mark1101

I couldn't help it....I emailed the seller to try and explain life in the big city, etc. and how much people pay for used KHorns. I bet he'll fix it. Might be that he really did mean $1200.

On second thought, why not upgrade your speakers instead?

You could probably expect exponential cost increases for further incremental improvements.

Yup, an idiot for sure. If anyone bids let me know. I'll offer my LaScalas to them for $3,500, a substantial Christmas discount.

OK, maybe I need to go back to Newbie status, but I'll ask anyhow. What the heck is "tube rolling"? Is it rotating the tubes from socket to socket, or just moving them around in the socket they are in? Or is it some other obscene activity that you guys all do? Don't know if I could get into that.

Hey Craig, I just knew you would jump in and tell me not to touch anything. If I wanted something different I would just call you up and ask. But I do like to hear what everyone else is using and what they think of certain tubes. I never undrestood any of that. After all this time and and money and finally having these excellent little amps and my KLIPSCH sounding so good, I'm not touching anything. I really don't think they could sound any better unless there is some expensive mod that could be performed. Don't worry I'm very satisfied, and my kids need Christmas presents. I like getting you excited though.

Hey Ryan, The HH Scott website discusses how some of their kits were "factory wired" as opposed to requiring complete assembly. Others did require complete assembly. That's why I asked that question. I have also seen it mentioned in various places I have found Scott kits for sale. Sellers will specifically say that it was a "factory wired" kit. Maybe it's all BS. I wasn't even a twinkle in the old man's eyes in the 50s, so I wouldn't know. OK, you can keep all your kits for yourself I guess. I hope you get to assemble them on some rainy day. Enjoy.

Ryan, You quickly mentioned earlier that you have an unbuilt LK-72. Well? Would you sell it as is? Is it factory wired? Either way I'm interested. Buddy!

Ryan, Thanks for all the good info. I suspected that the original tubes would sound the best. But it is hard to know that since everyone on this forum constantly talks about the sound characteristics of other types and brands, and experiments. The most important info to me is which ones govern the sound quality the most. I don't expect to change anything any time soon though. Craig has both these amps really singing sweet. I don't really expect either to sound any better than they do right now since I heard them both before they were rebuilt. I know I have all good tubes. The 222 has all the originals you mentioned, and all tested good and matched acceptably to Craig. The 299 has all the originals as well except for the Russian outputs. Craig returned the originals to me but they don't match any longer and are a little weak.

Guys, I had Craig do the rebuild job on both of the Scott amps listed below. Both sound excellent. However, I really don't understand that well the difference in sound you can achieve with different tubes, and which sections govern the sound most. Craig put Russian outputs in the 299, but I think the 222 still has the original Scott tubes and some Telefunkens. Question: I see 3 section of tubes on these amps. One is a row up close to the controls with the shields on (several tubes), moving toward the rear of the unit a row of 2, then the 4 output tubes (I know these). Which are the best sounding for each section? Which ones make the most difference. Craig will probably chime in and tell me to leave everything alone (before I #$%k it up). We have messed with these amps quite a lot to get them to where they are now, which is excellent. (Craig: Don't worry I'm not touching a thing !!!) But now I need to learn the info on the tricks of the tube trade that I don't know. One last question, other than the output tubes, if you change any of the others, are there any adjustments that need to be made to the amp?

Dude, Sorry about the damage. I have 3 cats, and would never declaw any of them. They are indoor/outdoor cats, and almost all of the neighbors have dogs. SO they require the claws. I don't have a problem with my Las. But the corns are decorator models and have unprotected woofers (this model has no grills). So, I covered them with 15" "kicker" mesh woofer covers that get used on boom box wofers and such. They are black metal with a rubber ring and 4 mounting ears. They have protected the woofers perfectly for about 10 years now. My heresys are a different story. The cats scratch on the grills. For now I just yell at them and they stop. Usually I find one grill completely off. I just got them a couple of months ago and I may need to add the "kicker" covers to them as well and save the grills in the closet. These grills I am speaking of really look good and do the job well. I hope you don't have to declaw your cats.

