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MBM135

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  1. I would second the recommendation for the Scott 299. I think I have about $600 or less invested in my Scott 299A including the NOSValves rebuild and couple of minor upgrades. To get noticeably better sound I would have to spend several times that amount. A tube amp such as the Scott (299B if you listen to heavy rock) will pair nicely with the super-efficient Cornwalls. I have yet to notice much difference between CD players in the under $300 category so for the cost of the amp alone I think you will be very pleased.
  2. After 5 yrs of waiting I finally got to air out the Forte IIs and Scott 299A in my new 15 by 30 foot media room. All I can say is wow, I mean WOW. OK, I understand now, this is what it is supposed to sound like. I've spent years trying to play big speakers in a Shopko apartment and finally have them airing out in a space they were designed for. I am hearing all the bass, subtle instruments, and vocals that the system can actually produce. No longer are the Forte's pieces of furniture to put pictures on wedged into a corner but finally pieces of audio equipment. I have not done these monstors justice until today. If I ever have to downsize I'll use a Klipsch iPod box. Music has come to life. Size of room really matters. Wow. Whoa baby....wasting time here now, back to spinnning CDs:) U2 never sounded so good...
  3. Thanks, I'll check out the other forum and play with some settings.
  4. Reference series is superb. Keep in mind that Klipsch are VERY efficent and require very little power to drive them--for me this makes Klipsch an excellent choice, espectially for HT. I don't know about Polk but I suspect they are not nearly as efficient (power to drive that is, they probably sound fine). The purists will tell you to match your surrounds with your fronts. It's the whole "pitch and timber" arguement. Depends on how much you want to spend and whether a 90+% solution is good enough for you. Personnaly I would save the money and use the Infinity's or get a less expensive Klipsch pair for the back end if you want to be Klipsch-pure. For years I used Quintets mounted at ear level for surround speakers and thought they were fine. The most important speaker is the center (60% of the audio track is usually on this channel) and your choice of the RC-52 there is fantastic. Whatever you decide, welcome and enjoy.
  5. I recently bought a 50" Sony WEGA SXRD TV and love the HD and DVD movie performance. But, as I feared the quality of regular non-HD cable broadcasts leaves much to be desired. CNN, FOX News, HGTV, etc look pretty lousy. I knew going into this that an LCD projection TV was not going to match my 10-year-old 32" Trinitron for normal viewing but it's a bit poorer than I imagined. I am a bit of a perfectionist, I suppose the average Joe would think it looks OK. Any hints on some image tweaks to sharpen the picture or is this just something LCD projection owners have to live with? Thanks
  6. just moved into a new home that is wired for whole house audio and home theater. It was a forclosure that was never occupied and a former model home built in 2003. The builder is trying to determine which subcontractor put in the system and I may find out this week. The in-ceiling HT is up and running, no problem. But there is a wire bundle with 4 speaker wires in it labled "Whole House Audio." There are also 4 rooms in my house with speakers and seperate wall volume knobs (brand is "Niles"). I assume if I put each of the four leads into the "B" speakers on an amp they will work? My Harman/Kardon AVR 240 does not have "A" and "B" fronts but after I connect the banana plugs to the "whole house" leads I will plug them into my mains tomorrow and try it out. Does anyone know if I am on the right track here? This is a nice home but I doubt it is was intended for an extremely expensive amp required to utilize the whole house system. Thanks in advance.
  7. I would have to concur with the other posters here. I have my speakers mounted in the ceiling and while they are "wife-friendly" they are only adequate and but by no means impressive. Hey, they came with the house so I am using them. If I was building a home myself and needed a low footprint for speakers and wires I would wall mount them for sure at listening height position.
  8. I just moved into a new home that is wired for whole house audio and home theater. It was a forclosure that was never occupied and a former model home built in 2003. The builder is trying to determine which subcontractor put in the system and I may find out this week. The in-ceiling HT is up and running, no problem. But there is a wire bundle with 4 speaker wires in it labled "Whole House Audio." There are also 4 rooms in my house with speakers and seperate wall volume knobs (brand is "Niles"). I assume if I put each of the four leads into the "B" speakers on an amp they will work? My Harman/Kardon AVR 240 does not have "A" and "B" fronts but after I connect the banana plugs to the "whole house" leads I will plug them into my mains tomorrow and try it out. Does anyone know if I am on the right track here? This is a nice home but I doubt it is was intended for an extremely expensive amp required to utilize the whole house system. Thanks in advance.
  9. What type of turntable set-up did you have with your Scott? Would be curious to give my phono stage a try. Mike M
  10. I am using a custom rebuilt Scott 299A integrated amp. All told I have about $600 invested in this little gem. There are a number of Scott users on the forum, all whom I believe are happy with their systems. This amp does have a phone stage but not the type most would prefer here. There are a number of good offerings from Jolida and Antique Sound Labs for around/under $1,000 too. Not sure what your budget is like, but it you are going to invest in KHorns, may as well get the best amp you can. The hobby can become consuming and get very expensive. For under $1500 I think a person could get a set of Forte/Quartet/Chorus, decent tube amp, and TT if you are patient and shop around. Such a system may be hard to beat for the money.
  11. You will get lots of advice here on vinyl and I'll defer to the experts since I have not added a vinyl set-up to my system. For me the "cons" of going vinyl were starting a collection from scrath and the cost of a good TT. What I can tell you is that going to tubes, even with CDs, was a monumental improvement over a solid state amp. The sound is less fatiguing, very warm, and the next best thing to vinyl. Klipsch marry up nicely with tube amps since the speakers are efficient enough to be easily powered by low wattage tube gear--one of the reasons tubes are so popular with Klipsh fans, especially with the Heritage line. You may find that a nice tube amplifier will be such an improvement over what you are used to, that you may not want to go further. Some CD recordings are also better than others. HDCD, SACD, etc., teamed with a better, capable CD player also makes a significant difference.
  12. Keep in mind that most of these idiots have earbuds crammed in their ears, with 800 songs on their iPods, and think it actually sounds great. Or, that a Bose clock radio is high-end and sounds even better. They can't afford decent audio gear so everyone that can is labeled a nurd.
  13. MSRP was around $1200 new. I paid over $800 for mine 4 years ago from a guy on Audiogon, they were perfect, oiled oak and from the last year of production (1997 I think, or maybe 1995, will have to look). $600-800 on eBay was not uncommon just 4-5 yrs ago. I actually had them shipped via UPS freight and they arrived in perfect condition. Used the original boxes, foam inserts, etc. I lived in North Dakota at the time so the dream of "pick some up locally" was nonexistent. Local in ND is a 1000 mile drive across frozen tundra.. They have really come down in the last few years making them an even better bargain--the best bang for the buck. You can almost get an integrated tube amp, OK set of Forte IIs, and decent used CD player for not much over $1,000 nowadays. Pretty cool. People say they are "small" but that is because everyone has Lascala's, Cornwalls, or K-Horns. They fill my large room with sound, no problem,
  14. I think the difference in CD players can be very subtle and a lot of time is needed to note the changes. Some will also sound better with a certain genre. Diana Krall may sound great but U2 sound like crap or vice versa. In an ideal world, you would audition several players, in YOUR house, with the help of someone so that you couldn't tell which was playing. Obviously this isn't practical and nobody really buys a player this way, but you would eventually pick the one that sounded best to you. I'll bet some of us would save a lot of cash this way:)
  15. I'll check them out, the Sidewinders are probably Audioquest if they are red and black. Thanks Again
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