George Roland

I find that putting things in left top to right bottom in alphabetical order works best for me. I used to have classical, and everything else in two separate groupings (that genre thing you were talking about) but now I use the composer's, or performer's last name or the first word in the group name (The Rolling Stones goes under "R") in alphabetical order makes sense. Interesting thing to consider! George

I have been very pleased with my Jolida JD100 CD player. It is a tube-based design with a detailed presentation, and it is one of the best-sounding CD players I have heard with high efficiency speakers. Good luck, George Roland

Five weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Altec Lansing Model 19s. At that time, I wrote a "Did I shoot myself in the foot?" message to which many Forum members responded, most of whom felt the price I had paid for these was reasonable since the cabinets were in pretty good shape and all the internal components were original, not swapped out "customized" fillings, etc. I appreciated those e-Mails a lot, so, Thanks guys! For the last five weeks, I have been listening to the Model 19s and my Quad ESL-63s, moving them around in my living room and auditioning many familiar CDs and LPs with them. I venture to share these few preliminary impressions. I know this pair of speakers may seem to be an "odd couple" to be discussing since they are so different in structure and design, particularly on a Klipsch Forum, but I know many of you have several different types of speakers or just may be interested in one person's evaluations. I called these "preliminary" reactions because I have been fooled often by immediate reactions to something new to my listening room and am cautious until I have really lived with a component for a good amount of time. I suppose these comments are pretty much what you'd expect, but, be that as it may, here goes.... First the Model 19s are HUGE, not only in size but sound. The sound stage they project is vast, when appropriate, but they are fine, too, with small ensembles. A Mahler symphony on these guys is a sonic and physical experience. Since hard, honky constricted sound from horns is always hard for me to take, I was naturally concerned that the Model 19s would annoy with these characteristics. Happily, so far, I have found very little of those annoyances forthcoming. There is sometimes a little hardness in massed, high-frequency violin passages, but far less, and far less annoying, than I was expecting. The sound is extremely detailed and dynamic. So far, I am surprised to be so pleased with them! Ultimate sound pressure levels and bass are prodigious and detailed. It is hard to compare the Model 19s to the Quads. I think this is so because the efficiencies of the two speakers are so different, and, if levels are not pretty close, there is a tendency to hear "more detail" in the speaker that is playing loudest. The Quads have a softer smoother sound, a more mid-hall perspective on the sound. The Altecs are harder and/or clearer, if you like, more like what you'd probably hear from the first row or on the podium. The Altecs are very detailed and revealing. I am hearing things on them that I hadn't noticed on the Quads. When I go back to the Quads, these things are often, but not always, audible. When they are audible, again, they seem more blended into the overall picture. I think the Quads have a slight edge in timbral accuracy on some instruments. I notice this most readily on woodwinds. Right now, I am not clear enough on which speaker I prefer to get rid of either pair. So I will continue listening and report again if things settle out more. Good listening! George Roland

I couldn't let this issue rest despite being tired, so I rechecked the speaker connections just now and resolved the problem of differing volume on the two speakers. I did something stupid when I hooked them up. Both speakers sound equal in volume now. I will report my impressions after I have had a chance to accommodate myself to the speakers, find a correct location for them and do some serious auditioning. These things are huge! Best, George Roland

I got my Altec Model 19s home this afternoon and sat down this evening for some serious listening. The speakers are very detailed and dynamic, but I shortly became aware that one speaker seemed to be playing considerably louder than the other. I seemed to be getting sound out of both drivers on both speakers. I am not going to panic (yet) about this because I have had this situation before when one speaker had a poorly connected cable or perhaps for some other reason. I am too tired to try any longer this evening to run down this problem's cause. I will try to run it down over the next day or two, but let me ask now that if it is the speakers themselves, that are at fault what is the most likely cause and how might I best go about trying to solving it?

I think you can use your old D4 fluid as long as it's not obviously moldy or something. I have a bottle I have used for years, and it still works great--cleans LPs of dust and they sound fine. Good listening! George Roland

Thanks for the responses! I have rented an Enterprise cargo van and will be picking up the 19s Wednesday afternoon. Should have them home and hooked up for an initial audition Wednesday night. I have just begun a bit of a woodworking hobby and thought repairing the broken veneer in the top of one cabinet might be a good project after I practice veneer repairs on some lesser pieces of furniture. Something else is broken on the pair--part of the grille frame I believe, that I should be able to fix readily. I was interested in the foam surrounds that were mentioned. I am supposing these dry-rotted and crumbled off long ago? Is there a source for replacements and what do they cost? Cheers, George Roland

