Deang

Since just about everything recorded by Sony sounds mostly horrible, how does that Edgar Winter CD SOUND?

Great thread. Lot's of new things for me to try as well. I threw the Metal in there because I knew everyone else would present Classical and Jazz choices. I use Metal as therapy. Don't ask me to explain this.

Well, here goes: Metallica - The "Black" CD, sounds simply incredible Fuel - both of their CD's sound great Tears for Fears -- 20 Greatest Hits, remastered, Capitol Records Rush -- Moving Pictures (fasten your seat belt) Godsmack -- CD of same title, debut Alice in Chains, Greatest Hits, remastered This 1/2 dozen immediately come to mind as being very well recorded. Incidently, the musics good too! These should keep you busy for a while

I knew it all along. Lynnm & Mdeneen are the same person

LOL -- well, as long as it ain't my kids I guess it's O.K. It actually looks kind of interesting. A lot of work went into some of that stuff.

Maybe worth that if completely updated with good parts, and shipped with Mullards. But to pay $600 for a 40 year old amp that originally sold for practically nothing is idiotic.

Hmmm. Tom Horn may miss the point as you see it, but it does beg the question: How much of what he says is true? On one hand you have a time of artistic self expression based on a theme. On the other hand you have an event which draws some loons who are koo-koo (or is is coo-coo) for Cocoa Puffs. So which is it? A little of both maybe? This message has been edited by deang on 09-14-2002 at 06:02 PM

It should also sound more dynamic than a passive. Maybe a preamp does a better job of pulling the low level information out and pushing it to the top. This might account for why the sound seems "closer". Transparency is cool, but so is a little color

O.K Clipped, you got me. What is "The Burning Man get Together?"

Yes, would definitely need a sub with that.

Well Bill -- I'll be using LOT'S of power I picked up a used Aragon 4004 MKII for a reasonable price. If 75 lbs. of solid state won't drive them, then I'm in trouble. Even with that, I'll be surprised if they can reach the SPL's of my RF7's with 20 watts of tube push-pull.

Excellent first post -- welcome to forum Bill.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple - nothing ever is. Here is the graph for the tweeter. The Dahlquist DQ-10 utilizes 1st order crossovers, and is a 5-way. The tweeter runs from 6K to 12K -- where the piezo takes over. What do you think? I would imagine the line at the bottom of the graph is the impedence. If so, would a 12ohm resistor be better? I've attached the .jpg of the crossover. It's a bear. If I can't use the resistor, I'm thinking I could lower C3 to 4uF and C6 to 6.5uF. Those values should be lower -- but since it's a parallel crossover, the values effect things down the line. The tweeter is far superior to the one it's replacing -- so I figure I can stretch it some. This message has been edited by deang on 09-13-2002 at 01:28 PM

If I replace a 4 ohm driver with a 8 ohm driver, can I put a 8 ohm resistor across the leads of the new driver so the crossover "sees" 4 ohms? Or, do I have to change cap values (and wouldn't that just suck).

You're groovin now daddyo

Tough choices. Based on your signature line, I'll assume you already have the RSW-15 -- is that right? Are you planning on keeping those SF-2's, or can you trade them in on your next purchase? If not, I would still sell them and put the money towards some RB5's to run with the RSW-15. This is an absolutely killer setup. The RB5's are the most dynamic speaker in the Reference line -- and they excel with movies. This option would leave you enough money to land a pair of RF5's for the music system you want to build. The new THX speakers that are coming out appear to be VERY similiar to the RC7, the matching center channel for the RF7. When I upgraded from my RB5's, I actually used two RC7's in a 2 channel setup. You'll have to wait and see what price point the new THX speakers come in at to make a valid comparison. Two RC7's cost $1500, which is the same as a pair of RF5's. However, with the THX speakers, you'll get the monster horn found in the RF7 -- which the RF5 does not use. Also, keep in mind that for anything that is not a floorstander, you have to factor in stands -- which don't always come cheap. I will say that if you can only have one pair of speakers -- the RF7's are the ones to have. You get close to the dynamics of the RB5, with loads of tight bass, and very open, unrestricted sounding high frequencies.

The greatest majority of SS amps are run in class A/B. The B&K has a Class A pre-driver stage (good) and Class A/B output stage. Typically, the first few watts of a Class A/B amp will be class A, at which time it switches over to Class B operation. You might want to look at some things which are probably more important when it comes to determining the performance and sonic signature of a SS amp. Damping Factor -- the higher the better, and will tell you how much control an amp will have over the low frequency drivers. Transistors -- are they Bipolar or MOSFET? Bipolar designs typically sound a little on the cool side, to bright -- but have great transients. MOSFETS will give you a darker, or warmer signature -- but you lose the transient attack of a good Bipolar amp. With Klipsch speakers, I think MOSFET designs are probably the best direction. B&K are MOSFET amps. Amperage -- compare the amperage ratings. All watts are not created equal. Parts quality -- you want to know if the manufacturer is willing to share with you the quality/kind of parts they use. Along with the above, I have always felt SS amps should be bought by the pound. If one 200 watt amp weighs in at 35 lbs., and another 200 watt amp weighs in a at 75 lbs. -- I'm taking the back breaker. Most of that weight will be found in the transformer(s). The B&K amps present a very good value. A good SS choice. This message has been edited by deang on 09-11-2002 at 10:39 AM

http://www.diycable.com/images/billie_main0.jpg With the KLF's I can't possibly imagine you actually needing SS on the bottom. After I put my AE-25 DJH into my system with my RF7's I actually removed the subwoofer from the system. There is something about the character of tube driven bass that just sounds great all on it's own. Any attempts to "add" to it -- just mucks everything up. At least, that's what I found in my system. This message has been edited by deang on 09-11-2002 at 10:19 AM

