JohnA

The correct spelling is Blose! Lots of people like them, but just set the EQ controls to "flat" and see how lousy they sound. As a rule, Blose puts the least $ content in their speakers for every $ of MSRP of any speaker manufacturer, or so I've been told. They sure sound like it to me. I wouldn't accept them as a prize in a contest. John

Everybody can generate an arguement for the best configuration of drivers and crossover. I'd love to listen to a pair of Carfrae horns for a long while. The look is superb. My preference is a 2-way design for it's overall simplicity and especially the simpler crossover it *could* have. Since a 2-way La Scala is either not possible, or the tweeter would be stunningly expensive, I have 3-way speakers and am happy. John

There is, of course, no best amplifier. I doubt you need more power, either. To get the sweeter, warmer sound you want look at MOSFET amps. The Parasound HCA-1500A is rated at 205 watts x 2. B&K Components makes all of their amps with MOSFETS; the ST2140 is 140w x 2 and MAY slide under $1000. B&K' ST60 is a 60 wpc stereo MOSFET amp that will be plenty of power for your RF-3s. Mondial Designs makes several good amps and some are tube/SS hybrids, you'll have to inquire about prices. What I need is a good 20 watt Class A HT amp! John

111 dB, A sub is required for 5.1. With most electronics you can set the .1 (LFE) output to subwoofer or LFE only. With LFE only, the sub will get only the special effects and will not interfer with your Fortes. The problem with this is on some movies the LFE signal is infrequent enough the sub will automatically power down. John

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I had a very nice Good Friday. John

You're where I was going until I found a second pair of La Scalas, cheaper than Heresies were going for on ebay. I have the -C7, 4 La Scalas and 2 VMPS Larger Subwoofers. I like my old Klipsch as well. John

CeeDog, How "hard" is your room? Have you considered heavier drapes or a throw rug to deaden the room? John

I don't recall a chuckle on this version. From the liner notes, this is supposed to be the original release of "Take Five". John

Call 1-800-KLIPSCH and order a replacement woofer. John

This has failed twice before .... The other thread was getting too long. I've recently discovered that Dave Brubeck's landmark 1959 recording "Time Out" has been rereleased on CD (this is the original "Take Five"). The results are fantastic! The location of the 4 musicians is perfect and rock stable. It is the best recording of a drum kit I've ever heard! Simple techniques were used, maybe only 4 mics. It's simply magic! John

James, You've captured my thoughts on tube amps well. I'm sure there are exceptions, but a tube amp's predeliction to frequency response errors from the speaker's impedance is enough to keep me away. John

You should take this to the Pro Media sections. They are better equipped to help you. John

Every amp clips when the musical waveform exceeds the amp's capacity, so it "clips" off the peak and sends a nasty flat-topped wave to your speaker. This is certain to cause damage after a short while. A speaker cannot be damaged by too little power as long as YOU don't turn the volume knob too high and cause clipping. If you do, poof goes your tweeters. That said, most speakers are damaged by small amps that are driven into clipping. 125 wpc in NOT a small amp; you have MORE than enough power for sane home use. John

I think 70 Hz sounds like an ideal crossover point for Heresies. The first prototypes were said to be solid as a brick outhoust down to 75 Hz and the production models went deeper. John

The Heresy II is a Heresy with updated components. In fact yours is one of the transitional models with the HII squawker. John

The neatest solution I've heard is someone here used a small piece of copper plate and a machine screw and bolt to make an adapter. One end was sized to fit into the "binding block" and the other has the screw in it to accept the cable. John

You can expect most oil finishes will darken the wood some. If you want to ensure the color doesn't darken the wood (or darken it the least), you should try a clear polyurethane. It should be available in flat, satin and gloss finishes. John

The squawker horn is now mounted on the front of the baffle! I didn't know that. It's been overdue. I have the flush mount brackets for the tweeters for my La Scalas. You will get the same drivers you have now with any Belle made in 1982 and after. The crossover will be different in the older ones, but they can updated. I doubt you will hear much difference. A recent factory tour improves ones knowledge! John

I don't think it is the tweeters that are the problem. E-V no longer makes drivers and the K-55-M in now unavailable. Others are being tested, but no selection has been made. E-V also made the tweeters so they are no longer available, either, but it is my understanding that a Klipsch friendly entity bought the tooling and can/is making the tweeters. Now if THEY'VE gone belly up, we have a problem! John

Keith, A full explaination will get very esoteric, very quickly, and well beyond my understanding. However, .... If both amps are really capable of 100/200 watts, as stated (nothing is really that linear and the real output at clipping is more likely 100@8 and 192+@4, or 110@8 and 200@4), then they will likely get just as loud as one another pushing the same pair of speakers unless one has some extra power supply capacity and can produce a little more dynamic power. Nothing here has addressed sound quality. The quality of the components and their ability to pass and amplify a signal unmodified from its input will dramatically affect the sound of the amp. Even things like the operating temperature of the transistors affect their ability to accruately amplify the signal. Mosfets sound a lot different than the normal bipolar transistors. The arrangement of the transistors in the circuit (cascode, cascade?) and whether there are capacitors in the signal path will affect sound. The maximum frequency rating of the transistors and the circuit will, too, due to its effect on transients and slewing rates. What's better and what makes no difference is pretty much beyond me. I think good sounding amp designs are still a bit o' magic. John

How do you get those cool double posts? John Warren, I don't disagree with your assessment of the Heritage line. However, a Wilson WAMM is more expensive than my house. The point is most items are an engineering trade-off between price and performance. I and most of us here have decided the Heritage Line is the best price/performance trade-off in the audio world. I have some ability to modify my La Scalas for better performance. I'm intrigued by djk's suggestion of the Comminity M200 as I had discovered it independantly and thought it might be a good substitute. However, I draw a line at sawing off the K-400 and using bondo to fill the crack (perhaps he omitted the TIG weld). Perhaps if Klipsch produced a horn that would readily accept the M200, I'd be all over it. Until than, .... John

They were raw birch when made. You should probably finish them with some sort of oil (tung, linseed?) for protection. John

They were raw birch when made. They look finished with some sort of oil (tung, linseed?). John

I see the British "valve amp" is right on the mark. I'd thought it was typical British like "bonnet". John

I sent you a response curve of a La Scala vs. a K-horn; both were measured in a corner. The Belle will be similar to the La Scala. The La Scala uses all of the K-horn components. The Belle's bass horn is wider and shallower than the La Scala so, it has a shorter squawker horn to fit into the shallower cabinet. Those are the two major differences in the Belle vs. the other two. It is said this causes no audible difference. The Belle is easier to place in the room, but takes up usable floorspace, unlike the K-horn. I use 2 VMPS Larger Subwoofers below 60 Hz with my La Scalas and am very satisfied. I'd buy the Belles if you don't have open, solid corners at each end of your long wall. Listen to them for about 3 months and then if you're not satisfied, go looking for a high output, low distortion subwoofer. The VMPS New Larger Subwoofer has an attractive finish and fits the bill, but is unpowered. Klipsch has a new powered sub, the RSW-15, that will work well, too. John