Edgar

It used to be that one could build things more cheaply than buying them. Modern economies of scale have pretty much ended that. For example, I'm currently building a set of speakers that roughly compare to the Klipsch Chorus, in terms of components. Because I have to purchase them at retail prices, the cost of components is a significant fraction the price of the Chorus itself. In other words, I'm not really saving much by building them myself. However, what I end up with is mine, both in design and in execution.

It just shows that something can measure poorly but still sound pleasing. I used "pleasing" intentionally, to emphasize subjectivity. @The Dude, ASR is Audio Science Review.

Years ago dBpoweramp was king. I don't know if it's been superseded, but even if so, it's still excellent. https://dbpoweramp.com

I'm sorry, @Travis In Austin. I should have added a sarcasm emoji -- it is a severe limitation of written correspondence that "tone" is difficult to convey. To summarize: Theory and mathematics can be misused to prove just about anything. For a little 2" section of wire connecting between an amplifier and a voice coil, one really cannot do anything that seriously affects the signal unless they are trying really hard to do so.

@Travis In Austin, that "loop" comment was made with tongue in cheek. For such a tiny portion of the signal path, there isn't much short of replacing the jumper with a resistor (or a capacitor or an inductor) that will make any significant difference.

https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/ele/d/boonville-vintage-klipsch-chorus/7755797221.html No Affiliation.

Yes, I saw that https://paducahhometheater.com/products/klipsch-ki-396-sma-ii. And I need four of them.

OK thanks. I don't get into St Louis County very often; Kirkwood is actually a pretty long drive. If you find a buyer then don't wait for an answer from me. I've just started thinking about this and haven't made any firm decisions, yet -- still looking for candidates and checking my piggy bank. GLWS

@MookieStl, approximately where in StL are you located?

Yes, thanks, I though about painting. But it seems like such a terrible thing to do to such a nice piece of equipment.

I'm in the market for some new speakers. Can't afford Cornwall IV, so I'm wondering how KI-396 compares for sound quality. @MookieStl, yours are local and tempting, but I'd want them in white. Thanks, Greg

That is why the ears should always be the final arbiters.

<.002% THD at 200 Watts 8 Ohms.

OK, I just skimmed the entire thread, and did not see the following mentioned anywhere: Look at Figure 8 here. This is a typical distortion characteristic for a class AB amplifier. This happens to be a brute, an Adcom GFA-565, but lower-power class AB amplifiers distort in much the same way -- their distortion curves will just be "slid", in entirety, toward the left side of the graph. The important point is that the distortion at very low power (left end of the graph) is almost 20 dB higher than it is just before clipping (right end of the graph, just before the point where the curves suddenly shoot upward vertically). So if you're connecting your 99 dB sensitive speakers to this amplifier, and it's spending all of its time below 1 Watt, you're experiencing about 20 dB more harmonic distortion than if you used a low-power amplifier with just enough headroom to handle transients. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Unfortunately, that even applies to too much power.

Don & Kathy's House of Music, Saint Louis, MO, around 1977. Klipschorns. Fleetwood Mac, "The Chain". The kick drum in the opening gut-punched me like I'd never experienced before. Later, during the bass riff toward the end, I could almost see the bass notes rippling through the room. Very impressive to an 18-year-old (at the time).