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twistedcrankcammer

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Everything posted by twistedcrankcammer

  1. deluss, It really isn't a matter so much of increased knowledge base, as it is a waste of money at the level you are working with. Even if you get the active crossovers and amplifiers needed, you would see a much greater improvement in sound for the money spent if you spent it on upgrading your speakers or amplifier. Lets say you can afford to spend $1000 to $1500. You would hear a much greater improvement in sound by moving up to better speakers for your money, so much so that even if you had to pay retail without your discount, the best bang for the buck is in the speakers. Bi-Amping is for playing with after all your other components are hi end, or at least your speakers and a seperate pre-pro amplification of high quality. Get somewhere that you can listen to a heritage system or forte settup. The used stuff from these lines is alot better buy then the new stuff. If room size is a problem then look at the high end reference or used RF-7 settup. I personally would run 7 mono blocks before messing with biamping a surround system. Roger
  2. Inventor, Does not make sence for husband to have a seperate ebay account, especially if her feedback is good. Anybody who does much ebaying knows that you wont get near as much for anything from an unproven seller. I have 320 feedback with 100% possitive, a never a single mutual withdrawl or neutral feedback. Sh-t stinks and so does his story. Be careful & don't get hosed. Roger
  3. Hey BigDaddy, Did you get your Forte IIs in Walnut or Oiled Oak??? I saw a set of Oak Quartets on ebay today. Roger
  4. By far, the most important question is bugget?? From your other equipement, I believe the ADCOM unit you looked at would be fine. The Carver you looked at is a fair enough price, but with 0 feedback, I wouldn't touch it unless I could listen, pick-up, and pay in person. The ADCOM unit you saw would have been a GFA-5503, they put out 200 watts per channel time 3 channels, go for about $400 on ebay, and are a fine amp, plus they match the two channel GFA-5500, which is easy to buy and find on Ebay for the same $400, so you can easily match and make the jump to 5 and 7 channel systems for very little money. Some ADCOM units have problems such as the 5 channel GFA-7700, so they bring only $350 to $400. The GFA-565 Mono Blocks at 44 pounds and 300 watts each, are considdered ADCOMs finest, but need the Capacitors changed out as soon as you buy them, so they don't bring big money either, but I am not aware of any problems with the GFA-5500 or the GFA-5503 and they are a bargain at that price, plus a more Bass oriented amplifier. As a side note, the GFA-565 mono blocks are being upgraded on the second hand market up to the price of used Krell gear. I run my center with a single GFA-565 and all others with Nakamichi PA-7IIs Roger
  5. On a Klipsch scale from 1 to 10 with the Klipschorn being a 2 as we all know there are Klipsch beyond that level, and rating Quintets as a 10 or worst as anything less would be undefinable, I would rate the RF-7s a 4 and I think that slightly on the generous side. Roger
  6. Bigdaddy, Another thought I would leave you with, buy your second set first, wheather a second set of Forte' IIs, Chorus IIs, or Quartets, and run them as a 5.1 system with a phantom center channel until you can sell your other speakers and buy a third set to split it up for a center channel. Roger
  7. Bigdaddy, Yeah, I'm the one who goes to se my sisters house in Kansas for Thanksgiving, and she owns my old Nakamichi TA-4A and Quartets. I have owned alot of Adcom gear, and it sounds good for the money, but the old Nakamichi really is that much better, better then anything Adcom ever thought of building. The Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck can still bring $1,000 used on ebay and is considdered one of, if not the best cassette decks ever. The Nakamichi Dragon turn table fetches ten thousand dollars in excellent condition. If you find a good Nakamichi PA-7 for $1,000, you probably wont beat its quality without going to something like KRELL in solid state, or McIntosh tubes. These amps were built arround 1989 and 1990 and still bring in that kind of price. I think it speaks for itself, and you should look under the hood of one. I bought that TA-4A stereo reciever when surround sound first came out and that receiver was $1250 on sale in 1989 dollars.. Roger
  8. Youthman, He has the subs built in flush with all of his gear and TV, and will eventually flush mount the center channel with a built in false corner recessed into the wall. This frees up all kinds of free, clean wall space for his Cornerhorns that sit up against the false wall, instead of the bass horns being choked off by a big entertainment center. Roger
