PrestonTom

You are absolutely correct! It is not so much the transformers (which give the weight) but rather the capacitors. However, there are some modern circuits that provide protection from start up transients that may actually cutoff the sound, so you may not hear the extra 10 seconds of sound. Incidentally, a well built power supply in an amp (beefed up transformer and capacitors) negates the "need" for any sort of exotic power conditioners. Power anomalies, are seldom as severe as the power cutting out for a half a second. Good Luck, -Tom

A couple of points are being confused here. If the original components have deteriorated, then a replacement will have an obvious benefit. If the circuit is redesigned then there could be a big difference also, hopefully an improvement. If, however, the circuit is not re-desgned and the components were not deteriorated, then simply putting in fancy/expensive parts (with the same electrical values) will have little if any effect. I believe the biggest differences lie within an actual re-design of the circuit. However, these differences may or may not be "better". Good Luck, -Tom

Welcome, Congratulations on the Cornwalls. I would suggest not placing any material inside the cabinet. A mat will actually have very little effect on dampening the low freqs and other material (eg batting, fill etc) is not a good idea since the cabinet was designed to function "as is". Crossovers are a favorite topic around here and options can range from replacing capacitors (which may deteriorate over time, so they say) to a full re-design. Personally, I would simply listen to the speakers for the next several months and get to know them. As for swapping horns, this is also a big step. I think you would need to be very clear about what it is that you like and do not like about the sound before you do this. Cornwalls are pretty good in their current configuration. As for silver conductors, this is voodoo. My friendly suggestion would be simply to listen to the cabinets for several months. In the mean time, bigger gains will be achieved by careful tweaking of the speaker / listening chair location & geometry and experimenting with the set up. This experimentation could also include simple steps at modifying the room: carpet (in or out or with or without a pad) drapes, wall hangings to help diffuse sound etc. These will give real differences, much larger than some of the other things you mentioned Good Luck, -Tom

As far as the price, 3K is high. They typically go for about 1500 - 2500. Condition & finish are the main factors. The other big driver is transporting them. They weigh about 170 lbs apiece, but the tops, are easily removed. As far as requirements: they must be placed in the room's corners (or false corners can be constructed). The corner completes the final flare of the horn. Without this, the bass will be severely compromised. The other requirement is that the source and amp must be clean and quiet. Any distortion, hiss or hum will be ruthlessly revealed. However, a mega watt amp is certainly not a requirement. Unfortunately, the price for new K-Horns is high. Not many are made so it would be hard to find a deal. The good news is that the older ones are pretty good and it is unlikely that the drivers would be damged. You will probably get much advice on other "requirements". However, I would go slow. Get them, locatethem properly and then enjoy them for the next few months. There is plenty of time for the later craziness about the other issues. Good Luck, -Tom

It will be a very different sound compared to a Klipsch. You will not have the dynamics nor the clean bass. However, the sound stage will be quite interesting. Good Luck, -Tom

Although I am not currently in the market, I am interested in your opinion of the Monarchy amps driving K-Horns. I know it sounds crazy asking for an opinion by the seller. But really ..... what were the pros & cons? Good Luck, -Tom

I may be alone on this one, but with all respect I do not think this edition of the K-Horns really look all that good. At a distance it will simply have some very strong lines. The toe kick is not appealing and the "sides" do not extend far enough to complete the horn flare. They will still need to be in the room's corners. Perhaps the swivelling top will make the on-axis seating position easier (I wonder what that looks like when the upper and lower cabinets are not "aligned") When cabinets are so large, having more wood visible makes them a bit less visually oppressive. I can only imagine the comments my girlfriend will make when she sees these. Good Luck, -Tom

Why are these tired jokes in the "2 channel forum" ?

Rick, Thank you for your kind offer. But I must confess that right now my listening room contains about 12 boxes, a refrigerator, a dishwasher in a box, a second stove, a bunch of old cabinets etc. Some where in the back are the K-Horns. Yes, you guessed it - I am in the middle of a kitchen renovation that is taking forever. I swear the idea started out as "why don't I just add a kitchen island". Well, it is never that simple. The electrical and lighting were all re-worked, new drywall on one end, moderate amount of plumbing, all new kitchen cabinets (also needing assembly), new paint, baseboards - yet to be installed, etc. The new counter tops & sink are hidden somewhere under the mess. Someday I will get to the crossovers, but right now I am having to wash dishes in the bathroom ..... Good Luck, -Tom

