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jbsl

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Everything posted by jbsl

  1. Bear with me my question is coming. My first Klipsch speakers were some 1985 Heresys that I brought back from Saudi Arabia. I put each speaker on top of 2 wooden crates that put the horns about ear level. Which gave them a much better sound than just angling them up towards me. Then I got my KLF 20s and the horns were just a little higher and they have a great sound also. When I got my 2004 La Scalas they are around 7-8 inches lower than my KLF 20s so the midrange horn was at my chest level and the tweeter horn was just below my chin, very bright sounding and was wondering if I had made a mistake. So I did 2 thing, bought a Cayin TA 30 tube amp( it is a integrated amp but I'm using it as a amp with my 2004 Luxman preamp) which helped tame the brightness and I made 2 risers 7 inch high and 2 feet by 2 feet. So now the La Scalas are 41 1/2 inches high with the midrange horn at 35 inches and the tweeter horn at 38 1/2. I also have 2 70 pound bags of sand on each speaker. To be honest I did that before the speakers had burned in and I have my current system so I don't know if the sand bags helped with the sound or not. I am going to raise the LS another 2-4 inches and see how it sounds. Now I have not heard a pair of KHorns since I was 14-15, which was the late 70s, and almost 10 inches shorter. I was standing so that would have put the horns around my ear level and I was in audio nirvana!! Now I'm almost 40 and that is why I bought the new La Scalas since I plan not to ever replace them. Now I know what all you KHorn owners are saying "He has not heard KHorns in 24 years and once he does the upgrade bug will bite him!!" With my LS raised up to 41 1/2 inches and I'm sitting on my couch the vocals and instraments sound as if the band is sitting on some stools in front of me which is how I like the music to sound. My question is with the horns on the KHorn ( I'm guessing on this) around 7-10 inches higher than my set up how do the vocals and instraments sound. Since it has been over 20 years since I heard them and I was standing I don't really know how they sound when sitting on my couch with the horns that much higher up. I know 7 or 8 inches does not sound like it could change the sound of the music but after raising my LS almost 7 inches I know it can change the sound. I also realize room size and other factors can affect the sound of speakers. The only reason this question came up is I was looking at a picture of someone's new KHorns and it made me think about it. I live in Austin, Texas and if anyone on the forum lives in my area that owns KHorns I would love to hear them and they are welcome to come on over and hear their KHorns little brothers. I don't know if there has been a Texas Klipsch gathering anytime in the recent past but that sounds like a fun party to me! Xman
  2. The Cayin TA 30 is my first tube amp so I don't have a lot of experience with tube rolling yet. Changed out the stock Cayin tubes for some Svetlana which sounds very good and then I tried the Electro Harmonics 6CA7s which also had a good sound. The Electro Harmonics 6CA7s have much better bass but the midrange and highs are smoother on the Svetlanas. Since the Cayin TA 30 can use many different tubes I have thought about trying some KT88s, has anyone with a Cayin TA 30 tried this? Xman
  3. Colin if you don't have them already you should try Gordon Goodwin's BIG Phat BAND they have 2 albums out, SWINGIN FOR THE FENCES and XXL. The 2 I have are DVD A but I believe they are out on CD also. Gordon did a fantastic job of recording them if you don't have them give them a try. Xman
  4. Pauln congrats on the new La Scalas!! I have had my 2004 LS since March of last year and they sound great!! If my living room was the same size as yours I would have ordered a 3rd one for the center channel. Before My LS I had a pair of KLF 20s that had the midrange horn right at ear level and the high horn just above my ears that sounded very good no matter how loud I played them. With the LS the first thing I realized was with the midrange horn at my chest level and tweeter horn at my chin level the LS were very bright. So I made some 7 inch speaker risers for them and on each speaker placed 2 70 pound bags of sand. Now the sound is so much better since the mid horn is ear level now with the tweeter just above the ears. Since getting the LS I have found that my music taste is evolving from mainly rock to jazz, classical, to big band(if you have a dvd player then try Gordon Goodwin's DVD Audio discs Big Phat Band, Swingin For The Fences and XXL are 2 of the best recorded DVD Audio discs I have heard, try them you'll like em!!). Well I know you will enjoy them cause I have enjoyed mine. xman I