  9. The $1400 opening bid is a proxy bid, someone who wont be able to access a computer when the auction comes down. Winning bidder at this point looks to be sellers friend, running up the price. Anyone with over 150 feedback should know better than to run up the price early if they really want to win the item and not overpay! "some people think these are the best speakers that Klipsch ever made" Hey they are nice, but who the h-ll does he think he is kidding?? Wait for a better deal to come along unless you gotta have maple!! The Maple doesn't come up much and that could account for the increased price if somebody wants to match their other speakers. I prefer the Cherry myself. Roger
  10. Glad you weren't dissapointed bigdaddy. Now start putting some money back because I think you will want to pick up an old Nakamichi PA-5 or PA-7 amp to power them off of ebay after Turkey day!! Roger
  11. Youthman, Please read my respone to "Center between Khorns: LaScala or Heresy", on the false wall we built for my brother in laws addition to his house. It is great to be able to change pieces or cables and be able to follow the cables from point a to point b, even if your cables are labelled. Roger
  12. Islander, I presently use a LaScala driven by an Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block at 300 watts RMS for my center between my Cornerhorns. When my brother in law built his addition to his house, he added a 24 foot by 32 foot audio visual room and has Cornerhorns as well. I talked him into building a false wall in front that he accesses by pulling his LCD out and can get behind his built in subwoofers and racks for easy wiring changes. We even wired it for lighting. The idea is as with when I eventually add on, to go projection screen with a built in false corner, cornerhorn that will be movable to access everthing behind. He is waiting for techknowlogy to get a little better and alot cheaper first, but we both plan on using accoustically perforated powered screens. (Room is 24' by 32' after addition of false wall across the front 24'). Roger
  13. Rebuild the LaScala, and rebuild the case it into two sepperate units, just like a pro LaScala version. Align the mid and high frequency section dead center either above or below the new telivsion (whichever more closely approximates the height of your Cornerhorns) If you place it on the bottom, build the bass bin into the wall located off center, with a small air space completely arround the unit. The bass bin should not touch anything, anywhere except at the floor. If you mount the top section above the screen, then mount the bass bin dead center below the screen. As a side note, remember that bass is omni directional, and will therefore not be noticed in an off axis placement like the mid and high frequency sections. Roger
  14. Brac, I use an ADCOM GFA-565 mono block at 300 watts RMS x one channel on my center LaScala, and Nakamichi PA-7IIs at 225 watts RMS on all my Cornerhorns. I promise you that you will hear a differance with a better amp, and more head room. Roger
  15. Inventor, I don't know about the compatabillity question that you are asking. I wish I could have emailed you directly. Nothing is wrong with Pioneer, but does your Receiver have outputs so it can be used as a pre amp for a sepperate amp?? 130 watts per channel RMS is fine. The main reason for larger amps is for the headroom. If your receiver has pre outs, why not talk to your local audio retailer and see if you can demo something like the Sunfire that you like to see if you think a seperate amp will make a big enough differance to you. I find that on music it is much more noticable, but as you are mostly movies, the sound tracks can be so buisy that I don't know if you will notice the differance as much. Anyhow, a suggestion on a smaller budget is to demo a unit or two for free to see if it really works for your situation, then possibly buy used. ADCOM made some really good units model 5500 which is 200 watts per channel times two channels and a companion, the 5503 which is 200 watts RMS times 3 channels. These amps were arround $1200 to $1400 each when new, and you can buy both models for between $400 to $500 each, closer to $400 each in nice shape on ebay. You would end up with 3 big impressive looking and sounding amps for $1200 to $1500 total, but demo some amps to see what you think before jumping in. Proffesionals usually use three times the power the speakers are rated at. My Cornerhorns are rated at 100 watts RMS each and 400 watts peak. A 130 watt amp is going to go flat and never give 400 watts peak out of your reciever. You also are not driving the amps hard at listening levels, and the Adcoms come with a clip circut and led for each channel that will show you how loud you can go before you are distorting your speakers. It is distortion, not wattage that blows speakers. Best of luck with your prodject... Roger
  16. RogerT, One thought I would give you; I own a highly customized V-Max motorcycle and belong to the VMOA or V-Max Owners Association. We have members all over the world and in Europe as well. Anyhow, the point I wanted to make is that we get on a computer forum like this and chat on a daily basis or a second tech site. Alot of members live in Canada and routinely buy items from other members in the United States, and they have to pay a tarrif to bring stuff into Canada. They get out of the Tarrif by prepaying for the item and having the shipper double box the item for them and write "gift" with a big felt marker on the outside of the box for them. I don't know for sure if it will work for you in your country, but they don't or shouldn't know if you have relatives in the states. Buying from a retailer, you may be able to talk them into it over the phone, or I would research your friends to find out if anyone has family living in or visiting the states. Just a thought.... Roger
