Richard Guba

Since many Klipsch enthusiasts are also lovers of tubes, I want to relay my experience in getting my treasured Grundig 3060a reparied. The radio is in my avatar and is a 1956 7 tube radio. It belonged to my grandfather. A year ago it stopped working and I tried to find a tech in the DC area. After a bad experience with a TV repair shop near Annapolis, I found the radio repair guy, John O'Brien from Potomac, MD. John has a great web site that you can find my googling radio repair guy. Over the last 12 years John has done over 600 tube radios. He took on my complex German radio when many would not touch it. He replaced the capacitors and did some excellent trouble shooting in the radio and audio amplifier sections. He replaced the Selenium rectifier and managed to clean out the very complex push button system. The result is amazing. The radio has great sensitivity and selectivity. The good news for DC area tube lovers is that he also works on tube separates as well as radios. I spent a year trying to get this radio repaired locally without the risk of shipping. I highly recommend John O'Brien as a true gentleman and expert technician. Sincerely Rich

I am running a plain vanilla Shure M97Xe I got from J and R Music online. I did not want to spend anything more until I knew the table worked. I bought the table on faith since the previous owner seemed honest. She claimed it sat in a cabinet for 10 years. It had a Shure M75 with a broken stylus on a Radioshack headshell. I picked up the M97Xe for less than the cost of a replacement genuine Shure stylus for the 75. There are some threads on the Sanyo 825D (circa 1976) on audiokarma. It is very heavy and well made. As time went on Sanyo marked cheaper turntables but the 825D is quite good and flies under the radar since nobody expects a Sanyo to be good. The key is it is made by C.E.C in Japan just like similar Marantz turntables. Some say it is as good as much more expensive Pioneer models from the same era. It is worth to check craigslist everyonce in a while. With this better turntable I finally get the vinyl thing. With my previous turntable CDs really did sound better, now my better LPs have the edge.

I bought a Sanyo TP 825D on craigslist for $30. It is a 20 pound tank of a machine made by C.E.C in Japan. CEC also made Marantz turntables. I was previously using my 1986 pioneer PL-670 black plastic P-Mount. The difference is amazing. I played an original Charlie Byrd Riverside that was noisy on the Pioneer and it was quieter and with better definition on the Sanyo. I think the difference is that the Sanyo has a better arm and with the heavy double plith has better isolation. The Pioneer was good on perfect condition records, but the Sanyo is better on all records. And since this is a Klipsch forum the sound is awesome on the HIIIs. So a heads up for those looking to upgrade on the cheap the Sanyo line from the early 70s is essentially the same as Marantz.

I had Infinity SM-102 before I got my Heresy IIIs. I never knew what I was missing until I connected the HIIIs. Sure the Infinity Studio Monitor series is efficient and loud, but that is the only similarity. The HIIIs have detail. I can hear so much more for example on the Jim Hall Concerto CD I can now hear the hand as it is moves on the neck of the guitar which I never heard before. I think what you will hear if your get klipsch is a great improvement in the upper and mid range. I lived with the SM 102s for a long time, but I never felt that they were quite right. My HIIIs are much better.

I have my IIIs hooked up to a Carver receiver which is not high end. They do sound awesome on SACD, Frederick Fennell on Telac, with the on my new $25 goodwill SACD player. Also on Enoch Light Command lps with ping pong stereo they rock. I have a few original RCA shaded dogs, the Fiedler ones really shine, and the IIIs sound really nice on them.

I have the 2009 H III (Cherry) driven by a 1991 vintage Carver receiver. I also have them in a room with hardwood floors which is probably bad. I think the room has a lot to do with how they sound. If the room is really reflective and live they will sound bright. I do not run a sub, but I listen mostly to accoustic jazz that has minimal bass below 50Hz. My room is to small for Cornwalls and that is why I have the H III. I think you may like the H III fine without a sub depending on the type of music you listen to. If if is pipe organ you will need a sub. I bought my speakers new and I think that they are a bargain even at list price. I may get some Cornwall III or LS II someday for the basement, but for now I am very happy. I recently played a 1976 vintage Deutche Gramaphone LP of Night on Bald Mountain and they shook the house. On the RCA Living Stereo LP of the Nutcracker (Reiner) the clarity was amazing.Well recorded CDs sound great too. Buy what you want and enjoy. Rich

