JBryan

I recall stories of PWK at audio shows and at some point during the demonstration, he'd crank up the volume and pretty much drown out everything else on the floor. He didn't win over many audio salesmen in the building but I'm sure he took some pride in his creation's ability to separate itself from all competitors back in the day. Of course, he also had to eventually redesign the xover as a result of his customers' recreating the experience at home and blowing the tweeter.

Kinda off-topic but I have a few friends who play (or played) in orchestras. Of the ones that have an interest in audio and earn enough income, they have gear that is quite different and I think may in some small way, be a result of their choice of instrument. The 1st fella that I considered an audiophile played the viola and his speakers of choice were Magneplanar Timpanis through which he listened exclusively to Classical music. Another played Tuba and French horn and he used JBL L300's and listened to everything BUT Classical (mostly folk and Cat Stevens-like stuff). An Organist/pianist friend had a large pair of Rectilinear speakers and drove them with McIntosh gear but hasn't hooked his system up in 15 years (he now listens to mostly '60's folk/rock, jazz and Bach through a small but nice Tivoli set up). Finally, there's a friend who played the trumpet in the US Marine Band (I think) and now with the NC Symphony who listens to pretty much everything - the odder the better, Zappa and Bartok come to mind. He uses vintage (read: old, dusty) tube gear with Klipschorns. I'm sure there's a great deal of chance involved but thought there may be some link to the instruments played and the corresponding gear's presentation. Its also interesting that in each case, the speakers were the most considered and important piece of the system, in 2 cases to the exclusion of everything else (read: crappy SS receivers).

Rudy81 said: "What crossover point are you using now? Bert assured me that they can be used from 150 on up, depending on the driver of course. What driver are you using? I would love to get a hold of those AER drivers, but for now it is one crisis at a time. I just dropped the horns off at a paint shop. Found a nice place that would do what you had done for $300. I'll keep my fingers crossed..." Sorry Rudy..I didn't see your post 'til this am. I'm using a Marchand xover and tried a handful of modules (xover points) and the one that measured best in my room cut off at 160Hz (though I didn't try 155 or 165Hz). My original goal was to cross the bass bin below 200Hz so I first picked up a pair of Oris 200 horns. They sounded nice but the opportunity arose to try the 150's and they offered a fuller sound and were less beamy - it was an easy choice. I started with a pair of Fostex drivers but picked up a pair of AER drivers with the 150's and really haven't looked at anything else so there may be better choices now. I have the tubed xover from Marchand (XM26) now but originally I had the (XM9) and it has a very handy feature that isn't on the XM26. It has a damping control that allows adjustment of the response at the crossover point which does help to integrate the horn with the bass bin. I also used a digital xover (Behringer Ultradrive Pro DCX2496) so I could adjust the time delay of the drivers but after a month or so, I decided I preferred the way the system sounded with the Marchand XM9 so I went back to that until I found slight improvements with the XM26. I'm delighted yo found a better deal on the paint job! I'm partial to the metallic finishes myself and having seen several horns over the years, I'd probably go with a cream in Pearloid finish if I had to do it over but everybody has their own preferences...that's why they offer so many color choices. Good luck with your new horns and I hope they're everything you're hoping for.

R2R used to be a buyer's market. I've given away more decks than I can remember just 'cause I didn't have any space for them but they all came from yard sales, thrift shops and local classifieds and at prices that were too good to pass up (I'm slowing curing myself of this affliction). I always held on to the tapes though thinking they would eventually have a use. I'm down to 4 decks now (1 Tascam, 1 Teac and 2 Akais) but I have boxes of pre-recorded and blank tapes. It must've been over 8 years ago, I responded to an ad in Craigslist for an Akai GX-400D and met the guy later that evening. Nice fella who was cleaning out his uncle's house and originally said that the deck only had the tape that was on it. The deck checked out fine and I agreed on his price which was ridiculously low even back then but when I came back to thank him after lugging the deck to my car (the thing weighs a ton!), his wife came upstairs with a box of accessories and a few pre-recorded tapes. The tapes weren't anything to get excited about - mostly classical and pop like Herb Alpert and the Carpenters but lo and behold, there was the deck's remote control, a bulk eraser, tape cleaner - all sorts of neat stuff. I was pretty excited and asked what they wanted for it but the guy said it went with the deck and he wouldn't feel right charging me anything. The wife also added that there was another box but she couldn't lift it so the fella runs downstairs and comes up with a full case of Maxell UD 35-180 10" tapes and another 4-5 180B tapes and a couple of metal reels on top. That's works out to about 30 reels of tape, all but 4 of which were still sealed (I've never bothered to find out if the opened tapes had anything recorded on them). Again, I asked how much he wanted and again, he said they went with the deck. At this point, I felt like was taking advantage of them and all but insisted they take something for the tapes but he was just as adamant that I take them away stating he was happy just to be able to clear out some more space in the house.I live for nights like that! I too, haven't spent much time playing with the decks as much of my listening time is spent cleaning and spinning LPs but every so often I'll record or play a tape and I'm delighted with the sound. I rarely listen to the pre-recorded tapes although I do have a few very nice ones (Beatles, Lennon, CSN&Y, etc.) but these are 7.5ips and my preference is listening to LPs I've recorded at 15ips and I more often than not, just pull and play the record before the tape.