Guys, Thanks for the good info. I am presently very satisfied with the Las the way they are now, especially with the Scott amps. I would be interested in the ALK networks just for the heck of it though if there is a marked improvement to be had. My Las sound excellent as is right now. Hard to imagine much of an improvement. Thanks

To the Board, I own the LaScalas listed below. I believe they have the AL-3 crossover in them. I have read that there are preferred models of crossover network. Can someone list the different ones sequentially, and then comment on which ones listeners prefer the most, second most, etc. Thanks

Absolutely wonderful pieces. You do have both, right? What a piece of history. The reason all of us are hear. Thanks very much for sharing the pics.

9/25 - 10/14, 1980 Warfield 10/22 - 31, 1980 Radio City

Gary, I thought it was the Brooklyn Bridge and Goldengate Brdige spanning the US, wasn't it? I always thought Dead Set was snippets from 1980 touring. I'm at work and can't check it out. I have the double album LP and the CD. That was a good one. Nice Jerry guitar hanging in the space getting called into fire (I think) by the rest of 'em.

I don't mean to sound like a jerk but... I assume you mean 66" diagonal when you say "wide". I was shopping at Best Buy and discussed these monster size screens with the salesman. He said there was a rule of thumb that the optimal viewing distance was some amount of times the diagonal, like 3-4 times. I can't remember. I do remember that the 60+" diagonals optimized at around 20 ft. That would mean that you TV viewing is way less than optimal too. Sorry. Didn't they tell you that when you bought the TV? I could easily see that the really big screens improved significantly as you stepped back. So don't worry about the sound, everything's messed up

Jim, Glad to see that they arrived safely. Those Heresy's are lookin' good.

It sounds it is coincidence that reversing the wires makes it work. What happens if you put them back into phase? Does it still work? I suspect it will. If so, there is a faulty connection somewhere. Either a broken wire in the tweeter wiring, or something on the crossover that you bumped into and made work temporarily. I don't know why any driver plays with only one wire connected.

Leok, You are correct, and used just a few accurate words. Reasonably priced amps optimized for Klipsch speakers. What an understatement.

Another all too familiar tale. But Ill tell it anyway. Sit back. I have had various models of Klipsch Heritage speakers over the last 25+ years. It was not until I got into this forum over the last few months that I can honestly say I have gained the information that led to the single most drastic and important improvement in my Klipsch speaker audio systems. Of course that would be adding cost effective tube amps to my Cornwalls and LaScalas. I always kind of knew that tubes would be better. But I was never that interested because I always thought I would need thousands of dollars. I found out here that you dont need thousands of dollars, and that the Heritage series can wake up like never before. I have been using Yamaha and Denon receivers in the $600 - $700 price range over the last 3-4 years, and have had other ss amps as well. The corns have been in 4 different houses, many different rooms, and have sometimes even frustrated me trying to get them to sound right. But I learned how to optimize using an EQ and still have really enjoyed them. So after reading and reading I made my choices and purchased the 2 Scotts listed below. This story is about the 299, the difference it has made in my Klipsch speakers, and the difference Craig at NOS Valves has made in that Scott amp. The 299 I purchased was rebuilt. I sent Craig some digital pictures of the chassis to verify and we discussed the amp over the phone. As it turned out it was actually in the barely rebuilt category, but it did function OK. Craig spent a couple of hours on the phone having me take several measurements and set the bias which was off. After all this I knew I could trust what I read about Craig. And I really was not satisfied with the amps performance, so I decided to send the amp up to NOS Valves. After Craig inspected it and discussed part options, I received a parts list. A fair amount of work was needed to achieve what we set out to accomplish. Craig unsoldered and tested all the power caps and ended up replacing them because they were all bad, and had been patched under chassis. The amp had Illinois caps in it that I wanted replaced with Auricaps. The rest was a horde of miscellaneous parts that Craig could tell you about. I also purchased the recommended bias mod that placed test points on the top of the chassis and pots out the back so the amp could be balanced and biased from outside. This has turned out to be a very safe and smart modification to keep things tuned easily and avoid the 360+v supply. I know a lot of you have this mod. OK, so I got it back and started unwrapping. It was packed to the hilt. Bubblewrap + Peanuts + cardboard all boxed tightly. The first thing I did was take it apart. Immediately I noticed the replaced cans and bias mod components on top. The work is extremely neat, and looks like a factory job. Under the chassis was even more pretty. A myriad of new parts all spaced and positioned nicely with clean solder joints. And those Auricaps staring right at me. The unit is absolutely beautiful, like a classic work of art, top and bottom. But I had no idea what I was about to hear. When I first turned it on I couldnt believe it. I had used this amp for a few weeks before I sent it to Craig but it sounded completely different now. It sounded like I got a new pair of speakers actually (a new set of tweeters), and a much more powerful amp. The tweeters never sounded so crisp and definitive. The high hat hits are so crisp and clear I cant describe it, and the bass gets way low like a church organ. My corns always had good bass, but never like this. I had told Craig that the bass notes were skipping some of my CDs. I never had that happen before. I had to stand the verts up (they were lying down on their sides) because the bass was blowing me out at times. The range from soft to loud has come out too, big time. The cornwalls have become something new and improved, like never before. Its so much fun listening to them this way. Working all the controls everything operates perfectly. All the functions work correctly and quietly. No noisy controls, no hum, no hiss at all. You can turn the volume up all the way with a CD on pause, and the speakers are dead silent with an ear right up to each of the drivers. A very very clean amp. The loudness control (the switch) is more balanced and operates better than on my Yamaha (reverse dial loudness). The channels output very evenly as well. Very balanced. It is almost embarrassing at over 40 years old how much better this old Scott is (with my Klipsch) compared to the Yamaha and Denon sound I get with the same speakers. All in all a whole new sound experience for my cornwalls. The alnico drivers sound phenomenal now, and I dumped my equalizer. I have never used Klipsch speakers without an EQ over 25 years because I could never optimize the sound to my satisfaction with the ss amps. Now I almost have to defeat the treble and bass. I have almost no need to increase either with most of the music I have played. Over the weekend I just let it play and play. Several hours. You can actually hear the sound development improving as the amp plays longer. I suppose those Auricaps are breaking in. But it is still improving if you can believe it. The best part is that you can trust Craig. He set realistic expectations and then did exactly what he said he would do. His price was more than fair, and his communication and customer service outstanding, and he provided full maintenance documentation with pictures and parts list. I consider his type of service as unique and of great importance to this forum. He knows the parts and performance!! I highly recommend NOS Valves and will certainly keep in touch with Craig and use his services again. I had no idea what I had been missing all these years.

