paully

I listened to my Bottlehead S.E.X. amp on Marks Khorn speakers and thought they were wonderful. He can comment on how he feels about the flea power versus his push pull as he has more listening experience but I loved it and volume at 2 watts was very far from a problem. They got very loud and I didn't hear any clipping. Of course Mark's speakers have about the best possible crossovers imaginable so I am sure that helps! I have ordered a pair of Paramounts to go with my Chorus II. Bottlehead makes a very good product and the nice thing about the Paramounts is you have options in terms of using either the 2a3 or 300B (I am going with the 300B myself). Go to audioasylum.com and read about Welborne, there is a lot said and it hasn't been nice lately. I don't want to bash them, I know nothing about them, but read up on the customer service before you do anything.

It may be making a virtue out of necessity, but I wouldn't bother with NOS or used old stock at all. The prices just are too much compared to new production and the difference in sound quality in the EL-34 line just isn't large enough to justify the cost differential. From JJ to EH to Sovtek there are just too many options in cheap new production tubes that sound great. For the guy starting out it seems to me that JJ is the place to start and sets the standard. MHO.

Most of the EL-34's being made today are good quality, it is a matter of tonal taste often. I preferred the JJ E34L to the Svetlana. The JJ KT-77 are magic and getting good press, just make sure you buy from a very reputable dealer as there were pin size and quality control problems in the first batches if you go that route. I am currently running EH 6CA7. Very rich tubes. I can't say what will be best on your Cornwalls as that isn't what I have, only can say what my experience has been with the tubes I have heard. NOS Mullard are outrageously priced. However, if you can swing it, my personal preference is NOS Tesla. Those are incredible tubes. Personally I would go with the JJ E34L to start. Of the new production tubes I have heard they are solid performers and cost is reasonable with few quality problems. You may very well enjoy the KT-77 more, I did, but there aren't the quality control problems there that have cropped up (a lot) with the KT-77 with the E34L.

I spent a grand on my headphone system and I love it. But I don't think you need to run your main system at 110db to get out of it what is intended, though I recognize the pleasure involved in doing so. My buddy always comments (because it drives him nuts) how low I listen to my music. Apparently he has never met anyone who likes music at the "whisper" levels I do. It is physically painful for me to listen to music at the levels you speak of, actually, but nonetheless I still think that having a main, room based system does different things that a headphone system can't reproduce regardless of volume. That is part of the reason that I have been exploring Klipsch, I was under the impression that horns bloomed at lower levels than regular speakers. It doesn't seem that is totally true, but I am still listening and trying to figure that out but it is one of the two main reasons that I gave Klipsch a shot in the first place.

PSB 3LR Klipsch Chorus II Boston Accoustic A100 Only one pair isn't being used, one is in the stereo the other is for the t.v. I have a hard time letting equipment sit idle if I know it isn't going to get heavy usage. I prefer to have the cash so I can buy something that will. Really the only way I keep equipment is if I can't get at least 50% of what I paid for it or if it is good enough to serve as a back-up, and I feel like I really only need one back-up. But if all of it is being used regularly in some fashion, that sounds reasonable to me. Tell her what you are going to get rid of if you upgrade your system with the new speakers (anything with Bose on it is a good candidate) and see if that mollifies her.

I won't argue the point too strongly as I upgraded my Dynaco as well and put in a Mullard GZ34 in place of a JJ. Massive improvement, and not subtle. I was stunned. So if you can afford Mullard, I say more power to you (no pun intended). They are the best (never heard Amperex or any of the truly expensive ones though). I put mine in 5-7 years ago and fully expect it to run another 5-7 so you do have to look at the value proposition, in the long run Mullard are cheaper. But I would also recommend for those that want an even cheaper option to take a look at the Matsushita 5AR4. I have a couple and my opinion is that they are also a very good value at $45 a pop.

Consider buying Japanese made rectifiers (www.upscaleaudio.com has some). They are half the price and pretty close to full performance. The rectifiers matter, why I don't know, but they do. Mullards ($100 a pop) are regarded as the best, but I would avoid the JJ and Sovtek varieties if you can afford NOS.

Just curious what the options are.

while some may say that the speakers just disappear, the wife begs to differ.

I really don't think in the end that the problems are the speakers. The muddy bass changes depending upon where I place them. I hade them too close to the wall. Moving them out, as much as I can, and putting them off axis along with some dampening because they are still very close to the wall helped a lot. So I don't think I can attribute that to the speaker. As far as the problems in the highs, I am pretty sure it is the power at this point. There is still a Klipsch sound to the speakers, which really seems to be defined by its clarity, but I don't think the real problems I am having can be attributed there. The Dynaco is competely rebuilt, the only stock parts left in it are the output transformers. And there are no holes in the passives. The brutal highs remain even when I switch amplifiers and started a few months ago. I am 6 houses down from the transformer, and I notice the dirty highs are worse during the day. Sounds like a power problem. So when I said anomolies I really should have been clearer and distinguished between a Klipsch sound (as it seems to me, I am new to this after all and don't want to pretend like I can identify everything about them after a few days) and problems that the more I think about them the more I am convinced that I can trace them back to exterior sources. So I am clear, I think the Chorus II are, after initial listening impressions, the best speaker I have ever heard

I talked about the "anomolies" below which may very well be due to factors outside of the speakers. They are almost consecutive serial numbers but are seperated by one. They were manufactured in 1990 according to the label. Time to change those capacitors!

