AnalogWave

I'm not a violent man, especially towards women, but that's grounds for REDRUM.

Ouch. Nuttin' in the world I could spend more money on than automobiles. Oddly enough, there was a guy many years back who was cleaning up in the car audio world with a Grand National. He custom designed some horns as I recall and installed them under the dash. Nobody else even came close to matching his SQ.

Ouch. Find solace in the fact that such behavior never goes unpunished. Someday, someway, doom will fall.

..or the Big Guy himself could send you one [] Strange... I thought I copied the entire web site too before it went dark. Anyway, I found my paper manuals so everyone is happy.

Went through my digital shhhtuff thinking I had one but couldn't find it, so I may be wrong thinking it existed in the first place. I do have the paper manual which I can scan as a PDF and send you. 'Course, I just moved, so I gotta' peep it out first.

I just realized you may not be considering some type of computer based music server. If that's the case, then I've offered you even less... "Swing-n-a-miss!" []

I myself love buying physical media but the trend would seem to be toward digital file downloads. It would also seem some manufacturers are getting out of the business of building dedicated CD players. Your price range falls short of really exceptional but not ridiculously overpriced CD players. Add to this you already have a multi-format player and it seems an easy call to go with a DAC. The ability to play whatever you want from your listening position without having to Jockey discs is as they say, "Priceless". Many on this forum like the HRT Music Streamer, available at a few different price points under $400. I'm not sure about mult-channel pass-through on those models as I own something different for dedicated 2 ch listening but there must be dozens of choices that fit your needs and budget.

When Spotify hit the U.S. I installed it to see what all the fuss was about overseas. Install went fine, started some music playing, then the first commercial came on. I hit the "Mute" button on MY KEYBOARD and the commercial was silenced. A minute or so later I hit the "Mute" button again and it was still a commercial. "Mute" again. After the third attempt at this, I realized IT WAS THE SAME COMMERCIAL. Their software knows you're not listening and PAUSES the bloody commercials! Ugh uh... NO WAY. In total, it was installed on my machine for less than 10 minutes. I don't do commercials and I don't pay for iNet radio - too many free options where I may have less features, but I get nothing but music. Last.fm for me.

You didn't mention which Paradigm model? I really like my Paradigm Studio 40 speakers. They do some things better than my Forte II speakers and vice versa. I can tell you they won't be as efficient as the RF3s but you may be surprised with their mid and high freqcencies and how well they image. Still, no one here can say whether or not you will prefer one over the other. Best advice any of us can give you is to try and setup a situation where you can hear the Paradigm speakers in your home before you commit to buying them. You really can't make an accurate judgement listening to them in his home. Room placement may need to be different than your RF3s to get them to sound their best, so don't just plop them in the same place and make your decision. Each speaker reacts differently to your unique environment, so move them around a little.

Hmmm. Right in my backhood. Looking forward to hearing a pair of Khorns. What about bringing our own hardware (preamp/amps)?

I believe Krell also made a KSA 100 and KSA 50, and while not necessarily "ecological", there is no need to rupture a disc and your wallet as with the KSA 200. Some believe the KSA amps to be some of the finest sounding amps the company ever built.

The largest, most efficient Klipsch speaker I own is the forte II - around 98ish db as I recall. I often wonder the percentage of forum members who do own the Khorn, since new they are $10k and in excellent used condition they languish in the Garage at anything over $3k. From Mark's web site: The challenge was this: How to take the magnificent sonic qualities of the BlueBerry design and extend that into a power amplifier. We love the sound of SET amps, but we didn't like the small output power. The answer is the Pure Class A Triode or "pCAT." An all up design that provides effortless lifelike clarity and cohesiveness of SET amps, but with 25 to 50W of output power. I know some guys use "flea powered" amps with their Khorns and love them to pieces. I've never listened to a Khorn, so my experience is limited to the aforementioned pCATs and forte setup. Back to cars - a Chevy Cavalier will eventually get to 100 mph, but a Z06 Corvette will do the same much more dynamically. I guess my biggest frustration with tubes (and while out of production, I consider the pCAT a "modern" design) is that the designer tests for a compliment of tubes that is likely to suit the largest population of enthusiasts and that also doesn't wind up costing more than the amps themselves. Rolling is encouraged however, and therein lies the slippery slope - things can either sound much better or much worse and cost a lot in terms of money and time spent. I like what I hear from my tube system, it just lacks the dynamics of the SS system. It's entirely possible it's a tube issue, and it's entirely possible I'll never figure it out. With sand amps, you heat it up for an hour and that's it - you get what you get. KT88 after five minutes... Bryston 3B-SST2 after several hours...

