4tay
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There is a place called www.thesoundwell.com in the bay area that repairs vintage stuff---or knows who does.
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It's been a long time, but the Grado amp was between $350 and $450. Not worth it. There are $100 amps that are just as good. If I was spending more than $250 for a headphone amp, I'd look into a vacuum tube model.
The websites headwize and others have reviews and recommendations for headphone amps.
One of my favorites (blows away the grado) is a Musical Fidelity x-can.
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I like my scotch like I like my women. Mellowed with age and ready to pass out. [
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Review: Klipsch X5 headphones
The thing that first drew me in was the armature technology, the fact I wasn’t dealing with just another dynamic earbud. Not to mention the frequency response: a whopping 10hz to 19khz. It wasn’t that long ago that you had to plop down $500 or more to approach that capability. I am not a big fan of designs like Grado and Sennheiser that do not isolate. I want headphones to hear the music, not my external environment. And no one needs to be able to monitor what I am listening. I’d rather not bother anyone anyway. Sure, there are etymological designs (ultimate ears) that use individual drivers that pass $1K a pair and are orthopedically fitted to your ears. But come on… cost IS an object with me at this time. Besides…can you imagine accidentally damaging or losing $1,200 headphones?
In real life…there is bass!Back to the real world. One comment actually upset me about the Klipsch. “Response just as the recording artists intended.” Ok, where have I heard this before? Oh yeah. My Etymotic ER-6I. My ety’s cut off instantly at 80hz. They are gutless, unrealistic and do not reflect what the recording artist intended. Since when is cutting off the bottom two octaves fidelity? I read one silly comment “OMG, it makes other headsets sound slow and bloated!” Well, it makes other headsets sound REALISTIC by compare. In real life…there is bass! I will give one nod to my ety’s: no dynamics below $500 a pair have the same clarity and articulation. And they isolate fairly well.
Mid-fi funMy 2nd set, is a pair of $145 Bose triport around the ear headphones. These isolate pretty well, so long as you are not in a high noise environment. They do a pretty good job with music, though they are hard to drive (88 or 89db efficiency) so they sound like pure mud with small devices. Don’t even bother with an ipod shuffle…epic fail. When driven correctly, they are like the Bose of headphones. They are unapologetically mid-fi fun. They are pleasant to listen to and have a lot of bass power…more so than pretty much any sub $300 cans I have tried. They are less boomy and muddy than some cordless types I have tried as well. Ever try Koss cordless? Yeeeuck.
Reference headphones?Then, there is my Grado RS-1 and headphone amp. Arguably, musically articulate and flat responding. This rig costs me $750 a few years ago. They represent a trade off in abilities between the Senn HD 600’s. But also, fall short of what Denon has done with the stunning and beautiful mahogany-cupped AH-D7000’s. The AH-D7000’s represent to me, probably the best around the ear type dynamic on the market. Up from there, we start into electrostatic ear speakers like Stax Lambdas. (Those cost as much as a nice used pair of Klipschorns BTW). In some ways however, the Grados are less satisfying than the Bose. They don’t isolate, and really do nothing exciting. They are like the Vandersteen 2ce of headphones. Mid stage, low coloration, sweet and musical…but not impactful or overly exciting. They spread their shortcomings out so as not to have any one glaring flaw. Polite! Yes…that’s it! Not something to plug directly into an mp3 player anyway.
X5’s ComparedI ordered a pair of X5’s from Audio Advisor based on the universal acclaim. From the reviews I have read, they are considered more accurate than the X10’s. I like that: less costly, more accurate. Seems like a good deal to me. I dug out a variety of classical, rock, prog metal and jazz recordings to listen to. I used everything from a stereo system to a laptop, desktop and a creative x-fi as a source.
First: compared to my Ety’s: The ety’s do an admirable job of resolution, and musicality above 80hz. They are unsatisfactory to me, in fact as frustrating as near-beer. These ety’s simply clobber any dynamic under $400 for clarity, but leave me wanting for some body…any body at all. The Klipsch X5 eat these for lunch. The X5 can match them everywhere above 80hz, and crush them below 80hz.
