mcp

Ok, the seller brought over the second speaker tonight, so all is good in the world now. They are absolutely stunning (if you like the clear oak finish) and are pretty much flawless. Listening to a little George Benson Quartet right now and what strikes me most is the scale of the music compared to most speakers I've listened to lately.

Drove a little over an hour this morning to Rochester to pick up the Chorus IIs. Oh my god! I had forgotten how huge they are. They are absolutey mint with not a scratch on them. Oak clear finish and new titanium tweeter diaphrams. Now the bad part...I thought I could shoehorn them in my 2011 Subaru Legacy, but only 1 would fit. The seller is an engineer, so I think we covered every possible option! So I have one of these gorgeous monsters in my living room and he is going to deliver the other one on Monday night as he is coming through Syracuse on business. That is, unless I get antsy and make trip # 2 out there tomorrow. I will post pics when I have the pair together. He played them for me and I loved them. Huge soundstage and nice bass. He was using an Emotiva 2 channel amp that I think is 300 wpc.He also offered me a newly recapped Dynaco ST-400 amp, but I'm not sure about it... Oh yeah...these speakers convinced me to buy a hand truck today also...

It has been a long time since I heard anyone mention the Rectilinear IIIs! One of the finest sounding speakers I've ever worked with and have long regretted parting with mine. My first audition of them was at the home of the plant manager's father's house. I sold quite a few pairs of those to my customers back in the day and never heard any complaints about their sound from anyone. I'll never let the Rectilinear III's go...they belonged to my father in law and, after he passed away, my mother in law gave them to me. She still has another pair of them as he ran a quad system with a Marantz 4430 receiver. The receiver is still mint and in duty in her living room. That said, even after recapping, they are missing too much high end for extended listening. Wish there was a drop in replacement for those Norelco tweeters.

Yes, I'll definitely run the Kenny to start as that is all I have...will report the results.

I pick up my C II's on Saturday...then, the search for a suitable amp begins. I currently employ an old Kenwood KA-7100, which I don't believe will do well with the C II's. It's all about matching - the Kennys seem to me to sound real clean and match well with speakers like my Rectilinear IIIs, but I think will be fatiguing with the C II's. I love the sound of tubes, but have to admit I also like the convenience of solid state. Should I be looking for a nice EL84 amp or smooth SS like Audio Refinement, Rega Brio? Thanks again to all who chimed in when I weighing the C II's vs. KLF-20's...

Decision made...I'm going with the Chorus IIs. They are supposed to be in mint condition and have the Crites diaphrams already installed. Thanks to everyone for their feedback...now, the search is on for a suitable tube amp...

So, I was thinking tubes would be the way to go with either of these...do you think SS would be better?

How difficult do you figure it would it be to fashion a pair of grilles for the KLF-20s? Thinking they might be a great deal of the $...

Here are the issues with the KLF-20s: 1. No grilles 2. Grill holes have been filled in. 3. Top of one speaker needs to be repainted black. Other than that, all drivers are excellent and no seam damage on the cabinets. Correction: price is $350.

IMO, both the KLF-20's and Chorus II's are a huge step above the KG4's. I think the KG4's are perfect for a secondary 2-channel rig but no where near as anchoring a system the way the KLF's and Chorus II's can. If possible, demo both and then decide. The Chorus II's will provide BIG sound and KLF's more punchy and fast with a much larger presense than the KG4's. Bill I agree...I guess what I was getting at - and probably didn't word very well - is more of a price/value question...KLF-20s for $325 vs. Chorus IIs at $650...

Seeking opinions...been looking for an upgrade to my KG4s and there are a pair of KLF 20's and Chorus II's available locally. KLF-20's have no grilles but are 1/2 the price of the Chorus IIs which are mint clear oak with crites titanium diaphrams...thoughts?

Mongo...don't know why it didn't go through...I tried again.

I replied immediately, but they were already sold.

Thanks, I will do some research on these...