That's cool. Actually, since you are going to be so far from them, 8' feet apart is fine. Just toe them in. Your kitchen is a decent sized room. Also, if you are going to working in the area, doing one hobby (cooking), while enjoying another (music) -- there will be other sounds to contend with. I'm being honest here. Those Fortes with the Heritage midrange horn -- are going to do the best with an all tube system. There is no real reason to not stay within your original spending parameter. $1000 is a lot of money. I think the Jolida is the perfect amp for you. It really is. Tube sound, good power. It's a good amp to use as a baseline. The Jolida's hold their value pretty well, so you can upgrade later if you choose without taking terrible beating (which you most certainly will do if you buy new). Have you ever been out to www.audiogon.com? It's where the rest of us loons shop. Hey, look what I found. Jolida JD502B

http://www.johnvestman.com/digital_myth.htmThis message has been edited by deang on 09-07-2002 at 09:55 PM

It is pretty. However, for about the same amount of money he can get the 35 watt AE-25 DJH SuperAmp with oil filled caps, AND the tube rectified AE-3 DJH SuperPreamp off of Audiogon. Ain't no way that hybrid's gonna hang with that.

Man, some of these posts remind me of me about a year ago. "Power! Power! I need POWER!" You get so paranoid about power that you forget the purpose of all this obtaining the best sound. The BEST sound is no Solid State. No solid state amp, and definitely no solid state preamp. You can do what Tom Brennan thing, but you need to know what you are doing. I once put a Solid State B&K 4420 on my woofers and an Anthem Ultralinear EL-34 based tube amp on my tweeters, using the passive crossovers of the speakers. I thought it sounded like shite. You are in a difficult position. You want to make a move up -- but don't want to lose some of the things you know you like about the sound of your Fortes. The first thing you must do is forget 90% of everything you ever learned about audio, and especially the "watts" bit -- just let it all go. This 2-channel forum is predominately made up of folks who run tube gear. Mobile came on here a year or so ago and converted the whole damn herd. Now listen up. We only want to know a few things, then -- we are going to tell you what to buy. You are going to buy it -- and be happy 1) How much money is in your budget? Exactly. What are you willing to spend? 2) How big is your room? 3) How far away do you sit from your speakers?

Mobile, Yes, as a matter of fact I am in DQ hell. Restoring these to the level of detail I'm going is completely tedious, tiresome work. I am trying very, very, hard not to think about the fact that with the money I have in these to this point -- I am a mere $400 away from what some K-horns would have cost me. If I am not completely blown away by the sound when I'm done -- I will sell the whole system (Aragon 4004MKII, GAS Thalia, Marantz D7010, & the DQ's) and buy some BIG horns. I've not listened to much music at all. I spend about 2 hours a night working on the DQ's and then go to bed. My wife has been a real trooper about this. So, where has all the money gone? Jeesh. MIT Multicaps, Mills Resistors, inductors, Scan-Speak D2010 tweeters, new Motorola recessed piezos, ridiculously pricey 14 gauge OFC internal wiring, and all the stuff I needed to the physical restoration work. My bill from Percy Audio alone was almost $400 (just for the caps and resistors). Right now I'm rolling my own midrange and tweeter inductors. Man oh man. To get the DCR I need, I need 312 turns with 26 gauge wire, on a cylinder that has a 13mm diameter and 18mm length. I used a 1 x .5 nylon spacer and sanded it down to exact size. I used nylon washers as my end caps. The end caps were epoxyed on. Last night was my fourth try of the week -- I finally rolled one that was perfect. I mean PERFECT. An hour after I rolled it the ends popped off. I wept like a child As far as the AE-25 goes -- I think it the low end is kind of wimpy with the EL-34's. The bass was fairly lean sounding with the EL-34's with my RF7's. The amp takes on a very different sonic signature with the KT-88's/6550's. I do believe the SuperAmp is probably a better match for Klipsch Reference two-ways, than Heritage 3-ways.

Am I the only one who thinks the AES AE-25 SuperAmp is one of the best deals in tube amplification? Mine never ceases to please me, and has often dropped my jaw to the floor by doing things none of my high powered SS amps could do. The AE-25 does have the auto-bias feature. Yes, "rolling tubes" is changing out stock tubes for higher quality New Old Stock tubes made decades ago when manufacturing tolerences were tighter and when quality control actually meant something. Those Jolidas are a good value. Buying used is actually a good way to go -- you can really make the money stretch and get a far superior product. Mobile and many others would say SET is the way to go. I almost did it myself a couple of times over the last 6 months. Since I have never heard a SET amp, I am not qualified to give an opinion. SET does appear to work extremely well with the Heritage line. A SET amp in kit form would certainly be easier to put together than a push-pull amp. Since I do a lot of movies through my 2-channel setup, and the fact that I like my music fairly loud -- I opted for a higher powered push-pull amp, though more for the headroom than anything else. Volume wise, there isn't any real world difference between 8-9 watts, and 15-20 watts. I do think the Zen, at 3 watts -- is best left to those with the big horns and with those who don't listen to extreme volume levels. http://www.upscaleaudio.com/ae-25.htm Just my opinion. This message has been edited by deang on 09-06-2002 at 10:57 AM

Hey guys, how about them Cleveland Browns