  17. InVeNtOR, I have a $900 challenge for you.... Do you always listen to surround sound or do you listen to music on stereo sometimes?? Put back $900 to $1000 and watch ebay for a used Nakamichi PA-7. They were something like $2000 in 1989, and still bring arround $900 today used in good condition. The Pioneer Elite stuff is good, and most of the better receivers have pre outputs. There is a reason for this. Receivers try to give you as many hookup options for the buck as possible, and the amplifier sections are a compromise. If you get a used Nak in good working order, I promise you that you will hear an improvement in sound. You will pick up on things you never noticed before in your own CD collection. What do you have to loose?? If I am wrong, you can easily resell it on ebay, but if I am right, I have opened those uncalibrated ears to new possibillities. I haven't heard tubes yet on my stuff, but I have heard Altec Lansing VOTs on both solid state and tubes. I was never impressed by the sound of the Voice of the Theater on solid state, but I was introduced to a whole new ball game when I heard a fully restored set on tubes!! Roger
  18. Rogert, From one Roger to another!! First, I would like to say that the most important aspect to great Audio, next to the speakers is Accoustics!! If you can afford $20,000 for your speakers, can't you afford to put in a larger audio vissual listening space since you are building?? I would suggest that you read up on Paul Wilbur Klipschs paper on the "Golden Mean Cube" and edgetons. InVeNtOR, If he can drop $20,000 on his speakers without batting an eye, then even the Signature Grand Cynima 7 Sunfire isn't even middle of the road for what is available out there if you have enough money. RogerT, Seperates is the only way to go. Do you want tube amps or solid state. I will assume probably that you want solid state. Then check out Lexicon MC 12B Home Theater Processor/Preamp. The Lexicon has so many input options and has both 5 channel or 7 channel options, allowing for future upgrades. It also has output pres for 4 seperate subs!!! For amplifiers, look no further then KRELL. Seperate Mono Blocks for each channel if you can afford it. Finally; for a pair of subs, J L Audio Gotham is near the top of Mt. Everest in performance. You have your homework assignment, so do some research!! Later... Roger
  19. Pyro, Why not 5 channel LSII?? otherwise option 3. Their are systems available that put out 5 channel stereo as well as surround sound. With the full dynamics of 2 channel going through all 5 speakers, the sound can be alot louder and / or more completely fill the room. I have glass tops cut for all of my speakers. My biggest pet peave is some A-hole that let his signif-other put a plant ring on his heritage, or someone who should be disected who leaves a drink sitting at a party. Cost depends on thickness the most. Most cities of better then 50,000 population will have a custom glass shop. Just look in your yellow pages for something local. You can get clear, smoke, mirrored, etc., with ground or polished or beveled ends. I like 3/8" thick glass for all my speakers as the thicker glass is alot more resistant to brake if someone drops something. The glass will cover up alot of small imperfections. 3/8" is also about as thick as most glass shops can handle, they have to send out to larger sources to do the thicker stuff. My glass 3/8" thick tops in clear with basic ground edges cost me about $100 each for corner horn tops. I custom ordered 3/4" clear glass with a basic bevel cut and polished edges for my Velodyne HGS-18IIs and they cost me just over $400 for the two of them, of course these are a basic rectangle and much smaller then a LaScala top would be, and talk about heavy!!!! Most glass shops will gice you small round clear plastic discs to put under your tops to help prevent them from walking when your speakers are jamming and they help, but I find silly putty to work even better, and you don't really notice it. I have even walked the 3/4" glass with the plastic discs on my subs... Roger