  5. Don I don't have a C5000 but bought a Luxman C300 in December of 2003 with my Cayin TA 30 tube int amp with very good results!! The C300 is from the early 80s so I am not sure if the C5000 is before or after that. Do a search on the web for Luxman and there are vintage sites, also a Luxman yahhoo forum you can try. I decided to try a 2004 Luxman L-505f integrated amp and bought one in Dec. I'm using it as a preamp and it sounds much better than the C300. Of course the C300 is 22 years old and the previous owner was a heavy, heavy smoker. From what I can remember the C5000 was suppose to be one of Luxman's best so with a good amp, try a tube amp if you don't have one, it should sound very good! For any questions about the C5000 go to Yahoo and find the Luxman yahoo group and they should be able to answer your questions. Xman
  6. It depends on how often do you watch movies and how important is it to hear the surround sounds. Try this if you do not own Final Fantsy then go rent it. Make sure it is the 2 disc version and use the special features disc. Go to Aki's Dream and listen in stereo first then listen in 5.1 with the rears turned up so the flow of sounds from front to rear and rear to front is uniform. Aki's dream is one of the best examples of surround sound. There is 2 battle scenes in the 8-10 minute dream that sound incredibel. Also turn up the subwoofer that is what it is there for and in Aki's Dream with stereo and with 5.1 the sub makes a big difference. The extended version of Return Of The King durning the main battle is annother. When I watched the Return Of The Kings at home I heard more details and the bass is better than in a theater, of course the screen is much bigger in a theater! Try those 2 movies and if there is no real sound improvement in 5.1 then I say stay with movies in stereo. Xman
  7. Congrats!!!! Once they break in they will sound even better!! I picked up my 2004 La Scalas back in April and they are just now starting to sound like they are broken in. I am not able to really crank them up like you do so it took longer to break in mine yours should not take as long to break in at the volume levels you like. My best friend took his La Scalas down to a pawn shop and got a loan and did not get them out, idiot!! I'm going to go back to the pawn shop to see if they are still there but it's unlikely since it's been almost 2 years. Before I bought the LS I used some KLF 20s with a Denon HT reciever and SS amps that sounded very good but with the LS did not sound as good with that equipment. Since then I have gotten a Cayin TA 30 tube integrted amp that I use just as a amp and I just got the last piece of my puzzle, for now, A 2004 Luxman L-505f integrated amp that I am using as a preamp. SACD through the new Luxman preamp has allowed me to enjoy SACD for the first time. The L-505f is a good integrated amp or a good amp but as a SS preamp it is very very good with tubes! A local audio store let me take home and demo a Jolida tube CD player and I compared it to my NAD C542. In my opion with my equipment I liked my NAD C542 better. The Jolida had a quiter background but to me the highs did not sound right, too laid back. On some cds the Jolida sounded better but at twice the cost not that much better. One reason I like the C542 is it plays HDCDs. Like DVD-A or SACD there are good recordings and bad ones and it is the same for HDCD. So the HDCDs I have are good recordings and on the C542 they sounded much better than on the Jolida at half the cost. Now the C542 is not perfect with La Scalas it can sound bright on some music but that is where my tube amp mellows it out just enough. If your set up with your new La Scalas sounds just right to you don't worry about upgrading. But if you start to get the bug, the upgrade bug, then there is a lot of good advice from people on this forum! My only advice is if possible try to demo a component in your system so you know if will work or not. The Jolida CD player is a excellent player that works for a lot of people on this forum but for me it just did not work. Luckily I was able to do a demo first and stay with my CD player. Second if you do decide to do upgrades wait till the speakers have broken in. Enjoy the La Scalas cause I'm enjoying mine but I do need a bigger house now!! Xman
  8. Are you biamping your speakers or asking if someone else is doing it? My Luxman preamp has 2 pre outs so just to try it I am going to hook my 35 watt int tube amp to my mids and highs and 2 80 watt SS monoblocks to my bass just to see how it sounds. The few times I have seen post about this type of set up 1 liked it the other one did not. Xman
