Delicious2

Fascinating thread Chris. Thanks for all your work. I've had mixed results trying it out with Audacity 2.1.1 on my PC laptop with Sennheiser HD600 headphones as the "target" speakers. May switch to my khorns at some point. The xml curves for Boston aren't to my liking. They just seem to suck the life out of the music whether the single one applied to More Than A Feeling or the two applied to Something About You. Am I doing something wrong? Are these the curves you intended since they don't seem to have much bass boost? On the other hand I had very satisfying results with Jaco's Donna Lee. I find it difficult to understand the mixing/mastering decisions made by the professionals on this tune. The original really robs the power of his bass and is so lackluster with nothing above 10k. Your eq curve really makes it so much more listenable. I note that with my attempts the fundamental shape of the bass isn't filling in after eq as in your examples. For display of the Frequency Analysis I imitated what I saw with your screencaps: Algorithm - Spectrum, Function - Hanning window, Size - 4096, Axis - Log frequency. Is that correct?

I'd like to know what's behind that grille cloth as maybe just as important as inside or outside tweeter positioning is vertical or horizontal. That question was discussed in this thread but not to any conclusion: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/135968-what-crossover-for-eliptrac-khorns-pics/page-2 My midrange eliptrac horns cross in front as opposed to directly at me or crossing behind. This with no attempt to aim them. That's just how it ends up with the speakers about 17.5 feet apart center to center and me sitting back about 11 feet from the centerline and about 13 feet from each speaker. I suppose I could play around with skewing the top hat a bit in or out by lifting its connecting bolts out of their holes. How can you make a fine distinction like "at the front or the back of your ears"? The vertical tweeters are on the outside.

Thanks Cut-Throat. Alcohol has long made my hands too unsteady for that type of work. It would be satisfying to do myself no doubt. The most I've managed in recent years was to build a DTS 10 kit. There was a time...

Thanks. I emailed him. I'm in the Boston area and don't want to ship if I don't have to...but maybe it's about the best person for the job.

Hi Klipschophiles, Been a coupla years since I posted but I lurk often. Lots of useful contributions here that have taken me from stock 1990 Khorns to hot rod ones with eliptrac mid and Al's universal xover. Now it's time get my SE amp journey back in gear. A few years ago I bought a pair of well used Welborne Lab Laurel IIs monoblocks. They ran pretty good for a while despite some damage to one output post. Later one began to smell that electrical smell that lets you know something is wrong. A skilled electronics guy at work tested it and concluded they had been built from kits and that the first one wasn't assembled very well (the one that's smelling) and the second one better. He replaced a cap but I found it still started to smell after it warmed up and now he says a bridge rectifier is bad but he has no time to do the repair himself. Please recommend someone in the New England area who is skilled with these and would repair the one, test them both and possibly refurbish, update, modify. thanks in advance! Mark H

2. Your pre-amp output may actually be enough to drive your K-horns to satisfactory listening levels. This is not unheard of. I can power my La Scalas off the headphone output of my walkman. A single volt makes plenty of sound. Interesting idea. I may try that but would wonder what would happen to a preamp which is meant to drive an amp input when you instead put a loudspeaker load on it

Very helpful Quiet_Hollow thanks! I'm thinking with the current 2 preamp setup I could run the 0db recorded tone and measure the voltage from the TT2.0 tube preamp output with the volume turned up in the 8-9 o'clock range (as high as I can ever go when it's the only preamp). Then I can measure the output voltage on the SS pre again with tone playing where the SS pre volume is about 9 o'clock and the tube pre about 12 o'clock (dialed in gain matching). If I plug these 2 measurements into your calculator it should give me the amount of attenuation I'll need. Sound right?

Thanks for the reply Quiet_Hollow. I have a basic RS voltmeter tucked away somewhere. Can you elaborate on how to measure the voltages?