You, Sir, are LASER FOCUSED! I like that! I'mma little whipped tonight, but tomorrow evening I'll run some temps on my pCATs and Bryston 3B SST2. I'll tell you right now, the Bryston runs barely warm to the touch deep into a listening session while the KT88s run to max heat (bloody hot) in just a couple minutes and park there no matter the signal.

I dunno... I've never understood or experienced this. To me, loudness and dynamics are completely different, and while my full Juicy Music tube system can play loud, it's not nearly as dynamic as my SS Bryston preamp/amp system. Detail, clarity and tonality are all important, but without dynamics music is lifeless in my opinion, and 10 watts doesn't bring it in my experience. Music designed to wind you down vs. wind you up... sure... tubes, but to continue the automobile analogy, say you've a wife, three kids and a house with a three car garage out in the burbs. On the key rack are three sets of keys... Minivan, F-150 and Porsche GT3 RS. Which set you reach for depends upon what you intend to haul - kids, lumber or a$$. If I'm haulin' the , SS all the way.

Oh I dunno'... push the right button around here and it can get pretty noisy. "Onna these days AnalogWave... ONNA THESE DAYS, BANG-ZOOM!"

I'm no Guru at all the bits, bytes and digits, but... I believe there is some truth to that. Again, I'm looking at this from a Macintosh perspecitive. I own two DACs, a Benchmark DAC1 USB and a Bryston BDA-1. Both are excellent and critically acclaimed, but I prefer the sound of the Bryston over the Benchmark (for substantially more $, the major problem at this end of the scale - diminishing returns). Both DACs however, sounded better after I installed a dedicated piece of playback software called Pure Music. It runs in tandem with and as a framework to iTunes, which I still use to view/filter (playlists, etc) all my ripped music. But, it totally takes iTunes out of the music playback and feeds whatever port I choose (stereo jack or USB), which then feeds my DAC. It makes a difference for the better. What you'll also find though is, even with DACs that don't reach the highest fidelity output, there will be differences in their sound because of the chipsets in use, so one may appeal to you more than another, of course due to your own ears, particular gear and room acoustics. I've never heard the HRT DACs, so I would think their best model is a very good next step. From there, it will become difficult to justify more expensive DACs - you'll likely hear a difference, but is it worth the money? You may like this site for information... http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/331-computer-audiophile-suggested-hardware-list/ They underwent a major site revision in the last month or two and now I can't find a lot of the tutorial stuff (really good) that was, and I can only assume still is, there.

Did you get the manual? My BBX manual has the stock tube complement laid out in a diagram. Haven't had mine open in a little while but I'm pretty sure there is a sticker(s) inside the unit with the tube types labeled as well. Brent Jesse (audiotubes.com) is a well-respected seller on this forum and a really bright guy (go figger) on the topic. He knows the JM gear well, too, so that's a plus. Not cheap, but likely in line with what you'll pay from a known, high-quality source. People here have mentioned deals on eBay but you're odds of getting taken are fairly high unless you can track down a seller whom others have had success. Talking to Brent, be ready to describe the rest of your system, the type of music you like and the levels you listen at and maybe even room characteristics. He could then guide you toward a range of tubes vs. getting some that are too similar to make a real distinction for the price (unless your ears are worth more than your house - mine are in line with the cost of a Happy Meal).

