edwinr

The Temple Audio Bantam Gold digital amplifier has received rave reviews from many high efficiency speaker fans. I purchased one myself and this little amplifier runs my Klipsch horn speakers very well. I am currently researching the prospect of using a car battery as the power supply which I've been told will lift the Bantam Gold's sound quality to within 95% of tube amplifiers costing many times the price of the Bantam. Even with the standard power supply, the sound quality is stunning and absolutely blows away the T-amp competitors. Here's a link to the manufacturer's website: http://www.templeaudio.net/index.html Here's a link to a TNT Audio review: http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/bantam_gold_e.html I've attached some pics from Temple Audio's website. John from Temple Audio is very helpful - although it might take some time for him to respond as I know they are flat out trying to keep up with orders:

Ouch! I can't believe I'm seeing this

Check this one out: http://www.rotel.com/product/rcd-1570

Wow! Belles are probably the most beautiful speakers ever made. I wish I still had mine...

Sorry to revive an old thread. Out of interest, had the OP tried the Klipschorns vs 802s with OEM Klipsch crossovers instead of the aftermarket versions? Perhaps the AK5 crossovers would correct the anomalies he found during his comparison. I'm interested in this topic as I'm considering the purchase of a pair of preloved 802 D2s myself or a new pair of Klipschorns for the same price.

I'd go with Cornwall llls over the Heresy if money wasn't an issue and like me you didn't already own a pair of Heresys. But a a good alternative for less money is to buy a sub to match with the Heresys. I've just purchased a UK built BK Electronics XLS200 down firing sub. This little sub goes all the way down to 18 Hz. I've set the crossover to 40 Hz so it starts to roll off from there to mesh nicely with my Heresy 3s. I now have the best full range sound in my room that I have ever had (except when I had a pair of Belles). Another option would be one of the SVS subs. Perhaps the little SB-1000 which would offer similar output to my BK Electronics sub. I like the idea of matching sealed subs with Heritage speakers for music. Maybe if someone wanted a sub for a Home Theatre system, a ported sub would be a better option. I'd normally recommend a Klipsch sub, but they no longer feature a speaker level input which is what I need for my 2-channel system.

Thanks for the link, Wirrunna.

A valued feathered friend has just reminded me of this old thread about sealing the backs of Klipschorns - similar to the Anniversary models. It's a great read: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/77429-building-backs-on-older-1989-k-horns-like-the-new-60th-anniversary-ones/&

It's an oldie, but a goodie. Most people who own, or have owned Klipschorns have seen this review, but it's always good to have another read. What I take out of this review is that for the best results the Klipschorn should have two good corners (we know this) in a large room with high ceilings. I wonder if the sealed back version of the Klipschorn is less demanding vis a vis placement options: http://www.soundhifi.com/klipsch/86horn.htm

Well said. The Heresy lll is a stunning achievement. I've had mine for over a year and they better my previous Heresy ll in all aspects of music reproduction. In saying that, I could be persuaded to a Forte lll upgrade. The walnut version looks nice...

The cherry finish on the Heresys look great. I bought the walnut finish because I wasn't sure how the cherry would look in real life. After seeing these pics, cherry looks as good as walnut.

I tried corner loading of my Heresy iii's, but the bass was too much. 12 feet apart and 2 feet from the long wall seems to work best in my room. Speaker cable is QED silver anniversary given to me by my brother. I compared this cable with my previous zip cord but both sound the same to me - I like the look of the QED cable better.

If the sound stage appears a little restricted or the 3D imaging is compromised - pull the Heresy's a little further out into the room and perhaps move them slightly further apart. I did that with mine in small increments and all of a sudden the sound just locked into place. Awesome.

The Klipsch Heresy lll is an incredibly well balanced speaker. I don't think it needs a subwoofer - which doesn't mean to say it can't sound good with one. I think sometimes we can get bogged down with specifications and the perceived ability to punch out massive bass. I think the quality of bass reproduction is way more important than the quantity or absolute extension.

After the Bantam Gold arrived I moved my gear to the other side of the room to better suit the Heresy llls. Here's a couple of pics showing the Bantam Gold in situ compared with a CD:

Here are two more pics of the Heresy lll set up in my home:

