremendous in that regard. Not a head banging speaker though so would not recommend it in that area. $450. Email if interested.

Shameless bump before I start listing on other sites. Are there no die-hard Klipsch Heads interested in an incredible pair of dream speakers? Would consider smaller Klipsch (Forte, KLF, Epic, etc) + cash. Email if interested.

Some additional pics

Up for sale are my ALK modded Walnut Khorns. These have extensive modifications to perform like no other Klipschorns I have ever owned or listened to. Well over $2k in mods to include: Beyma CP25 tweeters ($300); B&C DE85TN Midrange Drivers ($460); Eliptrac 400 mid horns ($525); 2 part crossovers with the ES5800 tweeter XO ($420) and the AP12-500 woofer XO ($350). This is all connected by pure silver internal wiring. The result is the cleanest, most dynamic and most musical Klipsch speakers I have ever owned or listened to. (I've owned, on multiple occasions at that, almost every Klipsch speaker model out there with the exclusion of the Jubilees. These out-perform them all, to include the Jubilees, in my opinion). Mods raise the efficiency to 107db. The 2" throat on the mid horns eliminate the horn shout that some find displeasing leaving you an extremely open airy speaker that actually images quite well! I bought these with the intent of moving into a new home which would accommodate their size. Unfortunately, those plans have fallen through, hence their sale. These Khorns have a serial number of either 3G039 or 36039 (see pic) which I believe places their vintage around 1969. I would rate them in good condition for their age. One speaker does have a water ring on top (from a previous owner) from something being placed on top of it. Speakers are available for audition and purchase in San Antonio, Texas. These would probably be cost prohibitive to ship. Considering the cost of the mods, I am asking $4200, which I believe to be a bargain. I might consider a trade plus cash, depending on what you have. Email if interested.

Looking for a good preamp to go with another system I am in the process of putting together. System consists of a pair of Cornwall's (circa 1984) and a pair of Quicksilver Audio Mini Mono Tube Amps. Would like a phone stage built in and a tape monitor capability (using a CD recorder to archive my vinyl collection). Email if you have something for sale that might fit the bill. Pics and price greatly appreciated. Can't wait to get these Cornwall's fired up as I picked them up a month ago and still haven't listened to them.

Last one with lights.

Pic with cabinet.

An absolutely gorgeous vintage piece both inside and out. Thoroughly checked and cleaned inside and out with a beautiful walnut cabinet. Has that great warm musical Marantz sound. Perfect with Klipsch speakers as they just work together harmonically. This is a true 'plug and play' receiver with no issues and nothing you need to do to it. All the lights work, the tuner is aligned and all controls are static free. Only reason for sale is because I also have a Marantz 2285B and 2325 and only have room for 2. This is a piece of gear that will continue to appreciate in value. $725 Firm. I've seen them go for twice that on ebay, often without the optional wood cabinet. Prefer local pickup in San Antonio. Email if interested

Yet another

Another pic

These are Oiled Oak. Average to good condition overall. These have the Crites Tweeters in them and they sound great. Here are the imperfections: One of the dustcaps on one of the rear passive radiators is pushed in. Very slight dings here and there if you look really close. Lastly, on top of one of the speakers is a slight circular ring from where someone put a drink on them at some point (all imperfections were on them when I got them as I tend to baby all of my stuff) Overall, the appearance is still quite good and they sound great. Grills are in good shape. They use magnets inside the grills instead of plastic clips to affix the grills to the speakers. In my opinion the Fortes are still the best overall balanced speaker Klipsch ever produced, and these are no exception. Local pickup only or I would be willing to meet halfway for a handoff with those audiophiles from Dallas, Austin or Houston. Please email me if you are interested.

They are a complete waste of money and effort. ESPECIALLY with Klipsch speakers as I found out the hard (and expensive) way. Extremely noisy and unmusical. I can not be more adamant about this particular brand. I can provide more specifics to those who need to know and save you much grief.

Those were mine. I bought them that way from a gentleman here in San Antonio who had them made (from who, I don't know) for the grills. Had a very Japanese Mod look to them I think. Wasn't until later I realized the white grills weren't 'replacements' but merely pulled over the existing black grills. I no longer have those cornwalls but they were nice!

FWIW, I just had both a pair of RF-82s and Chorus I's and Chorus II's in my home for a shoot out. The RF-82s, IMHO, weren't even in the same ballpark as the Chorus. In fact, I far prefer the RF-7s to the 82's. The 82s just sounded like a lot of the newer 'hi-fi' sounding stuff; maybe more accurate but uninvolving. I think the RF's are more 'WAF-friendly and personally think that is the only reason they sell.

Hmm...not sure if you were referring to my previous post or in general as I DID include the Bose 901 on my list of significant designs. I'm certainly not a Bose Basher as I have owned several pairs of 901s in the past. They give a HUGE soundstage but nothing is clearly defined within it. My remarks (in my last posting) was Bose's predatory business nature which is widely known (talk to Consumer Reports). I've had read online in the past that some have them set up optimally (concrete walls, close to the corners, huge amounts of current with big amps, etc) and say they are stunning and better than anything they have ever heard. I haven't experienced that with them but then I don't have the right room for them either. I'm not snobbish enough to tell anyone what they should (or shouldn't) like to hear. We all have our own ears, listening preferences, musical tastes, budgets, WAF issues, etc, so there will never be a universal standard. If there was....would we even have audio threads?

Actually, they did threaten once to sue Thiel Speakers for use of a 'number'. Thiel was going to release the CS 2.2 speakers once (the followup to their successful CS2 speakers). Since Bose had (at that time) recently released a series 2.2 speaker of their own, Bose threatened to sue over use of the number. Bose would not have won had it gone to court, but the mere threat of making Thiel go to court for years and having a FAR larger legal budget than Thiel, it didn't make a difference. Thiel gave in and removed the period (".") and renamed the speaker the CS 2 2, with a space in between. If that doesn't show you how 'thuggish' Bose is, nothing will. True, the 901 will rattle the rafters. So will big ol' horns. (The 901's just need more juice to do it.) That attribute alone does not a great speaker make, but it's certainly necessary if you like to hear music reproduced at life-like levels of volume and dynamics in your home. And it's one of the cornerstones of music reproduction that klipsch has built it's brand on. The 901 does dynamics, and it also does space, something horns often have trouble with. Low distortion? I dunno about that for the 901 as I have not seen a lot of published specs. All I know is they sound clean to me. I would not be surprised if they do have high levels of low frequency distortion, but subjectively, to me, they sound great. All speakers should be so distorted. I agree with whoever it was that said the reason there is not a world full of 901 clones is that everyone knows Bose will sue the bejeebers out of you. Geez, I think they even sued someone for using "901". Like they own the number!