Big Latin Band is great. Also good is Uniquely Mancini, check out Cheers, and of course Peter Gunn. Mancini had a gift with writing and jazz is at the core. The early RCA records are very well recorded and can be found at Goodwill and used record store. I also have CDs that I got from Amazon. The cool thing about Big Latin Band is that it is from 67 and yet does not sound like a watered down rock band. Big Band Bossa Nova by Qunicy Jones, the first CD I ever played on my HIIIs, is also excellent. You have good taste Russ.

Read http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/402roy/ The search for Roy Dunann. Although this is about Contempory Records, Jazz, the same holds true for RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence. Great recording engineers, great microphones, good rooms, and a magic synergy make these great recordings. Why does Sonny Rollins sound so much better on Way Out West compared to Blue Note of the same period? The answer is the recording engineer. Living Stereo, Living Presence, and anything on Contempory recorded by DuNann are just amazing. They are all good on CD also if you can not find vintage LPs. Rich

Perhaps it is possible that you are playing the HIIIs louder than you think due to the speaker efficiency. You may wish to get a Sound Pressure Meter and see how loud you are going. Everything sounds harsh when its painfully loud. Just a thought.

I own HIIIs and the mids are a joy. I listen to accoustic jazz mostly although some jazz rock from the 70s too. If you have some tone controls on the amp you may want to play with them. I think pop music tends to be bright so that may affect you. I used to have Infinity SM 102s and the HIIIs are actually less bright. Good luck Rich

MIchael, I can understand your sadness. My wife's black and white cat recently died at 17 years after kidney disease. The cat destroyed a couch and a chair and was at times very much a pest, but was still very much loved. Sometimes as cats get older their reflexes slow. We had a neighbor who back their car onto their cat. I think the old cats just can not hear and see the cars. The younger cats react faster. Still, the loss of a beloved pet is hard. They are our buddies and companions.

Here is what I know. XRCD is just a regular CD using very high quality mastering and quality control. XRCD was developed by JVC and also uses the K2 timing process. I have several XRCDs and non-XRCDs that use the K2 process. XRCDs are excellent because of the quality control and the mastering. There is a new line of 25 Blue Note XRCDs that are being released and I have Tina Brooks True Blue. The sound is lively and clear. The key is the adherence to process and the mastering by expert engineer Alan Yoshida. I have many K2s that were part of the 20 bit mastering series that Concord did in the early 2000s. They can be found NOS at really low prices. They also sound fantastic but are not produced in Japan using the entire XRCD process so they can not be called XRCD. They are great values and do use the K2 timing process. Both XRCD and regular K2 play on regular CD players since they are redbook CDs. The XRCDs run $30 about the same as a SACD. The key is any XRCD mastered by Mr. Yoshida is worth the money . Elusive disk stocks many XRCDs. The Concord K2 series is easily found on Amazon and I have Quiet Kenny by Kenny Dorham that I got through Amazon from Newberry Comics for less than $3.00. The standard K2s are value if you can't see dropping $30 on something that you are not sure you will like. I have one HDCD. These require a proprietary player software (some Dennon machines have this) or a version of Microsoft media player to get the full HDCD sound. You can play it on a standard CD player but you will not get the full sound. Since I do not have the proper player I can not comment on the sound of HDCD. This format seems to be much less popular. I will let others chime in on SACD. You need a SACD player but SONY makes one that you can get for about $150. I have read that many DVD players in the $100 range can also play these. SACD use an entirely different coding scheme. The hybrid or dual layer ones play the standard CD layer as a redbook CD, but you still need a SACD player to get the full sound. Single layer SACD will only play on a SACD player.

