jdyer

Oscar, any seller can sell a bad tube unintentionally. The fault is in not replying to you. Kevin has ten thousand tubes; giving one up wouldn't hurt him. And Dr Gary is right--I, too, don't know s#!+ from wild honey about tubes, but I own over a hundred, along with Hickok 800K and TV-7D/U testers. I have seen only one dead tube during the course of buying and selling hundreds of the things, through Ebay and from the most reputable sellers in the country. I have seen a lot of weak tubes, and that's where a tester helps. It's also a load of fun and you can tune out deficiencies in your room or system with tube selection. Patience, my friend.

And Trey, You've been really helpful the couple times I have talked to you. I'll bet you break out the old tube stuff when you're sure the bosses aren't going to pop in. Take care. john

Screw Solid State--the man's looking for the best sound he can get, otherwise he wouldn't have bought an expensive piece of tube gear. Your two suppliers, Kevin and VTV are reliable and very expensive. If you had a tester, you wouldn't need to pay those prices. Once you figure out your problem,(which may be bad luck), your tubes will last nearly forever. Cary will treat you well. If Upscale isn't responding to your emails, I'm not surprised--they were really friendly until my check cleared. Best of luck with it. The people on this forum can help, and remember, this is not the way it normally is with tube gear. John (p.s., buy a tester, and, except for output tubes, ignore the curve tracer nonsense, and trust your ears for microphony)

I just went from 12 guage Monster to Cardas Se-15, a coax design which Cardas says is specifically designed for SET amps and HE speakers. The effective AWG is 15.5. I use a pair of Martin Logan subs in stereo and had to turn them down two notches after the change. The bass also seems a little tighter and overall clarity might be a bit better, but then again, my 51-year-old ears went through the late 60's and 70's. I also note that IC and tube changes are more noticeable, but I am a believer that every piece from source to speaker grill matters. And, BTW, the kit from DIY Cable, under $200 for 16 footers, is fun to build and aesthetically very pleasing. Take it for what it's worth, but there may be some new designs out there which disprove the "bigger is better" arguments. John

Finally, an answer. Thanks, DMan. I am finishing today the Cardas SE 15 cables I bought from DIY Cable. Interesting design--concentric, inner wire wrapped in thin teflon used as positive, outer twisted sheath used as negative. Cardas says effective AWG 15.5 and that's about what it looks like. According to Cardas, designed for SET amps and speakers over 100/1/1 efficiency. Cardas also says that SETs like thin wire. Also duly noted that someone in this group accuses Cardas of peddling snake oil. I'm going from what I think may be 10 guage Monster, so we'll see. BTW, the kit is a load of fun to build and the end product is really nice looking. Less than 200 bucks for 16 footers. The problem is that once you birth the baby, it probably always looks (sounds) beautiful. Thanks. John

I don't understand why so much emphasis is placed on interconnects as signal carriers and so little on signal carriers between amps and drivers. I'm sure there is an explanation and hope one of you tech guys will lay it out for me. I now believe that quality interconnects make a difference, yet if you look inside these things, they are largely the same---a strand of copper wire. So the differences must lie in the quality or manner of construction of the copper wire If that is the case, doesn't it stand to reason that signal carriers from amps to speakers would make as meaningful differences? Let me know if I'm all wet. I'm just having a hard time believing that the beat-all, end-all wire from amps to speakers is off-the-shelf lamp cord. And what happened to the Romex crowd?

So, I'm not the only one considering it. 'Nuther question---if you're going to do it, why not use solid wire rather than braided? It's my understanding that the only advantage of braided is flexibility. Also, for you who have rewired, any sonic improvement? Thanks.

I really like SACD's, although I don't believe they're quite what they're cracked up to be. I think SA-CD.net now lists 2800 titles. New SACD's can be bought in the $15 and under range and there are hundreds for sale on Ebay. Even if they should go away, they'll be available for a long time, and they give a near-vinyl sound (if not better) without having to fool with records. I would look at the Marantz players, new or used, depending on budget, because of the quality of their redbook playback. Head over to Audio Asylum and search the SACD and Digital forums for the units you are interested in. I did, and there is all the info/opinions you could want. I settled on a used Marantz SA-14 for about a 1000 bucks and couldn't be happier. hope this helps. John

And they opted to save a buck or two where it couldn't be seen and to deal with two different wire brands to do so? And my woofers are wired with the same monster cable as the top cabinet. thanks. John

Thanks, Larry. I have read that silver wiring can heighten brightness and tendencies toward sibilance, both of which I fight in my system with tube and interconnect selection. From your experience, it stands to reason that wiring can make a difference. Since the ends of my 7-year old Monster internal wiring are showing signs of corrosion, I think I'll try some of the enameled copper wire in a smaller guage, 14 or 16, and see what happens. I've never been that big of a believer in wiring differences, but it does seem there are some new coax-type designs in which the negative wire forms the sheath for the positive wire. Way beyond my electrical understanding, but as someone said above, just renewing the terminations should make a difference. John

