Krispy Kirk

I've owned a pair of Forte II's for over a quarter of a century now. In that time, I've run them with literally dozens of different amps and they all sounded at least "good". My all-time favorites (among solid state) were an ADCOM GFA-545 (100wpc) and an NAD 2600A (150wpc). I also had success with a pair of budget king Audiosource AMP-100s set up as a bridged mono pair (130wpc) - stunningly fine sound for a total investment of under $200 (for the pair, new in the boxes, I know right???!!) Today, I use a heavily modified tube amp based on a Jolida 302 design that puts out a measly 60 watts. But you know what? Despite the alleged "flaws" of tubes (tube hiss, transformer hum, even order distortion, etc), I feel like I am finally capable of hearing all the way "into" my speakers and whatever source material I am playing. The final veil has been lifted. My advice would be to play around with whatever affordable used transistor amps you can find in your area. Try at least two or three. But keep tubes in the back of your mind. When you are ready to make the jump to that next level beyond ordinary "stereo gear" let us know. There are plenty of tubeheads around here to welcome you to the club!

"Can you name a pair of Klipsch speakers of a single family that show the smaller speaker sounding better than the bigger one?" The Family? The classic Heritage line. I have always held the opinion that the Forte (I or II) sounds better than the corresponding vintage Chorus (I or II). It might all be a result of better room-coupling or some other physics black magic. Or it might just be a case of the (slightly) smaller speaker actually being a better design. We could debate it for hours... When I had an opportunity in 1990 to finally buy myself a pair of man-sized Klipsches (we're talking everything from the Quartet up to the Cornwall), I chose the Forte II. I've never regretted it. No, they're not "huge" although I've had friends mock me for owning "coffin-sized speakers" but they have proven most compatible for the wide range of rooms I've put them in. Everything else would've been too small or too big.

Another all-time giant-killer in a small box is the original PSB Alpha. I had a pair back in the mid-90s and they were mind-boggling. You simply could not get more sound out of a bookshelf speaker for $200/pr circa 1995. Good luck finding a pair, I kick myself daily for selling mine years ago. The (original) PSB Alpha is my Top Vintage Bookshelf Speaker recommendation. If you want something new, the Elac Debut B6 appears to be the heir to the PSB Alpha's giant-killer legacy. For a mere $280/pr, it is just as big of a stunner with a huge exciting sound that is more refined than the old Alpha. In fact, I'm considering getting a pair of B6's for myself! Full disclosure: I don't really like small Klipsch speakers all that much. IOW, the bigger the Klipsch, the better. I've heard a few Klipsch bookshelf models over the years and none of them had that dynamic, life-like "spark" that the large floor-standers deliver in spades. Anything smaller than the Heresy and you are probably wasting your time and money. YMMV.

I'm confused by the "construction paper", "tubes" and "ports" talk. Do you mean to say that you are stuffing paper into the bass reflex ports on your Choruses? Can you explain what the goal of that is?

I prefer the MC setting on my Vincent PHO-8 for most music since it sends a "bigger" sound with more "slam" to my amp. The DL110 is totally fine with the MM setting and I use it for more quiet and detailed music. But when I want to rock out, I need the extra 20dB of gain that the MC setting delivers. Full disclosure: my amp, a Response Audio Bella EXtreme 3205 Platinum (same amp as in the link except with knobs on the front), is technically not an integrated amp at all. It's a power amp with a passive line stage in front and has no preamplification. I suspect the input stage of my amp is happiest with the extra voltage provided by MC outputs on phono preamps. This is my main rig I'm talking about. In my second rig I run a different DL110-equipped turntable directly into the MM phono inputs of an NAD 1300 preamp and when I switch to MC, it's a bit too much and the music grows a halo of distortion that is none too flattering. The great thing about a HOMC like the DL110 is that you can run it either as an MM or MC depending on what sounds best to you and your gear. I like that.