I have slowly been getting back into vinyl. I got some used records last week from my family including both mono and stereo versions of Pete Rugolo Adventures in Sound and a 1960s Maynard Ferguson (MF SI SI). Anyway, the records had too much surface noise so I bought a spin clean record cleaner based on the positive reviews on Stereophile and on audiokarma. Here are my results. The only failure was on a rather beat up record of Maynard Ferguson Chameleon, the sound was improved a little but is still noisy due to the condition. The rest of the albums were improved to the point of sounding new. The early 60s recording MF SI SI had only one repeating pop which I think is probably an imperfection in the LP. After cleaning about 20 records I looked in the basin and there was hair and all kinds of nasty stuff. These records had mostly been cleaned before with a discwasher. So, I recommend the spinclean as a cost effective record cleaner at about 60 bucks. It is low tech, but works really well. It is also made in USA.

I am in Annapolis, MD. THere is a BN in town so I will check that out. Issue 71 has the H3 review. Hopefully Amy and the marketing people will get some quotes to use. In an unrelated page there was an ad for a cable burn in machine. I always burn in my cables by connecting them to the system, but I guess that is why I need to read high end magazines so that I can be enlightened. All of these years I never burned in my cables. Rich

Speaker fans, I actually purchased the issue 71 of Hi Fi + just to read the review of the H3. Since I am sure the review is copy right protected using the full force of the United Kingdom, I will just give my observation. 1. The reviewer was an owner of the H1 and actually liked the H3. He remarked that the H3 sounded like you were sitting close to a concert while the H1 was like sitting 15 rows back. He ordered the H3 with a subwoofer but since the subwoofer showed up late he listened to the H3 for a few weeks by themselves. He felt that the bass had great quality but lacked a bit in quantity. The sub filled things out when it showed up. All in all he viewed the H3 as a great value even if you added the cost of a sub. 2. Hi Fi + is an interesting magazine. It is printed on heavy paper and seems to be targeted to upper income British enthusiasts who are also value oriented. There are reviews of really expensive things along with more affordable stuff. The record reviews seem to be the same as the absolute sound which is a sister publication. 3. All in all this is a very favorable review. I think Amy and the marketing folks should get some sort of permission to at least quote the reviews and put some lines on the product web page for the H3. This is the first real magazine review I have seen for the H3. 4. Now the real question: Was it worth $16 for the magazine to be airmailed from the UK? I guess so. I will keep it to show visitors who hear my speakers. Rich

Folks, I just opened the first two records of a 4 Lps shipment from accoustic sounds. I went the cheap but new route and got re-issues new sealed. The original jazz classic (OJC) series is owned by Concord Group and it encompases the old Prestige, Riverside, Fantasy, and Contemporary lables. Anyway not wanting to spend 30 plus bucks for a 180 gram record I bought 4 generic light weight LPs. I was truly impressed with Miles Davis: Working with the Miles Davis Quintet which is a Prestige re-isse on OJC. The sound is dead quiet with no pops and Miles and Trane sound like they are in my living room!. I also got Music for Lighthouse Keeping by the Light House all stars. This is on Contempory (re-isse of course) and the original engineer was the legenday Roy DuNann so the sound is also first rate. The point is I got 4 Lps shipped to my door new sealed for less than 1 audiophile LP. I encourage members of the formum to look at the Concord Group Original Jazz Classics line of Vinyl at about $11-12 each. You can get them from accoustic sounds or direct from concord. I have not yet listened to Blue Serge (Capital) or Inner Urge, Joe Henderson (Blue Note). These are not Original Jazz Classics and I am a little concerned about the Blue Note since I have read some negative things about the Blue Note re-issue vinyl (not the more expensive 45 rpm stuff.) As an asside I recently replaced the old stylus on my Shure rxt6 cartidge with the Shure 97Xe stylus that is currently in production. It is an exact fit replacement and was only about $60 versus $190 for a NOS shure N111He. The sound is quite good from my mid 80s pioneer pl-670 Direct Drive from the lowly regarded black plastic era of 1986. With the new shure it sounds sweet to me and it allowed me to get back into LPs at a low cost.

