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mafuta

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Everything posted by mafuta

  1. Don't know if we're talking about the same thing ,but the Marchand XM46 do have volume control on all channels.You can also choose no not install them.
  2. Why not try the Marchand XM 46 passive line level crossover? 1.It does the same job as any active 2.It adds no noise ,unlike any active.Great for hi eff speakers.Fantastic for biamping Khorns 3.It sounds great.I use one in an ambitious 4 way quad amped all horn system with great results. 4. Gain loss is minimal 5. It is cheap and if you are willing to solder , easy to assemble,even as a starter project. 6.Neatly sidesteps the tube/ss debate 5It is really simple and cannot break. 6 It 's cheap whilst still using high quality parts
  3. Best 40 bucks you'll ever spend.1 oct increments are really a bit crude + you also get some signal generating capability for the extra.Jeez add a $50 Behringer calibration mic and you have several kilobucks worth of capability for the price of a a a....farm in Chad.
  4. I remember a photograph of Audio Research's listening room at the factory in a mid 80's brochure(around the time of the D 70).Lots of Magnepan speakers and a Klipschorn peaking from the corner. D160. Fantastic amp.Cost $6000 in 1983 and another $6000 in repairs till I finally gave up on it a year ago.
  5. Absolutely If one does not rely on analog as primary source digital crossovers with all the flexibility , capability for delay (just think about it!)and steep slopes with no ringing must be heaven.Unfortunately those black wobbly pieces of plastic keep me chasing rainbows. Regards
  6. SETs do not mind passive crossovers.For once I'll stop talking nonsense and (sort of) quote Phil Marchand in a discussion about his XM 46 crossover I use.This is a totally passive device. The real factor is not the power amps but the preamp:It needs to have an output impedance of less than 500 Ohms.That rules out passive preamps and most tube preamps that do not use a cathode follower line stage(most tubed pre's do however use this type of circuitry).Insertion loss of a passive filter incurs very little loss of gain-only around 1dB.The power amp characteristics matter hardly at all.I run 3 very different SETs with not a murmur from any of them. BTW I totally agree on active crossovers .I have used 3 expensive ones and they all detracted too much Regards
  7. Aah,so it's too late.You alredy contracted the dreaded Superior Horn Syndrome.Like SARS SHS seems to have originated in the east.Japan specifically.It is also incurable.Fortunately,like most very serious diseases ,it's course is very predictable. The next step is that you'll disappear.If you are lucky ,ít'll be the mild form and you'll simply spend all you're time listening to music.If it is the bad form you're building that thing in the wall. Come to think of it:Where is q man? Changing the front wall?No,hang on, wasn"t there a photograph of three K horns in built inn corners? Oh ,he must be digging up the floor for a huge subterranean horn sub then!
  8. Be careful Before long you start thinking -maybe I can improve the mids a little too.Then maybe the midbass (200-400 Hz fill out the khorn there a little),maybe add a midbass horn ,a Sato horn maybe-mouth only 30"x 30".Then you start eyeing the walls of the house-maybe a straight horn in concrete built where the backyard used to be.Before long you'll have this www.belgaudio.com/auditoen1.pdf or this http://perso.wanadoo.fr/francois.mastroiannidiy/M%20Rogerro.htm
  9. Good point Initially I was very reluctant to put the tweeter there because of a.possible reflections and b.what I felt could be excessive distance between the tweeter and midhorn.Initially I had the tweeter right on the front of the midhorn where it sounded the worst.It measured the best sitting on top and halfway along the depth of the mid,where it sounded worst.Karel Schees ,who started this whole mess, predicted the tweeter and mid voicecoils at the same depth would be the best and he was right. I have tried damping the top of the midhorn but frankly could hear no difference.the fact that the tweeter only comes in at 12k may make a difference ? That it enters at 12k and fades at 19k makes the whole idea of a separate amp for less than an octave absolutely stupid-but take it away and everything ,including the bass collapses-I wish someone could explain that!Maybe I should save up for a TAD tweeter that will reach 40k.At least the amp will have little more to do and it may enrich my dog's listening experience?
