Bluesteel

Thanks for the advice. Anyone else wanna chime in on this?

Ok ... I was trying not to get into the gorry details, because I know many people will have trouble thinking outside of the speaker cabinet. But I found a set of Chorus II's with a blown Woofer for $200. I needed a Center Channel to match my existing Chorus II's and Forte II's, so I replaced the Woofer, and tried hooking them up on either side of the TV with the Center Channel output from a Denon AVR-3300 Receiver. This resulted in an astonishing 5-Channel sound-stage with all six speakers up front, but no matter what settings I try (even using just one Chorus II), there is little to no bass output from the Center Channel(s). Since I have an old Carver TFM 35x amp (the kind with the Mad-Scientist meters, Hee-Hee Hee-Hee Hee-Hee), and no subwoofer; I thought I'd try sending the Subwoofer signal from the Receiver to the Amp, and then on to the Woofers on the center Chorus II's. Since the Woofers will only be getting the Sub-Woofer signal, I wouldn't need any extra Crossovers. But the Woofer leads coming from the Crossovers on the center Chorus II's will be disconnected, because I'll still use the Tweets and Squaks for the Center Channel output. So ... Its just like Bi-Amping, but I wanted to know if I need to do something with the unused Woofer leads coming from the existing Crossovers. I found some non-inductive impedence loads that are used to test amplifiers, but I didn't know if that was overkill. I'm thinking a simple 8 Ohm Resistor would get too hot, even with the relatively small amount of watts from the Receiver's Center Channel output. Thanks for the info in advance ... This message has been edited by Bluesteel on 09-18-2001 at 04:18 PM

C'mon, somebody knows sumpt'n!!!

White-Noise = All audible frequencies being reproduced at the same level (radio static). This sounds heavily wieghted toward the higher frequencies (I guess because there are so many more of them). Pink-Noise = White-Noise wieghted with more boost to the lower frequencies. Brown-Noise = ??? but I'm pretty sure it exists (may be the result of lactose intolerance by the sound engineer) 8) Many Receivers produce a Pink-Noise to adjust the balance between all the channels. But for precision, you'll need a decible (dB) meter to get a number on the loudness from each channel and balance them accordingly. There are cheap sound level meters from Radio Shack (selling on eBay for 1/2 price), but they only measure a limited range of audible sound (30-10,000 Hz as opposed to the 20-20,000 Hz range of human hearing). Want more range? Then you'll pay. Another use for Pink-Noise is to balance the level of most of the audible frequencies with an equalizer and a spectrum analyzer, or with a sound level meter and a test-tone CD, as the wise Colon suggests. The spectrum analyzer uses a microphone to listen to your system and show you a graphical display of the Pink-Noise it hears, (all across the sound "spectrum"). In theory, to reproduce the same sound your favorite artists intend you to hear, all the frequencies should be at the same level across the spectrum, a.k.a. a flat-sound. If its not flat, and NO real-life sound system reproduces a flat Pink-Noise spectrum, then you can adjust some of the frequencies up or down as needed with the graphic equalizer. This I have done. And for what its worth, flat or close to flat SUX!!! I like bass, lot of bass, even largemouth bass (ooops, sorry, wrong bass), but it is after all, a salt-to-taste thing. Its just that with a spectrum analizer and a pink noise generator, its easy to see where you're at, then go from there. You can use your tone controls on your Receiver if you have them. But the bass control is centered at 100 Hz or so and the treble is centered at 10,000 Hz or so. And who knows what the bandwidth is? So its a much coarser adjustment than you can get with a graphic or even a parametric equalizer. "Don't Bi-Wire, buy speakers!!!" This message has been edited by Bluesteel on 09-03-2001 at 10:21 PM