MM, You have asked an impossible question, since the category includes quite a bit of music with some very different styles etc. My suggestion would be to visit your local library and check out various CDs that they have. Try and get as much variety as possible (small combo, larger emsembles, vocals) and be sure to get selections from the the different eras. This will get you started. It is an enjoyable journey. Good Luck, -Tom

Jeff: I am following this thread with great interest, since I will soon be in the process of updating/modifying my AA crossovers. I am interested in your reviews Rick: I think this is a very gracious offer that you have made. Way to go! It sounds like various things may be happening. Most likely (and this is guessing) is that not all crossovers (capacitors) decay with age. This would certainly not be the first time that components have a range of useful lifespans (Jeff may have just been fortunate, or his cabinets may have been in a better environment - temp, humidity etc) Second possibility is that the effects are real but the effects are subtle. It is probably not a "night and day" difference if it requires both cabinets to be updated. I don't think Jeff's procedures are all that bad . With the results that some in the past have described, one would have thought the effects were very,very dramatic. Another possibility is that the source material was not very revealing. I would give this one some thought. Although the Steely Dan recordings were typically done pretty well, an old rock recording may not be the best diagnostic. My bias has been for acoustic and classical recordings. Possibilities include some of the European small labels (Denon, Harmonia Mundi, many others etc). Some of the jazz possibilities would include the Blue Note and Impulse (although the older recordings may have been massaged quite a bit on re-release)

Shawn, A few reasons on why I hesitate using an equalizer. First, the setups I have seen using EQ for correcting room problems have not been satisfactory. You may have had/seen better results, I have not. Second, I am concerned about putting extra things in the signal chain. The K-Horns are very revealing of any noise, distortion, hiss & hum. So it gets risky ( I am interested in as clean a signal as possible). Third, I don't feel an EQ will clean up reverberation problems, it will only attenuate them. Actually it can make matters worse since a narrow band filter will, for physical reasons, cause the waveform to "ring" and loose its attack. Although, at a low frequency this may not be a severe problem. There are cases where an EQ is advantageous. Certainly for correcting coloration form the speakers themselves or perhaps "correcting" some problems inherent in the original recording. Good Luck, -Tom

Just a couple of comments. re: 0.2 dB increments for adjusting levels. This is a very small value, certainly less than perceptible. I can not imagine that 0.75 dB increment would not be fine. Besides when you increase the resolution (smaller increments) you will lose the overall range, unlesss there are many, many taps. re: distortion in the autoformer. I can not believe there would be a problem. This is a passive device and you would need to do something very unreasonable to make go into some sort of non-linear region. Good luck, -Tom

Jeff, Good question. The hearing test you would get from a GP is typically not very thorough. If you went to an ENT, they would have their audiologist perform the test. At the very least this would be a pure tone audiogram, along with a short history. Depending on what they found, other tests might be required. The problem with an audiogram, is that it tells you about significant damage after the damage has occurred. However, this is one way to find out about hearing protection and what you should be actively doing to help yourself. Good luck, -Tom

Soundbroker, I am not sure what you mean by seeking "well defined peaks". As for the low bass problems, I am uneasy with using an equalizer (for various reasons). My space may be large enough to use some sort of bass trap or Helmholtz resonators. I agree with your view about the aesthetics issue, but may be I can get clever and figure out a way to disguise things. As for the higher frequencies, I am also toying with foam along with the idea of fabricating some RPG panels, this may or may not be do-able or aesthetic. Right now things are on hold till I get finished with the carpentry in my kitchen and get an affordable measurement rig. My measurement equipment at work is no longer an option. Good luck, -Tom

Jeff, It is clear from this thread ("... till my ears are ringing...") and your other comments in the "headroom"-thread, that you are listening to music that is far too loud. When it gets to the point that you are producing tinnitus (ringing in your ears), you are also starting to damage your hearing. Noise induced hearing loss is not a joke. The effects are cumulative and the deficits will get worse. I strongly urge folks not to listen at these levels. In fact, I would also urge you to use proper hearing protection when using power tools, motorcycles, lawn mowers etc. No one wants to be like an old man who continually is saying "speak up" or who simply becomes isolated around others because they can't follow the conversation. Seriously, I am afraid that this is where you are headed. What damage you have already done is not reversible. What you can do is to simply prevent further damage. I apologize if I seem heavy handed in my comments, but don't dismiss them. I am faculty at a university and study hearing science. I do know what I am talking about. Good luck, -Tom