  20. fini, You couldn't turn the RC-3II up louder, you would have to back off the front KSF 10.5s a little, and then you would probably want to back off the rear KSF 10.5s. That RC-7 sounds great with 4 KSF 10.5s, and with certain settups like an Adcom pre & pro, you not only have 5.1 surround for movies but 5.1 channel stereo (where the rears receive the full output spectrum of the 2 channel mode and the center gets a mono input of both) for listening to music. You might as well be able to hear that center sounding off as well. Granted, my mother won't be listening at those volumes, but at family gatherings like Christmas, it is nice to put on the christmas music while we are out in the front room doing presents, visiting, or playig cards. A young guy who couldn't afford top of the line could still get good sound and decent decible output in stereo for not alot of coin. I believe it best to get the best center you can afford and try to match it without overpowering it. Believe me it is easy to do. After you get your surrounds get the best sub that you can possibly afford, but go for quality sound and don't overpower your system. That HGS 10 is plenty for that system in a moderate sized room. My bet is that Velodyne is real close to an RSW-12 in performance. It had one sealed long throw woofer and 1250 watt RMS amp capble of 3000 watt peak. Roger
  21. abbasi, The KSF C5 was designed to work with the KSF series speakers, but then again, the Acadamy was designed for the heritage speakers and isn't big enough for the bigger speakers in that lineup either. The KSF C5 is probably fine with the KSF 8.5s, but it is similar in output to the RC-3II I had on my moms settup, and to me it just wasn't loud enough on dialog in most surround modes so I opted to get the RC-7 center. My personal thoughts are the center and sub are the most important for surround, of course it is your surronds on a stereo system for listening, and some settups have 5.1 stereo which puts a stereo signal to both the fronts and the rears for music. This is why I went with 4 KSF-10.5s instead of surround speakers. The RF-7s actually over power the RC-7 in my opininion, but I knew my mom would appreciate the cherry over the vynl in her house. I couldn't see spending thee money for the RF-5s over the KSF-10.5s for just the wood, so I upgraded to to RF-7s as my kids will probably get them back in 15 years and still have a nice speaker. If you can swing the extra to get a set of the KSF 10.5s at under $400, and another $400 for the RC-7, I promise you will like it, and if it's not in the budget, I suspect the KSF C5 will be fine with a pair of the 8.5s. Roger
  22. Bill, Yes,.... entry level for Klipsch. The KSF 10.5 sounds fine, or I wouldn't have picked them out for my mother, but they were the top of the line for the KSF series which was Klipchs first attempt at a budget system for home theater. The "S" is for synergy series. You have to remember that the "Legend" series was available at the same time; The KLF 10, the KLF 20, and KLF 30 were all above the KSF 10.5 and the KSFs had the vynl covering instead of wood veneer, so they sound good and make a great starter system but weren't anywhere near the top of the Klipsch food chain even when brand new, and you can get a pair of KSF 10.5s for under $400 on ebay in excellent shape and that is definetly entry level pricing for a good front main.... Roger
  23. abbasi, Wher are you looking to purchase from?? I think those should get you by fine as an entry level set. Enjoy them, and save for a second set for the rears... Roger
  24. Islander, My two siblings and I bought a complete surround system and telivision for my parents, but my mom uses it mostly. I selected the components. I bought her a Velodyne HGS-10 in a dealer demo clear accrylic case. The HGS-10s have a bad reputation for amp problems, but she has had it for 3 Christmases and no problems yet. Output is impressive for such a tiny unit and the black ones can be had for arround $500 used. Roger
  25. Tim3, I am shure you already know this, but we get the biggest bang for the buck out of our speakers. After that, I would say it is the amplifier and recent changes in readers like blue-ray. After all audio and visuals are maximized, I would then worry about upgrading the pre-amp. tigerwoodKhorns is correct in that seperates are usually better sounding, but my Nakamichi TA-4A reciever sounded better in 2 channel stereo then the Sony DA777ES surround reciever or Adcom GTP-550 and GFA-7000 seperates that I replaced it with did in stereo. I fully believe though that the Nakamichis Amp section was the reason for this. I presently have an ADCOM GTP-600 as well, that I do not presently use because it only has one subwoofer output and I have two Velodyne HGS-18IIs, otherwise I would be using that ADCOM unit. I like the simplicity of the adcom, and like that you can seperately increase or decrease output of the seperate speaker sets. I also like the 5 channel stereo for cranking up the 4 corner horns and the LaScala center. I am presently running an ADCOM GFA-565 mono block on the LaScala, and a pair of Nakamichi PA-7IIs on the Corner Horns. The 225 watts of Nak sound better then the 300 watt mono block. I eventually want to go 7 channel, and one of the high end pre-amps I have been looking at has 4 subwoofer outs and two center channel outputs, but costs more than a new pair of Corner Horns. I would say stay right where you are on your pre amp until you feel you need a second sub or the need to go 7 channel.. In the present time, considder upgrading speakers or if space is an issue, upgrade amps unless you are satisfied, but most of us with the bug never are.... Roger
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