sunnysal

Just got back my Marantz 7T from Vintage Amplifier Restoration and WOW!!! more than I bargained for! While I had high hopes for this unit (it was the first solid state unit from Marantz...came right after the legendary 7C and was designed and built by the same Sid Smith who did most of the great Marantz units in the 50´s and 60´s, this thing was based on the 7C, shares many high-quality parts and is built like nothing is built anymore!) I really did not expect this preamp to make the huge difference it has in my system...for those of you who are/have been interested in my system I now have a pair of early 90´s K-horns with the ALK x-overs, a pair of Dynaco Mk IV monoblocks wired for triode operation and some mid-fi changers running into an MSB linkdac III with upsampling...Well, in short , the preamp has "fleshed out" the rather thinnish sound from my k-horns, it also did a most amazing thing; it totally changed the presentation of the sound stage...In all the time I have been swapping components (A McIntosh 6400 SS integrated amp, a Harmon and Kardon Citation VII S preamp and an Audio Valves SS Preamp) I have never had a component make this kind of change in the soundstage!!! Slightly wider, with all the instruments still clearly laid out left to right in the normal positions as before BUT now with DEPTH!!!...I feel everything now has a three dimensional aspect it never had before...I even swapped back to my last preamp again today to see if I was imagining things and no...this thing has, besides "warming things up", added a holographic aspect I never heard before!!! way cool, though disconcerting...I find myself flipping through CDs just to hear how they sound with this new preamp...bad or good? I don´t know from a scientific standpiont but...I LIKE IT!!!...though perhaps I hear some vvveeerrryyy slight smearing of detail in the cymbal range (very high up) everything else sounds great!!! one last note, some of us are interested in derived center channels...this unit comes with a third center channel output built in...level control and all...so those of you looking for a preamp in general and especially those looking for a low priced amazing preamp for your classic "heritage" klipsch-based system, look no further...a Marantz 7T, rebuilt and upgraded by someone skilled (thanks William!) is audio nirvana!!! Warm regards from sunny San Salvador! Tony This message has been edited by sunnysal on 08-18-2001 at 07:08 PM

Ray, my two cents...that amount of vibration (more like out and out shaking of the panel) does NOT sound right...that's why Jim's question about screws sounded "right track" to me...my k-horns have larger unsupported panel areas than your la scalas (right?) and no matter the volume including cover your ears, big bass stuff, there is nothing more than a mild vibration...no waggling...no real movement...so assuming that really nothing let loose inside (please check again) then it seems a simple brace wedged, screwed and glued, as decribed by others here on this thread, in the space with the largest unsupported span is your best bet and should do it...hold off on any dampening or mass loading efforts until you support the panel and it is not flopping around, those measures are fine tuning, what you have there if flippy-flopping (that's a technical term)...good luck, let us know how it goes...tony This message has been edited by sunnysal on 08-16-2001 at 01:06 PM

I too "believe" in cables...I can describe (I won't bore you all with it here but Randy gave some good feedback alon gwith others of the types of effects on sound he heard) changes when swapping speaker cables, interconnects and even those between my cd player and dac...so easy to hear that I cannot imagine anyone saying no...I have had people (my wife for example who is completely uninterested/unsophisticated/unspoiled) with when when swapping who all describe the differences...so in my order of importance: speaker cables big differences heard...non-digital interconnects...then regular interconnects...I must admit to not hearing any differences yet related to power cables or even power filters, though I have yet had the chance to try a balanced power regenerator...all part of the fun...regards, tony

I have bought them on-line from audioadvisor...regards, tony

I have vibrapods onder my cd players, under my turntable and under my dynaco tube amps...for the price I have not seen anything (not DIY) that can beat them...they do a great job of isolation (try rapping a shelf with your knuckles under your component with and without the vibrapods to see what I mean)...I am building my own amp isolation stands now using black hole (great name huh?) pads and a wooden frame, copying some I saw at the bottlehead site...I am sure that will be better BUT...I am a big fan of vibrapods in general...regards, tony

hey Bob! how the Lada Niva I used to own?...a 4X4 from russia! (only in salvador! right?) warm regards, tony "...if he wasn't nailed to the perch he'd be pushing up the daisies..."