Good to hear it! You've got a solid system there. My dig at the speaker terminals was a lame attempt at humor and a (too soon?) re-visit of a recent kerfuffle I started over on a different thread. I got labeled a "troll" for pointing out a cheap part on a rather expensive piece of gear and nobody seemed to be able to comprehend anything else I had to say. I'm ready to laugh about it now.

Speaking of cheap, those speaker binding posts on the back panel of the Sphinx look similar to the kind found on Toolshed Audio's hand-made boutique tube amplifiers. Rogue uses them too so they MUST be good!

Rogue makes a quality product and they make it right here in the USA. I just wish I could afford their products! Until I get a few more raises, I'll have to settle for the cheap Chinese stuff... I notice the Sphinx has phono inputs. Two questions are begging to be asked: 1) have you tried spinning vinyl through the Sphinx? 2) how did it sound? Discovering there's a quality phono preamp built into your 100 watt hybrid integrated makes the $1300 asking price a WHOLE lot easier for a cheapskate like me to swallow....

I've found the DL110 to be a particular quick cartridge to break-in. Whereas my Sumikos took close to 100 hours to settle down and sound their best, my two Denons got there in about 20-30 hours. They sounded pretty close to their best right out of the box. *On a separate note, your signature mentions an "Audiosource 100 watt amp". What model do you have and what are you using it for?

Thanks for all the responses. I ironed out a few kinks in my network and then I discovered the "hidden wi-fi set-up page" on my Roku and did some tweaking. I'm now streaming wirelessly and the quality seems very adequate (at least as good as a Verizon STB) and the lag when first beginning a show/program is minimal, maybe two or three seconds at most. I'm going to live with it for a while before further customizing my home network to support dual routers.

1.8 is a great place to start. I've gone all the way up to 2.0 grams with a few "problem" records but you run the risk of bottoming out the cart with that much downforce loaded on it. Can't wait to hear your opinion of my favorite sub-half-kilobuck MC cart!

Apologies in advance if this is the wrong forum for soliciting technical assistance with a video streaming device... I bought a Roku 2 last week and I'm having a devil of a time getting it set up on my home network (Verizon Fios). Before I call Verizon and get the runaround I thought I'd try asking here since there's a decent likelihood that one of you has dealt with this exact situation. The set up: I have a wireless router installed in my home office at one end of my house. It is currently the sole router in the house and is Ethernet-connected to my PC. I have a Verizon set top box connected to the same daisy-chained Verizon coax in my home theater at the other end of my house. I have been advised by Roku owners to not even attempt to run my new Roku 2 wirelessly from my existing router since the distance is great (60+ feet) and allegedly the Roku is happier when connected via Ethernet cable. The problem: I found a spare router that Verizon told me I could keep a few years ago after they upgraded routers for their customers in my area. It is the same brand (Actiontec) and a similar model to the current one. I swapped it out in my office and my PC connected to the Internet fine via the old router so I know it works. But when I add it to my home theater in place of my set top box and then attach the Roku via Ethernet cable, the Roku is unable to access the Internet and establish my account. The solution that failed: After an afternoon's research on "Setting up multiple routers on a home network" and trying everything that was advised (including reassigning device IP addresses, disabling DHCP, resetting the entire network, etc) I'm no closer to having an Internet-connected Roku than when I started. The ultimate question: Can I use my spare router to provide my new Roku 2 with a hard-wired Internet connection or must I live with a Roku that is wirelessly-connected to a router that sits on the other end of my house?

(in case anyone's curious, the CD-R-whoops-the-180-gram-vinyl trick I like to play on unsuspecting guests who think I'm some true-believer-kool-aid-drinker vinylista is Shelby Lynne's 2008 "Just A Little Lovin'" album, I own a particularly poor clear pressing on Lost Highway clear vinyl and the beat up CD-R I burned from a borrowed copy of that same album on CD absolutely SLAYS the vinyl. It's sad and a little bit of a sobering eye-opener. Moral of the story: format is not everything. Best to keep all options open.)