Artifact from the flash or something. Grills are pristine.

Thanks, all very good suggestions. I have been able to minimize the boom by back the speakers away from the wall, toeing them in, and putting some pillows behind them. The movement seemed to make the biggest difference. The low end seems better and if is still bothers me I will try some more positioning, but for now I think it is all right. The acousta-stuff is good to have as a back-up if I need it and it is of course an easily reversible mod. The Bottlehead 300B is zero feedback as is the 2 watt amp I have. We will see how it goes, but I will definitely put it on the 4 ohm tap. Crossover upgrade is definitely in the future, but like you say, something for later once the other details are worked out and I have had a chance to live with them for a while.

Thanks, they already have. I've gots plans for those crossovers.

LOL!

Yea, the bass has seemed a tad out of balance with the rest of the speaker. Depending on positioning it can be a bit muddy and tubby and overwhelming. But I am working on that (within the constraints of the room which are a bit constricting) and also putting some material behind the speaker to dampen the bass. I'll get that problem solved, it seems more a fault of the room than the speaker. There is also some grunge in the upper frequencies. I think that however might possibly be to some really bad power coming into the house that has been plaguing me all summer. I have a call into the electrician and also a PS Audio P500 on the way to help in that department. I was dissatisfied with the midrange until I went from 2 watts to 25 by switching to my Dynaco. I don't have my Bottlehead 300B's yet so we will se how 8.5 watts does. Overall, they are tremendous speakers and incredible at the price. I think it is quite possible that all of the most troubling "anomolies" can be attributed to problems other than the speakers in actuality and we will see what kind of difference I can make with my tweaks and playing with the caps in the crossover. I can't say that I anything other than very pleased. We will see as I work the issues out but I think these might be my speakers for many years to come.

Those look so similar to my Chorus II it would be fun to compare the sound.

Here are my new to me Klipsch Chorus II. I will say that although I hear some anomalies (what speaker is anomaly free) they are the best speakers I have ever heard. Getting them positioned for best bass response given my room limitations is tricky. I want to say thanks to Mark for having me up to his house. Having heard $30K horn speakers that looked like La Scala knock offs that I disliked, if he had not been so hospitable to a total stranger I would never had heard Klipsch speakers and wouldnt have bought them. Given what I heard at his house I was willing to by these models never having listened to them. I am currently running them with my Dynaco. The crossover is next, which is to say sometime around Christmas if I bother at all with it. Also have a PS Audio P500 en route that should help with my power problems. As soon as I can I am going to pull out my beeswax furniture polish and shine them up. BTW, These things are fricking huge!!!

While I totally agree, I often find I don't bother to turn on music if I only have 15 minutes because of the start-up stress though lately I have gotten over that, I highly recommend putting in a thermistor into your Scott. I am now putting one into all of my gear. Cheap at Digikey (search for Cl-90 or Cl-80) and well worth the money. They really save tube amps from the inrush stress.

That's good. I don't mind being taken as smarmy but don't want to come off as a conceited $%$##. My biggest problem will probably end up being the room. Living room with some reflective surfaces that is not mine to just totally redecorate. I will have to construct some mobile treatements that I can easily put up and take down when I get to that point.

It really was a fascinating read. When I read it the only thought that crossed my mind was, well there goes that argument, ha! I tried to search and see if he had ever made any statements on the issue, but what he had in his home is a pretty definitive statement. Tubes really are a lot of fun though and if you actually do think they sound better, well that helps. Contrary to what some may say as it regards being able to measure better, better is subjective and you have to know that what you are measuring actually matters more than what you missed.

Hopefully you weren't taking my comment seriously, it was obviously just for fun. I have heard plenty of set-ups I didn't like that were loved by very intelligent people. Tastes diverge. If PK decided that solid state was the way to go, that is certainly food for thought. We are all here because we like the speakers, and frankly I think when people say that the speakers are the most important item in the food chain they are right. Amplification is something fun to debate but if it is done right it probably is the least of things worth fighting over (2nd order versus 7th order, blah, blah, blah). I enjoy tinkering with tube amps, I find that satisfying. I love the sound of tube amps, I find them very satisfying. I like collecting tubes, I just think they are neat. Personally, and only personally, I think solid state is boring which is hardly an argument regarding good sound but it does matter to me. The funny thing is that, in my hypocrisy, I thought it was cool that PK liked the 2a3 tube but easily dismiss his preference for solid state as irrelevant to my listening pleasure. If I hadn't been getting into SET I don't think I would have ever bothered to listen to a pair of Klipsch speakers regardless of the fact that I think my recently arrived Chorus II are incredible speakers. I had a bias, come to honestly, against horns up to recently.

Trying to torment you guys that PK loved the 2a3 tube and you bounce back with an actual letter showing he used solid state at home. That's great. Of course I don't listen to music with PK's ears (too bad) so I don't particularly care, but as far as a comeback that is about as good as it gets.

One would assume, even if he had a favorite, as a speaker designer he had to be familiar with a number of the popular amps of the day. Cool photos.