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Thanks for the input. Kinda what I was thinking also.

Hello all, I am currently running a 5.0 for home theater with Chorus IIs for mains. It sounds great but is missing the bottom end. I have used a velodyne sub in the past with good results but now am in a townhouse and want to keep good relations with the neighbors. I would like to fill in the bottom end and am considering some type of bass shakers installed on the seating vs. a sub. Opinions and Advice please!

Nice looking amp Bill, enjoy!

I have done some reading on the Emo forums and the geniric answer is the XPA-5 is not designed to be a 2 ch amp. The general opinion is that it is stated because of its 2 channel power out numbers. I forget the exact numbers but it pushes close to 300wpc in 2 ch operation and more than that at 4 ohm. There is a operational issue that the shared power supply has no problem with that but each of the 5 line cards are not speced for that power output and they could fry. Sounds reasonable. There can also be a sales issue that those specs are rather close to the XPA-2. Why not buy a amp that can run both woth similar numbers. That would cut their 2 ch sales. I do have the XPA-5 and have used it in 2 ch, ht, 4 ch - "fools bi-amping" while attenuating the highs. No issues, but I also don't rattle the neighbors walls!

Gentlemen, Thanks for the feedback. I do currently "fools bi-amp" my Chorus IIs from a 5 ch amp. I did this so that I could attenuate the highs 3db and rebalance? the speaker. I have felt that the lows did not keep up with the mids and highs at low to medium volume levels. I have been very pleased with the results. I was thinking about adding an external dac to my system and was looking at one that contains a tube. In emailing back and forth with troutboy and discussing tubes overall, he suggested possibly a tube preamp. While that sound interesting, I am music 80%, ht 20% and after some litght research, I did not come across anything tube processors for ht. That is why I was considering tubes for the highs. I believe that tubes for all may be fun to experiment with but have fiddled with the lows in the Chorus IIs for quite the while now and am reluctant to change that aspect of my system. As far as going to active bi-amping, I am not anti that idea but in posts that I have read earlier, some have retained their high/mid x-over(vs tri-amping?) and wired directly to the woofer. The x-over for the lows in the Chorus IIs is pretty simple with an inductor and cap, how much power is disapated there and how much is gained by eliminating it? Would a larger amp do the same thing? So my thought was to experience tubes on the top but wanted to avoid any balance issues between the highs and lows. The amp that I run is an Emotiva and has a gain of 32 which by what I understand is rather high. I currently am battling the issue of surround with a lower gain from the avr that drives them, but that is another saga! Again gentlemen, thanks for the feedback!

I am looking for a bit of an education as I am considering a change in my system. Who out there is running a tube for highs and SS for lows system? Are any of them using only the stock x-overs? Any issues with different amplifier gains? Thanks!

troutboy, I have zero experience with tubes. Can you try to explain to this novice the differences you experienced is sound by swapping the tube in the Grant Fidility? Thanks

Thanks for all of the comments and recomendations. Some are a little out of my budget but look cool none the less. I recently picked up the Oppo 93 and run the anologs to my avr. I can say that I am happy with movies on the bluray but am underwelmed with the 2 channel. I have not removed the old Marantz dvd player out of the system and thought I would experiment with an external dac. I currently run an Emotiva amp and have been very pleased with it so I would be comfortable with it. The Grant Fidelity does have a tube output and can also run ss out. I have never messed with tubes and am curious on what it may do for the sound. A little more reseach.......

I asked my children for the complimentary homemade card and big hugs. They came through for me! I picked up them from summer camp today and my son anounced that it was Father's Day week! Thank you Hallmark.

Hello all. I have been reseaching DACs for my system and have been looking at 2. One is the Grant Fidelity DAC-9 and the other is the Emotiva XDA-1. It will used on the digital out of an older Marantz dvd player for 2 ch listening. Does anyone have any experience with the above mentioned DACs or any other that are worth considering? As always, Thank you!

sosations, After your comment in the "Purchasing Heritage Direct" section were you state" I will make sure they lose business because of this." concerning the use of mdf, I am surprised that Klipsch will allow you to post at all. Negitive posts are one thing but attacking the company...... How do your HIII sound?