Charlie, one added note...I had the opportunity to hear the cary amps (AES I meant) you mentioned the other day...the AE-25 superamp is totally different than the AE-25!!! no comparison really, the superamp sounded as good as I have ever heard from a PP design! wow! I am saving up my dollars already...really cool! though at a low, low budget point of mine my dynaco MkIVs will have to do for a while...MTC...warm regards, tony

that's right randy, I had forgotten to mention the jitter reducer (in this case an MSB director) but I certainly think the jitter reducer and outboard DAC are the two principal contributors to my CD sound...while the transports may be second tier I have obviously opted for "the world at my fingers"...regards, tony

"...we take turns acting as sort of an executive officer for the week..."

I am quite satisfied with my two sony cd changers hooked up to my MSB linkdac III...I have tried one or two standalone players (a nakamichi and a sony ES) and prefer the sound of the changers through the outboard dac...so, get comfortable and enjoy all your cds from your couch (I currently have 500 available with the touch of a finger)...regards, tony

I have a pair of HS-2s installed on my patio...while no match in dynamics and transparancy for my k-horns they do a very respectable job of providing background music out there...on accasion they can be played fairly loud for parties...mine have been suffering from a wierd problem: they cause my adcom amp to shut down whenever I turn them up to real butt-thumpin´ party levels...however, they have a good balance between lows and highs...good imaging and detail...better than the bose outdoor cubes I had before...regards, tony

thanks Al...I will move ont to other ideas of how to play around with the k-horns...tweeters stay...regards, tony

In the never ending search for sweeter top end I am now wondering if a swap of my tweeters or squaker driver might be a possiblity...I hacve an ALK x-over installed and I assume my tweeters use ceramic magnets...could upgrading to alnico versions or maybe another brand do something? I suppose swapping out for TAD or JBL pro stuff might do something but then I would have to futz with the x-over right? so...just fishing for any thoughts on how to improve the top end of my k-horns...regards, tony

Shock, the real question is WILL THE OUT OF PHASE BOSE CUBES SOUND LIKE MY K-HORNS??? I am gonna run right over to sears and try that right now!...

woof, first you have pointed out the number one issue...that particular amp is controversial and many consider the zen a "not totally sucessful" amp in many ways (just ask randy bey!)...however the fact that after "touch ups" your amp has changed sound so drastically points to the fact that you may be able to coax a sound you like out of it...however to be able to learn from past actions and try to suggest future mods we need to hear more about what exactly was done the times you sent it in for mods...post some more specific info about what exactly this tech did to the amps and the resulting sound and perhaps the "klipsch brain trust" can help...regards, tony This message has been edited by sunnysal on 06-16-2001 at 10:35 AM

shock, what is your price range? how much do you want to spend? regards, tony

don't worry bob we know that this section will be a "klipsch provides this section for the private and unverfied use of..." blah, blah, blah, and besides the legal department will assure that you place a disclaimer on the pages...go bob, go!

spider, I have MkIVs...they are monoblocks, I am not sure of the year BUT since they each have a pair of transformers I suspect they have more iron per tube than an st-70...looking at the schematic and specs they are basically an st-70 split into two chassis but with the power supply section doubled...two trannies each...etc...maybe that is why I have such good slam! regarding mids...I really have to say that while I do detect some "smoothing" of the upper mids and lower highs, I do not seem to have lost any of the definition and clarity I had with my McIntosh SS integrated amp (MA6400) which, by all accounts, must be a pretty good example of the best of the SS breed...I listen to a lot of rock and have not felt I lost anyhting when switching to the tubed Dyanacos...just seemed to tame some "glare" from the overly bright (in my opinion) highs with SS...oh well to each his own...regards, tony

I think a classifieds section would be great!...of course it would have to be a "klipsch makes no guarantess as to the accuracy or voracity of the posts on this classifieds section, it is for the use of...." but it would be great!

