edwinr

Aesthetics are such an important part of any loudspeaker purchase. When I told me wife I was selling my Martin Logans to buy Klipsch again, she hit the roof. As usual I went ahead anyway. When I unpacked the Belles from their shipping containers the very positive coments made by my wife about their looks was reassuring. Everyone, friends and family alike, that have seen the Belles since have made similar positive comments about their appearance. That does wonders for my case when justifying the purchase on my family budget. The fact that these speaker sound awesome too will really help my case for my next upgrade - possibly a new pair of Klipschorns soon. Frankly the appearance of the Jubilees completely rules them out as a contender in my home. Getting on to the Jubilee sound quality issues raised by some, I have to support Roy here a little [:|] - there is NO speaker in the world that will sound perfect in all rooms - not without some help. It just can't be done without substantial room tweaking. Some may get lucky and buy a speaker and just plonk it in place with little or no tweaking and be happy with the sound. Others like me will want to maximise the sound quality. But if the room doesn't play ball, you will never realise really good sound with passive speakers. There is another way to do it. That's by using active equalisation. I suppose there is no reason why the Jubilees can't sound good in any decent sized room - I reckon you still need to give the Jubilees room to breath, just like you should with the mighty Klipschorn. All the room glitches and nodes etc should technically be able to be 'tuned out'. So if you can live with the thought of an active crossover network and the associated electronics inserted into your signal chain, this is not a bad way to go. Now here's my take on Jubilee sound quality issues that some have raised here and in private conversations. If you're going to go the Jubilee route, why would you use Crown amplification? This stuff is good for it's intended purpose (pa and stuff like that) but to drive Jubilees? You're kidding me! I don't care what side of the fence you're sitting on with regards to Jubilees and their current commercial slant, KLIPSCH JUST DON'T MAKE CRAP HORNS! But Klipsch horns will sound like crap if you put crap in. I would imagine the Jubilees will reveal any harshness in amplification and source that may not be apparent in lessor speakers. If I was going down Roy's active equalisation path, I know I would have to firstly budget for the Jub's, then budget a not disimilar amount for the electronics. I'm not talking about high power stuff, just really good stuff. I acknowledge that most who bought Jubilees and are trying to get the best out of them with lower cost amplification are limited by their budgets. This is the crux of the whole Klipsch sound philosophy thing. PWK designed speakers that would sound really good with relatively low power amplification -for Klipschorns suggesting a minimum of 25 watts per channel [A]. I can now see why despite my previous rants, Klipsch are not promoting the Jubilees in their current form as a mainstream speaker. They are definitely very specialised and don't quite fit into mainstream Klipsch sound philosophy...

I know I have come very late to this discussion, but in this open forum, this is the most informative thread I have read concerning the Jubilees. At one point, as some may know, I was VERY interested in the Jubilee concept. I had the dollars and the desire. Without going over old ground [:#] I went into electrostatics and mega dollar power amps (Mark Levinson and then PassLabs) for a while. But now I'm back to horns with my beautiful Belles and Audio Note Single Ended amplification. You know something? I agree with Greg, there's something special about a very simple system that gets to the very essence of the music. The complex electronics apparently required to get the best out of Roy's Jubilees is a little off putting to me. I have no doubt that these Jubilees probably sound very impressive in an appropriately sized room, but like the Martin Logans which featured some fairly sophisticated equalisation to get the full range sound, I think the processing might get in the way a little for me. As Roy has suggested 'everyone to their taste'. I just don't think this is the direction PWK would have taken - but I have been known to be wrong [] Anyhow, getting on to my point, I agree that if Klipsch are taking this Jubilee thing seriously, these things should be marketed and promoted properly. I don't think Klipsch are doing themselves any favors by selling the Jubilees using the white van speaker marketing strategy. For those of you that may take offense at that comment, Klipsch are my all time favorite speaker company. Nothing would give me more pleasure to see Klipsch market Roy's Jubilees successfully - even if I would probably prefer Klipschorns for my own listening room...

Cool! If there's one other thing I enjoy apart from my Belles and my family, it's my bike...

Wow!

Try this AudioKarma thread about the Sapphire. It gives you an idea what people think of Sotas. If you do a search there's some stuff on the Star as well... http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18233&highlight=sota+sapphire+turntable

You're so right about subwoofer positioning, Mike. I started off with my subs next to my speakers. Then I placed each sub right in the corner on the same plane as the Belles. Doing one sub at a time, I gradually moved the subs out from the corner an inch at a time whle playing music with very low bass. All of a sudden each sub seemed to mesh in with the room somehow and punched out bass depth I never heard before. The only tricky part was integrating the absolute phase of each sub. Initially when I switched on both subs I lost some bass compared with just one sub working. I figured out that both subs were set on '0' phase and one was cancelling out some of the bass of the other. When I switched one of the subs to '180' degree phase, I got the bass back, and then some! Wow! Subwoofer postioning is so important - just a little finetuning can make a big difference...

