kdepot

Thanks for the replies. If nobody suggests any good alternatives I'll give him a try. My vintage Koetsu Rosewood (obtained many years ago, before the prices of such things went crazy) still sounds glorious but I wonder about it quitting due to its age.

Does anyone have any experience with Soundsmith rebuilds or recommendations on a cartridge rebuild service? I have a broken Linn Klyde (Ebay) that I would like to have done. Thanks.

How did you get the Linn Basik to go onto the TD160? I know that it's not a question that can be answered simply, but in brief, was if very difficult, ie. did you have to make many custom fittings? Was tha improvement worth the effort?

What are the thoughts regarding a sub to match well with the Belles for music in a medium sized room at a moderate cost? What would match well with the dynamics of the horn loaded bass?

Thanks for the suggestions. I've had one offer for them but it sound like the general recommendation is to keep them if at all possible. I bought the speakers locally so I don't know the answer to this question - If I decided to sell the speakers and didn't have the boxes how would I go about getting boxes this big to pack them in for shipment. I'd hate to sell them and have them damaged in shipment. I can only imagine the hassle that would be.

When I bought my Belles several months ago the original owner still had the original boxes. The speakers were first bought in Japan, went to Europe, and then to Indiana and finally to Pittsburgh in the boxes with virtually no damage since 1988. My problem now is that I don't plan on selling the speakers anytime soon (ever) and I have these two giant boxes taking up space in my garage. I could break them down but I would still be left with the inner packing material as well as two "big" slabs of cardboard. I can't make the decision to toss them since theve been kept this long but it's hard to rationalize the space for them. Any thoughts?

After reading this thread I'm intrigued with the idea of getting a pair on MC30's to try with my Belle's. What's a reasonable price for a pair and how likely would units bought separately as monos from different folks be to match, ie. are there many significant running changes over the production span? Any interest in selling yours? Ken

Try calling Jeff Galin at www.eslabs.com They worked on a 682ZX for me and it works like new. Not inexpensive but quality work shouldn't be expected to be cheap. I suspect that he would have a manual to copy or be able to talk you through the calibration process. Old Naks sound great!

Just try to buy a Dell now or accessories - all outsourced to India. You would think that the price quoted is the price - Wrong. When I sais that I would have to think about a purchase suddenly the price dropped. It's like a street market now. Most unprofessional. After a nightmare with a tape backup drive I purchased from Dell for a Dell which they never could adequately support i will never ever purchase another item from Dell.

Briefly, what's been mod'ed on your MkIII's. - Caps etc, or has the input circuit been changed entirely and the circuit board swapped out. Years ago I got some boards from Purist Audio Design, the guy who later went on to sell water jacketed cables, etc who I believe still sells some cable stuff, and mod'ed a pair of MkIII's. They were good but not as good as a stock Citation II.

Just caught the typo in my post. It's tie the screeens to the plates via the resistors.

The switch between triode and ultralinear for a pentode tube is easy and quickly reversible. The ultralinear tap from the output transformer is removed and insulated. The output tubes' screens are then tied to their grids with 200 ohm resistors. The output power is reduced roughly by 1/2. With 6550 output tubes in the Dyna Mk III's and Citation II's I have played with the sound has been much sweeter, and more of what one thinks of as "tube" like. I don't know with lower power amps. With the efficiency of Klipsches try it and I suspect that you will like it. Either way it's easy to switch.

Assume that none of your suggestions is possible. What would be the best way to perform a simple reversible mod to amp or preamp to reduce the gain to allow the volume control to be used midway in its range. I dont consider replacement of the volume control with a different value to be in the category of simple and easily reversible mods. Pre: ARC SP3a-1 amp: variety of amps without gain controls, Moscode 300, mod. Dyna MKIII, Citation II, Citation 12

This is a similar question to one I posted in another thread so sorry for the repetition...When using my newly acquired Belles I've come up with the problem of too much gain/speaker efficiency and needing to set the volume control too low in its range for low noise/good volume control tracking. Best performance in a volume control is obtained when the control is past it's midway position. Is there a simple reversible mod to get around this and what solutions have others used in this situation. It must happen to others using Klipsches.

I'm intrigued by your use of the Creek and line attenuator. I would assume that this would be useful between a preamp and amp combination when the amp has too much gain for the sensitive Klipsch speakers for the preampo volume control to be set at a decent position within its range. I'm sure that there is a better way of decreasing the preamp's gain or a mod to the volume control wiring to get around putting another pot in the signal chain and if someone has a good solution for this (it must happen often to those using Klipschs') a posting would be great.

I've had good service performed by Electronic Service Labs (www.eslabs.com). They repaired a Nak 682zx which I bought over ebay and did a fantastic job. It wasn't cheap but it was well done and the machine works great now.

Why the preference for the Cornwalls?

Great posts by all. Wise words of wisdom ..."like fine wine" (subtle differences which can appeal to many tastes at many different times and moods)and "don't worry" (just enjoy). I'm certainly enjoying the Belles and I'm having fun with this forum. Linn LP12, vintage Koetsu rosewood, Counterpoint SA-2, ARC SP3A, ARC D76 Best regards.

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that there would be a web site with the running changes listed by serial number, date of manufacture. It would certainly be much easier than looking through all of the old forum listings, as interesting as they may be, and such a site would be valuable when looking to purchase vintage speakers. Perhaps Klipsch could consider adding such a feature to the web site. I'm having trouble with the file from my camera so no photos for now. The belles do look great against the wood paneling in my den.

Looking through the forum it seems that an emphasis is placed on what production year speakers were made in. Is this just pride of ownership in older classic products or were certain vintages better. I've pick up already that the earilier crossovers are reprotedly better. Is there a website where a running account of the production changes is reported. I just bought a pair of '88 Belles.

Thanks to all for the replies. To KCM keep looking as they are well worth the money. Ther is a pair on ebay now (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3075096119). While not yet as sweet as my previous LS3/5A's at low volumes and the midrange, which they are incomparable at, the dynamic range and scale of the Belle's presentation are fantastic. Questions; what's the best way to match your amp/preamp combination to allow your preamp volume control to be used in the upper center of its range to allow for better tracking, lower noise, etc. I had to replace the Moscode 300 I was using in my system with my old ARC D76 and its level controls (it's a better amp anyway but the heat and fussing with plugging it in bother my wife who's already on the edge with my hobbies). Lots of great information on this forum.

Thanks for the link. I contacted, saw and heard the belles, bought and moved the speakers all in less than 24 hours. They were in beautiful shape, sound great and are playing right now. I'm in the midst of tweaking my system right now due to the change in speaker efficiency and system gain, volume control, and noise issues. Any special tips would be appreciated. Thanks again.