esl_57

Now that the summer is over I started back into working on the room.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> The corner speakers are completed but not yet loaded or wired. The following pictures show the cabinets with only 2 coats of stain and no clear coat. The colour is much deeper now. Apparently the 5.1 standard calls for the surround speakers to be to the listeners immediate left and right or just a tad back of that. Has anyone tried them in the rear corners with the seats in about the centre of the room as I have chosen to do? Any issues? Thanks in advance.

Audiophiles refer to it as low level detail. Now when you start to hear the size of the room the singer is inhaling in, the space around each instrument and are able to point to each instrument, then your there. Run now dude!!! Dont let it seduce you. :-) I agree with the fellow that suggested the vintage integrated and receivers (in proper working order only). My Fisher 500B is surprisingly good with my Klipschorns.

Speakerfritzs experiences match my own but I suggest you treat the led-pipe lookin bash as follows. Wet a rag with water. Wring most of it out so you dont leave a puddle on anything you touch with it. Lay a corner of the rag down on the depression in the wood and then touch the rag with a hot clothes iron. Ironing out the depression in the wood my sound silly but it really works.

This is gonna hit you from way out in left field Jesse. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> For about $500 you can get a Fisher 500b, (or the C) in proper working order, with excellent cosmetics. It is EXTREEMLY musical, has a dynamite FM section and appreciates in value as time passes. If youre an electronics guy you can get a fixer-upper for a lot less. I got mine last week, hooked it up to the khorns and havent been able to peel myself away! The khorns are new to me as well and this is the first time Ive heard music come out of them. Bill puts on his flame proof suit before saying; I still think my Quad 57s are better :-)

Im not familiar with that unit but one thing did occur to me. Check the bias on the out put tubes. The high voltage supplies on this vintage stuff is so mushy that you can get a higher voltage if you try and run the unit with no out put tubes installed or even if they are biased to the lean side. ***Watch the voltage rating on the main filter cap!!!*** This is very noticeable on a Dynaco st70.

... nuf said. :-)

Prior to acquiring a pair of Klipschorns, and joining this forum for support on them, I too started a home theatre project. My choice was steel stud, 16 centers and ½ drywall. Every sheet of drywall was glued to the stud with PL200 before screwing it down and the cavities (spaces between studs) are packed with Rocksol insulation. The PL200 panel adhesive makes for a very rigid wall and the insulation adds mass which makes the wall more difficult to excite. The room is not completed but I did test it with a 15 bass cabinet and signal generator. Its solid. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I have most of the taping done, the picture I attached is weeks old.

>I think we would all agree that your present goal is to get the speakers back close to how they originally sounded so you can have a good baseline.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> A chassis off (so to speak) restoration is what I have in mind Dean, Structural, electrical and cosmetic but I have too many things on the go right now to start into it. I want to finish the home theatre and the driveway before taking on a new and project. Thanks for filling in with the visual Bob. Bill

>Type A. Same as the schematic above -- but only a single 2uF capacitor for the tweeter. The Type AA is better suited for higher volumes, and at the volume levels I think you typically listen at -- the Type A is much more engaging.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Going 12 db / octave on the tweeter, hmmm... the fallout from that would be greater overlap with the mid horn (that as you pointed out, does not have a low pass filter. It no doubt gets a little raggedy at the top) but the 180 deg. phase shift of the 2nd order filter has its conveniences. I see how that simple mod can open a whole can of worms. Now to try and make the mid / tweeter sum flat your obliged to add a proper band pass to the mid and because you went to all the trouble of doing that you might as well investigate the low pass component to the woofer! Im not sure I want to go in that direction not before doing the cabinet restoration anywayJ. >I think they call them "Fastcaps" because of how fast people grab their soldering irons to get them out after they put them in. The nice thing about the low part count is that one can go with some better caps and the project still be considered affordable. However, the Solens are much better than what you have in there now -- those caps are shot. (Laugh) its true, the Fast Caps are a little dark sounding but the speaker is a bit too forward for my tastes. They are also not very conservative in their voltage ratings, when they claim 250-volt DC max, they arent kidding. This is all great information folks, please continue to express your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Bill

Wow, there is maybe $10 CDN worth of Solen Fast Caps. Thanks Bob.