  9. I used the KLF 20s before getting my La Scalas. My living room is 15 X 15 and the KLF 20s sound better than the La Scalas. The LS sound very good at low to mid listening levels but they overpower the room when you start to get loud. The 20s and I'm sure the 30s sound very good with rock, Audioslave is especially good, and everything else. The LS sounded ok on the equipment I was using with the KLF 20s but I did not buy LS to sound just ok. So I upgraded on the equipment and now the LS sound very good but a larger living room would help. So if someone is looking for a very good used KLipsch speaker for a small to medium size living room the KLF 30 would be a excellent choice! Xman
  10. I have the felling what the WAF wants the WAF gets! If you use the system more than you should pick the speakers. If she does then she should pick them. Xman
  11. What is the website for the peach and blueberry and what is the cost? Not that I have the money now but maybe next year. I hear that upgrade bug buzzing around again! Xman
  12. I am selling a pair of SB 3s and a NAD C540 CD player both I bought in late 2000. I was using the SB 3s as rears in my Home Theater set up but now with new La Scalas I'm using KLF 20s for my rears. I'm selling the CD player cause I bought the latest version the C542. Anyone interested shoot me a email. Xman
  13. Habla if you are interested I have a pair of SB3s I bought in late 2000 that I want to sell. I recently bought some La Scalas and my old front speakers are now my rear speakers so I need to find a new owner for the SB-3s. Xman
  14. I am selling one of my Monarchy Audio SM 70 Pros and will be putting it on Ebay but I thought someone on the forum might like to try it. I am selling it cause I need some cash to pay some bills off. If anyone is interested shoot me a email and I can give more details. Xman
  15. Hey Robster I own a TA 30 also and my first advice is stop using the focus control. To me with Klipsch speakers the focus control makes things too harsh. On speakers that might need more "focus" in the midrange it can help but with Klipsch speakers it sounds bad to me. Klipsch speakers have can have such strong midrange that to me it does not need any extra focus on the midrange. As far as different tubes go it can make a difference in the sound but so far to me it has been important but suttle changes. I went from the Cayin EL-34s to Svetlana EL-34s and that helped with the harshness. I then bought 2 Fisher 12AX7s but with the Svets I did not like the sound, again suttle differences. 4 Electro Harmonix 6CA7s arrived on Friday and they have been burning in since. They have much better bass other than that they sound like the Svetlana EL 34s. Once the Electro Harmonix 6CA7s burn in they might overall sound better than the Svets or they might just have better bass. Once the EH 6CA7s burn in I will try them with the Fisher 12AX7s and see what happens. Another thing that has helped with the sound quality is that I bought a Luxman preamp. With a good preamp the Cayin sounds much better. I know alot of people don't like tone controls but without the preamp the bass is allright but with the preamp with tone controls I can get much better bass and I can control the treble to my liking. I work nights so I get home at 4:00 A.M. so I need to be able to turn down the bass to be curtious to my neighbors and during the day I turn it back up. So a good preamp could help also. Another thing that happens when you start to change your system around is that if you had a sound you liked you might not like the new sound after you add in the new components. I bought 2004 La Scalas and realized after I got them that I need a bigger living room. They sound very good up to that point but when you put in AC/DC or Audioslave and really crank it up they get rrrreeeaaallllyy loud but they don't sound good because I'm 9 feet away and they overpower my living room. With my KLF 20s in the same spot and putting the same power into them they sound better in this room. At the lower power levels both speakers are very close in sound but the LS fill the room a bit more. As far as which speaker is better I don't have the proper room size for the LS while 15X15 works very good with KLF 20s. I used a Monarchy Audio SM 70 with the KLF 20s and loved the sound. So I bought 2 SM 70 Pros monoblocks for the LS and did not like the way it sounded. So I took a chance on the Cayin and with the Luxman and La Scalas it sounds very good. Which reminds me I'm going to put a post on the forum about selling one of my SM 70 Pros. The Cayin may not work for you and you will try something else that's how this hobby goes! Xman
  16. I own a Cayin TA 30 that is using Svetlana EL 34's that sound very good but I'm going to order 4 EH 6CA7 just to try them. You can bias each tube individualy on this amp also so if Paul says it won't hurt the amp then after I've listened to the amp with the 6CA7s then maybe I'll put 2 of each in. Off topic but still about tubes I'm thinking about buying the Jolida JD 100A cd player and what would be good tubes to replace the stock ones? Xman