Maestro (to Horns): "Give us the F in tune!" Violist (to Maestro): "Please can we have the F-in' tune too?"

Quite a number of years ago, the Seattle Symphony was doing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Milton Katims. Now at this point, you must understand two things: There's a quite long segment in this symphony where the basses don't have a thing to do. Not a single note for page after page. There used to be a tavern called Dez's 400, right across the street from the Seattle Opera House, rather favored by local musicians. It had been decided that during this performance, once the bass players had played their parts in the opening of the symphony, they were to quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage, rather than sit on thier stools looking and feeling dumb for twenty minutes. Once they got backstage, someone suggested that they trot across the street and quaff a few brews. When they got there, a European nobleman recognized that they were musicians, and bought them several rounds of drinks. Two of the bassists passed out, and the rest of the section, not to mention the nobleman, were rather drunk. Finally, one of them looked at his watch and exclaimed, "Look at the time! We'll be late!" The remaining bassists tried in vain to wake up their section mates, but finally those who were still conscious had to give up and run across the street to the Opera House. While they were on their way in, the bassist who suggested this excursion in the first place said, "I think we'll still have enough time--I anticipated that something like this could happen, so I tied a string around the last pages of the score. When he gets down to there, Milton's going to have to slow the tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other." Sure enough, when they got back to the stage they hadn't missed their entrance, but one look at their conductor's face told them they were still in serious trouble. Katims was furious! After all... It was the bottom of the Ninth, the basses were loaded, the score was tied, there were two men out, and the Count was full.

A wife asks her husband, "Honey, if I died, would you remarry?" "After a considerable period of grieving, I guess I would. We all need companionship." If I died and you remarried," the wife asks, "would she live in this house?" "We've spent a lot of money getting this house just the way we want it. I'm not going to get rid of my house. I guess she would." "If I died and you remarried, and she lived in this house," the wife asks, would she sleep in our bed?" "Well, the bed is brand new, and it cost us $2,000. It's going to last a long time, so I guess she would." "If I died and you remarried, and she lived in this house and slept in our bed, would you play her our favorite records on the hi-fi in our loungeroom?" "Oh, no," the husband replies. "She hates Opera."

One bright, beautiful Saturday morning, the local hi-fi store had advertised they were havng a 'fire' sale that was so 'hot' that even Satan would be impressed. As a result the store was packed with customers looking for a bargain. Just before midday when business was most hectic, Satan himself appeared in the middle of the store. Everyone started screaming and running for the entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate. Soon, everyone was evacuated from the building, except for one elderly gentleman who stood calmly by the front counter, clutching a pair of headphones and a handful of bargain CD's, not moving....seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don't you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. Satan was a little perturbed at this and fumed, "Why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "I've been married to your sister for over 48 years! That's why I'm buying these headphones!" Satan started to say something then stopped. He stared blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly grabbed the headphones and CD's from the old man. Satan said, "I just got news that your wife has had a bad fall at home, she won't recover. I think I'll need these more than you will..."

Some common audiophile rules: 1. Quantum waves are oscillations of possibilty. 2. Sattinger's Law: it works better if you plug it in. 3. When in doubt, get a larger amp. 4. Never touch an audiophiles' settings. Never. 5. No language which lends itself to visualizability can describe the quantum jumps. 6. The musical truth: An unalterable and unquestionable law of the musical world is that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian in order to be clearly understood by English-speaking audiences.

A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th,then the 7th, then the 6th and the 5th. By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward. Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the crowd asks him if he has an explanation for the music. "Don't you get it?" the caretaker says incredulously, "He's decomposing!"

An audiophile was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess". He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week." The audiophile took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want." Again the audiophile took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The audiophile said, "Look I'm an audiophile. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

Two audio experts, one from Circuit City and one from Bose, are walking down the street. They notice, over on a porch, a dog licking his "privates." The Circuit City guy laments to his buddy, "Man, I wish I could do that." The Bose man replies, "I do too, but I'm afraid he might bite me...

