russ69

Multiple speakers are not the ideal set-up. You are much better off with a single pair of better quality speakers than 2 pair of lessor speakers.

Just a little off topic but I got most of the new remixed CDs for Christmas. They did a good job. The new DSOM has to be the best copy in my collection. WISH YOU WERE HERE was also great.

Jacksonbart is on the right track. I keep my systems as clean as possible and the signal path as short as possible. I have used some really good equalizers but if your system is really up to snuff, the simple addition of more stuff in the signal path does not improve anything. I think, for me, an equalizer would be a last resort, proposition.

The minis are best with the EL-34 tubes, at least mine are. Yeah it's time for more power. The good news is a tube amp with around 60 watts should be enough, lots of choices in that power range.

I don't think the Emotiva amps are the quietest amps on the market and the RF-7s are not making the situation any better. You have to be very careful when mating high gain amps to high-efficiency speakers. If the problem is solely with the amp, you are cooked but if it's due to the pre-amp raising the noise floor an attenuator will work.

You are buying a good analog amp when you are buying a good player. The difference between a 69 dollar player and a 3000 buck player is easily heard if your system is resolving. .

It's never a waste of money, if you are buying hi-fi gear. Perhaps not in the best buy segment but all money spent on hi-fi is money well spent, says I.

I don't think I can help but fans are a no-go in my listening room, just too loud, they ruin the music, although, it was never a problem until digital music came out. Anyway, a 700 dollar budget is really tough. You are saying you want Ferrari performance but you have Yugo budget. 300 quality watts is up there with the big boys. I don't have anything to recommend in that budget/power range. P.S. Be careful with your hearing...

Stay with one of the big players. Cary, CJ, Audio Research, Naim, Manley, Lamm, etc. What kind of sound are you looking for?

I don't know where you go to eat but that must be one really nice place. My last amp was 2500 bucks. Does dinner include wine?

It's not a headroom question (although for some it is). What we are saying is that big amps improve your system even at low volumes. You'll have to try one to see.

Big amps add power and weight to your system, even at low volumes. That's the attraction. Plus the big amps are usually the flagships of the manufacturers and they do a good job making sure they are really good. My advice is to buy or try one, play with it for a year or so, then you can decide if it works to your liking. I have amps from 22 watts, 40 watts and a big 250 watt bruiser. I wouldn't sell any of them.

You certainly can achieve much better sound with better amps and a good pre-amp. Multi-channel is hard to do with tube gear. With 5 or 7 channels, that's a lot of amps, a lot of heat and it takes a lot of space. If it was me I'd get a good 5 channel amp like a Parasound A51, then save up for a better pre-amp. On the other hand seven tube mono blocks would be really cool (or really hot).

Try a little tuner spray on the volume knob.

I set my Dad up with some nice Moth Audio speakers and a tube integrated. Not quite up to the level of a set of Klipschorns but he's 3500 miles away so they had to be ship-able. Anyway, if I knew he would wake me up every morning blasting the things, I would have let him keep his Bose table radio, lol.

Will they sound their best in a small space, no. Will they sound great, yes.

I think Dale is on an extended "time out".

I think they come in a set...

Here's some info from Upscale Audio: You can add an amp with less power and have the idle noise go up. Why? This type of noise can be caused by a few different factors. One is the amount of gain in the preamp. Look at the specs. For instance, the PrimaLuna ProLogue Three has only 11.5dB of gain. Other preamps like the Audible Illusions Modulus 3A can have up to 30dB of gain... some have even more. So when does this come into play? When you pick your power amp, the specification we look at there is input sensitivity. Some amps require only 0.8 volts to bring them to their full power. Others may require 2, 3, or even 4 volts to reach full volume. So the 0.8 volt model is more sensitive and takes less to get it going. Depending on the gain in your preamp this could mean less movement on the volume knob. When could this be a problem? Usually if you are in a teeny room and sit close to the speaker, or if you have high sensitivity speakers. Using the same amp and preamp, and the volume set to the same spot, an 89dB efficient speaker will require more gain than a speaker rated at 101dB. And with the volume all the way down, the 101dB speaker will typically have more idle hiss. The dealer you buy your gear from should keep you on the sunny side of the street. So you hear hiss when you put your ear up to the tweeter? Then dont do that! The best way to tell the salesman "I don't know anything" is by putting your ear to a tweeter in a store and then complain that the gear is noisy. If you hear a noise, how loud is the volume? The important thing is that the music signal far overrides the noise. So relax. All equipment makes some noise. Buy your gear from a dealer that will make sure nothing is wrong, but that dealer better have understanding of the questions. I know of one dealer who told a customer the noise was because of an impedance mismatch between the preamp and amp. And that they were supposed to be equal. Say whaaaaaaaat? Tell him to go back and go to school. In fact spank him for me. Remember... #1: Noise has nothing to do with impedance. #2: The impedance between components is a separate topic, and they are not supposed to "match". Well cover that as another topic. Please note: Idle hiss is a question of gain and sensitivity. Not one of power. Think of it like a sports car. Gain and sensitivity is how touchy the gas pedal is on the car, power is how much horsepower the car has. If one of the components is tubed, you can see if the tube is bad and perhaps make it quieter. But a noisy tube sounds very different from idle hiss, and you typically won't get a noisy tube in both channels at the same time. Another thing you can try if your preamp has a ton of gain, or your amp has a very low input sensitivity is a small in-line device that attenuates the input to your power amp. They can be very helpful. Heres a link to a good one: http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/attenuators.html

True, but with no spec below 20 hz and a 95db signal to noise ratio, it would not be something I would look at.

Click on KLIPSCH at the top of this page, then click CONTACT US.

I don't think any tri-path amp would drop my jaw, just saying.

My local county fair has a set-up near this size, you don't want to be in the first 30 rows, it literally makes me sick.

The sudden stop when it hit the floor. The falling through space thing isn't that hard on them. Seriously, hard to tell, give customer service a call.

Don't use them. I move my chair.