  17. If the reciever is for mainly home theater and music second then Denon, Yamaha, Pioner, Sony, all make good HT recievers. Also depends on your budget. I took back a NAD HT reciever and got a full refund because I did not like the sound with my KLF 20's. They let me borrow a demo adcom reciever to see if I would like that one. Did not buy the adcom but have bought 2 cd players from them. That was at a small locally owned audio/video store and not at one of the large Best Buys, etc. That is one advantage of going to smaller audio/video stores. Xman
  18. I am using my TA 30 as a amp and using it with a Luxman preamp. Using the Luxman preamp really improved the sound so you might find a good preamp and then if the sound is still not what you want get the new amp. InventiveAudio.com how hard would it be to do the upgrades? I have no electronics experience and what would be the benefits of the upgrades? Xman
  19. I'm using the TA 30 as a amp with a Luxman preamp, NAD C542 CD player and new La Scalas and it sounds very good!! My next upgrade now that I have LS is I need a bigger house and expecially a biggggger living room. My living room is 16 X 16 and at a certain sound level the La Scalas go from sounding very good to overpowering me, unless it's Audioslave that cd sounds incredible cranked up!! If any one has Synergy series and wants to get the most out of their speakers try this tube amp. I hooked it up to my SB3 bookshelf speakers and my NAD C 542 cd player and they sounded great! If you own La Scalas, Belles, Khorns, and want a very good first integrated tube amp the TA 30 will do a good job. But add a quality preamp with the TA 30 and it can sound very good as just a amp! Xman
  20. I own both a NAD C542 and a Dennon DVD 2900 and the C542 is the better sounding unit to me! You can find one between $400-500. I am using a Luxman preamp with a Cayin integrated tube amp(35 watts). Jolida makes a CD player that has gotten very good reviews but it is around $900. You might go ahead and get a good integrated tube amp this year and next year upgrade your CD player. Once you narrow your choice down to 2 cd players find dealers and ask them if you can take the demo model home. My NAD dealer let me do it and I just found a Jolida dealer that said he would let me demo the Jolida cd player at home also. Xman
  21. I just replaced my NAD C540 with the C542 and it sounds great, $526. I have the Denon DVD 2900 and when I play the best sounding HDCD on my C542 and compare them to the best sounding DVD A the HDCDs sound much better. Now some DVD A at the top of the jewel case say "DTS International Music Experience" and 90% of the time sound as good or almost as good as the HDCDs, Les Brown and his band of renown, session #55 is an excellent one and if you like electronic music with a african,latin influence try Studio Voodoo. I don't think the Denon 2900 plays SACDs very well cause I have bought SACDs that were recommended and they sound terrible to me and DVD A doesn't sound much better unless its a DTS music experience. Xman
  22. I would like to get a real tube preamp to be able to compare the differnce between the Denon and the tube preamp but until then I will say yes to me it still has a very musical sound to it that the SM 70s did not have with the La Scalas. Now the SM 70s with the KLF 20s sounded much better. I think with Klipsch Heritage speakers you really have to match the preamp, amp, cd player or they will not sound as good as they are able. When I hook up the TA 30 to my SB3s using my old NAD cd player they sound incredible but hook the LS up to the same set up and the LS don't sound very good. Another thing I've learned going from SB3s to KLF 20s to La Scalas is that the quality of the recording on CDs makes a big difference on how the music sounds. With the SB3s a CD can sound very good but put the same CD thru the LS and it does not sound very good. Xman
  23. I also use the Cayin TA 30 for home theater and 2 channel. Since my Denon is my home theater preamp I have the La Scalas as my left and right speakers hooked up to the TA 30 and my center speaker is the C-7 hooked up to 1 SM 70 pro 80 watts mono amp and my KLF 20s which are my rear speakers now with a RSW 12 sub. I have my NAD C542 cd player hooked up to the Denon so I can switch from 2 channel stereo to home theater with a click of a button. I have to give credit to Denon on the 4800 I have the preamp section continues to impress me! Don't get me wrong I know there are much better sounding tube preamps available that in the future I will probably dable into but I think for now I will upgrade my tube amp before I buy a tube preamp. So yes you can use a tube amp for home theater how it would sound with your solid state preamp I don't know. Xman
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