  10. Yes,I do use triamped horns.I should probably be banned for what I have done to a legendary design,but if Klipsch won't do it and JBL abandoned full horn designs 50 yrs ago,I'll just have to pretend I'm clever- even if it's difficult. Whole system in the profile section or pics and description at www.aca.gr/pop_dreyer.htm
  11. I am not sure how a single resistor on an amp's input will act as a filter.Is it not maybe a capacitor? If so, this is a very elegant approach.There are a few caveats though;at 6 dB oct your signal will only be 6dB down at 200Hz and 12 dB down at 100Hz.Most compression drivers won't like that.The phenolic diaphragm in the K may not mind but Al,Ti,Be diaphragms may shatter,rattle or phone their union.I doubt if the K400 horn will go that low,but you may introduce audible distortion. The problem with bi amping the K horn and most full horn speakers is that the mids are usually more efficient(sorry -sensitive) than the tweeters i.e mid 110dB/W and tweeter 104dB /W.(The only 110dB/W tweeters I could find are from ALE and Goto.Considering that these are more expensive than a whole Klipschorn,this is clearly not an option). That would mean leaving the autoformer or padding resistors in line after the amp,thus negating most of the advantages of multi amplification(in the mids at least).If one uses SET amps this will probably make for a more difficult load.After battling this for more than 6 months ,I finally came to the same conclusion:Rather tri amp Khorns than bi amp.
  12. I would go for the method you suggesti.e low level bass -mid crossover with 2 amps and retaining the mid tweets as is. Tri amping with a third amp can be problematic and costly.I found in previous systems (Magnepan Tympani) that I prefered bi to tri amping .Having said that I'm about to tri amp my horns again from bi amp,but for reasons not applicable to the standard Khorn. I use the Marchand XM46 passive line level crossover with great results.You do not have to buy the whole thing with cabinet 'n all.In fact Marchand suggests putting the actual boards inside your amps.The circuitry is really simple-only a few coils,caps and the odd resistor.Being line level the components are much smaller than a conventional speaker crossover.Other advantages.No active circuitry so no power supplies and no noise-important at 104dB/w. I much prefer these to the Luxman and Krell Active units I used before Good luck.It's really quite simple with the Khorn and i'm sure it will sound fantastic with your amps
  13. Running 2 amps through a passive high level crossover does not really make sense: 1. Both amps still receive the full range signal.Thus the advantage of your 7w Set handling only limited bandwith and not the more demanding bass frequencies is lost. 2.The amps still "see" a complex crossover network and are not directly driving the driver(sorry that sentence sounds silly) 3.You'll have 2 dissimilar amps driving basically a stock speaker.Tonal abberations are certain,especially with the shallower crossover slopes in the crossover. 4. How will you adjust levels relative to one another?You'll have to use a high power L pad or additional line level pots ,cables and connections between pre and power amps-i.e more instead of less. IMO you'll end up with the worst of both worlds.Then rather stick with a single amp. Regards
  14. This for true bi-amplification as opposed to the foolish trend to "bi amp" whilst keeping the speaker's own crossover in line. Step 1: Get a line level crossover with appropriate x-over frequency and slopes.This can be either active or a passive. Marchand Electronics (www.marchandelec.com) is reliable,inexpensive and very helpful.Crossover probably 400Hz with slopes from 6 to 24dbper octave depending on your philosophy(I prefer 24db/oct). Cost $500 to $1500. Pass Labs, Krell probably $5000, FM Acoustics around $15 000(I think.For a vintage Marantz 6 (?) you'll have to sell your kids into slavery. Digital crossovers (TACt or some pro brands) are another option if you're not allergic to digital.Also get 2 extra sets of interconnects and an extra run of speaker wire Step 2.Identify the bass low-pass and mid high-pass sections on the Khorn .Remove these.Throw them away-once bi-amped you'll never go back.Wire the bass amp directly to the woofer and the mid to the mid + tweeter.Make damn sure the mid-tweeter crossover is still in line. Step 3.Connect the crosover between your pre and the 2 power amps.Turn the level pots on the crossover really low. Step 4.Say the astronaut's prayer and switch on.Adjust the levels by ear or better with a spectrum analyser.If your computer has a soundcard with in and outputs,a very good analyser with signal generator can be had from truerta.com for 35$. You need a calibration microphone as well. The Behringer 8000 sells for $50. Oh ,you also need a phantom supply. Sure you want to try it? Good luck