I also have one of Will's Baldwin amps and its a fine amp. It offers a thicker and ballsy sound that works great on stock Khorns and CWs but is a bit too much for more sensitive/efficient speaks in my book. The SEOTL by contrast seems faster, more detailed and a touch more delicate than the Baldwin. Its also extremely quiet which is very important on sensitive speakers and I really like what a pair of monos are capable of - especially with the bottom end control. Again, the Baldwin is a little thicker in this area and may be slightly shy of how low and controlled the SEOTL is. The Korneff is one of the few amps I regret letting go of as it had a very distinctive sound - tremendous finesse and liquid. Jeff added very little gain to the amp so the 45's shined through and his utilitarian approach to the amp's design and implementation is closely aligned with PWK's philosophy toward the Heritage line (IMO, of course). I enjoyed Jeff's amp for years but eventually went with 45 mono blocks powering only the top end drivers so his amp sat unused until a fellow forum member convinced me that they had a better use for it. If I were going to set up a system where a single amp is required, I'd certainly have the Korneff as a top candidate and if the speakers were less than 97dB efficient, the Baldwin would be right there too.

That a ridiculous quote! My 150 horns cost @$400 for primer, 2-3 coats of paint and clear coat at an auto paint shop here in B'more. I'd suggest calling around and get a few rough quotes as they obviously wont commit until they see it but you'll find that the quotes are all over the place. BTW, excellent choice for horns. My angle was trying to put together a 2-way system and the Oris spec'ed very well with the KHorn bass bins. I tried a few other bass units, including the Onken and Bert's bass units - both of which work very well with the Oris but I kept coming back to the horn which lacked a bit of the impact but more than made up for it with speed, transients and integration sound-wise at the xover point to my taste. As well, I tried a few other top horns before and after I got the 150's - even gave the Oris Orphean a spin but the xover point was a bit too high (@400Hz) for the bass bins so I put the 150's back in place and have been happy with them ever since. Have fun... I know you will!

I've used several of Bruce's amps over the years going back to his T8 and over that arc, I've noted his progress and the refinement of his designs. It seems that he and very few others (Nelson Pass comes to mind - maybe David Berning) have the technical know-how, curiosity and courage to come up with new designs and actually bring them to fruition and offer them to his clients ( at a very reasonable price). I have held on to a pair of SEOTL's (I used 4 of them at one time) and even though I haven't had an opportunity to use them in a few years, I can't bring myself to let them go. There's something quite special about their sound and I just know if they find another home, I will regret it. Erik - I remember that you recommended several mods to these amps over at the Transcendent forum so if you ever find yourself hankering to fool around with the SEOTL's again, you're more than welcome to play around with mine for a while. -Bryan