After reading through the Manley Euro thread I found this link by russ69 intriguing: http://www.upscaleaudio.com/a-discussion-about-idle-hiss/ By way of background, I bought a used Audio Horizons TP2.0 tube preamp more than a year ago but haven't been able to run it due to noise. Standard CD player source (tried several) or any other line level source into the TP2.0 into little T-amp, VTL TT monoblocks, or Welborne Laurel 300b monos into KHorns all produced an intolerable steady state HUMMM. In addition the volume control range of the TP2.0 was hard to use manualIy and almost unuseable with the remote. The tiniest press of the button produced big changes in volume. I read up about hum here on the forums and tried different grounding changes, cheater plugs etc. No change. Finally I sent the TP2.0 off to its designer Joseph Chow. As you may know this line of tube preamps is touted for its low noise high S/N so Mr Chow took the hum quite seriously. When the unit returned it had NO hum but instead a steady state (at idle, not affected by volume control) HISSS. When I discuseed this with Mr Chow he referred me to sources of low noise replacement tubes. Discouraged, I didn't want to shop for tubes. I set aside the TP2.0 and went back to my Parasound P/HP 850 solid state preamp which is very quiet with all my amps and the super sensitive KHorns. Note that the Parasound however could never be set higher in volume than about 9 oclock and very small movements of the continuously variable volume knob ALSO created large changes in volume just like the tube pre - what's going on here...? This past week I found the above link and read the article. I shopped for inline attenuators but realized I didn't have any idea how much attenuation I would need or even if this would work. Then I got the idea to put my quiet Parasound SS preamp inline after the TP2.0 tube preamp and in that way have a volume control that could reduce the TP2.0's gain because after these readings it seemed I had too much and I was hearing the steady state tube HISS of the preamp. This past weekend I inserted the Parasound pre after the TP2.0. I am happy to report I am now a believer in the importance of gain matching. With the SS pre volume control under 9 o'clock not only was there no HISS at the listening position but the TP2.0 tube pre now had a very useable volume control range in the 10 -2 o'clock range! So my experiment works. I proved to my satisfaction the importance of gain matching. Here is where I need forum member help. How do I determine the correct attenuation to buy for inline devices since of course I don't want to leave 2 preamps inline?

I'm intimidated when I open the driver and find the diaphram and its electrical leads blocking me from getting at the bug screen. How to proceed?

...what was PWKs reason for including that 11/16th" (sorry not 7/16th") ID rubber washer? Anybody care to hazard a guess?

Thanks for the responses Tom and Chris. Maybe Dave will weigh in on the question. Chris I gather you are of the same mind. The less between the diaphram and our ears the better. The purpose of the bug screen is obvious but what was PWKs reason for including that 11/16th" (sorry not 7/16th") ID rubber washer?

I'm running modded Khorns with Dave's Eliptrac midhorns, stock mid drivers and ALK universal xovers. I removed the stock rubber washers with their paltry 7/16" opening mating the driver to the original horn with the notion that a larger opening here is better. Mistake?

Just to provide some resolution here...I ordered a pair of Universals from Al last week. [] Thanks for all the responses!

Nice Khorns and room EZ-Rhino! What are the room dimensions? Say more about your system and the sound you're getting.

Hey EZ-Rhino. I can certainly recommend the Eliptrac not only for looks but sound. It is much more open sounding and less "cupped hands" than the stock squawker. I have Dave's adapter and the stock K55 compression driver. How do you like the Universal and the Crites tweeter? What differences do you notice from stock?

Hmmm, when I asked eliptrac Dave why they were mounted vertically he said that was the way it should have been done in the first place. In any case I'll be trying them this way, on baffles "time aligned" sitting on top and I'm sure other ways both vertically and horizontally. Back on topic, I probably won't be soldering in parts myself. Thanks for the suggestions djk. These shaky old hands haven't held a soldering iron in years. Anyone tried the North Reading Engineering crossovers or Greg's own networks from Volti Audio? Thanks for the compliment EZ-Rhino. They do look good with that curvaceous eliptrac don't they.

Thanks for the replies Dean, NOSValves, Craig and Bruce. TheKhorns are surprisingly listenable with Eliptrac and stock AK-2s. I'm not dis-satisfied with the sound now. The eliptracs alone made a worthwhile improvement - much less of that "cupped hands" sound. Just looking for the next step given that my caps are probably out of spec. Are the ALK jr. still available new? Don't see them on Al's site. What do you think of Crites A4500 with Crites tweeters?

is the ALK universal a good compromise - not too complex/eating up power but also gentle slopes/lower order (same thing?) and constant impedance?

thanks for the reply Bruce. I'll search to learn more about your DHA2s.

BTW, I'm using 25 watt/ch PP triode monoblocks now and will probably try some low power SET designs in the future.

Thanks for the opinion Paul. I do indeed have the adapters and the K-55s. They sound very good now but as Dean said the caps are probably out of spec. So, are the universals a reasonable compromise in complexity? How important is constant impedance in these designs?

thanks for the opinions Craig and Dean. What am I to make of the difference? ES/complex vs first order/Simple?

thanks for the reply Chris and the link. I had read through that thread and other active crossover threads awhile back. I heard an active Khorn system briefly done by Greg of Volti a couple of years ago with a Behringer 2496 I have fooled a bit with a MiniDSP for my sub but don't think I'm ready for full active. Probably just a passive that's adjustable?

Bump. No experiences with Eliptrac? No crossover prefs?