Hey, Is this still the KLIPSCH forum? Congrats on your new toys Gary

At this point I feel for ya. Sounds like not much you can do in that room. I'm convinced it is the room. I'd look for a new room! I wouldn't build any diffusers. Instead I'd find a way to hang more stuff like drapes, and add blankets, bedspreads, carpets, hang stuff from ceiling, etc. Then, just ride it out until you finally move! Life is long, and Klipsch last for life. So, eventually you'll get them to where they need to be.

The Long wall my friend. The long wall. Don't trust me, read about it. Go to wilsonaudio.com and click tech notes and then room acoustics. You are describing one of the classic problems he discusses. It may be a pain to rearrange the room, but those beasts are in a small area and it sounds like you need to separate them and shorten the room. You could definitely improve your amp too. I'm not going to bash Yamaha, but there's much better. I'm sure you know. You should still be able to achieve much better sound than with those 5s with exactly the same amp. If you don't go to the long wall in that small room, you might not ever be able to really let it crank without the harshness. Let us know what you do and how it works.

I don't have any experience with the RF-7s. All I ever owned was Heritage series. I think you are on to the issue which is placement, but I'll add this. Since you put them right where the old ones were and they didn't sound as good, I figured it was placement right away. Because I am assuming your complaint about not being as "even" referred to imaging. You will definitely have to find the right spot for them which is not very hard to do. I constantly moved my corns from different rooms and homes over the years. Some rooms frustrated me more than others, but I learned how to get them to image almost anywhere. The key could be as little as a foot of movement in either direction (separation between speakers) to get the optimal "even" sound. I am guessing you need to separate those more than the 5s. I am guessing. BUt play with separation first until vocals center and speakers "disappear". Then play with distance from wall for bass / mid balance. Corner placement increases bass, reduces imaging ability. Long wall placement (recommended) improves imaging alot, reduces bass. In a small room theose 7s probably have plenty of bass. I would go for the long wall and stay out of the corners. But it sounds like you already were on tot his. Just trying to help. I hope you get it right, hate to see you return them if you were happy with the price. Bigger should be better. It is with the Heritage series.