Roger, They're still up on e-Bay's site here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ALTEC-LANSING-MODEL-19-STUDIO-2-WAY-MONITORS-SPEAKERS_W0QQitemZ350178832895QQihZ022QQcategoryZ50597QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem and there are pics. Take care, George Roland

God help me, I just bought another pair of huge horn speakers. I bought a pair of reasonably-decent condition Altec Model 19s for $1,500.00. Did I get ripped off? The only pair I have seen sold on e-Bay recently went for $1,300.00, were in better shape than "mine" but were only available in Texas--way too far to drive. Aaargh..what have I done?? George Roland

A SET is a tube amplifier. Single End Triode is what it stands for. A glossary is an interesting idea, or you can just ask! Best, George Roland

I like the 12 gauge stranded copper wire sold at The Home Depot for outdoor applications. It's about $0.75 a foot. You can get some spade lugs to attach to the ends of the wires at Radio Shack. If you have older Klipsches that have the screw-on terminal blocks, be sure your spades are narrow enough. I like Monster banana terminals, also from RS, for the amp end. This doesn't cost a mint and it doesn't look very sexy, but it sounds good. Good luck, George Roland

Jon, I have limited experience with tube gear, but I really love the ARC equipment. I have not heard any CJ, VTL or other highly-regarded contemporary tube equipment except McIntosh 275s which is what the seller of my Quads was using to demo them. Very nice sounding! One thing I liked about the Quads, is that they do not need huge amplifiers as the Maggies are reputed to require. Quads should do fine with 50 watts/ch and ARC makes some good power amps in that 50-60 watts/ch range. I powered my Maggies with the 100 watt/ch ARC VT-100 and they sounded fine. I believe I read somewhere that Magnepan demos their speakers with ARC electronics. That was an old post I read somewhere, may be no longer true (if it ever was!) My ARC SP-8 preamp was too high-gain for my K-Horns--it produced a lot of noise, so I wouldn't recommend it to you for your Cornwalls, Hence the acquisition of a Blueberry Xtreme as recommended by many on this forum. It sound great with the K-horns. With less efficient speakers than the Klipsches, the SP-8 sounds really fine--beautiful phono stage if you're into vinyl. A beauty just sold on e-Bay for $870.00--a "steal' as far as I'm concerned. Nice piece! I did own some vintage tube amps and preamps. All Dynaco stuff--PAS-2 preamp, ST-70s and Mark III power amps. The ARC stuff is so much clearer and more detailed, there's no contest, and ARC's service on their old equipment is fantastic. That means a lot to me as I am not educated to tinker with electronics! Enjoy your music! George

Hi there Mr. Deneen, Thanks for the kind words about my posting and for building such great electronics! I loved my Blueberry Xtreme! I am using an Audio Research SP-8 preamp and an Audio Research VT-100, 100 watts/ch, power amp with my Quads. I would agree that I am not a high volume listener, but I'd like to elaborate a bit about the question of volume. I can listen to the Quads at volumes that exceed those at which I normally listen with no problem. Certainly I am not listening at the "ear-bleeding" levels that some listeners expect, but I never listened to any speakers at those kinds of volumes--even the Klipsches. I hesitated to buy Quads for a very long time partly because they were reputed not to be able to play "loudly enough". I went to a dealer's and listened to a pair of the new large Quads, 2905s, and was pleasantly surprised at how loudly they would play. When the smaller ESL-63s (that I could actually afford!) came up on e-Bay, I was able to audition them at length at the seller's and was fully satisfied that they would meet, and even exceed, my volume needs. My room is 14 x 22 feet and the Quads are about 6-7 feet out in the room across the narrow width. I listen from 7-12 feet away typically, and I can play them at volumes that to me are uncomfortably loud. If I had a larger room or desired to play music louder than I do, I can understand that the Quads might be inadequate, but they suit me presently. I think the balance of factors is right. My room was probably too small to do the K-horns justice. I could not put them on the long wall and was unwilling to completely remodel the room to make that possible. Loudspeakers are fascinating devices. I have owned more pairs than I care to think about. I still look here and at e-Bay and Audiogon every single day to see what Klipsches are for sale. I am that haunted by what I did like about them. I bought and read Ken Kessler's book on Quad and find Peter J. Walker as interesting, cantankerous and genius-gifted as was Paul W. Klipsch. Enjoy your music, George Roland