Although this thread has gone on, and on and on, no one has mentioned the issue of transient current capability (if it was mentioned, I missed it). This had been a popular issue with the "high current amps". An amp can lack extra power (watts) to amplify the peaks without distortion (clipping). However, an amp can also fail to deliver the momentary amounts of high current that a speaker may require. While this is probably not a problem with a Kilpsch speaker since they are quite efficient and the impedance does not go all that low. It can be a problem with current loving speakers. That is one that is not very efficient and the impedance can drop to pretty low levels. Electrostatics and panel speakers are quite problematic in this regard. It is a tricky issue to define a high current amp, since there are no agreed-upon specs. As I recall, the Harman Kardon line will have their own spec of how many amps (around 30-45 amps) will be sent over a short period of time (on the order of 10s of milliseconds). Good luck, -Tom

Bruce, This is very sad news. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Take care, -Tom

Congratulations on your new speakers. When I upgraded to Klipsch, I simply contacted the support folks at Klipsch. They e-mailed some material/manuals and answered all my questions. They are very friendly and professional staff. Good Luck, -Tom

Rplace, There are actually many foks doing SS mods and upgrades. If you do a goggle search on "Hafler upgrades" you will get a good start. Someone mentioned Musical Concepts, they are certainly pretty well known, especially for their Hafler mods. In general I would be a bit wary. Many of the mods concentrate on beefing up the power supply, Since you are running Klipsch, there should not be a problem since the load is quite efficient and the impedance does not go very low. The other caveat is that many of the mods involve changing the bias. If this is done in isolation, there may be some potential problems. Another concern is that tweaking for Klipsch speakers is a different beast because of the efficiency of the Heritage line. I have noticed more differences between amps when running K-Horns due to noise, hiss, hum & distortion (at low output levels). Good Luck & keep us posted, -Tom

Seriously, why bother? If you are listening to music then 2-channel is fine (perhaps supplemented with an additive center). When you go beyond that, then you are in the world of gimmicks and effects. You have a wonderful set of speakers, enjoy them! If you have upgrade-itis, and it is understandable, then why not spend some time on room treatments and tweaking the speaker placement. As I recall, you were a candidate for a false corner. If the disease is serious, then look for a very clean and quiet amp (the K-Horns are ruthless in revealing distortion, hiss and hum) There really is no need to mess things up with extra speakers. Good Luck, -Tom (I guess I am a purist)

I think it is sad that courtesy and decency have become out-of-fashion. It really does not matter whether the forum is electronic or not. When it sinks to the level of thoughtless comments toward our host, then we are not being very gracious guests. That is what we are: guests. This forum is being provided for our amusement. What do we do? We abuse, we point fingers and say it was the other guy who started it, we get into esoteric word games when we don't want to acknowledge our thoughtless behavior, and finally we resort to the excuse that since this electronic so we don't need to be humane. I have learned a great deal here. I have unfortunately learned a great deal about another side of human nature also. -Tom

I agree with the above. Avoid the sanding, it is too easy to mess up and it is frequently an ineffective way to remove the stain (if in fact there was any stain). Although polyuretahne is convenient, it is really not furniture grade material. Oils or lacquers are best for that. Incidentally, at this point, additional coats of oil (danish or BLO) will not further darken the finish (unless it is pigmented). Good Luck, -Tom

I am going to reference a thread I started about false corners. It provides a simple design for a false (half) corner that may be appropriate in your application. It is simpler than some of the others and also details how to use foam to get a tight seal. This is just one option. There are others that might be better.... http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/516345/ShowPost.aspx BTW, those are beautiful walnut cabinets Good Luck, -Tom

This is an interesting question about the inside surface of the horn. Anecdotally, I had the impression that the surface should be as smooth as possible. The analogy was from fluid problems, where you want to prevent "turbulence and eddys". If this is correct (and it may only apply to certain frequency regions), then a lacquer finish wold be great. My concern would be that at high frequencies the wave edge might have a different velocity due to the felt (or whatever). I am not sure what kind of distortion this might create. Remember, in one sense, the beauty of the horn is that is minimizes the impedance mismatch from the diaphragm to air (small volume at the small end of the throat) as the volume increases then the pressure changes. I am not sure the felt would be the best idea. As I am writing this, it is clear to me that there are probably some real issues that I am unaware of. The problem is getting a description that is not overly mathematical. It sounds like an interesting project, and you are bound to learn quite a bit about physical acoustics! Good Luck, -Tom