Pardon me for being obstinate or oblique, as someone pointed out, but I'd really like to hear more of your arguments on this. First, I don't think there is anything magic about Monster; in fact, I'm going to throw it in the garbage Monday when new cables arrive. Some of the repliers above seem to feel Monster is not worth the money, and yet others seem to argue that Klipsch would only use that which is "best". Then why do they use Monster? If a lot of corrosion on internal wiring is bad, then a litle corrosion,ie, discoloration, must not be ideal. If considering rewiring, wouldn't it make sense to use an enameled copper wire, which never corrodes? I guess I phrased my question poorly. I really want to know if any of you have rewired/recabled with anything other than large-guage copper and what the results were. Cardas, which I gather is a good cable company, has engineered a series of wire specifically for SET's and horns. I ordered a pair of the cables. If you DIY, a pair of 15 footers is less than a couple hundred bucks. Given the systems listed in this forum, that doesn't seem like a heck of a lot, and I think it's fair to say we as a group will spend a good bit of money for small improvements. Someone said to save your money for cables, etc. What if you're already tweaked-out in those areas? Is there nothing to be gained with wiring/cables other than Home Depot lamp cord? I realize high efficiency speakers are less sensitive to wiring than low efficiency speakers, but I go back to my earlier question: If it doesn't matter, why did Klipsch spring for the OFC Monster, and if they thought the Monster was better than lamp cord, doesn't it stand to reason that there might be some newer technology wires out there which can improve on characteristics such as bandwith, soundstage, and clarity? Thanks a lot for your replies. John

When I bought my Khorns, in the late 90's, the prevailing thought was to use large guage OFC speaker cables. Now there seems to be some shift in that thought, with Cardas introducing the SE line, which is intended for use with SET amps and very-high efficiency horns. The SE-15, which is for horns over 100db/1/1, is very thin, but with an effective AWG of 15, which is beyond my electrical understanding. Any thoughts on this will be appreciated. John

Thanks for the answers, but to reiterate the question, if there is nothing to be gained by rewiring the Khorns with a more modern wire, then how can there be anything to gain by using any speaker cable other than the same Monster cable?

Is there anything to be gained by rewiring Khorns with a more modern wire, such as Cardas SE series? And if not, then what is the benefit of using any speaker cables other than Monster, which is what the speakers are wired with? Can the run from amp to drivers be better than its weakest link? Thanks for any help.

Help Guys, I've searched the archives, to no avail. I am considering new speaker cable-currently using the huge Monster Cable, which my Khorns are wired with and feel like there must be room for improvement. I hope you good folks can help me with several questions. 1. Is there room for improvement over the Monster Cable? 2. Is biwiring the preferred technique now? If so, how do you wire in the speaker posts? I have four binding posts on each speaker with no jumper between the pairs. 3.If you go to higher quality cable, doesn't the fact that the speakers themselves are wired with Monster negate the whole deal? I guess the question is, isn't the path from amp to driver only as good as its weakest link? Should you at least rewire from the upper binding posts to the mid/high crossover with the same wire as your speaker cables, or better yet solder one cable directly to the crossover, thereby eliminating the mid/high binding post entirely? Thanks a lot for any advice. John

Hi Erik: You and I had a long discussion about biamping Khorns some time ago. I know nothing about Ipods, but it sounds like a great idea. Really just wanted to wish the best to Marie and offer thoughts and prayer. She must be a real winner to have hooked up with such a gentleman. The Beatles "One" would be on my list if stuck in the hospital----you know, all you need is love. John

Steve, I'm so sorry for your troubles. john

Very, very nice!!!! FYI, I think that your horns are Sapele mahogany, which Klipsch told me comes from West Africa. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. john

Congratulations on the Khorns. Also, I admire the fact that you have built some of your own stuff; that's a direction i want to go. john

Colin: If you're willing to pay 10 bucks for your Nikko Svc manual try http://www.hifimanuals.com/products.php?pg=7 A.G. Tannenbaum has it for 20.

