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I don't have KHorns but I do use some Dynaco gear with my Forte IIs & really like the combo. I bought a ST-70 amp & PAS-3 preamp in great physical shape for $500. The seller threw in a woking FM-3, too! The original EL34 & 12AX7 tubes had been replaced with generic chinese varieties but all other tubes appeared to be original. I had the ST-70 & PAS-3 refurbished & replaced the 12AX7s with NOS Mullards and the EL 34s with JJ E34Ls. This set me back an additional $600. Now I have a ST-70/PAS-3 combo that looks vintage/new & sounds great! I have heard that combo will drive a pair of KHorns quite well. Someday I might find out myself! ;-) Frank W.

Stock ST-70 & PAS-3. Great synergy with Forte IIs! Have driven them in the past with Marantz 1152DC (current avitar). Great sound with them, as well. For my musical tastes, though, I just like the tubes better. Frank W.

Don't think 'm gonna do the oven thing first. We still have a few hot, sunny days left here in No. OH so I think I'll make some sort of "record sandwich" & put it on the deck for awhile - checking regularly! I'll let you all know the results when I'm done. Frank W.

Ah, I *must* have a steamroller around here somewhere! Maybe I lent it to James Taylor or someone. :-) Frank W.

My college-aged son got interested in records awhile back so I hooked him up with a stereo & gave him a few of my old albums to start with. He's gotten a few on his own since then & I often give him records as gifts along the way. Recently, I picked up a very clean copy of CSN&Y's "Deja Vu" & gave it to him. When he moved out of his dorm last spring somehow it ended up in the trunk of his car. As you can imagine, it gets pretty hot back there & this record now has a noticeable warp to it. Has anyone had success flatening a warped record? I'll probably just lay it flat with some heavy stuff on top & hope nature takes its course, but I wonder if there's a better way. Anyone ever heat it up first? If so, how did you heat it up without damaging it? TIA, Frank W.

I'm leaving on a vacation today but will definately check the TT setup again when I return. I still don't have a final diagnosis of the problem, though. So many variables, especially at the listening end. In all honesty, at this point I'm not sure I have a problem at all! I think I'll pull out the headphones & play a few different albums before I get to crazy about fixing a problem that may, literally, be in my head! Thanks again for all the suggestions. Like I said, I will check the TT setup out when I return, then post my findings. Later, Frank W.

Well, I think its kinda like the difference between tubes & solid state. There are plenty of great examples of both that sound super. Personally, I think SS amplification is better at R&R with tubes better at acoustic, orchestral, jazz, vocal, well, just about everthing other than R&R. ;-) Of course, YMMV! From the info you posted, I suspect you're going to like being in the heritage camp. I run Dynaco separates & am not much of a "rocker" myself. My Forte IIs are great for the music I listen to. Beautiful clarity, detail & soundstage. I also have some vintage Marantz SS gear that I got before the Dynaco stuff that sounds fine, just not as good to my ears than the tube gear. To me, there's really no comparison. I was simply blown away with the difference in SQ between them. Personally I'd get the Forte IIs cheap & put some Crites titanium tweeter diaphrams & crossovers into them. Then sit back & enjoy the music! Frank W.

Thanks for the replies folks! I didn't realize how much of a PITA checkin' all this stuff out was going to be! ;-) OK, I did reverse the connections & it didn't seem as pronounced as it did before. Put them in the correct allignment & the problem now was less apparent. (Maybe my right ear is bad!) Seems the harder I listen the more I get confused! I played a couple different albums. That could be some of it. I just didn't have enough time to play more. Will definitely be listening for L/R balance in the future. Its funny. Sometimes I think I might just be hearing a more accurate soundstage is all. You know, like maybe drums far left, lead guitar a little closer to center, vocals next, bass on right side by itself. (Well, not exactly, but you get what I'm saying, right?) That could also be caused by not-so-great sound engineering, too. I'm going to have to keep working at this. I will set up the tracking & anti-skate again but I think the wiring is OK. I'll also have to listen a bit more critically to all my sources to try and find out exactly what I'm hearing! Let the fun begin! ;-) Thanks again! Frank W.