  15. When I changed the midhorns in my K horn to JBL 2440 on wooden Iwata horns, I mounted the 2404 sideways because I thought it looked "better"+ according to the radiation pattern it should not matter.I just could not get the integration to gel.Turning it the right way immediately solved the problem
  16. Of course ,if you feed them fried bacon the fat will be in the fire and sizzzzzzzling sssoundds ssshall ssshear your eardrumssss (sssic)
  17. I have been battling with this for along time.There seems to be a pattern to it: First you get a better tweeter (JBL 2404-truly stunning).But then after awhile you start craving this same clarity in the midrange.First you get a mid horn.This can be anything from a wooden piece of art (IWATA in my case)to a toilet bowl.Now needing a 2" driver.Invariably you choose something really smart (TAD 4001,JBL 2441 or if you really have it badly ALE or GOTO).Fortunately I'm still stuck here.Then you find a) the midrange won't reach down to the Bass horn the K horn bass starts sounding murky and c)Your wife looks at you funny. Then you get a 15"JBL or Altec woofer and put it in a large box.Now you find that a) You leave the Klipsch forums and sell your Khorns to an idiot who can't stop smiling and shaking your hand. You have your new creation sprayed pearl white and proudly shows it on the Lansing forum c)You start posting furiously on Audio Asylum where there are some really clued up people.Problem is you think you are one of them.d) You hardly listen to music anymore. Now Your postings to AA start getting nasty and eventually obnoxious.AA bans you.You start hanging out with the kids at the pro music shop.The sound at the bar sounds real nice and you spend more time there.You wife leaves you. What the hell ,you sell your Marantz 9s and get some Crest 1 megawatt jobs.You peroxide your hair.You don't even get upset when the hairdresser asks if you want only one or both your hairs bleached. Your wife divorces you and both your pale hair fell out on the same day.You give your stuff away.You now move into a apartment and buy yourself a Harman Kardon receiver and some Heresys.You join the Klipsch forums where your input is really appreciated. Problem is :All your posts start wit:"When I had Klipschorns" THIS IS PURELY FICTIONAL AND NOT INTENDED TO HARM ANYONE.PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I OFFENDED ANYONE! Mafuta
  18. Please forgive my curiousity,but why are you selling the Air Tight? I have never heard one,but it is supposed to be very good.Not?
  19. I wanted to respond,but the other respondends said exactely what I wanted to-drat!But I'm gonna say something anyway! Bottom line ;the Tannoys are very good at pinpointing but the Khorns will paint a huge soundstage with 3d images in that space-firmly rooted. This may have something to do with them being corner horns-the room become part of the horn with the listener sitting "inside the box".I have never heard the all horn Tannoys(Westminster) but they may well create the same effect. Khorn Cary 805 Valve Audio Genesis pre BAT VK P5 phono Michell Orbe/SME V/Koetsu Onix EMT 948/Cardas Heart ARC CD 1 ReVox PR99 Siltech(i/c)Synergistic Research (speaker) Ensemble (power) cables
  20. I once ran Monitor Golds with Audio Research Electronics.No matter what I did they always had the Tannoy midrange coloration.They would also go loud with the ARC D160 and D90 I had but never with real weight to the sound.After 4 years I sold them without shedding any tears. The day I installed my Khorns I really wanted to cry-They were bright with a quack that really made the Tannoys sound like stats and no soundstage. However over several years they have really responded well to small changes(totally unlike the Tannoys).all the initial problems have totaly dissapeared.Strange but most of these changes has been to the room and other components.They really are like a magnifying glass on the rest of the system. Unlike others on this forum I found wiring to and inside the Khorns to be critical and eventually settled on Yamamura Millenium 5000 for internal wiring and Synergistic Research Resolution Reference for outside
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