I'll throw my 2 cents in... I bought the recent box set from of all places, Walmart who offered it at $280. It arrived soon after and has sat unopened since. My hesitation can be attributed to the torrent of complaints that have been expressed regarding the production quality of the records. EMI contracted with a company called Rainbo to press the records and many folks have received records with obvious and unacceptable flaws - fill-ins, off-center, warped and just plain noisy records and not just one or 2 in the set. Its been a real pain having to ship the flawed records back and many people report that the copies they received in exchange were just as flawed. So there's that... Another thing that bothers me is that the set was digitally mastered and that wouldn't be such a bad thing except the powers that be decided to use a lower resolution (16 bit/44.1k) mastering and really missed an opportunity to offer a State-of-the-Art digital remaster. Of course, I would have much preferred an all-analog remaster but for a variety of reasons, I understand EMI's decision, I just don't appreciate their execution. While the remix is very good in some respects (better detail and bottom end resolution), the overall box is a big disappointment sound-wise and a disaster production-wise. I have read that the box set sold in Europe was printed at Optima in Germany and doesn't have near as many quality control issues as the US set...its also more expensive. I have boxes of the Beatles LP's - originals, reissues...you name it and several box sets that have been offered over the years, including the MFSL and BC-13' sets. I would suggest that you avoid the new set (especially the US box) and instead, look for either the original UK LP's or one of the BC-13 boxes that came out in the '80's. Of course, finding good copies of the originals can be a long and expensive process so finding the box set is a fairly easy task in comparison. Don't bother hunting down the original records on Capitol - even though they have their charm, they are not nearly as good sounding as the UK's. The BC-13 sets were produced in several countries and though I don't have one, the UK version is often given the best marks for sound quality. Of the ones I have, I prefer the boxes from Holland, Australia and Japan - in that order. The Japanese box is very well pressed and the vinyl is absolutely quiet but the sound is a bit recessed and it doesn't have the bass of the other 2 (which may be a good thing for some listeners - just not me). I also have the MFSL box and the vinyl is flat and very quiet. Its quite similar to the Japan box (as it should be) except the top and bottom end were boosted a bit when it was remastered. Again, not necessarily a bad thing depending on your system but most agree that it sounds a little 'off' compared to the original UK pressings (as God and George Martin intended). The BC-13 sets start @$300 for copies in VG condition but a mint set will set you back $500 or so. Still, I would consider these before I'd pop for the new set - they are excellent quality pressings and sound better though I don't think they used the 'tube-cut' mixes as the originals, both UK (Parlophone) and US (Capitol). BTW, the only Beatles records I recall being printed on red vinyl were offered on the 'Beatles 1962-1966' compilation album (the '1967-1970' was pressed on blue vinyl) or you may be referring to the 'Red box' which was printed in Japan and as of now, is the only Beatles collection offered in mono, which is why its so d@#n expensive. From what I've heard, a mono box is in the works for release next year but I certainly hope the fellas at EMI have the foresight to find a better pressing plant this time around...and one can only hope against hope that they remaster it in the analog domain. Finally, I've held on to the new box set for a few weeks now and have yet to open it. Matter of fact, I have every intention of returning it to Walmart without cracking the seal, based simply on the reviews, not to mention that I have more Beatles records than I'll ever listen to so this was just another bad impulse buy and I'll feel better once its out of the house.

I think the rule of thumb would suggest that all other things being equal, its better to run shorter speaker wire than IC's but in your case, 5 1/2' is a very short and isn't going to make any difference (I think any run under 20' isn't much of a concern). I agree with LarryC and WMcD's suggestions, its really a matter of aesthetics but I will note that its easier/cheaper to find 6-8' runs of good quality speaker wire than decent IC's so that may be a deciding factor. Have fun...

As djk said, the double binding posts are for bi-wiring, not bi-amping. To bi-amp, you'd need to either run identical amps to the top and bottom terminals or bypass the internal xover and have an external one to adjust the gain to each driver.

I've had 2 430's and 1 730 (I think). Both 430's came from the same thrift shop and I bought them about 2 months apart. I found the 930 at a hamfest 10 or so years ago. I bought the units because they've always had decent reviews and the units were too cheap to leave on the shelf ($10, $12 and $20 respectively). I listened to all 3 but only about 2-5 hours each - just to make sure they worked so I didn't really take away any lasting impressions...sorry, that's probably the whole reason for this thread. I will say that I prefer vintage tubed gear so these didn't excite me as much as some folks. I ended up giving them all away to friends and fellow audiofools over the years.