I respectfully disagree. Before I went all-in with CD in the mid-80s, I had a $150 Hitachi direct drive automatic turntable with a Grado cartridge. I bought almost all my vinyl used and had no idea about how to "clean" it. I was happy but not happy enough to prevent a wholesale conversion to CD. Now it's 2012. I had just bought a new house with an extra "living room" on the ground floor. This became my first-ever dedicated "listening room". In its honor, I vowed to get back into vinyl after a ~25 year layoff. I bought a $500 turntable that was on sale for $400. I bought a few records (new and vintage). Was I blown away by vinyl's "superiority" to CD? No. Four years later I own a $1500 turntable with a $250 moving coil cartridge and a fancy two-chassis phono preamp. I also own a proper vacuum-style record cleaning machine. I now know how to make vinyl sound its best. Does vinyl "blow away" CD every time? Not quite but it's close enough that I'll consider it a draw in most cases. If I own the same album on vinyl and on CD, most times the determining factor on which format I choose is "what am I doing while the music's playing?" If it is going to be a background soundtrack to other more engrossing activities (reading, chores, cooking in another room, etc) I will put on the CD. If my heart is set on a serious listening session I will spin vinyl. Why? Because CD is more convenient than vinyl. You don't have to flip it at the halfway point; or monitor it for skips, a fouled stylus, or other mishap; and when the CD is done there is no needle scraping round and round in the run out groove going "fuh-FWAP fuh-FWAP fuh-FWAP" until you pick that tonearm up and stow it away. Trust me, I know inconvenience! I own a tube amp and I roll tubes and know how to bias, etc. I still buy most of my vinyl used and the cleaning protocol I observe on that stuff before it ever comes near my turntable would impress any OCD anal-retentive. But I get what you're saying about engineering. There are no absolutes in this hobby. Great gear is often brought down by a faulty room. Poor source choices can reduce a multi-kilobuck system to a boombox. And a $30 audiophile pressing can be bested by a 10 cent CD-R burned on my home computer. I've seen it all.

I was an early adopter of compact disc circa 1985. What I mean by that is that I was the first person I knew who had a CD player. Fast forward 30 years. I am now one of a tiny handful of people I know personally who still buy/collect/care about CDs. Every system I build must have CD capability as must every car I own or operate. I was and still am impressed by the sound quality of red book compact discs. No other format combines such a high level of sound quality, portability, affordability, and convenience into one package. MP3 is easier to carry around in your pocket but lacks a realistic sonic presentation. By the time you've cranked your rips up to the barely tolerable bitrate of 320kbps, your files are so big you've kind of defeated the whole point of MP3s. Vinyl, to my ears, preserves more of the soul of the music but does so only at great expense and zero convenience. It takes piles of money, much skill, and a lot of patience to wring the best possible sound out of a record collection. No real point in even trying unless you've been blessed with all three. Let's forget about various closed reel tape formats (cassette, 8-track, DAT) since they are, for the most part, designed to be disposable commodities (or industry tools) and were not intended for collectors or audiophiles. That leaves hi-res, a format in which I have only recently begun to dabble. Hi-res seems to combine the soul of vinyl with the convenience of MP3. I've paid serious money for 192/24 FLAC files and when I listen to them they take me to the pinnacle of digital technology. The highest praise I can give them is that they sound like impossibly clean vinyl. But 99% of the "hi-res" files on my computer and PMP are just 44.1/16 rips from my 5000+ disc CD collection. Which just leads me right back to the compact disc. When I got my FiiO X1 I called it "the best damn portable CD player I've ever owned!" Yeah, I guess you could say CD is the format for me!

