dubai2000

I couldn't agree more - personally I discovered those Altec horns by accident - a small MRII 564 came first - and instantly replaced the 511 - then I upgraded to a 594 - and now I am the happy user of the 945A - but not on a Klipsch bass bin anymore - as my living room does not have two proper corners.

Well, let's put it that way.....after having gone down that route....I sold all my small format drivers (Klipsch, JBL, Altec)...but of course YMMV. And yes, I am talking two way here....

Have you considered large format Altec drivers?

Thx!

Sometimes occasions turn up a lot faster than expected - found myself a brand new Pontus - pre-owned but never used - and I am totally floored. Certainly the best digital source I have heard so far. The first impressions: the differences to the smaller Ares (first model) - similar tonalty but larger presentation of everything, more space between instruments/performers and a bass to die for - punchy, deep, tuneful - guys, I am a very happy camper indeed - and recommend those Denafrips DACs (even the Ares) most highly!

Of course I am late to the party, but since I bought a second-hand Ares I my digital quest is (almost) over - it is cerainly the least digital sounding digital source that I have owned so far - so why "almost"? Because the Ares simply tempts to upgrade - so one more "step up the ladder" it is going to be (hopefully soon) - thus the Pontus should be my next audio purchase.

Beautiful!!!

Looking great - though I still think - no, my ears told me - that those original ceramic input caps right before the chip-----well, they do not sound particularly good......

Came across my first Klipsch by accident. I was selling a Marantz 8b (didn't really appreciate it at the time because I was too young and inexperienced) and before the buyer left we were talking about the gear he owned. He mentioned a pair of horn speakers and all I "knew" was what I had read - horn spekers colour too much. Well, I asked if I could visit him and listen to those horns. A few days later I saw my previous Marantz connected to a pair of LaScalas. I shall never forget the first music I listend to: a Bernstein recording of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony (on DG). I was stunned - never had I heard music like this before - totally removed from speakers and (to my ears) certainly not coloured (meaning distorted in a way that sounded unnatural). Obviously many different tunes (of different styles) followed and I drove away knowing that this was the sound I wanted to have at home as well. Turned out that this gentleman had a pair of Khorns in the basement as they wouldn't play well in his small living room. Guess who bought them - for his even smaller living room (at the time) - then I joined this forum and my real audio education/journey began - the rest is history (as they say).

Pretty indeed but far too many Mundorf caps for my liking (or rather my ear's) . Cheers, Wolfram

Hi MicroMara, we should be close as I am in Ratingen - I order Miflex caps here: https://www.tme.eu/en/ Cheers, Wolfram

My latest discovery - Miflex caps from Poland - combine the cheap polypropylene caps with a copper-poly-paper bypass - excellent clarity, great tone for a reasonable price (and if hard pressed financially just use the polypropylene) - personall I prefer those to any Mundorf (I find all of them peaky) or Clarity Cap CSA (for example - or a variety of Russian types). Cheers, Wolfram

Absolutely - though I prefer my current setup to the 511/small format Altec driver which used before. Cheers, Wolfram

Cool - good luck with your project btw. Cheers, Wolfram

WOW - very cool but unless you have the skill, work place etc......so sadly definitely not for me - plus I wonder, do these enclose Khorns really perform like the traditional open ones (I guess this has been covered somewhere but....)? Cheers, Wolfram

But won't these boards add another IC into the signal? - sorry for the ignorant question. The beauty of transformers is - to my ears - that they often sound quite good. Cheers, Wolfram

Hi Rodolphe, that looks like a very nice room. Actually I also contemplate to move my Khorns from the basemnt into the living room. But I have only one proper corner so any pics that show how you solve that problem will be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Wolfram

Having lived a bit longer with the tweeter-less horn I am even more convinced that the performance is closer to "real" life than ever before. It' s like a wall of sound with great front-depth perspective. You really feel like getting up and walk between the musicians. Today I reworked my crossover (removed the tweeter caps) AND - most importantly - installed a pair of Miflex capacitors (from Poland). They do have some super expensive copper-polypropylene-paper caps (a 10uF cap sells for about $ 280.00 - which I cannot -afford) but combine their cheap polypropylene (12uF for $7.50) with a small (0.33uF) copper-poly-paper bypass and you are getting a very open, clean but never sterile sound (kind of perfect to my ears). Massed strings for example are really close to what you are hearing at a live concert. So I am a happy camper indeed and the Beyma ribbons will be up for sale soon. Cheers, Wolfram

That's what I asked a friend today as well - and the answer seems to be yes - one only has to connect balanced sockets to the input side of the transformer (a datasheet might say how) - I am using Lundahl 1540 btw.

The 3255 evaluation board also "improves" if you bypass the whole input section and connet a set of transformers where the ceramic caps are (they need to be removed) that run directly into the chip itself - for me that has been the most worthwhile mod. Cheers, Wolfram

Guys, I don't post much anymore but I keep on reading from time to time. It seems people have lately been toying with various ribbon based tweters, tweeter upgrades etc. Well, I have done something similar using a Beyma ribbon tweeter - but then I was in the Netherlands yesterdy. But let's start a bit earlier. This pring (prior to Corona) I had come across an advert of one of those big Altec theatre systems. I became curious and contacted the gentleman owner - we arranged a visit, but -alas- Corona interfered. Anyway, yesterday the visit took place - I don't want to bore you with details - but what had caused my interest was listening to a two-way horn system (ok - plus sub) that did not utilize any tweeter. I imagined that I would find such a sound dull, lifeless etc - BUT far from it. It was the most balanced horn setup I have ever encountered. So why this narration? Well, I happen to have a similar large Altec driver (a 291 in my case) on a MR594 as mid section (and the aforementioned Beyma on top) - so what's easier than disconnecting the tweeter and letting the Altec do its thing (network: a DIY Type A). And although the room in which I have my horn rig is (too) small - it's by far the best I have ever heard from my horns. It's so chorent, no harshness, a spacial presentation that is breathtaking (and very close to live). Call me stupid, but I guess for me that is the way I will continue using my horns - (and yes, I am in my late 50s and yes, I don't hear above 13Khz) - but this realism - I am floored indeed. So in case your driver/horn combo allows something similar - at least give it a try. I hope you don't mind me sharing. Cheers, Wolfram

BUT - if you are into classical music - what about performances from the past? - I mean there are recordings of great artist around that were recorded - yes, even in days of mono 😀 - hence I don't think traditional CD players are obsolete - but you might want to mod a bit (for example transformer output rather than the usual opamp stage).

Absolutely - I am using an old Nakamichi CD player and with a few mods it sounds just wonderful.

PM sent.

I still have a few tube amps around (and use them occasionally) but today my main amp is a TPA3255 Class-d amp (a bit modded) and I am very happy indeed - and bearing in mind costs - I think Class-d is a no-brainer.