I've bought WAY too many Beatles' LP's over the years so the new box set would have to be exceptional or very, very cheap. A local indie shop (Sound Garden in Baltimore) is offering the set at a preorder price of $299 so there's hope that the price will continue to drop. Of the box sets I have, I prefer the 'Blue Box' (BC-13) issued in the late '70's. These were analog cuts and in some cases, improved on the original stereo releases. The best-sounding 'blue' set is the UK release (good overall balance - seems to get everything right), followed by the Toshiba/EMI (very detailed, excellent, quiet pressings but a bit light on the bottom end), Holland, USA and Australia (the last 2 are pretty much equal in my book). I also have the MFSL box and its very similar to the Toshiba/EMI (Japan), perhaps a bit louder and more forward. Given that no one has heard the new box, I'll definitely wait for the reviews and comparisons before even considering a purchase. I've really enjoyed the Mono CD box and would love to get my hands on a 'Red Mono' box one day but these are rare and $$$$ so I am hopeful that EMI will issue a mono box next year - and wouldn't it be great if they kept it out of the digital domain (just a pipe dream, I'm sure).

Using my Audio Research SP6 as a front end and using the record outs as inputs to the 222. The phono preamp in the SP6 pushes good gain, but the AUX 1 and 2 have devices connected to them that are for some reason weaker. Enjoying it all the same. Thanks. Brad If I understand your set up, I'd suggest hooking up the SP6 'TAPE OUT' through the Scott's 'TAPE IN' input so you're not dealing with 2 volume controls and an impedance mismatch.

I also have a 222c and it works well with most mid to high efficiency speaks ( 92dB+). The amp should push the Forte around just fine so you need to check the settings, tubes, connections and wires before you proceed. I've never hooked the Scott up to Khorns but it sounds good on Epic C4's, C3's and Cornwalls, as well as single driver horns like the Cain & Cain Abby's and the Altec 604's. At the moment, the amp is running with Tannoy Windsors with Monitor Gold drivers and I'm quite happy with the combo. The 222c is a great amp - quiet with lots of bottom end for 18 watts and matches well with almost anything you hook 'em up to. Have fun...

1-2 months..impressive!. Its OK...you should be fine since most preamp tubes don't operate under much strain. I know friends that keep their preamps powered up for days at a time and back in the day, the military kept their gear running 24/7 - of course, they had plenty of replacement tubes on hand...still do. I generally keep my tube gear powered only while I'm listening but I have walked off and left the preamp on over the weekend on occasion without damaging the tubes. I have a Scott 222c that I picked up from a gent who bought it back in 1961, used it sparingly for the next 35 years and had left it unused and collecting dust in the cabinet for over 15 years when he sold it to me. In my excitement, I foolishly plugged it in and turned it on...and it worked (WHEW!). I used it daily for the next 10 years and every so often I'd leave it on overnight or the weekend and to my relief, it always seemed to soldier on. Then one morning, I turned it on and was treated to an amazing light show from the rectifier. Rather than just replacing the 5AR4, I sent it off to Terry DeWick for repairs and a check up - I figured it was time. Aside form the bad solenoid cap in the power supply (the culprit) and now defunct rectifier, Terry said it was operating within spec. I had him upgrade some caps and replace the 7189 power tubes (one was at 40%, the others were above 80%) with EL-84Ms and its been working like a charm ever since. I would be a bit wary and pay close attention when you fire up the preamp next as that tends to be the most likely time for tubes to fail - especially the rectifier. Have fun.

From what I've read (many moons ago, BTW), the bass bin has a hard time reaching beyond 350Hz and actually begins to distort above 200Hz or so. While it may be able to develop frequencies above 350Hz, they will be very attenuated and distorted and adding gain to the upper frequencies will emphasize the distortion...not a good thing IMO.

First, I have no experience with JM or the BBX. Having said that, its possible that the phono stage has a battery to apply bias and reduce noise. If so, that would most likely be the culprit. Also, check to make sure the phono tubes are securely seated and the phono IC connections are tight.

Either config will work but not without compromises. My favorite 'common' triode is the 45, followed by the 2A3, then 300B but If you're new to SET, I would suggest the 300B. If I had to assign characteristics to each, I would say that the 45 has a pace and silky quality and really displays the best in SET 'magic' while the 2A3 is detailed and accurate if a bit edgy and the 300B is full-sounding, smooth though slightly 'wooly' and slow. The obvious compromise you'll face moving from a +30w P/P amp to SET is power and though each triode will offer a very good taste of SET - accuracy, detail, presence, etc., the 300B will pump those 15" woofers with more authority and make for a better comparison with your Scott. >P> As you move to lower power triodes, you'll face more compromises and it becomes more difficult to match components - the speaks being the most difficult. In an average room, a 45 amp simply will not drive CW's beyond 90dB w/o considerable compression and distortion. At 90dB or so, a 2A3 amp can comfortably drive CW's but soon thereafter, its 'edgier' qualities will become noticeable. The 300B has enough power to drive the CW's close to 100dB before displaying any compromises and thus is a great way to introduce yourself to the world of SET. Have fun.