My experiences with Klipsch speakers are very similar to yours. Back in the 70s, I bought a pair of Cornwalls-WOs--beautiful. I really liked their dynamics, the "big" sound, but I had the same reaction you did to the hardness of the sound and found them fatiguing to listen to. I tried upgrading my electronics (at great expense). That helped a little, but not enough. Eventually, I ended up selling them. I bought a pair of KEF 104aBs to replace them. One experience I will never forget was listening to a recording of classical music I had heard hundreds of times before. On the Cornwalls, in a particular passage, there were woodwinds playing. I could not tell what woodwinds they were, there was just this generalized woodwind sound. On the KEFS, the reproduction of the timbres of a clarinet and an oboe in this passage was dead on. It was absolutely clear which was which. The KEFS were not fatiguing to listen to and I enjoyed them for many years. I listen to opera a lot and operatic voices were the central thing that disappointed me with the Cornwalls. The voices sounded constricted, shrill and sometimes painful to hear. I never experienced this kind of sound in the opera house. More recently I purchased a pair of used K-horns. Although they are very different from Cornwalls, I found a similar coloration in vocal reproduction. With the K-horns, I went the whole nine yards--upgraded crossovers, Crites' tweeters, Altec mid horns and drivers, Trachorns, SET amps, Blueberry pre etc., etc. While may of these tweaks improved the sound, none removed entirely the colorations and fatigue. So, I sold them. I agree with the respondent who said you could improve or change things somewhat with these tweaks, but not entirely change the basic character of the speakers. I spent huge amounts of money trying to get the speakers to sound differently than, I am now pretty much convinced, is their nature. I absolutely love Paul Klipsch. I find him a fascinating character and an amazingly gifted engineer. I would love to be able to have his speakers, but I just wasn't able to take the sound of them. I finally bought a pair of used Quad ESL-63s for $1,800.00. I have had them about a year now. They are not fatiguing at all to listen to and have a timbral accuracy and clarity I find almost unnerving. They do not have that huge, dynamic sound you enjoy in home theatre applications and that I found thrilling in big orchestral passages on the Klipsches, but, at least for now, they're "doing it" for me. If you haven't heard planar speakers, you might try to listen to some. Magnepan MG 1.6QRs are pretty nice but not, in my experience, quite as transparent as the Quads. (I had both in my room and was able to A/B them as long as was needed to come to a fair assessment.) I use tube electronics now, which I much prefer to solid state. If I read your posting correctly your room is nearly square? I suspect the bass boom you're hearing is a room effect that may be helped by repositioning. If you have the caps you might go ahead and replace them in your crossovers. I doubt it would make your Cornwalls more harsh, or you can try a pair of Bob Crites' crossovers. He does great work! The putty on the horns tweak is so inexpensive why not try it. Couldn't hurt. Best of luck in your search for satisfying sound! Don't let anyone intimidate you. It is your money, your music and your pleasure that is at stake. I hope you find what you love. George Roland

Back in the 70s, when I owned a pair of walnut oil Cornwalls, Klipsch recommended Formby's Lemon Oil. It made my Cornwalls glow! The Old English oil should be fine. George

Congratulations on going through this process systematically. It's the right way to do it. If you Google "Shorting Plugs" you will find some descriptions of how to make a pair with some RCA plugs from Radio Shack. It's pretty simple if you can solder. Given your description, my guess is that the hiss is emanating from your preamp. This does not necessarily mean that your preamp is bad. It might just be a bad match for your Klipsches. I began with my K-Horns with an ARC SP-8 preamp. HUGE hiss. I contacted ARC about this and there tech guy said it was a bad component match as the SP-8 is a high-gain preamp. Anyway, I tried a little Dynaco PAS-2 preamp I have with Curcio mods. I had five tubes to swap out. One of the five was pretty much dead quiet. All the others produced varying amounts of hiss. These hisses had different timbres, etc. suffice it to say I used the quietest one. This was a huge improvement in hiss reduction. The Juicy Music Blueberry Xtreme is very detailed and quiet with my setup. Now I am listening to QUAD ESL-63s and my ARC SP-8 sounds wonderful with them. They are inefficient enough that there is no audible hiss. This experience, among others, made me a believer in the worth of compatibility issues with regard to all components. What kind of preamp are you running? George

I presently use 12 gauge stranded copper wire from The Home Depot. I think it costs about $0.60/foot. It sounds great to me. I have never tried any of the high-cost "audiophile" cables, yet I remain highly skeptical about whether they make any difference. I believe Peter Walker of Quad once remarked that the best speaker cables were those that reached from the amp to the speakers. []