Two Audiopiles browsing around in a high end store. One of 'em is inspecting a beautiful pair of Audio Note Gaku-On mono bloc power amplifiers, salivating while running his hand over the exquisite chassis… Other Audiopile says, my wife gave me an ultimatum, she said "If you buy those I am leaving!!!" The other guy stops stroking the speaker and asks:"So what happened, did you compromise?" "We-e-e-e-e-ll", with a bit of a sigh, "I still miss her sometimes, especially while listening to them and my whisky glass is empty…."

Amar Bose is walking down the street when he sees Paul Klipsch on the other side. Cupping his hands around his mouth he shouts, "Hey Klipsch, are you still making those terrible loudspeakers?" Klipsch turns towards the wall and mumbles, "Yes."

Here's a few audiophile jokes - I've got lots of 'em... Stevie Wonder is playing his first gig in Tokyo and the place is absolutely packed to the rafters. In a bid to break the ice with his new audience he asks if anyone would like him to play a request. A little old Japanese man jumps out of his seat in the first row and shouts at the top of his voice "Play a Jazz chord ! Play a jazz chord !". Amazed that this guy knows about the jazz influences in Stevie's varied career, the blind impresario starts to play an E minor scale and then goes into a difficult jazz melody for about 10 minutes. When he finishes the whole place goes wild. The little old man jumps up again and shouts "No, no, play a Jazz chord, play a Jazz chord". A bit annoyed by this, Stevie, being the professional that he is, dives straight into a jazz improvisation with his band around the B flat minor chord and really tears the place apart. The crowd goes wild with this impromptu show of his technical expertise. The little old man jumps up again. "No, no. Play a Jazz chord, play a jazz chord". Really angry now that this guy doesn't seem to appreciate his playing ability. Stevie says to him from the stage "OK smartypants. You get up here and do it!" The little old man climbs up onto the stage, takes hold of the mike and starts to sing ..... " A jazz chord to say I ruv you..."

Hi Matt, As you've gathered, International Dynamics no longer offer Klipsch in their product lineup. They recently offloaded most of their Klipsch Heritage stuff to Audio Connection in Sydney. Give store owner Joe Riediger a call on (02)9518-3000. He may be able to help. Incidently, I scored my brand new Belle Klipsch speakers off Joe for a good price. He may have some other stuff left. Failing that, and you are really keen on Reference speakers, contact Pacific Hi-Fi in Liverpool on (02)9600-6655. I know they are a registered Klipsch Reference dealer and I heard this dealer is selling Reference stock at good prices. They might only have limited stock so ring first thing tomorrow if you don't want to miss out. I don't know what is happening to Klipsch Reference and Heritage speakers in Australia. Someone will step in and take over the distribution sooner or later. The Harvey Norman chain is selling the Synergy line as quickly as they can get them, so there's a big market here. Edwin.

Well done on your new job, Mike. Now you can start planning on what you're going to spend your new found wealth on - maybe a bigger pair of speakers, perhaps that new car... []

Stick to 2 channel and save money. After I sold my massive 5.1 system, I thought life would be over. Now with a very nice 2 channel system based around Belles and tube amplification, I have never been happier with my system. It's hard to get over the surround sound hype, particularly for watching movies on a 92 inch screen as I like to do. But as others have pointed out, few movies do justice to 5.1 anyway - and frankly I got sick of the extra wires and complexity 5.1 requires for so little gain...

The RB5's are personal favorites of mine. Not up to LS3/5a standards of course, but still great speakers for the money. I wouldn't compare them with anything Heritage though...

I have twin REL Strata subwoofers running in conjunction with my Belles. Both REL's are set at 27 Hz. The Belles are run full range. I tried the REL's on a higher frequency setting but the sound became somewhat 'muddy'. Many subwoofers still output sound at higher frequencies - well past the selected cutoff point. Conversely the Belles must have some output below the specified lower frequency cutoff point of 54Hz. So basically it's a suck and see procedure to merge the respective roll-off frequencies of both the subwoofer and the main speakers...

I've got the PlayStation 3 40Gig version. No SACD but AMAZING on upsampling. Blue Ray is stunning. Don't bother with the stand alone machines, the PlayStation 3 is in a class of it's own.

It was meant as a joke, Dean... Parrots, chooks, birds of a feather...? Sheeesh...! P.S. Hi, Michael. Long time no see...

Paul's intellect nor his sharp wit was ever appreciated on this forum. He can play on other people's ego like a maestro can play the violin. The really funny thing was that those that used to flap around like headless chooks never realised what was going on... From the other side of the world I enjoyed the spectacle... And from this other side of the world, I count Paul as one of my friends. I probably talk to him more often via email than I do my next door neighbor.