Here's the deal. When I use my CDP or computer as my source, both channels seem balanced, but my rt. channel seems to drop in level a bit when I use my TT. Not totally out, just a noticeably lower level. I summed the L+R signals & that seems to level the signal out so I suspect its the TT that's delivering the unbalanced output. I'm wondering if this can possibly be something as simple as out-of-adjustment tracking. I followed the specs when I installed my cartridge but I'm wondering if more/less might help balance out the signals. Is there a standard for this, like more (higher #) tracking should increase rt. channel & less (lower #) will increase the left? (Or the opposite?) I'm not new to TTs in general, but I don't remember ever having this problem. FYI, here's the system: Sources - Thorens TD 160 + Goldring ELECTRA, Rega Planet CDP, 800MHz Titanium Powerbook (iTunes) + Keces DA-151 DAC Preamp/Amp - Dynaco PAS-3, Dynaco ST-70 (both just back from being serviced) Speakers - Forte IIs (Crites Titanium tweeter diaphrams) TIA, Frank W.

I'm pretty much an Apple guy so I rip my music to ALAC, then convert to high-bit AAC if I need a compressed version for, say, travel with an iPod or iTouch. That said, why not rip uncompressed AIFF? That's the same file that's usually on CDs in the first place. You really only get a slightly smaller file with ALAC or FLAC. Try it & see. From there you can convert to anything that "floats your boat". Frank W.

Personally, I decided the best bet was to build my own. Quality connectors, wire & solder are very reasonable. Skill set to make up a pair (+ many more) is definitely level 1 (very easy). There are plenty of DYI instructions on the web. I think I got my ideas from the AudioKarma forums. Mine look great & sound great, too. YMMV Just a thought, Frank W.

Yeah, I'd talk to Bob Crites. http://www.critesspeakers.com/ If you're worried about the 3 of them sounding "matched", I'll bet Bob could do something with all 3 to make that happen without neccessarily making you buy 3 new crossovers. Have no idea what that would involve or cost, but I'm ok with the prices I've seen him charge so far. Give him a call, he always talks to me. :-) I've got his titanium diaghrams in my tweets & couldn't be happier. I'll probably end up doing something with the crossovers in my Forte IIs, & that will more than likely include something from Bob. Frank W.

I'm thinking seriously about the "base set" starting point for my soon-to-be-completly-refurbed ST-70/PAT-3 combo. I'm still waiting for my tech to let me know what, in the way of tubes, he has to offer, but I'm thinking possibly a base set of mostly new tubes, first. Then as sets of NOS tubes become available to me, I'll try a few out. With or without high $ NOS tubes, I suspect that when I get my tube gear back I'm going to fall in love again like I did when I first hooked them up to my Forte IIs. ;-) I can be critical, but even with the tubes my tech pulled out immediately as junk, it all sounded pretty good! Frank W.

Yeah, Russ, with the cost of NOS tubes being what they are, unless I get some pretty good deals I'm going to have to work out a compromise. So that begs the further question to all, where would you make the compromise if you couldn't fill up your sockets with, say, NOS Telefunkens & Mullards? Frank W.

Søren, How very generous of you! I expect there will be no shortage of folks willing t take you up on your offer once your skies clear up! When you are able to finally send them, be sure to post your offer under its own subject line and I, for one, am interested in them. Again, THANKS! Frank W.

Wow, they sure are expensive! I imagine there's a difference in sound, but I could buy at least 5 new tubes for what I've seen NOS (or used, tested as new) Mullard GZ34s going for. I figure I'll hear the difference with 12AX7s & EL34s, but the others? Frank W.

So, another question. It looks like the concensus is NOS (or used) Telefunkens, Mullards, etc. I'm thinking this is most important for the quad of 12AX7s in the preamp & the quad of EL34s in the amp. Right? How about the others? My tech did mention he had NOS 7199s that he said he'd prefer me to use (if the ones in there are not so good) rather than doing the simple mod to use 6U8s instead, so I'm good there. How about the tube rectifier, 5AR4/GZ34? Does this need to be something special? How about the 12x4? They seem to be pretty cheap wherever see them. This is getting costly! ;-) Frank W.

Well, heck, where can I get me some of them Telefunkens at a reasonable cost? I've recently seen some smooth plate ones on the web for $35 but have no idea if its a current ad. Also, thanks for the comments about busy techs. I was pretty happy to find one fairly close to me, especially one that came from a personal recommendation. I'll be speaking with him early this week & I'll definitely ask if he has any Telefunkens for sale. I suspect he does, I just don't know what he'll be asking for them. Take care, Frank W.

