TubeGuy

Sweet work! I've laced many miles of cable in recording studios. There is nothing that compares to that look. Looks like you have mastered the technique very well. Ya gotta love true craftsmanship!

Choice of wire is a pretty controversial subject, but I'll dive in anyway. I rewired my 1989 Khorns with Kimber 4TC many years ago. The Kimber replaced the original Monster Cable and the improvement was quite noticable. I've since rewired two other sets of Khorns with 4TC and one with 8TC. The owners were very pleased with the results. Results: Bass became tighter, mids were more open sounding and the highs were less splashy and overall there was more detail. The difference was slightly more pronounced when replacing the original Klipsch lampcord tinned wire than the later Monster Cable. I also think that the teflon coating will have a much longer life than the original wire. The Monster had turned green after just a few years. I recently reworked all of the connections when I installed Al's Trachorns. There was no corrosion on the Kimbers after ten years of use. Terminating the 4TC takes a while and will put a blister on your thumb, but IMO the pain is well worth the results! Oh what we sacrifice for this audio habit[]

I'm very familiar wit AA's, AK2's and Al's ALK's. Both the AA or the ALK will be a huge improvement IMO. The ALK's have one advantage over the AA's in that they mate with single ended tube amps extremely well due their constant impedence to the amp. If you are interested in going this route in the future this would be something to consider. I use single ended amps, and chose the ALK's largley for this reason - and also because they sound great with any amp!. You've come to the right place for information and advice. Be ready for info overload. You're going to have fun!

One of anything on a desert Island would be torture, well almost anything. I could pick just one off of the "Prettiest Girl on the Planet" thread.

I couldn't hook my KHorns up for three years so I relegated my music listening to the car. Hey, if you can't have the real thing, you might as well listen to something where you have no expectations! Three months ago I was able to put my system back together and it's been bliss ever since. From the subtle shadings of Sarah Jones voice to the dynamics of Rickie Lee Jones "Under the Boardwak" , the rock of Nektar, or the expressiviness of Lorendo Almeida, it's all there in ONE speaker. Fifteen years with KHorns and they never cease to amaze. I had Cornwalls for ten years prior and felt as passionate about them too. Thank you Paul Klipsch and all of the great people that continue to make a speaker that can bring so much enjoyment.

Seti, Thanks for posting the pix. I haven't seen that one in years. It's my favorite Klipsch picture. I don't know which is more awesome, the speaker or PWK. Can you really seperate the two. I think I'm going to put my Khorns back to stock for the week end and have a music fest in the Col's honor!

Hey, I like my bike powered soldering iron! It's just that after a few drinks I tend to get alot of cold solder joints. I'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT POWER STABILIZATION! Great job Mark. You're in an enviable position. BTW, I've tried chewing Juicy Fruit while listening to music. It didn't help. I guess I'm just going to have to buy a Blueberry.

Efzauner, your memory is good. In the late 70's DBX and Phase Linear both made these type of products. I had a Phase Linear 1000 II, purcahsed in 1980. Had a compander function for recording and an "autocorrelator that removed record surface noise and pops & clicks. It worked as advertised, but as my system became more high resolution, I noticed it's affect on the music. Needless to say it's gone now.

As long as the first watt is clean, you'll be fine. Later on you'll be able to try some low, or lower power, tube amps and can make up your mind which technology works for you. With Khorns you have CHOICES. That's a very good thing!

Congrats from behind the Zion Curtain (that's Utah ) It's always nice to see deserving people being recognized. Klipsch reaaaalllly does have a future!

Great thread. I've already got a wish list based on the replies! Hey, and it looks like it pulled Duke out of hibernation! That's worth it without the music suggestions! Here's a few from way back: Jazz: Keith Jarrett, "Koln Concert" The best improv piano ever, however I'm biased since I was there. (ECM records) Pop: Rickie Lee Jones "Girl at the Volcano" This is worth it just for her rendition of "On the Boardwalk". DYNAMICS to knock your socks off and the best version I've heard. This one will dispell any questions about the ability of vinyl to deliver dynamics. It's woken up countless non LP listeners to what they are missing. (this is a 7 inch LP record, 331/3) New Age: Oregon "Out of the Woods". I hate the term New Age in the context of Oregon. They're so much more. This is in the Paul Winters Consort vein. Awesome musicianship and a great journey! This is NOT like so much contrived blather that later defined the genre. (Elektra 6E454) Alternative Folk: Ferron, "Shadows on a Dime" The recording is just average but every song is great. (Redwood Records LR 004)

Uh oh, I can see ALK Trachorns in your future!!!!! Welcome to the Klipsch Forum - The best forum with the best people on the internet! And what a way to get started - nice review.