thanks spider, I did not realize that was an EL34 PP unit, though I am surprised that he lacks bass punch with that setup...like I said my Dynaco monoblocks do not seem to lack bass! I guess they had pretty decent "iron"!...I think a 2A3 might be a risky choice for head banging...regards, tony

shock, your best bet, money-wise, is going to be a Dynaco ST-70...you can get one for less than $300...the low power SET amos are either more expensive or will not handle the loud rock music...I think push-pull form Dynaco is your best best...however I do have a few more questions...what kind of preamp are you using? perhaps some tone controls would help somewhat until you can swap amps? BTW randy´s tweak suggestions come from a lot of hard work and listening on his part, give his advice due weight..regards, tony

shock, I don´t think you should blame tubes...the musical fidelity piece you had certainly was an excellent high fidelity piece...the AMC piece is questionable, I might say mid-fi...in your desire to get some of the benefits that many tout of tubes you "jumped too soon"...sell the AMC unit and be patient, save up for something truly high fidelity...that does not mean necessarily expensive, buy used (the great circle of life exists in our hobby, many of our audiophile peers turn overs amp like we change socks!) and try to audition equipment before you buy...I have half a dozen components in the closet that I bought without auditioning (since randy bey is spilling his guts too, that is my big, dirty secret!) however I am quite happy with my cheap dynaco tube amps and k-horns, they, to me, sound better than my McIntosh solid state did...the Mac was a great SS amp, detailed, powerful, low distortion but it made my k-horns sound too shrill...the dynaco monoblocks give great punch, are still quite detailed, have a great soundstage and have tamed the "glare"...YMMV...BUT...don´t write off tubes yet...hang around some stores and give a listen...SS versus Tubes, what fun! best of luck and sorry for your audio problems, Tony This message has been edited by sunnysal on 06-09-2001 at 10:32 AM

unlike with speaker cables and interconnects in the preamp, power amp, speaker chain I have been unable to detect any difference when I swap out cables between my CD players, my jitter reducer and my DAC, I have tried various brands of 75ohm and Toslink cables and really could not hear any difference...in the end I put the most expensive version of coax between my jitter reducer and DAC and went with the most expensive version of toslink from the CD to the jitter reducer...the build quality and RF protection seemed to be the major difference in cables, I genuinely could not hear any audible difference...with speaker cables and interconnects in the other chain I seem to have preferences...but not in this chain so far...Tony

Mac, If the belle ends up "odd man out" drop me a line...however I am sure you will keep it to fill between the jubilees...besdies a la scala and maybe a cornwall your choices would seem to be limited...unless PWK has a center channel waiting in the wings...

I just got back the Dynaco MkIV monoblocks that I sent to Mississippi for upgrades/mods after the earthquakes...besides new caps and resistors, new binding posts, input RCA jacks, etc. I had the EL34s wired for "triode" operation...after unwrapping what seemed like endless layers of bubble wrap, putting the tubes back in (first listen for the EL34s that Randy Bey gave me!) I let them warm up for fifteen minutes checked the bias and began to listen...set up some very familiar music (cuts from Miles Davis´ "Kind of Blue", some Tracy Chapman, Santana, Prokofiev "Romeo and Juliet", etc.) I can tell you there is something to this "tube thing"...for the first time the soundstage had depth! I had always had good stereo imaging but NOW I really felt some front to back stuff going on! Also, I feel that the sound is better "fleshed" out now...a roundness, a meatiness I did not really feel before...great cymbal sound as well, no rolling off that I can detect...An added bonus is that now I can get the volume control of my preamp past the 5% position! now I can listen (loudly) with the thing at 25-35% (3-4 o´clock)...I must say I am totally satisfied so far with this mod to the EL34 amp...highly recommended, especially for anyone feeling that their k-horns are just too "harsh" but feel that 5 watts of SET will probably not meet their needs re: volume...regards, Tony This message has been edited by sunnysal on 06-04-2001 at 09:00 PM