I am certainly not an expert, but I have owned a lot of speakers, and I think the answer to your question may lie in the dispersion of sound into the listening room. I have owned several pairs of speakers, often at the same time, so that I could do a lot of A-B-ing over long periods of time, and I would say that in my experience, the more focused the sound propagation, the more "in your face" the sound may seem. My Cornwalls and Klipschorns had more of the "honky horn coloration" than did the direct radiators (Thiel CS 3.6, PSB Stratus Golds) and they had a bit more constricted, "boxy" sound than did the planars (Magnepan MG1.6QR, Quad ESL-63s). It's hard, and in some ways unfair, to generalize in this way because the room and speaker placement have such a tremendous influence on how any speaker sounds. The big Klipschs have a power, ease and dynamic punch that is immediate, and thrilling, but as many on this and other forums have noted, for some listeners, they can be a bit hard-sounding and overly-aggressive. George Roland

Is it possible to change a compression driver's impedance, say from 8 to 16 ohms? If so, what must be done to accomplish this? Many thanks, George

I had a pair of 1977 K-Horns and purchased Bob Crites's replacement crossovers with all new parts. This made a major improvement in sound quality and a "believer" out of me. George!

Just to fill you in on component names.... A preamplifier generally takes input from your sources--CD player, turntable, etc., and provides switching between the sources so you can select which you want to listen to. Pre-amps also provide control over balance, volume, older ones may have "tone" controls--treble and bass boost or cut, etc. They usually do not have speaker connectors and don't generate enough wattage to operate speakers. Older ones will likely have a "phono section" with inputs for a turntable. The other inputs (for CD players, tape players, etc.) are called "line-level" inputs. Thus, an L.S. or "line stage" preamp would not have turntable connections. The pre-amp sends its signal to a power amp that "drives" the speakers. Power amps generally have one pair of connectors that are connected to the preamp's outputs to receive its signals, and connections for a pair of speakers. A preamp and power amp together in one component is called an integrated amp. A receiver is basically an integrated amp with a radio AM-FM tuner added. There are also "A/V" receivers for home theatre that have video connections and support more than two speakers. An all-separates, two-channel stereo system might consist of these sources; CD player, turntable, tape player, tuner (for AM-FM radio), etc. connected to a preamp. The preamp is connected to a power amp that drives a pair of speakers. All separates are generally costlier than integrated amps or receivers, and allow the audio enthusiast more control over the individual features of each component in the system. They are generally considered more "high end" products though some integrated amps can be quite good at lower cost than separates. Hope this helps, George

I second Dee's recommendation of AL's Trachorns. You should check out Al's Web site. I tried to remedy the same issue you are concerned about on my K-Horns. I first tried replacing the K-400 with Altec 511Bs--a common tweak, and they sounded much better than the K-400 in my opinion-smoother, less honk and more detail. They will not fit in the K-horn top hat without some fiddling, but they are a good alternative to the K-400. Then I tried Al's Trachorn. This was an improvement over the Altec, but not by as much of a margin as the Altec was over the Klipsch horn. The Trachorn is a very well made wooden horn and it will fit inside the K-horn top hat. I found it to be the best sound I could get with the K-55V driver. George

I would recommend a Juicy Music preamp, a Jolida 100 tube CD player and a nice pair of Welborne SET amps. Sweet sounds will ensue. George

I thought Klipschorns were meant to stand on the floor in such a way that the floor was part of the horn. If that part is in free air at the top of your stack, wouldn't you need a cover in the top corner to replace the floor? Wouldn't be hard to do, I guess, just a sheet of plywood. George

Fascinating information about Mark Levinson's growing up with Klipschorns and developing amps with them in mind. Thanks! I agree about the Dynaco amps. I use an ARC VT-100 MK I with my ESL 63s, which is likely overkill at 100wpc, but I have it and like how it sounds. The 60 watts of a Dynaco Mk III would probably be great with ESL-63s. I auditioned them at the seller's house. He was using a McIntosh MC-275 tube amp...very fine sound indeed! I have owned Magnepan MG 1.6 QRs, and, for awhile, had them in my listening room with the Quads where I could compare them closely. In my space, the Maggies needed to be played fairly loudly to sound good--the Quads performed more cleanly and with greater detail at low listening levels. Also, I think the Quads were, ultimately, clearer and less colored. Maggies are very coherent, but not as transparent as Quads. They sound ever so slightly veiled by comparison. George