The current issue of HI FI Plus has a review of the HIII. I am not a subscriber so I have not seen it. Has anyone read this? Rich

If you are looking for a small sub there is a Definitive Technologies Super Cube that is a 10.5" cube. I have never heard it, but I have seen in at the high end Best Buy Magnolia stores. It is small and appears to have good reviews. Has anyone heard the super cube? My set up is space constrained and if I go with a sub it will have to be something small.

Congratulations on the new speakers. I have had my Heresy IIIs since May 2009. I power mine with a 1991 Carver HR-752 solid state receiver. I also chose the smaller HIII over a bigger speaker (Cornwall III) because of size since the living room and the WAF ruled out the larger ones. That being said I really like the HIII. They shine on piano such as Dave Brubeck's Time Out and sound great on RCA Living Stereo classical music. The bass is good to my ears on Herbie Hancock's Headhunters funny electronic Chameleon. I did not do any sort of break in.on the speakers I did experiment with toe in and distance from the back wall. Since you have a sub I think your placement issues will be more about sweet spot and toe in versus corner and wall distance for bass. An interesting thing is because of the short size and tilt riser they sound best to my ears when you the listener are about 15 feet back. This is so that the horns will have a straight line to your ears. The riser compensates for the speaker being shorter than ear level Have fun and experiment to your liking. As for solid state versus tube I think the major issue is quality. Quality components in the signal chain will sound good on the H3. I am sure other H3 owners will chime in. I may someday get a nice tube amp, but the Carver works well for me. Rich

I just got the Columbia Legacy CD of Miles Davis Kind of Blue. I think this is the same CD that came with the 50th anniversary box set that retailed for about one hundred bucks. I got my CD for less than $15 new at Borders. I also have the 1997 version of the Kind of Blue cd and the difference is huge. I believe that those who think that all CDs sound bad should check this new CD out. CDs (standard redbook) can really sound good, but the issue is in the mastering. I have some outstanding JVC (redbook) XRCD also. LPs can also sound good or bad, the mastering for the format is critical. To my ears the 2009 Kind of Blue has great balance. I can hear the bass, piano and horns. The 1997 version was too hot with horns blasting way too loud (my opinion). You can actually hear tape hiss on the 2009 version which to me is a good thing. The 1997 version was too digitally clean. As much as I like my old LPs, when I am caught up in life's details I enjoy the ease of putting on a CD and getting on with the work at hand. This new Kind Of Blue sounds to my old ears as good as most of my LPs. With the 1997 version I could not understand what ever was all of the praise and acclaim that this Miles Davis recording received. With the 2009 version I get it. I have also read that the 200g Classic records LP is very good and I may get that some day, but for now this is a huge step forward.

Congratulations. I really like my H3s. Kudos to you for buying new also since the company needs new sales to stay in business. I never had any good speakers before my H3s so my comparisons are not that great, but I immediately noticed so much more detail from the H3s versus my old Infinity Sm-102. I also got the name plates from Klipsch since I thought I might some day pass the speakers on as an hierloom. Let us know how they sound when you get them Rich

From looking at his web site that you included I see glowing reviews from DownBeat magazine and jazz critic Nat Hentoff. There is also a review that compares his latest album to Miles Smiles which is a seminal hard bop/free jazz album that was one of Miles Davis last non-electric albums. So based on his touring schedule and those reviews I would expect a modern translation of mid sixties Miles. I recall that Wynton Marsalis also played a similar style when I saw him in the early 80s. That being said, I have never heard of Jeremy Pelt, but I buy jazz recordings based on reviews from people I trust and I trust DownBeat and Nat Hentoff. Rich

I have the Cherry H3s and they are very nice. My picture is not great but here it is. I am very happy with the finish and the sound of these speakers. RIch

According to what I could find Maynard could play an octave plus a step above triple high c. Triple high c is 4186 HZ and an octave above would be 8272 HZ. So the fundamental tones were less than 10,000 HZ. The RF 83 should be able to play this tone easily. My old Kossfire 110s could play my Maynard Ferguson albums. Something does not make sense.

Gerry Mulligan Live at the Village Vangard on 1960 Verve Vinyl. A few pops and clicks, but nice. I think the best Concert Jazz Band LP is '63 which has a beautiful version of the tune "Ballad". The live albulm is still good.