I'm a Mac guy, so I use a Mac Mini as a dedicated Home Theatre PC and Music Server. Pretty much all computers have a stereo Headphone/Speaker jack, so you could go as simple as a Mini Plug to RCA cable and plug that into your preamplifier. What you really want though is a Digital Analog Converter (DAC). Lots of folks here like the HRT Music Streamer - it's tiny, inexpensive, runs off a USB port and sounds excellent - noticeably better than what you'd get from stereo jack and the computer's internal circuits. Buy it from a place like MusicDirect.com and you'll get a hassle-free return policy as well in case you're not satisfied for whatever reason.

I have a Blueberry Xtreme, so I can't say for sure the tube complement is the same as your Peach from the 'factory'. I have, however, exchanged a few E-Mail messages with Mark regarding tubes in my BBX, and tube allowances are pretty snug - in other words, stick with the factory designated tube types. Mark or others with extensive knowledge of the Peach may have a few suggestions as to equivalent replacements but my experience is there is enough variety (covering a great range in price) of the factory tubes available to keep you "pluggin' away" for some time. The process is rather slow when done right - listen to the factory tubes, take notes, make a single change, live with it for a few weeks, take more notes, repeat as your wallet allows. Some folks will tell you what works best in their Peach, but sound is subjective and systems are different, so...

Whatever you choose, I’d argue it’s just as important to put a small amp in the system, something used of CL and use Dynamat or a similar product in the doors to keep road noise down. It’s quite remarkable the difference.

I'm an Apple guy, so I use Time Machine, which is backup software built right into the OS. There are numerous other software packages for the Mac but I can't offer any personal experience with Windows software. Depending upon how large your library is and the size of your backup drive, you could just drag and drop the entire library, maybe keeping the last three or so backups and then bumping the oldest when you backup the fourth time. My safe deposit box is used for other items as well but it fulfills the other important criteria for any critical data - OFF SITE. Fire or theft may not be likely but they happen, and If your original media is lost at the same time, then you're really deep in it. How often you backup depends upon how much new music you add over a span of time and if you backup other data like digital photos.

Of course - I always forget about that. I've got no one to tell me "no", so I wind up with all kinds of shinny things that I certainly enjoy but are not necessarily the wisest purchases. I'm embarassed to say I've never heard of the line/models of Klipsch you own. Time I check out the web site. I think it's also time I swap my Forte II back into my system and have another listen.

I'm curious as to why you passed on the K-horn? Do you not have a room to properly install them? Also, which Reference model did you purchase?

If I were you I wouldn't buy any new speakers that I couldn't listen to first. Most of the members on this forum live in the United States, so it's hard to comment on the new and used audio market in your area. If you've tried your best for many years to find an affordable tube amp and come up with nothing, maybe your best option is to keep an eye out for speakers that you know you like (Tannoy) and to keep listening to others that may work better with your gear and ears. I would suggest maybe a tube CD player or pre-amp to tame the sound of the RF-3's but those are likely just as hard to come by. You could also try postioning the speakers on a different wall or in a different room or even go so far as to try room treatments (acoustic material that absorbs sound) to try and reduce some of the brightness but not everyone is open to that and there is probably a lot of trial and error to get things sounding right. No easy answer - sorry.

I own three sets of Klipsch speakers – KG4, Heresy and Forte II. I’ve been elbow-deep in the latter two replacing aged components and I’m not surprising anyone here when I say they are nothing but simple boxes with hardly any bracing. Even in their day, the components (drivers, x-overs, binding posts) were rather pedestrian, some here would even privately admit cheap, but the whole managed to sound much better than the sum of its parts. Your comparison from the Klipsch side is a little vague, but the other brands you auditioned are all modern designs with cabinets built like vaults and drivers no doubt made out of much more exotic materials. A better comparison would be to the Klipsch Palladium line, which you’d be hard-pressed to find a thread about in this forum because they sit in price right alongside if not above the competition you were listening to. Even the Klipschorn is $9,000 a pair now. Regarding sound, well… that’s obviously personal and dependent upon a lot of factors. I’ve acquired some new solid-state gear lately and I’m trying to decide which of the speakers I have easily at hand (Forte II or Paradigm Studio 40) I like better. The Forte II have the bass but the Studios have better imaging.