Second: compared to Bose triport: The Bose triport are fun to listen to, but inarticulate, and wooly. Not as bad as most under $300 cans, but they don’t have much on top---kind of like their speakers—but not grainy. The Klipsch’s bass is infinitely more realistic and articulate. The X5’s top end leaves Bose deeply in the dust. And they isolate just as well. Bose aren’t so fun anymore.
Third: Compared to Grado RS-1 & amp: Ok.. $750+ worth of gear that doesn’t isolate. The grados by compare are BORING and polite. They respond well to higher frequencies, but in a way that is polite. The Klipsch reach up there and deliver startling clarity. Grado’s bass is pretty nice, but again, doesn’t seem as defined as the Klipsch. I feel bad now. The X5 didn’t exist a decade ago when I got the grados, but for the $145 I paid, the X5 just curb-stomp the Grados, and don’t need an outboard amp to do it. In this case, modern microelectronic technology makes $145 > $750 (or whatever the combo of rs1 and amp costs now).
In short, the speed and articulation---not to mention superb dynamic range of the X5 have shelved dynamic headphones for me. I am considering some X-10’s, but I have read across the board that the bass accuracy isn’t up to the X5. I see no need to spend more to compromise. I may not spend much more in the future, but the X5 have set a standard (price and performance) that I won’t go below…ever.
Finally, don't limit your listening to compressed mp3's. If so, at least try 320k. Better yet: FLAC. Listen to some Uncompressed PCM music that hasn't been crushed into audio swiss cheese by a compression algorythm. Never mind Nyquist. Listen to what music can do on these X5's. They are not some run of the mill headphones you slap on for that casual listen to fiddy cent at 128k. Put on some Sonny Rollins, or Miles. Maybe some Mussorgsky or Vivaldi. Enya or Eva Cassidy. The better the source material, the better the experiance. Where most sub $300 headphones really don't extract the detail and provide the musical experiance, the X5 sure can. The X5's are not the best out there, but for $145, I can't justify spending more for something that provides this level of performance.
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Mac afficianados rejoice: Apple has now surpassed Microsoft in value. This, back from the brink of extinction about 14 years ago.
Steve! Steve! Steve!
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Maybe the answers would be different on a JBL forum....but I am not here because I prefer JBL. You might find the crowd here leans a tad toward klipsch.
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The band made a statement at a press conference without costumes. "He was the best of us..." and the video is on www.tmz.com.
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What every female under 50 seems to want right now. "Twilight" Klipsch.
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IIRC Dr House has a SOTA turntable, and (I can't remember) but some high end speakers in his office.
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The biggest difference I can describe about horn loaded bass vs direct cone is the attack and definition. There is a certain air-moving force and realism that horn loading has that is lost when just radiated into space conventionally. It's like all of the energy from the cone (which doesn't need to move far...just a few mm and that reduces distortion) is directed like an air-horn concentrates air. Instead of dissipating, the wavefront hits you directly. Tympani, for example sound more realistic to me on a klipschorn than pretty much any other speaker. No small part of this is the waveguide effect of the bass bin.
I'd like to build some 24's myself.
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Here is my recent purchase: note the top has scratches on one speaker:
I am considering refinishing the speaker in a transparent cheery cherry or red mahogany to liven them up.
Other than those scratches and rust on the driver screws they are fresh. The screws are getting replaced when I mod the xover and tweeter.
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Yep, vectored thrust (de-rated for the F-22) F-119 Pratt on the test cell. One bad a** engine. I spent about 8-9 years on the Raptor production flight line as liaison engineer for propulsion, utility and sub-systems.
Kinda slow here; 3 minutes APU start - 60,000 feet in alert mode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TvK4zd23oThat is a cool image....I have not seen pics that way. I have worked airshows with the F-22, but never worked on/around them. As amazed as I was by an F-15's time to climb and manouverability when it was new, the F-22 makes it seem like a pregnant yak.
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There is a whole Tuba family of horn subs that BFM designs, and most of them, including the Tuba 18, are live sound/PA/club designs. I didn't mention those in my post; I recommended the Tuba HT.
Ahh ok gotcha. NOW we are talking SUB!!!
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I picked up some makers mark...1st time I have tried it. It's not only inexpensive, it's VERY good. Just the thing for listening to "Anvil of Crom" on some big klipsch speakers...
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Alot of this about the "SLOWER" larger drivers comes from the sloppy sound of cheaper budget subs without enough electric motor for the displacement, and poor design.