Pardon my relegation to the bleachers with my current user name. I used to go by edwinr - but I can't log-in anymore under my old user name. So that out of the way, since I (stupidly) sold my Belles I've tried several different speakers - including the Magneplanar 3.7i and a pair of Martin Logan Montis. All great speakers. But they lacked something in the bass. Not in extension, but in dynamics. (P.S. I still own the Maggies but I'm trying to sell them) So after much deliberation I decided to buy a brand new pair of Klipschorns. I went cap in hand to my local distributor. When he told me the current price imported into Australia, I nearly fell over. So I thought that I should try before spending that kind of money, and I ordered a pair of Heresy llls to satisfy myself that I still liked the horn sound. I have previously owned Heresy speakers before. My first pair were a mid 1960s model. They were bruised and battered but still sounded okay given their age. In absolute terms I have to be honest and describe the overall sound as 'PA' like. My second pair were the Heresy ll. These were a little more balanced but still sounded a bit dry on certain types of music. They were very amplifier dependant and I thought they sounded better with lower powered solid state rather than tubes. Moving on to the subject at hand. As I said before, because I wanted to ease back into horns a brand new pair of Heresy llls in walnut were the smartest option. I expected them to sound a bit better than the llls, but not significantly so. But after taking delivery the first two or three days were awful. The Heresy lll personified all of the worst things that some people don;t like about horn speakers in general. Dry, forward and prepared to take any unsuspecting listener's head off with malice. I really regretted the purchase. So I just let them play without listening for two or three days. On day three, I came home from work and cranked up the SACD version of Avalon. You could have knocked me over with a feather. The sheer power and dynamics and wait for it... BASS impact absolutely floored me! I never knew this recording had this kind of punch in the bass. Okay - absolute extension is a kind of limited. I think I can hear some mid 30's stuff, but it's muted. Sound staging is brilliant and awash with detail. I've tried these speakers with a sub. My take - don't bother. The REL and Yamaha subs I used just muddied the sound in my room. The Heresy llls are a genuine option for those that can't afford full size Klipsch horn speakers. Here's a file picture of the Heresy lll: AMPLIFIERS: I was considering ordering a Decware Super Zen Triode, but in the interim I decided to give a Temple Audio Bantam Gold 25 watt amplifier a try. Here's a link to their website: http://www.templeaudio.net/. Temple Audio are awesome to deal with. They send their products anywhere in the world. The Bantam Gold is unbelievably cheap to buy. It sounds unbelievably good with the Heresy. If anyone has bothered to read down this far and you own a pair of Heritage horn speakers - just buy a Bantam Gold amplifier. Then when you realise how good this little amplifier is, you will sell the rest of your amplification and never look back. Trust me on this. Here's a pic of the Bantam Gold from their website. This pic does not show how tiny it is! The Klipsch Heresy lll should be in any Top Ten Speaker list.

Congratulations on your new baby, Mike. Craig's done an awesome job on his new preamp.

As a Belle owner, I can say you've let yourself in for a real treat. They're beautiful speakers - both visually and sonically.

I used to come down hard on reviewers, possibly because I didn't understand the pressures they work under. I still enjoy reading reviews of gear that I own and gear I'd like to own. In many cases reading about this stuff is as close as I'm ever going to get. I've been around long enough now to be able to read between the (review) lines. My current philosophy is that if a piece of equipment is good enough to to jolt a jaded reviewer out his complacency, then it's good enough for me have a listen for myself. You can tell that the reviewer is a little surprised at what he heard and genuinely likes the Heresy lll.

I've got a bunch of 78's in storage. You guys have inspired me to dig them out and have a look.. I'll need a 78 compatible turntable though...

I tried a Jolida SJ-202a in my home a couple of years back. The buzzing transformer drove me nuts. I took this amplifier back to the store and to their credit, they changed it for another one. I plugged the new one in and guess what? The transformer hum was even louder! I took the SJ-202a back to the store. They tested it and agreed the transformer hum was unacceptable, so they lent me the next model up - a store demo unit being the SJ-502a. When I hooked this unit up, lo and behold, the transformer hum was absent. Yahoo! Unfortunately, so too was any output whatsoever from the amplifier. Apparently something had 'cooked' in the power supply = no sound. If you're wondering, I ended up buying something else... This isn't saying that every Jolida amplifier out there suffers reliability issues - I just say 'buyer beware'.

Very sad to hear. He's left a wonderful legacy with his music.

Overall there is not a great deal of difference in the sound of a late model La Scala compared with a later model Belle. I think more differences are heard when comparing an earlier model with a later model. I think the Belle sounds slightly less colored and congested though. I put this down to the Belle's superior cabinet construction. The Belle sounds best when pulled away from the back wall, with the listener sitting at one point of an equilateral triangle, and the speakers sitting at each of the other two points. You give away a little boundary reinforcement in the lower frequencies, but the gains in sound staging and imaging are profound. I use a REL subwoofer to fill in the lower frequencies. The REL is snug into a corner with the crossover set to start rolling off from 30 Hz upwards. I tried a slightly higher crossover setting with the sub, but it started to muddy the superb horn bass too much. Now it's perfect, and I reckon my setup would give a pair of Klipschorns something to think about.