BTW, love that Korneff amp...I still regret selling mine.

I've personally never heard a sub or subs that integrate well with Khorns or most any speaker for that matter. They just sound too different - especially if they are chiming in above 40Hz. OTOH, biamping isn't as simple as adding amps and a xover. Integrating the drivers properly will require matching the amps and finding the right xover point among other things but biamping offers a lot of versatility and in the end you'll have a better-sounding system than just tagging on a couple of subs. Of course, if you're goal is to go below 30Hz or so, then I'd suggest just buying a better speaker.

I have a pair of '67 Tannoy Windsors that I picked up a couple of years ago that look pretty scary - some veneer is loose, the wood grill is broken in a couple of places and the cabs look like they could use about 10 coats of oil. I'd take a pic but would be too embarrassed to post it. My wife absolutely hates them and can't imagine how they replaced a nice looking pr of Zu Audio Definition Pros. They are just big, ugly beasts as far as she's concerned and she's campaigning to replace them with a slightly smaller pr of Altecs in the basement. That said, they do sound nice. The 15" Monitor Golds are smooth and silky with surprisingly tight bottom end. I picked up the speaks in trade and my original intention was to give them a quick listen and sell them but they've kinda gown on me and I keep putting off the inevitable. I am even going so far as to plan on building new xovers and refurbishing the cabs. My only hesitation is knowing that no matter what I do, my wife will never accept them and i fear that one day someone will stop by and express an interest and they will be out the door before I can come up with a valid excuse. In the meantime, they do sound good with most amps I've tried on them and I will enjoy them until...

At $150-250, they are a great value in preamps. Quiet, detailed and well-built with quality parts. They are leaps and bounds above anything you can buy new for that price and as bonus, the phono section (MM/MC) is outstanding. Its highly adjustable and compares to all but the finest phono pres in the sub-$1K range. Some folks would rate the preamp higher but I find it a bit on the analytical side - lean and crisp. I'm sure it turned heads in its day but there are better-sounding linestages built today under $1500. Still, the phono section is more than worth the price and you can always use it as a dedicated phono pre as you upgrade preamps.

What he said... But first, TURN THE VOLUME DOWN, then check your wiring and settings as the problem most likely lies there.

I can only guess at your procedure but have you tried turning off the amps before the preamp?

I was swayed to digital amps when a friend gave me a T-amp many moons ago. I still have that amp and use it as a carry around to try out speakers in the field. It can amaze some folks - I just hook up my iPhone and a lot of music comes out of that tiny box. I was at a local audio shop and hooked it up to an old pair of Tannoy Windsors with 15" Gold monitors. You would imagine that the fellas at the shop had seen it all but I must've had 5 or 6 guys standing around commenting on how good the sound was and one offered to buy the amp off me to use in the field as well. I suggested he take $100 off the speaks and we'd have a deal but the boss said 'no'. Anyway, I've since had several digital amp types in my system, including Tripath, Gainclone and ICE. Aside from the T-amp and a couple of Panasonics, the first real amp I tried that had merit was a DIY Hypex 200w/ch with big power supplies and massive capacitance. It sounded very nice and quiet but in the end a bit sterile and unmoving. That amp, even back then cost over $800 to build and I realized that while these were overachievers compared to similarly priced SS and tube amps, they weren't bargains. I also tried ICE and Gainclone amps that cost more but had similar results though the Gainclone came very close to what I was hoping for. In my experience, there's a lot to like about digital amps and there are definite benefits to be had - bass control, lots of detail, low noise and distortion and very efficient to name a few. For those reasons, I ended up keeping the Gainclones and using them to drive the bass bins in a 2-way setup and in that application, they better anything else I've tried. But my general impression of digital amps is that the presentation is a bit sterile and lacks the imaging and involvement of a decent SET amp in my system as well as a couple of OTL and Push/Pull amps I've listened to. I'll keep looking around but perhaps it'll take a few more years before the technology trickles down to make digital amps a better sounding and cheaper alternative to quality tube and SS amps...just my opinion.