4tay

I used to upgrade Jolida amps with ALPS pots. Small expense, noticable improvement. (Not just sound, but mechanically).

I used a nitty gritty and home brew cleaning fluid. The difference in a real cleaning+ vacuuming is like lifting a towel from in front of the speakers. I cleaned up an old pressing of Al Hirt...and the clean LP sounded glorious compared to simply vacuuming---or not at all.

The merlin is more my speed. There is only so much complexity and expense that can go into a passive preamp. Adding more circuitry (remote or whatever) doesn't make it sound better to me, and isn't worth over 2 times the price. I have had good luck with mccormack TLC, Creek and a few others that were not over a grand. A DIY passive is just a few parts in a box--an attenuator. Adding more parts won't make the path cleaner. As long as it can drive a sub. I prefer heresey's and smaller with a sub. I intend to build an attenuator box pre from diyhifisupply. Basic parts are $119. I can always upgrade the pot to a Penny & Giles.

200 gram is thicker. I cannot state that they are always better, it's all in the recording/pressing. 200 gram has been released in recent years, especially things like half speed masters and certain special edition records that are USUALLY (but not always) a top notch recording. Any specific music or lable you are looking at?

Mccormack would agree. But I have definately seen instances that an amp needs to be powered by an active pre. Some folks swear that certain amps just "lack" unless pushed. At the end of the day, an active pre-amp, along with things like clips and bananna plugs are another connection/potential for distortion. The only reason I can see for decline is: bells and whistles, and HT. Seems like the bulk of the buyers want remote control with all kinds of options. I have read more than a few posts referring to an EQ, another noise and distortion inducing device. "I can eq that out!" (By amplifying distortion?) Sometimes, less is more. Ok, most times less is more.

And IIRC a Corvette cost $6,500.

Seems only a few TT's could play the Telarc 1812 overture LP without the needle jumping out of the groove. These were all very expensive rigs. I have yet to meet a cd player that won't play the Telarc CD of the 1812.

Glad to see another Monarchy audio fan!

I omit the bananna plugs, at the end of the day---it's another connection. I am using a direct-connect from my speaker cables and bypass the extra stuff. The 110 uf really isn't that big a deal, but if they are more than a few years old, swap them out for sure. My caps were 17 years old and needed freshening either way.

It was a safe assumption. I ended up omnitting the NP and using sonicaps all the way except for my center channel...it's not worth a $30 cap over the cost of a $12 for the tweeter (5uf)

My oaks aren't so boring to look at.

Electrolytic caps have been banned from my speakers. The caps are sonicaps...not NOT electrolytics. I purchased the sonicaps regardless of space or cost. I could have probably gotten similar results with dayton caps, which cost much less, (metallized poly, not electrolytic) But I am done replacing electrolytics with electrolytics. That's the only reason. Sonicap gen 1 do not have a 110uf, so it was necessary to combine 2. This happens occasionally. I like to match the cap value exactly. I could probably have found something .01 to.05 different, but that would alter the crossover point.

Agreed, speakers don't generate hiss.

That red is so brilliant it seems to have blurred your camera... []

A lot of this overlooks driver charactaristics. For example: Some tweeters are really poor below 10K while others are comfortable down to 7K. Some mids are magnificent to 5-6K while others can deal with 7-9K. It seems that there needs to be a crossover point that is respective of the FR and accuracy of the drivers in the enclosure, and not some pre-determined curve or frequency.

I replaced all the caps in my Forte II's and it was like taking the speakers from behind a curtain for the 1st time. That was before I installed the ti diaphragms. Bob Crites has stated that the larger caps are very spendy to replace, and as a blocking cap, aren't a big change, unlike changing the tweeters cap. The one thing it does seem to do is help prevent image drift. I can tell you, ditching the electrolytic caps made a difference in that from the mids on up. Look at the caps in the palladium xover...and you can see what Klipsch's opinion is of high end component use...(they didn't skimp)

What??? you mean you believed them when they said "Perfect sound forever" and Klipsch had to add "Digital ready" to the speaker displays in stores? I used to haunt Amoeba's in Berkley, Ca. My last LP was "Shahrazade" and half speed masters of Floyd and Mannhiem Steamroller/Fresh Aire series. Vinyl horror: I know a fellow that had an original (nice copy too) 45 of Elvis/Blue Moon of Kentucky from his first lable. His mom ended up selling it (circa 1980) at a yard sale for probably .50 cents. I haven't dared look at it's value now.

ohhh man... you had me at "Factory mahogany..." <slobber> Must...be...strong....must...lift...finger...away....from "place bid" button.....

Rogue Audio Metis.

The new HTC Driod incredible has people screaming away from the blackberries and ipods. It's #1 on my list. Wall Street Journal loves it.

The caps and tweets make a *H U G E* difference. Just the caps alone were night and day... Have you considered veneering the speakers? You can have any exotic finish you can think of.

It's not a question of faulty...it's a question of inferior. It's like saying a stock mustang GT isn't improved when a Shelby GT 500 package is added. The stock caps are indeed, junk. They have a MEASURABLY high ESR, and can be more improved by a $2.68 cap than any given variety of electronic front ends. So, we do indeed have something. Never mind that I have modded them and gotten results. We are talking measurable here, not some kind of snake oil that few can hear.

Klipsch forte (I) were made in that era that a lot of individuals liked to critique the things that were irrelevant. 1) 100 watt handling - that seems arbitary, because my forte 1's could handle most amps with no issue 2) Treble: some early Klipsch were listed to roll off between 17.5-19Khz 3) The forte's were listed flat to 32hz. In the right room, I found my forte (I) to be true full range speakers. Paired with the right gear there was not an issue with glare, horn shout or roll off. I felt that it was one of the few affordable speakers in the 1980's that didn't need a sub. The problem is back then, the poor quality of midfi electronics. Old timers used vinyl and tubes, and Klipsch were bliss. Younger folk used the Kenwood receiver and cheapo cd player of the day and complained of shout and harshness. In the vernacular of the layman, garbage in=garbage out. Klipsch got underrated and scorned from this bad experiment. Paired with something like the VMPS larger sub cossed at 30hz, it will help with program material that has low bass content, but it's not playing if there is nothing down there. Match made in Telarc heaven.

This is a HUGE point for me, not to mention choice of provider. I don't need to be a porn mavin to appreciate the fact that big brother isn't dictating content. I am my own consenting adult, and don't need some company limiting my options. IMO, it's no different that having the choice of R or adult pay per view. Don't want to see it? Don't buy it. But never, ever tell me, in this country that I can't have a choice if I want it. Remember the 1984 macintosh commercial? Apple has decided to be like the big brother they railed against back then with the Iphone.

There is a recurring nightmare I have had since the events I have witnessed. It involves well meaning, but drunk or clueless friends ruinining my stuff for me. I can remember in the 80's when people worried about blowing speakers because they thought speakers could be overpowered by an amp. This was a repeated worry for potential Klipsch buys. "100 watts??? that's all??" When in reality, it was the amp clipping, popping or shutting down that was the problem. UNDER power.