While I'm certain all you say is true, I just want to get my system back together asap & listen to some music. I've been doing the hobby thing for awhile but right now I just don't have the energy to experiment. Cost wise, I think I could stretch to your ball park. Yesterday I talked to the tech that's working on my gear & he says he has some NOS tubes I might be interested in (including some variety of Mullards for the PAS-3) so I will check them out. I am looking for long-lasting tubes & figured that new tubes, in general, would last longer (or at leats as long). Are you saying that current stock, premium-grade, tested tubes won't last as long as vintage NOS tubes that can be found at near equal cost? I would LOVE for my tech to be able to put me into some great NOS tubes at prices I want to pay. If not, I want to buy some decent sounding tubes that will get me back in the game. Eventually, as time & $s dictate, I'll probably get into a bit of tube rolling, You know, buy a quad of this or that, now and again. Until then, I'm willing to go with good current issue tubes. Frank W.

Nope, no IEC. Any words of wisdom for me in my dilemna? Without being able to audition any of these tubes it seems like a crap shoot to me. I really don't think I want to get into the cost & uncertainty of NOS. I know its a compromise to go new, but if I research the better brands & get the best they, and their retailers, offer, how bad could it be? Frank W.

Yeah, I hear you. Thing is, there just aren't that many techs out there. This one was referred by a very good friend (& high-end audio guy) who had some Mk IIIs, I think, refurbed by the guy. The tech is kinda quirky, but I trust my friend's recommendation. So, what's the issue with JJs? I haven't heard a lot of great things about the Mullard reissues, but I really don't have a great frame of reference. That's why I'm asking abound here. ;-) I have read the gold pin JJ ECC83S is similar, at least in design, to the telefunkens. Again, I could be totally wrong. I really just want a decent set of tubes that I can enjoy wth my Forte IIs for awhile. I can't afford NOS Telefunkens, though. Frank W.

The tubes were labelled International C & Servicemaster. I'll send you a PM about the Gold Lion KT77s & the 6U8s. I assume you thinks its a good idea to do the modification to use 6U8s intead of 7199s? Frank W.

After too many months in the shop for a light refurbishing, I'm about to get my PAS-3 & ST-70 back.The guy at the shop almost threw the cheap 12AX7s that were in the PAS-3 at me when he opened it up! "Garbage," he shouted, "Get them out of my sight!" Anyway, I've decided to replace all the tubes so I don't have to mess with with it for awhile. (I don't expect to be a "tube roller.") So I've got a bunch of questions! Feel free to chime in on one or all of them! - Aside from biasing the tubes in the ST-70, is there any reason that the new tubes be in the amp & preamp when I pick them up? I just don't know if the shop has the tubes I'm interested in at a price I can afford. - At my price point, I'm looking at mostly JJ Electronic tubes. Here's what I'm considering: For the ST-70: - 4 Matched E34Ls. These are the slightly higher output version of the E34. - 2 6U8 tubes (possibly JAN Phillips?) instead of the seemingly unavailable at a reasonable cost 7199. I'll have my tech rewire the sockets for them. - 1 5AR4/GZ34 tube rectifier. For the PAS-3: - 4 Matched, Balance, Selected for Low Noise & Microphonics, gold pinned ECC83Ss. I'd consider the "high performance" longer-plate ECC308S but I've read they have a tendency to suffer from increased microphonics. Thoughts? I'd also consider KT77s by JJ or Gold Lion but really don't know either the up or downside of them. - 1 12X4 I've seen various manufacturers & they seem to be pretty cheap. So, what do you think? Am I on the right track? TIA, Frank W.

I hear you. I was running a vintage Marantz integrated & was happy but had the oportunity to pick up a decent condition ST-70 & PAS-3 from a forum member (thanks Scott!) with a FM-3 thrown in for $500. The tubes included were nothing special but it got me started. I have them in for refurbishing right now and I can't wait to get them back! Not sure how much its going to cost as I have several options for NOS tubes. We'll see. Probably not cheap but I could have continued without the service & been happy. The Dynaco separates are my first experience with tubes & I must say there is really nothing like it, especially with Klipsch heritage. Personally, I've got Forte IIs & couldn't be happier. Good luck! Sounds like you're on the right track! Frank W.

Very nice! The TD-124 is a "wish list" turntable, for sure! Take care, Frank W.