Colin, I think you are going to need some way of "dialing in' the bass level. My level controls are set at about one-third of full output. Have you considered a Creek OBH-10 between your preamp and the Pioneer? I have done this and it works great. The Creek is remote control and the signal can be learned by a universal remote. If money is no object, look at the Placette units. Some people on the forum who biamp seem to feel it is important to be able to adjust the balance "on the fly", I guess for different bass levels for different types of music. I've never felt the need to change the level once I have it set where I like it, and in fact, I think if you need to adjust the level then you have it unbalanced in one instance or the other. Of course, as I said, mine may be unbalanced as well, but it sounds balanced to me and in my room. I do believe that i am compensating for imperfect positioning (toed out), room size and shape, and ears. Sorry, can't help with the Nikko specs, mine is an Alpha 440 model and I see manuals for that model on Ebay pretty often. If I see anything for the 5010 I'll email you. I think Nikko made a pretty sturdy, low-distortion, good-sounding amp which you can pick up for a song on Ebay. Good luck with it Colin. John

Colin: Sorry i didn't notice your post earlier--i don't usually frequent this forum. I'm not qualified to conduct a technical discussion with you, but I can tell you what I have done for the past six years. I had a lot of help from the Klipsch engineers and the regional rep. first, i think you misread my earlier post, or perhaps I misspoke--I meant that I was told you can not equate SS watts with SET watts. I don't use a Mac tube amp on the bass bins---I use an old Nikko SS amp, which I believe is 110 WPC, and has adjustable level and output VU meters. The manner by which Klipsch told me to biamp was very, very simple: 1. remove the wire from the mid/hi crossover from the upper pair of binding posts. 2. Wire your mid/hi amp in to this wire ( I actually removed it and soldered my cable directly to the crossover) 3. Wire your bass driver to the lower binding posts. 4. Adjust bass level until you are pleased with the balance. Sometimes the Nikko VU meters show WPC in the 20 to 40 range with peaks much higher. I've never measured SPL and don't see any need to. I've tried all sorts of amplifier combinations with the Khorns and this is what sounds right to me. Perhaps it compensates for some deficiency in my room or ears. I also like the horns toed out a good bit--in my room and to my tired old ears, it dramatically improves imaging, soundstage, and "air". Perhaps the increase in watts down low compensates for less-than-perfect positioning. I should also note that I have one perfect corner and one less-than-perfect. Anyway, I really don't know s#*! from wild honey, but a buddy runs Lowthers with a Mac tube amp (which I have used to power the Khorns), and we both agree my rig smokes his, at least in all the qualities which matter to me. I wish I was qualified to answer technical questions, but I'm not. i guess that measuring sound and making adjustments based on meter readings is a great way to do it, assuming your ears and your room architecture don't make further adjustments between the meters and your listening position. But the way i feel is that i paid for all this crap and I only care that it sounds right to me, right, wrong, or indifferent. Best of luck with what you are doing--you'll either get there or turn around. Peace. John

Colin: Beats the hell outa me, but it sure sounds good. All the Spl's,frequency analysis, etc, can not take into account room acoustics, sound-deadening properties, 50-year-old ears, and so forth. I'm not an enginner, just a listener, and I have done a lot of experimenting with tubes and horns. Why in the world would you want to measure music--try a bunch of different stuff and the way that sounds best to you is the best. For instance if I had high frequency hearing loss, I might not want perfectly level frequency response---I'm not trying to impress a Stereophile critic. John

Greg, one more thing--you can't equate SET watts to the mid/tweet with watts to the bass bins. My bass amp has VU meters, and sometimes I'll be pouring 40 or 50 watts continuous with peaks to 100 into the bass bins and it perfectly matches the 8 watts or so to the mid/tweet. i am not a fan of boomy bass, just balanced and natural. Heck, the bass cabinet is rated at 100 watts continuous, I believe. Back in '99, the Klipsch regional rep walked me through all this. he believed it was the way to get the most out of the horns. So go for power on the bass amp and have a means of adjusting level, as you seem to have worked out so well. Your 60 watts of PP power will light them up. You say at the end of your post you don't know if it's going to work---i guarantee you it will. john

Hey Greg: It sounds to me like you are on track to get the absolute most out of the horns. I ran mine with Cary SV572 SETs, which were 20WPC, and with 300B's, which are 10 or 12, and was not completely satisfied with the oomph. Biamping fixes that problem pronto. I used to use a Creek OBH-10 between my source and preamp just for the remote control ( I needed the two sets of outputs on my CJ preamp). I recently bought a Cary preamp with remote. I was happy with the Creek, but I'm happier without it. Other than remote control of the bass level, I still think I would prefer a bass amp with level controls, thereby eliminating 1 or 2 pairs of interconnects. I use SS on the bass because i don't believe the SET magic is really that apparent at <400hz frequencies. Also, after fiddling with the bass level a few times, I don't feel the need to adjust it further. I've had the Khorns for 5 or 6 years and have recently begun using a subwoofer for the first time, crossed at about 40hz. So far I kind of like it. I have used high-power SS and the SETs mentioned above with my horns, and IMO, biamping gives you the best of both worlds, absolutely hands down. However, it might be unnecessary for someone who listens to only mellow music at dentist-office levels-- I like to rattle the windows a bit on Friday night. I really look fwd to hearing how this works for you, especially the EQ part. Also, why would you not just let the Khorn crossovers do the job instead of adding more components? If you're interested in the way mine are wired, give a shout John