edwinr

Merry Christmas.

Like others here, I have owned both Belles and Klipschorns. I have to say that there is a lot more to the Klipschorn sound than a simple comparison between the Heritage range and the fact than Belles/La Scalas are 'easier' to position. Unlike other Heritage speakers, the Klipschorn, when properly set into corners, will load a room like no other speaker. The room becomes part of the Klipschorn speaker system and vice versa. Soundstaging and imaging are null and void considerations with the Klipschorns, because as other appreciative Klipschorn owners would know, with the mighty Corner Horns you actually feel as though you're one of the performers or part of the show, rather than an onlooker. I hope I'm not taking too much away from the other Heritage speakers, but PWK had the mix right when he developed these fabulous speakers. [] Acknowledgement is made of the fine restoration work performed by Greg Roberts and for using his beautiful Klipschorn pic...

Very nice. What you've already got will do for a while, won't it? You can take your time looking for a nice tube amp I saw these little beauties online the other day. One of these might be fun to play with the La Scalas: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue46/miniwatt.htm

Why not go for the best? Like some others have suggested, the Klipschorns would be ideal. They are full range and will give your tiny 8 watts the best chance of sounding good. The next best option would be the La Scalas. I don't know much about Cornwalls, having never heard a pair. My old Klipschorns sounded great even when they weren't slotted into proper corners.

The Eagles just seem to get better with age. I love Hell Freezes Over. I haven't heard the Melbourne concert DVD yet... A totally different genre - I bought Diana Krall's 'Live in Paris' concert DVD the other day. Despite my anti Krall bias, this DVD is pretty good too...

Try the Maggie MG1.6/QR. It's a great panel speaker and goes quite loud. It's not that hard to drive. Go for the MG1.6 rather than the earlier MG1.5. The 1.6 has a larger quasi-ribbon and sounds better. I agree with artto about the longevity of panel speakers in their various guises as compared with cone/box speakers. From personal experience, panels are not as robust as other designs...

Kessler writes for several mags. He's American born but lives in England. His style is somewhat abrasive, and he tends to go over board in his reviews. But he does seem to like the Heresys. I just reckon he doesn't want to come all the way out and admit it...

Yes. All I hear is a low frequency rumble...

Nice Heresys. I owned the Heresy II's. They were nice. I would love to hear the III's.

You guys have probably seen this... http://hometheaterreview.com/klipsch-heresy-loudspeakers-reviewed/

Option 1 for sure. Low to mid priced receivers, because of their design brief, usually offer compromised sound as compared to dedicated 2 channel amplifiers. Although some better designed and possibly more expensive receivers can surprise. I would buy a nice tube amp and keep the receiver for a while for phono duties. But as you are probably aware, the receiver's phono stage would be only suitable as a stop gap uintil you could afford a decent phono stage. Maybe if you sold the receiver at the earliest opportunity, this may fund your 'new' phono stage. Regarding the McIntosh stuff. I'm not familier with those models. Aren't they really old? Also they're solid state products aren't they? I'd stick to option 1...

??? Why leave just because you've hit 25,000 posts, Michael? 25,000 is just a number. If you have lost passion for something - that's a good reason to leave...

While the sound quality may be of a suitable standard, the appearance of these speakers certainly don't look like they're worth the kind of money being asked for them. Perhaps there's lots of stuff under the skin that justifies the very high price (?)

Maybe. Try an Audio Research VSi55 integrated tube amp. This little baby will curl your toes with it's bass punch...

Hi guys. Who has heard these babies? I may have a opportunity to pick up a pair to add to my collection. I will be going to the big smoke next week to audition them. The seller has a pair of Belles set up in the same room. So it will be intresting to compare. This guy also has a pair of AK4 Klipschorns. But they have been boxed since he bought them brand new a couple of years ago (I have been trying to buy the Klipschorns off this guy for several months, and he won't sell - yet. I may have to resort to threats and intimidation. Anyhow, getting back to the Kochel. I understand they're Korean. And the pair this guy has apparently has a ribbon tweeter? I thought Kochel only used compression drivers or something similar. Any thoughts? Here's the only pic I can find...

There certainly is a market for Bose style sound systems. Those little cubes can fit anywhere. I've heard several Bose Lifestyle 5.1 and 7.1 systems in full flight watching movies. When properly setup and equalised for the room, they can sound quite impressive. You can't push them too hard though - even the top shelf Lifestyle system runs out of steam on big movies. Okay, when compared with a better Klipsch system, it's like chalk and cheese for accuracy and general tonal quality. But look at the size of the little satellites! The big gripe I have with Bose is their pricing strategy. Many of their systems are WAY over priced. Particulary for the build quality offered. In fact I'd go as far to say if Bose dropped their prices by 30%, they'd still be too expensive for what you'd get. I guess Bose has a market niche that they are happy to exploit...

I'm all for the new stereo re-masters. In my view, you can't have enough of a good thing. If you were llistening on a period hi-fi, it wouldn't matter. But most modern hi-fi is so much better than what was doing the rounds in the 1960's. Just think of it like this, if the original engineers didn't have to worry about the needle jumping out of the groove, they would have released the recordings in their full glory...

There are a couple of different versions of these mini SD cards. I bought one for my digital camera and had similar formatting problems. I took the card back to the store and they changed it for another one that performed perfectly. I did't even need to format the new card.

I have always thought What Hi Fi and related magazines publish highly suspect reviews. They offer reviews like politicians offer sound bites -deniable, no substance and it's what they think the readers or voters want to hear. I wonder if they ever actually test these products(?) Or are their reviews written as they peruse the manufacturers online specs(?)

Double post...

LOL!

I can't wait to see the new Star Trek movie. But I'll wait until it's released on Bluray. I prefer watching in my home theatre these days...

I'm glad the CD arrived safe and sound, Marty. That vegemite stuff is Australia's joke on the world. We only make it to give to overseas vvisitors so we can see their face when they first try it! LOL!

Hi jess28. You have a nice receiver there. It's one of the better mid range products on the market. But like most receivers, there's a lot of electronics packed into the box. The 806 can deliver some serious current (for a receiver) but only for very short periods of time so it couldn't really compete with a dedicated 2 channel amplifier when running just the main speakers during serious 2 channel listening sessions. In saying that, for more 'casual' listening sessions, you may not be able to tell much difference between the 806 and a dedicated 2 channel power amp driving just your main speakers. If you listen 'loud' to very dynamic movie and cd tracks, inserting a dedicated 2 channel power amp will reward you with more punch and dynamics, and probably less grain. Relieving the Onkyo from driving the main speakers will enable the receiver to deliver more continuous power and current capabilities for your centre and rear speakers. As you are aware, your receiver has 7.1 pre-outs and it should be easy to configure the receiver so you can use the dedicated 2 channel power amp rather than the internal receiver amplifiers. Before you do that though, try the bi-amp configuration first. You might like it. Also, DO NOT use the 4 ohm setting. The sound from this setting is awful. I don't know whether your versions has this, but avoid this setting like the plague...

Okay, I watched it again last night. It's better the second time around. Maybe my mood wasn't the best - I'd had a hard week when I watched it the other day. The story makes more sense...