russ69

Those are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Thanx, Russ

Go get 'em! Thanx, Russ

Art of Noise is easy, only 3 are really good IMHO they have a best of CD, one with "close to the edge" on it (I can't think of the album name) and the Ambeint Collection, the rest are not as good (I have most of them), you could get these used on Amazon pretty cheap. Thanx, Russ

I haven't heard this one but it's a stout little unit, Onkyo A-9555. The Bose guys demo the 901's with these, with a Klipsch speaker this should blow you out of the room. Thanx, Russ

Delmar Tom. PM sent.

Mine blew when I plugged it in (it thought it saw a power surge) and that was the end of it, it's not repairable. It was replaced by Monster with a new one that I instantly sold on e-bay. Thanx, Russ

DTLongo, said:"So, I am in the market early next year for a new multichannel receiver that will do justice to both the Khorns and Belle. Cost hopefully not to exceed $1,000." I'm not sure $1000 will do Khorns justice, maybe $10,000! It's time to think about seperates, you have the loudspeakers already. Thanx, Russ P.S. Where on the eastern shore are you? I miss my home state badly during crab season. The best I can do out here (Cali-forn-ya) is a can of Phillips crab meat and grandma's recipe cakes!

Wuzzer, Condolances not needed. I've worked hard to get my system(s) sounding the way I like it. I don't have the budget for $5000 speaker cables but I have tried a pair. Audiophile cables all have their own individual sonic characteristics, some more than others. Even cheap-*** wire has it's own sound. Bottom line is that if zip cord sounds good to you, that's what you should use but I don't consider my system finished until I make the final tune with cable changes. My klipsch speakers (modest RF-25's) have responded well to cable tuning. Horns can be sharp and I like mine eased off a bit but still have a full and clear top end, the cable changes got me there. My budget is not unlimited but I have spent a modest amount for a significant improvement. It's well worth the money and that's why I often recommend it. For me wire is too important to put in the wall, it's too hard to change. Thanx, Russ

I'll be out voted here but my speaker wire costs more than your whole system! (Not really but more than the Quintets!) I can't help. Thanx, Russ

Good players do sound better, no question. Most 200 buck players do sound similar. I don't know about $5000 players but you do get diminishing returns at some point. From where I sit, the steps are $200, $600 and $1500 after that I have no clue. It's not all hype, the market for real hi-end gear exists because they are worth the extra bucks (perhaps not to us but for people buying in that price range). Thanx, Russ

Man that looks great. Where did you buy it? Details? Oh, by the way, it looks like it might block the TV just a tad.......... Thanx, Russ

I'd be fine with a single pair of wires to the rear. If there is a sonic difference with bi-wire-ing, it's very, very small (unless you are over 100 feet and running small gauge wire). Thanx, Russ

Not a dumb question at all and you might get a bunch of different answers. It's much safer not to mix. For critical listening the fronts should be of the best quality you can afford. I'm sure somebody will chime in and and say otherwise. Thanx, Russ

Chuck, It sounds like you are close to the sound you wanted. I was going to mention that I had good luck with AQ type 4 speaker wire (solid copper, not too much dough). That brought out more mid-range, took out some brittleness and made the system more dynamic. It's not a small tweek, well worth the bucks, if you want to push in that direction. Thanx, Russ P.S. Really nice set-up you have there.

You can build a quality amp of any power rating. You can also build crap. The ears win this debate. Thanx, Russ

Ditto, go with sub-out. Thanx, Russ

Reference is the higher quality line, Synergy more mass market. I can't help with your selection, I don't shop in this segment that much. I much prefer a quality 2 channel setup but much like buggy whips, I'm out dated, I guess. At least I'm not stuck on mono.......... Thanx, Russ

Mr. Norm, You said;"I didn't realize that I'd need a remedial science class to set-up my stereo". That is the problem, you don't have a stereo anymore. Check out the 2 channel forum (It's the forum for those of us that are multi-channel challenged). I'm a dedicated 2 channel guy, I'll be damned, if I'm buying 7 channels of expensive gear, I can't afford the 2 channels of the stuff I have! Hope you got your answer. Thanx, Russ

Tarheel, I don't have horn mono's but I do have mini-monos. I upgraded at Mike's suggestion to Tesla EL-34's. The amps sound very, very nice this way. I bought a set of KT-88's from Mike. The KT-88's have a bit more bass and are a tad leaner if you needed to tweak in that direction. The set I bought from Mike (Quicksilver) and used for one hour are on e-bay right now, look under circleowl (my wife's ebay account). Anyway, I'm sure the 'Scala clones sound very nice with your set-up. Thanx, Russ P.S. What are you using for speaker wire and interconnects, I've helped my system quite a bit with a little fine tuning.

Give it a try, it can't hurt (unless you short the outputs). If that doesn't do the trick, you might want to think about getting a big seperate amp. You can use your Onkyo as a pre-amp. Thanx, Russ

Axle, You can run two amps but in this case I don't think you would gain that much. Doubling your power will only give you 3db, not that much. Real improvements from a bi-amp set up is having an amp that's really good for the mids and another that's good for the bass. I checked out your amp and it cannot be bridged into a mono amp (the best way to use two identical amps) so you are not gaining that much. From what you say (you want more bass), I'd buy a real powerhouse amp. A quality, 200+ watt a channel one (one that takes two guys to lift!) or I'd get a sub. Thanx, Russ

Inside a Turkey! Thanx, Russ

Lorcoll, I hope it's not true but I'm pretty sure you were scammed. The only minor clue is that there was no personal item descripton. It looks like a fancy advertisement but nothing about that particular item. When I see that, I'm thinking the seller doesn't say because he doesn't know about the item. Plus it's a pair but only has one shown, that's not right. It was a very good con, I can see how you were taken in. Forget the lawyer, the money is long gone and my guess it's not in the States, it's in Africa or one of the other countries that turns a blind eye to this kind of thing. If the bank can't reverse the charge, it's over. Never use a wire transfer use a credit card or credit card through pay pal. Item in hand with cash is OK and the safest. Sorry, that's a lot of money to loose. Thanx, Russ

Guitar Gently Weeps for me also but I'm a big sucker for Ringo songs so Good Night is another top one for me. Thanx, Russ

I just bought a Tubehead pre-amp for my second system. I was looking for a cheap a$$ tube pre-amp and at 265 bucks (new) this simple unit looked like it might do what I was looking for. I was looking to take the peaks off of the horns in my RF-25's. Anyway, it's not too bad. The bass is full but solid and the top just a tad rolled off. I had to swap some cables around to get it just right but it is pretty sweet for the price. It's not dead quiet, you can hear a little rush if you stick your ear near the speaker but I can't hear it from my chair. My refrigerator is louder, by far. It's not something for everybody, it only has two inputs and is the size of about four packs of cigarettes. Here's the link: http://www.audiophileproducts.com/tubehead Thanx, Russ UPDATE: I talked to the manufacturer and he said the pre-amp should be dead quiet and to send it back. Well, I was talking to my brother on the phone and he suggested I just flip the two prong plug. Son of a gun, that did it! The thing IS dead quiet and sounds great. So for those guys that want a cheap fix to harsh horn sound and want to add some tube sweeties, jump on one of these.