Not being a fan of the newer Klipsch stuff (I've got Chorus' and Forte's), or knowing much information about your setup, here's some of what I've experienced with harshness: If you're too close to a horn speaker, its going to sound harsh, sometimes terribly harsh. How close is too close? It depends on a lot of factors; I don't like being closer than 12 feet, but 15-20 feet is ideal. Additionally, since horns are so directional, just a few inches side to side can make all the difference, especially if you're too close. That's one reason the little satelite cone type speakers are so popular, they radiate sound (rather than propel it like horns) so even though they lack clearity, its easier to get a smooth sound. Many people just don't have the room to make horn-loaded speakers sound good. Generally Denon's Receivers are not too bright, but some others are just not a good match for horns, though its a salt-to-taste thing. Many DVD Players have good Digital to Analog Converters (DAC's) and sound better than cheap CD Players. But check the specifications on your stuff. I've been using a Sony 400 disk CD Changer, and its 1-Bit DAC finally got the best of me. So I added a good after-market 24-Bit DAC (MSB Link DAC) and the vocals and sharp electric guitar notes that were notorious for harshness, are actually enjoyable now. As far as speaker cable and interconnects are concerned, unplug all your stuff and take the cover off of your components, then look inside your speakers sometime. See all those TINY little wires? Unless you're running 50 feet from one component to the next, most of that high dollar stuff is PURE nonsense. "Don't Bi-Wire, buy speakers!!!" This message has been edited by Bluesteel on 09-02-2001 at 07:49 PM

If you disconnect the woofer leads coming out of the cross-over, and power the woofer with a seperate amp, do you need to hook up a dummy load to the leads from the Klipsch cross-over? Or can you just leave them disconnected?

If you disconnect the woofer leads coming out of the cross-over, and power the woofer with a seperate amp, do you need to hook up a dummy load to the leads from the Klipsch cross-over? Or can you just leave them disconnected?

ditto ... ditto ... ditto

Hello juladler, You might want to read a thread under the "General Questions" section, called: "Shocked by the skinny little wires!"

Thanks Boa, Perfect!

I agree, and that was my intention, to hear exactly what the artist intended. But ... that's not possible without being in the studio when they created it. An alternative is to have a standard: Little to no coloration or a relatively "flat" tone, lets say +/- 3dB over the whole response range. The deal is, every component: from the power supply; to the playback source; the amplification; the speakers; and especially the room will color the music. Its a sure bet that without some type of compensation, any system with the tone controls set to the neutral "0" position is not flat. Mona may not have a full moustache, but at the very least, shes going to have a 5 o'clock shadow. Without measuring the frequency response at several levels with a sound meter and a tone generator, or a spectrum analyzer, it would take a very special ear to tell if a sound system isn't coloring what the artist intended. Whatever you use to get a get an objective look, once you see your system in the mirror of a graph, think of an equalizer as an electric razor.

Read the thread: "Shocked by the skinny little wires!"

If Klipsch still makes the Heresy, then they could and should still make the Forte, but they folded to the pressure, and rationalized them out of production back in 1996. Just a little more producible, a little cheaper, and a little less quality ... shame, shame. Boy can I wait for the new-stuff. Never the less, I guess if the Forte II's were proportionately enlarged, that speaker would have an 18 inch drone. Is that what you meant? Hmmm ... wait ... please don't get me started down that road ... I have a cabinet design with a CNC Machined smoothly folded 20 foot horn ... but I digress. Anyway, you might be thinking of the Chorus II, which is the largest speaker in the Quartet-Forte-Chorus line. Its almost a proportional enlargement of the Forte II, with a 15 inch Woofer, but as Doug pointed out, the Drone on the Chorus II is still only a 15 inch. They're REALLY intimidating to women, hehe ... that is with a few notable exceptions ... one of which is wild-woman who goes by Bev, and I believe she has four of 'em! Thanks to that Wifey-Factor, Forte I's & II's are on ebay at almost any given time ($400-$800). Chorus I's & II's show up once or twice a month ($600-$1,100). Quartet's are harder to find (probably because theyre smaller), yet some of the used-gear Internet dealers have 'em ($400?).

Thanks, udaman!

Thanks, If its only a loss of power from the mid-hi amp, a resistor makes the most sense. That way the original x-over stays intact. Update: Additional information on this topic is in the "General Questions" section under the topic: "2 components.....1 pair of speakers???"