>Hey cool, another McKennitt fan. Welcome to the forum.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Ya Mike, great pipes on that one. I get goose bumps when she cuts loose, the Quads do an amazing job with the human voice. My neighbor turned me on to The Holly Cole Trio the other day, NICE! recordings. >The khorns do need to be sealed into the corners for the best bass response - some >people go as far as installing pipe foam insulation tubing stuff to account for the slight >bends in the wall. I saw the application of that on the filter site that Bruce mentioned, I'll get some from the Depot on Saturday. >Good parts is good parts. Cost and fanciness is not part of the equation. I'm with you Bob, some of the networks that the fellow displayed on that filter site mentioned above, sported LITZ wire coils! I have no need for "Shaman Tested" electronic components, the "appropriately" engineered ones are good by me and if I'm interpreting Dean's response to your statement correctly, I too thing a clean layout is important. >You might try wiggling the connection posts one each of the drivers in your speaker. I >had a bad tweeter in one of my Belles years ago that cut in and out as I moved the >terminal. At the time I was afraid to open it up. These days I would just fix it. Back then I >exchanged it back to Klipsch. That was part of the driver verification step in my initial troubleshooting Al. The symptom has not reappeared so the problem was either the one and only solder joint that I touched or there is a flaky capacitor in the high pass section that needed to be used. The speakers have been sounding smoother with use. (Still no competition for the Quads Tom :-)

>Hey cool, another McKennitt fan. Welcome to the forum.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Ya Mike, great pipes on that one. I get goose bumps when she cuts loose, the Quads do an amazing job with the human voice. My neighbor turned me on to The Holly Cole Trio the other day, NICE! recordings. >The khorns do need to be sealed into the corners for the best bass response - some >people go as far as installing pipe foam insulation tubing stuff to account for the slight >bends in the wall. I saw the application of that on the filter site that Bruce mentioned, I'll get some from the Depot on Saturday. >Good parts is good parts. Cost and fanciness is not part of the equation. I'm with you Bob, some of the networks that the fellow displayed on that filter site mentioned above, sported LITZ wire coils! I have no need for "Shaman Tested" electronic components, the "appropriately" engineered ones are good by me and if I'm interpreting Dean's response to your 2nd statement correctly, I too think a clean layout is important. >You might try wiggling the connection posts one each of the drivers in your speaker. I >had a bad tweeter in one of my Belles years ago that cut in and out as I moved the >terminal. At the time I was afraid to open it up. These days I would just fix it. Back then I >exchanged it back to Klipsch. That was part of the driver verification step in my initial troubleshooting Al. The symptom has not reappeared so the problem was either the one and only solder joint that I touched or there is a flaky capacitor in the high pass section that needed to be used. The speakers have been sounding smoother with use. (Still no competition for the Quads Tom :-) Can anyone provide me with the x-over drawing for my network? it says "AA" on it. Thanks!

The speakers have to be re-veneered Bruce and Im torn between a strict restoration and benign modifications. Things like changing to a cherry wood veneer and completely new x-over. Speaking of x-over, does anyone have a drawing? Its not so complex that I cant draw it out but the stenciling is no longer legible on the capacitors and Im too lazy to drop the inductors into a tank circuit to determine their value.J The idea of re-manufacturing the original x-over with modern parts is attractive but replacing the original inductors with a quality air core coil will create a variable (the series resistance will be different (likely higher) than the original. Maybe I should replace the capacitors and just rewire the rest. Anyone ever removed the diodes in the tweeter circuit? They cant possible sound good. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I dont expect the horns to sound better than the electrostatics <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Gary, just different. A Putter is not better then a 9 Iron nor is my 300 mm f2.8 better than my 35 mm f1.4. You have to choose the right tool for the job. My musical tastes are so varied that no one speaker will satisfy me, the horns will (hopefully) cover my ZZ Top like cravings while the Quads cover the Loreena McKennitt end. What I had read previously prepared me for the attenuation that would take place when I moved that lead over Bob. I didnt suspect a faulty inductor, the horn seems hot to me (likely due to the recessed bass) and I was wondering if pulling the horn back would help. Seems to me it just created a second imbalance so I just put it back. But the original symptom has not returned J Are these horns ok sitting on a carpet or are they better off on the bare hardwood? Thanks again folks! Bill