I've been shooing away whole gaggles of folks at work who are making a big production out of going in on the big lottery. I've almost run out of excuses. I can see the "entertainment" value of it but, as a retirement plan, buying a $5 lottery ticket leaves a lot to be desired. Not only will you not* win, but now you are $5 poorer. Repeat this often enough and it could be counter-productive for some poor soul who just dreams of striking it rich. Anecdotally, I've never known anyone who won more than a few bucks on any lottery and I'm 50. This doesn't inspire me to try to break the drought. Politically, I'm opposed to state-run lotteries that promise to put the proceeds to good use in education, healthcare, roads, etc. This never happens. Get a big enough pile of lottery-generated revenue in one place and corruption, graft, and fraud is the inevitable result. Philosophically, I consider lotteries (along with most forms of "me-against-the-house" gambling) to be Darwinism in action. One could even say that lotteries are a form of IQ test in the way the tend to separate fools from their money while at the same time never seeming to lure the rich, successful, or highly-accomplished person to shell out for a chance at a fortune. But good luck to all you guys anyways. Just don't turn into a ghost and disappear from the forums after you win. We all want to see what toys you get with all that money! *0.0000000000324 (your chance of winning the Powerball) is close enough to zero for everyday purposes.

Here's an old review of the DL-110 that sheds a bit of light on the 110/160 backstory. It's also very favorable to the DL-110 (despite a few glaring typos and some questionable equipment pairings in the reviewer's system). http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue15/denondl110.htm

Someone with more knowledge of Denon product lines can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the DL-110 is now Denon's current entry-level high output moving coil cartridge ("HOMC"). When comparing the specs (virtually identical), the cartridge body design/shape (only visible difference is color), and msrp (a few tens of dollars' difference), I can see why Denon discontinued the DL-160. Why market two products that would compete directly with each other? So that's my theory: the DL-110 superseded the DL-160. That said, I enjoy both of my DL-110-equipped turntables. Both are Pro-Jects: an RPM 1.3 "Genie" and a 2Xperience "Classic". The former came equipped with a Sumiko "Pearl" MM and the latter came equipped with a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 HOMC. Upgrading to the DL-110 made an immediate improvement to each turntable in similar ways: less perceived surface noise, smoother less "granular" midrange, less bloat and tubbiness in the bass, cleaner treble, and better soundstaging. The DL-110 also seems to track better at a slightly lower tracking force (1.8 grams) than either of the Sumikos. Considering that the DL-110 is priced almost exactly halfway between these two Sumikos (@$250 versus $120 & $450) I think it's instructive to point out that money itself didn't necessarily buy me better sound here. Both Sumikos do certain things well but, to my ears, the Denon DL-110 is the more complete package for average turntables in the $500 to $1500 range. Phono pre-amps used included a Pro-Ject Phono Box, an NAD 1300 preamplifier, and a Vincent twin-chassis PHO-8. So if you have $250 lying around and you're curious about entry level Denon HOMC cartridges, then the DL-110 is the cartridge you'll want to check out. Personally, I don't think anything else can touch it for under $500.

Buy a whole new subwoofer - enclosure + speaker + amplifier - and call it a day. It's just not worth the trouble to dig around inside what is a ridiculously cheap piece of gear looking for some Chinese-made part to fix. Just replace the whole dang thing! http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R7.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.XKlipsch+Prome.TRS0&_nkw=klipsch+promedia+2.1+subwoofer&_sacat=0

Hi Mark and welcome to the Klipsch forums! May your time here be fun and fruitful. I've owned a set of Promedia 2.1 speakers (connected to a PC) for about a dozen years and have only ever had to deal with one issue: a dirty or "scratchy" volume control on the pod slung under the "master" satellite speaker. My solution? Set the volume to a reasonable level and leave it alone. Make all fine adjustments from the volume control (speaker icon) on the PC desktop start bar. Your problem seems a bit more serious. I agree that $85 is prohibitively expensive for a repair to a speaker system that, at most, costs roughly $160 new. What I would do if I were in your situation: I'd scour all the usual places (eBay, Craig's List, pawnshops, classifieds, Penny Saver, garage sales, etc) and try to score a second set of Promedia 2.1s. If there were parts missing or non-functional EVEN BETTER! All I would need is a functioning subwoofer module. Then I would cannibalize the two sets to build one functioning system. This sounds a bit crazy, I'll admit, but I just took a glance at eBay and PM2.1 subs (just the subwoofer) are selling anywhere from $30 up to $80. And there are quite a few available at the moment. Sorry that there's no better "technical" answer to your situation but let's be honest: these speakers are at the absolute bottom of Klipsch's product line, are manufactured in China, and have neither the finest parts quality nor the best quality control. They are cheap but they sound fantastic (like all Klipsch products). That's why we love them. Good luck!