What Bill says makes sence about the rears not needing anything close to 200w/ch. I will say however that I run a XPA-5 using all 5 channels for the front and my reciever(Marantz at 125w/ch) for the surrounds. My surrounds do not keep up quite as well as I would like. I typically run them louder than normal but still feel it is not enough. One issue is my fronts are rated at 101 db and my surrounds are at 93 db. I run the fronts at 0 db and the surrounds at +10 db. The other factor is the gain on the amp is 32 db and I am not sure about the avr. I am in the process of experimentation with attenuators on the inputs to the amps. I would certainly give Emotiva a chance for bang for the buck!

Thanks psg

Thanks for the info Bill. Just about a month ago I streamlined my parts bin and said goodbye to maybe 10 sets of rca stereo patch cables. None of them fancy, just a little less is more simplicity in my life. In comes the Oppo and all I retained were the video cables. Of course they are all 6-12' and it would be nice to have 3' for cable managment. I will try what I have and hear the results and go from there. No need to boost the LFE as I am running 5.0. It seems that someone in north Fl is hoarding all of the subwoofers!!!

Thank you Don.

I have just recieved a new blu-ray player(Oppo 93) and am in the process of installation. My older Marantz reciever does not have any HDMI inputs so I am going to use the 5.1 anologs until a reciever upgrade comes along. As I am going through my stash of cables all I currently have for the hook up is component video cables(blue,green,red). Are these suitable at 75 ohms or should I be investing in standard audio patch cords? As always, thank you!

GL51 I have been following the "Golden Ear Audiophools" post with enjoyment. Is your fix for real? Hmmm...........

Gentlemen, Thank you for your feedback!

I have a set of Chorus IIs that are in need of a grill cleaning. I have gone over them with the portable dirt devil but a light discoloring remains. I would like to give them a light washing with something like Dawn dish soap but am looking for ideas form those that have done this before. Thanks

Thanks for the reply. I would have expected the side panels to resonate more than the tops due purely to size but the cabinet design would most likely have compensated for that. I had peaked at the Skylan stands as well as sound anchors but due to expense and only a total height of approx 5.5" I thought I would try the mdf route. I also viewed a product called "Big Rock" from Bright Star Audio. Similar concept to what I have built. A lot of good right ups on their products by the industry rags. I can say that the base on top of the speaker did not have the greatest visual appeal. The 2x4 might be a worth while project!

Sorry about the title, I did not know how exactly word my question. I have a set of Chorus IIs that I removed the factory bases from do to condition and style. I wanted to buy/build a stand/base that would raise the tweeters to approx ear level when listening. I opted for the build. Construction was simple enough gluing and tacking 5 pieces of mdf together the size of the CII footprint. Rubber feet were added to the base and were already installed on the speakers. Long story short, I brought the new bases in from the garage and placed them on top of each speaker until I had time to install them underneath. I watched a movie that evening and thought the soundtrack was excellent if not a little base heavy, a more tactile experience(no sub used). After the movie a little music before bed and the music seemed to have more impact also. I removed the new bases from atop the speakers and the bass seemed more subtle although very good, backed to what I am used to. Has anybody out there ever had a similar experience? By what I heard I would guess that the extra weight(20-25 lbs?) on top of the speakers either removed cabinet fibrations or coupled the speaker to the room in a more significant manner. Opinions, education please!

The woofers are easy to remove also. I removed all of the drivers from my academy and started with the woofers first. Unscrew one, turn it driver down over a soft surface like a couch cushion say 1-2 inches above and tap on the back of the cabinet. If that does not loosen it up then turn it back over and carefully pry evenly around the woofer frame with a plastic putty knife.

When I asked an Emotiva rep the question about the XPA-5 power ratings in two channel I was told that it was certainly capable of more but they did not want to advertise the spec because they did not want people to purchase it with 2 channel in mind and deal with might come of it. If you go to the Emotiva site, forums, amps,"Meet the XPA-3", The rep I talked to(Lonnie), states 2 channel specs for it. They read a lot closer to the XPA-2 than you would expect, but still a different animal. I do listen to mine in 2 channel frequently with no issues.

Just a thought on the amps as I went back and forth between the XPA-3 and 5. $200 dollars for 400 extra watts. Even if you don't have a use for 5 channels now, systems grow!

I picked up a set of KG 2.2's in walnut oil off of ebay ($137) to use as surrounds in my current set up that consists of Chorus IIs and an Academy. The 2.2's are as close to factory mint as you can find. Does anyone out there use the 2.2's as surrounds? Thanks