A guy down the road just got a Rogue Stereo 90 to use with his CWs and it sounds very nice in triode mode, with plenty of bottom end (to my ears, in ultralinear it's very aggressive and SS sounding.) It won't touch properly designed SETs or SEPs in terms of high end smoothness, but if you need that kind of power it seems to be a nice compromise particularly if you eliminate the preamp and use a passive line stage with it. His typical listening level is 105-110 db at his chair which is 12 feet from the speakers- listening room is about 12 feet wide and 30 feet long with the speakers about 6 feet in from the back wall. If he listens long at those levels, he will lose his hearing shortly and then I can buy his amp and speakers...seriously, thanks for the info. I once owned a Rogue Cronus and it was a very nice integrated indeed.

I take it you got these off CL from Trumansburg? Did you take a look at the KLF-20's in Watertown? Yes, those are the ones. The KLF-20's in Watertown have no grilles and the guy filled in the grill holes. These are going in my living room and, while they would have looked cool back in my college apartment, I need for them to look good, too. I see that you post alerts pretty quick (almost before the sellers decide to sell!) I would appreciate it if you could give me a heads up if you see any Chorus or Forte's for sale (that you're not interested in, of course). How do you like your Chorus'? I've never heard them, but have been told by people that I respect that they are fanstastic. I've owned KG4's, Heresy's, Forte's and Cornwall's (nice, but too big). Those 20's are pretty cool looking. I would prefer to put a grill on it. I do CL searches about 3 times a day. I'm disabled and have time on my hands. The only speakers I am looking for are RS-62's for surround duty. I'll keep an eye out for you. No problem here. I love my Chorus II's. I bought them new in 95. What is your price range for the Chorus or Forte? Are you looking for the I's or II's? E-mail sent...

I do require bass grunt, but I am also looking for less agressive and grainfree highs...I want it all! Kidding aside, I listen to a bit of everything and, to me, a good tube amp is tough to beat if it has the ability to drive the speakers at hand. I'm thinking Forte I's or Chorus I's as they are probably the best option in mmy 17 x 13 x 7.5 living room...

Marty, Thought you might find this interesting...from your old neck of the woods. Let me know if you make it back up north to visit the minions... http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/04/record_store_day.html#incart_more_entertainment Marty

I take it you got these off CL from Trumansburg? Did you take a look at the KLF-20's in Watertown? Yes, those are the ones. The KLF-20's in Watertown have no grilles and the guy filled in the grill holes. These are going in my living room and, while they would have looked cool back in my college apartment, I need for them to look good, too. I see that you post alerts pretty quick (almost before the sellers decide to sell!) I would appreciate it if you could give me a heads up if you see any Chorus or Forte's for sale (that you're not interested in, of course). How do you like your Chorus'? I've never heard them, but have been told by people that I respect that they are fanstastic. I've owned KG4's, Heresy's, Forte's and Cornwall's (nice, but too big).

Thanks for the input, everyone...I know that my original questions was a loaded one as people have strong opinions. I've owned many terrific solid state and tube amps over the years. I remember trying Heresy IIs and an Eastern Electric tube integrated and didn't like the pairing at all. However, a Harman Kardon 430 ss receiverwoke those speakers up more to my liking. I wish I had tried a tube amp when I owned Fortes, but I can say that a simple Rega Brio 3 sounded fantastic with those speakers. I do love the sound of tubes and will probably dive in on another tube integrated. Just bought a pair of KG4s last night to use until I can find a pair of Chorus or Fortes or maybe even RF-7's...always liked the KG4s....

Well, still waiting for something to pop up for sale locally, so in the meantime I found a pair of KG4's to tide me over. They were pretty ratty, but the drivers are excellent and I spent the day refinishing the walnut cabinets and washing the grille cloth. They look excellent now except for one small veneer chip on the rear corner. They sound terrific and are bringing back memories. The KG4s were the first "real" speakers I bought when I got my first job back in 1987...kicked myself for selling that original pair in black satin finish...

I posted last week about looking for some floorstanders and I'm still searching...but, in the meantime, I read alot of conflicting experience about whether to use SS vs. tubes. For instance, is one series (CF, KLF,RF, Heritage) better with one or the other? I would like to move back to tubes, which of the big floorstanders would do better with low powered (<20 watts). Due to size, I have ruled out Cornwalls, Lascalas, Klipschorns...most of the others are in play.