Three questions for Bossman: 1) What are you using currently? 2) Are you interested in a power amp or an integrated? (depending on your answer to #1 above, you might be able to keep using your preamp assuming you have one) 3) Is used gear OK? Honestly, there isn't much tube gear with a lot of power (say 50 watts or more) in the the sub-$500 range. In fact, I can't name a single piece. But if you are willing to take a chance on used gear, you could get lucky and score a used Jolida 302 or 502 for around $500.

For sale by a forum member. A lot of amp for the money! https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/150556-nad-c370-integrated/#entry1740016

I've had a set of Promedia 2.1 speakers on my main PC in a home office environment for over a dozen years and have never had a lick of trouble with RFI/EMI. Of course, the very first tweak most PM2.1 users affect is to throw the supplied speaker wires away and fabricate their own custom set. And that's just the tip of a very large tweaking iceberg. Go here for more forum advice on maximizing the sound of a set of Promedia 2.1s. Suffice it to say, I am not alone in my opinion that these are still the best affordable PC speakers on the market. You can spend more but you don't need to. You can spend less by why suffer?

I just bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M40x to use with my new FiiO X1 PMP and I like them...a lot. While I can't compare them to the bluetooth model* you mention, I can compare them to what was for years the King of $100 monitor headphones and my own personal reference headphones for the past 25 years: the legendary Sony MDR-V7506. The M40x are 1) more efficient; 2) more detailed; and 3) have a more realistic treble. They are every bit as comfortable, slightly less expensive, and come with two different length cables that can be removed/replaced using a socket at the bottom of the left earcup. I also compared my new M40x with an older pair of Sony MDR-V6 (a "consumer grade" model very similar to the "studio grade" 7506). The V6 was known for its big plush ear pieces and a slightly boosted bass. The M40x crushed the V6 as well. *to my ears, bluetooth is not an audiophile-grade technology. I've never heard a bluetooth (or wireless) device that didn't sacrifice some noticeable bit of dynamics and frequency response. Bluetooth headphones sound as bland and boring to me as those ridiculously overpriced Bose noise cancelling headphones. You can do better!

I too wanted to get a Rogue Audio Cronus integrated last year when I was ready to upgrade from an ancient NAD preamp/power amp combo. And then I looked at their prices and realized I'd never be able to sneak that past the wife. What I ended up with instead was a used Jolida 302 that had been gutted and hand rebuilt with audiophile-grade parts by one of the industry's most respected hot-rodders of tube amps: Bill Baker. I found it on Audiogon for $750 (half price) and it was being sold by a dealer near me. I am very happy with it. It is my second Jolida. Back in the mid-90s I owned a Jolida 502 that sounded absolutely magnificent with my Forte II's (it was my first tube amp) but economic hard times forced me to sell it. Here's the closest thing to that legendary model on today's market: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-257850-jolida-fusion-3502-tube-integrated-amp.aspx If you can stretch your budget just a tiny bit, you can get 50-60 honest tube watts (if you need that many). But with your Chorus IIs you might be surprised how much sound you can get on just 20 watts or so of tube power. Here is a sample option if you go with fewer watts: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-138509-icon-audio-stereo-20-pp-tube-integrated-amp.aspx Best advice, look up an audio dealer in your area and make an appointment. Try to bring home a loaner if you can and see how it sounds on your speakers in your room before committing. Don't be afraid of used or trade-in amplifiers, this is the best way to maximize your audio dollar. Good luck!