It's one of those audiophile sonic spectaculars. Back in the 80's it got played so much at shows, and peoples homes to show off their latest high end purchase, it became stale. Stale because the music is just average although the recording is superb. If you want a test record for imaging, it is a good one. The big thing is listening to the positioning of the audience and the tinkle of their wine glasses. (like anyone cares to hear glasses tinkle, but on the other hand, with KHorns even that sounds great! It is a great spacial recording for the anal retentive imaging folks. Frankly, give me some Ray Brown Trio or Keith Jarrett and I'm there!

In my experience the answer is Yes with SS and Yes with qualifications for tubes. When equipment is turned on the power supplies have a burst of energy as the caps charge and voltage comes up to operating parameters. These surges can affect many components downstream. Additionally, bias currents can vary wildly as the power supply and circuits come up to proper voltages. Solid state is not as critical as tubes in this regard. Many/most companies have "soft start" circuits to minimize turn on surges. Solid state still benefits from being left on as idle currents need time to settle down and components come up to operating temp. This affects sound quality in many ways depending on the circuit design and component choices. My experience has been that solid state needs MORE time than tube gear to warm up and sound their best. I've found that solid state amps need 24-72 hours to sound near their peak. (some people say they need more time) Given more time, the sound improves slightly. Initially solid state can sound somewhat strident/sterile with a slightly elevated noise floor and less of a three deminsional soundstage. This statement is NOT a blast against solid state! This is in comparison to the sound improvement after a lengthy warm up. After a few days the soundstage has opened wide and deep, bass becomes tighter and rounded/realistic and nuances in the performance emerge, probably due to the lower noise floor. Solid state also benefits in that it's not subject to the extremes of thermal stress that tubes are proned to. Bottom line for me was to leave them on unless I wasn't going to be listening for a week or more. Tube gear experiences much of the same phenomina but I've found that after 24 hours there doesn't appear to be any additional benefit - They are at their peak performance, with all of the proper warm up benefits as mentioned above. Tubes are sensitve to thermal shock and will degrade, and fail, over time due to thermal stress. You have trade offs to contend with. Once a tube is put into service, it starts a gradual degredation. The heaters have a given lifetime that they will boil off electrons. This will generally be the arbitor for the tubes life span. You can get many thousands of hours of service life from a tube depending on how the designer is operating the tube in the circuit. Additionally, you have a number of internal connections to grids plates etc that can weaken with constant on/off cycles due thermal stresses. The connections can become brittle and weak and break, causing open circuits, and worst of all shorts within the tube. Some designers allow you to disconnect the plate voltage on output tubes, essentially cutting the tube off, allowing you keep the heaters and power supplies at optimum temperature while not wearing the tube out. With tube power amps (without the ability to turn off plate voltages, I let them warm up for a day before a big/critical listening session. Here's the big tradeoff - Tube life vs. instant peak performance. If the amps allow plate voltage to be turned off, I run them as I would solid state. With tube pre amps, I leave them on as I would ss. The tubes are cheaper than expensive power tubes and I feel the lower noise floor of a properly warmed pre amp is critical to serious listening. I hope this helps. BIG DISCLAIMER: This is an area that has many different opinions. This is just what my ears tell me with the equipment that I'm familiar with. The bottom line is for you to try different scenarios to see what works best with your equipment and what trade offs your willing to make. Happy listening and don't stress over it too much.

NICE! It's always great to be reminded that not only was PWK a great business man, he was a real Gentleman! I hope his school lasts as long as his spekaers - TIMELESS.

Great looking speaks! They remind me of AR LST's. Same shape I think - its been a while since I've seen a pair but the grill cloth looks like Acoustic Research to me.

coytee, I think that maybe you have been spoiled! You've certainly had some very high resolution gear with your amps and of course the LS's. That's probably one of the reasons you don't hear mind blowing improvements. (what you say?) While Klipsch has their own sonic signature, they resolve what's fed them with brutal honesty. In my experience, this has meant that with each improvement, additional system shortcomings are revealed. The higher the system resolution, the more you hear, both good and bad! This leaves the quest always wanting something more. Man, but what a great quest it's been! P.S. If you ever think your system isn't quite there, go listen to a non Klipsch based system. That's a mind blowing reality check! You'll come away knowing that your system does provide that "explosion of quality sound". Hope your new room will knock your socks off!! The quest continues.....

Sucks at marketing? Al, we need a cool logo. With ALK networks and Trachorns, I don't feel quite confortable putting just the Klipsch logo on my Trachorned top bins. We really need a cool logo for the the top grills to properly disclose that these sysytems are of hybrid manufacture.[] Marketing? When I see a chevron, I don't think of Chevrolet, I think Klipsch. Now Al, that's marketing. Let's get some brand recognition going here. And Al, the pix of the bewildered Eagle on your home page DOES NOT qualify as a logo![]

Awesome. I don't know how you're sleeping knowing those La Scalas are under the tree (uh, I mean, in the car). Can't wait to hear how they sound! Oviously, your a man of good taste. I love your guitar. My 714ce is as prized as my Khorns.