Roger
We have a good bingo! There are a lot of "HT" subs out there in the 15 and even 18" variety that have a weak motor or poorly built cone. I like the 15 and 18" TC sounds, the motor structure is amazing, and it has a 2.6" xmax. The 15" driver alone costs as much as many budget subs. I mentioned the velodyne specifically because the 12 and 15" models are exteremly well engineered. I only heard the 18" during an HT demo, so it was hard for me to draw conclusions. I know Velodyne actually limits the distortion it's allowed to reproduce.
If you see an HT sub under a grand, chances are that 15" driver is about a $40.00-$50.00 part.
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This is the response curve for an 8" (tuba 18) sub. Not impressive IMO...
20-30hz output is way too weak.
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I am in agreement. The possible exception might be the higher end 18" servo controlled velodyne, but I never put one through critical music paces. I prefer sealed box subs overall, with a stout power amp. The VMPS is a favorite just because it doesn't exhibit the slop a lot of big cone subs do. IMO--- an ideal sub would follow Infinity/VMPS/Genesis and others that use 2 or more 12" drivers. The smaller drivers tend to act more pistonically.
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The front 3 are walnut oil . The rear surrounds are walnut lacquer and noticeably lighter in color . Here's a pic with better lighting when I was putting everything back together after the ceiling was replaced . And 1 of my first pair being unpacked .Do you have a close pic of just the belles? It looks like they have a darker finish, like walnut oil...?
And 1 of the rear surrounds . Super nice!
Having an all-Belle surround is amazing! A Belle center channel---it doesn't get any better than that!
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There are a lot of subs out there that can mate. There are subs from VMPS, SVS, HSU, Velodyne that can produce an undistorted 115db+ at 20hz that will have no issue keeping up.
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Chris, I heard a rumor that you put a dent in MY Maker's Mark while atCB's. [:'(]
Incidentally... what is in your avatar? Is that a vector thrust jet engine?
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[. To me and this is just my experience in the Klipsch room at a local dealer the Belles had a warmer sound and were less in your face than the LaScalas .
ZZ top! Or as they say in Canada "Zed Zed Top!"
There are a set of La Scalas for sale in Florida (as previous post) and they are pre-modded (same parts used to mod the Belle) So audio performance issues are gone. I can't wait to get my hands on some la scalas (or belles) and turbo charge them with goodies.
Do you have a close pic of just the belles? It looks like they have a darker finish, like walnut oil...?
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There is a guy on this forum selling a pair of belles in miami, about 3hrs from me. I am still waiting to hear back from him to see pics before I decide to drive that far. If it doesnt pan out I will keep looking for la scallas or belles. Im guessing either or I will be happy with! I actually think la scallas would fit in my room better, being not as wide as the belles.
If you cannot locate Belles, just remember the lowest plain jane La Scala (flat black/pro) can be kissed by a Prince and turn into a swan. On this forum, folks have re-stained, re-painted and re-veneered la scalas to look far better than factory. That is: cherry, bubinga and other beautiful active grain wood finishes. La scalas can dazzle.
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OK how about comparing the belles to the la scallas? I heard that the la scallas are really weak on the bottom end. I just cant fathom the thought of adding a sub when the mains have 15 inch woofers!
They are the same, except cosmetically. The trade off of the horn loaded design is thus: ULTRA quick and INSTANTLY impactful bass, that sacrifices a portion of the 1st octave. I know a lot of people that enjoy them as is... but I prefer more low end, that's just me. I find that my classical material REALLY works when one of these gets augmented by a sub.
You really have to experiance this kind of bass in person. It hits like a truck. While other styles of speaker (like cornwall) have a BIG full bass, the belle/la scala bass pressure and definition is RIGHT NOW. The only speaker that sounds more realistic for drums is...the klipschorn.
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Kicking Harold.
Gasoline
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about the "SLOWER" larger drivers comes from the sloppy sound of cheaper budget subs without enough electric motor for the displacement, and poor design. 
And 1 of the rear surrounds . 
Herritage: To refinish or not to refinish - that is the question.
in Technical/Restorations
Posted
I have seen some Klipsch redone in (red) cherry, and I have decided to do that to my oak quartets. Somne transparent red to let the grain come through will be a lot more appealing to me than a yellowish or dark walnut finish.