Flirt with the high end? I worked for a high end audio dealer that carried high priced "amp and speaker of the month" equipment.(maggies, Wilson Audio, B&w, Martin Login etc.) I was never pleased with the sound of any of these. My stock '89 khorns sounded more like a real performance. When single ended amps were coming back in style, the owner and two other sales people came to my house to audition an SET 300b amp we were considering carrying. The store didn't have speakers with the efficiency for a measley 12 watts. I had been scoffed and laughed at while I worked there with the usual comments: "Klipsch? You like honk in your music blah, blah, blah". Klipsch were not taken seriously. Needless to say, they were blown away. What was supposed to be a quick visit turned into an 8 hour music fest and I had to tape their jaws shut so they could get into their cars. The amps didn't make it to the showroom and they didn't pick up Klipsch. The high $$$$ manufacturers always update their (perfect sounding?) lines that feeds more sales. BTW, with Trachorns and ALK networks, I'm getting equal resolution and imaging WITH the authority and dynamics that Klipsch delivers. Closest thing to the real thing tnat I have heard! Congratulations on your LA Scalas. Get some nice amps and forget about the high end - your there. Edit: Make those amps "no names" You'll probably be happier with the sound and since nobody will know the brand names, you'll be perceived as "Real Serious"!

Feedback should be left to the live/recording event. It's the only hope of reasonably, and with any accuracy, capturing the live event. Unless you just want the added distortions - which may be valid since music reproduction is a personal preference thing. btw, I would never go thumping my turnatabe. They're too darn expensive and delicate! (I know your just making a point . In fact lp users go to great pains to isolate their turntable systems, ie. seprate rooms, isolation stands, various record mats etc. to block the very thing that your friend is trying to add. I only reiterate this because it completely baffles me that someone would want to purposfully add distortions into the the playback system. Additionally, we fight "live feedback" all the time in our listening rooms with the hope that we can reproduce the live acoustics of the recording venue as it was at the time of recording. As you can see, the concept just baffles me. Sorry, I don't think I get it. Being over 50 causes you to get set in your ways. Just be glad I'm not in charge - Man that would be a scary thing! Edit: I think it's cool what your friend is doing. Mind excercises are good for the soul and, heck, he might just hit a home run! Even if I don't get it, I applaud his inquisitiveness.

Bigger, Bob Carver tried to do just the opposite. Back in the seventies I bought one of his pop and click/companders. It was adverised for lp playback and reducing recorded noise floor. In retrospect, he was trying to achieve what cd promised. It just seems that we're never happy with the way things are! BTW, it sucked.

I lost my cookies and cleared my bowels. I feel better about the whole dang thing! P.S. I didn't clear my cookies and haven't had a glitch.

Rambling reply - be forwarned. I guess I'm confused. What happened to "perfect sound forever"? It astounds me that someone would actively pursue trying to add to cd one of the banes of lp playback. I know I work very hard at tyring to reduce mechanical and airborn feedback in lp play. Every success in this regard improves the sound. One of the things I like about lp's is there seems to be much more information stored in the grooves of a record than imprinted on a cd. ( this may not be true, but at least with lp's I can get to it) Most of this additional info is low level detail that can add to better soundstaging, timbral accuracy and improve dynamic shadings etc, etc. Any form of resonance, whether caused by airborn sources, platter/arm/cartridge, or other mechanical feedback issues, erodes the retrival of this low level info resulting in gross innacuracies at worst and limiting my choices in tailoring lp sound at best. This last aspect is one of the things that I love about lp's. You have the ability to, as Burger King says, " Have it your way." Hey, it's a tweekers delight!!!! Now in all seriousness, I would think the effect would get old after a while because it can't be controlled (or colored[]to taste?) It does bother me that you say when you tap on the cd player you hear a "loud thump". Doesn't sound like a good thing! Bottom line - I think I would put my money in a better cd player. Interesting concept though. With 25 years working in television and audio recording studios, I have never heard reproduction sound like a live event. Even when listening to master tapes, it's always contrived. The recording is only as good as the engineer and the technology at hand. With the engineer, it's his/her way. With technology, well it doesn't exist to faithfully capture the aura of a live event. So why bother with all this stuff? Because the recording to playback process is an art unto itself. AND, it's a different experience. Whether live or recorded, music can elicit our full range of emotions. THAT"S ART. I've blathered on so much, I have changed my initial reaction to your post. If it paints the picture you like - go for it! Edit: I'm waiting for Duke Spinner to post a "Get the flamethrowers out" message. Ya gotta love Dukes avatar - it fits his posts so well!

Yes but a good butcher knows how to cut a mean steak!!!!! Ya gotta love it baby!