Fast996

Lol...I chuckled,,,sorry. The bumble bee caps are VG candidates to leak and crack. I'm sure though if a put them on ebay somebody will buy them. The Arizona Capacitors Blue and Red have that classic sound. I tried to voice the preamp with mostly copper foil. I've had the 4 teflons for years and was glad to use them. The same with the Japanese resistors and the Black Gates. This unit gobbled up a bunch of stuff I've had for quite a while.... https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback.com/the-vintage-mcintosh-mx110-adventure-omg-stop-the-presses-up-next-the-a5-vott-project/ I used mostly pieces that I had left over from my other builds. Mundorf,Miflex KPFM,TFT teflon JDM Duelund,Arizona Capacitor,and Mundorf 4700uf 40v I purchased the JDM's, the Arizona caps,and the Mundorf filament cap.The rest I had leftover Takiman and shinko 1 watt resistors both carbon and metal film Silver micas 4-47uf 16v black gate FK The tech upgraded the power supply... low esr 105c caps...C1 50/50/50/50 uf electrolytic B+ cap 1 C2 50/50/50/50 uf electrolytic B+ cap IIRC the original can cap values were like 40,40.40,20,20,20 The original filament cap was a 2000uf 15v replaced w the 4700uf 40v You can upgrade these C20's with improved performance and yes my build is over the top,You can spend 5 bucks each on caps and no doubt retain the original sound. I just like to experiment. So if I have 4k invested I'd rather do that then spend 10K to each their own. Will all this make a SQ difference? In my experience yes. I had 4 .022uf Jupiter caps that I was hoping to use but the schematic I grabbed off the web showed them,but they weren't used in the model. McIntosh built 3 versions of the C20...early,mid,and late. Mine is a mid unit with a unpotted transformer and glass faceplate.

I purchased a McIntosh C20 preamp on Epay. I was looking for a tube preamp to run with my new to me Khorns. My first Mcintosh piece of gear and I knew the C20 would need some work. People say...oh keep it original and keep the "bumble bee caps", well that ain't necessarily a good idea. Some might look at the "before specs" and say that the measured performance wasn't that bad,but the McIntosh factory baseline for THD is 0.2 or better. I see tons of vintage Mac gear but the sellers never post figures,so I thought I would post these. When I receive the C20 back from the McIntosh authorized factory dealer service center I'll post my thoughts on the sound with the Khorns. The tech said "it sounds wonderful and "warm as it should". I can't wait.

Audio Classics called me today and my McIntosh C20 tube preamp is ready to ship back to me after a restoration. The before and after specs are impressive I think. My Accuphase P300 amp.will be done soon too I can't wait to hear my Khorns with a wonderful warm Mac C20.doing the signal.

What a mess. I would try to salvage the connectors and cut and skive that monster cable and solder some copper lug connectors on the wire and reconnect. That is a "bubba" job if ever I saw one.

The AK2 crossover uses 2- 2 uf caps on the upper half of the passive crossover and the AK3 uses 3 2uf caps. Consensus is the AK3 > AK2 . Can anybody tell me the purpose and effect should be by adding a extra 2uf cap?

I love my FM Tuners and have many great stations that play classical,Jazz,contempary,classic rock,and country. What's not to like? I use it because it's the easiest way for me to hear new music. Stations like KUNR,KNCJ,KVNV,KHTX,KODS all have excellent signals. I use several Terk antennas that do a very good job at providing signal. I have several tuners...Accuphase,DaySequerra,McIntosh,Dynaco. My Bedroom tuner the Accuphase T-106,I listen to into the late nite. FM is here to stay as with a great tuner the sound especially the human voice to me sounds analog. Even though most stations use digital source I think with the FM signal adds to the SQ. Tuners have come down in price and that's great because you can kind find some good deals. Btw I hear live broadcasts and archived material that I could never find by myself....Jazz,contempary,Opera,.... The really good cutting edge FM stations have the latest in technology and know their strengths which are live events or recorded events...especially from local venues. The local angle is really nice because low power FM stations in my area fill a niche that just can't be filled as simply for the listener any other way. After all FM is Local for the majority of users. Having a University NPR station is very important to me and UNR has a cutting edge broadcasting department. https://www.kunr.org/895-kncj-nevada-classical-jazz#stream/0

Iirc the ak3 crossovers use 3 2uf caps per channel. I would replace those and see if that makes a positive difference. That's where I would start...good luck.

This is probably a Ching Cheng green dot hospital grade cable in 14awg. I use them and a lot of audiophiles too. a very neutral cable. https://www.cdw.com/product/C2G-25ft-14-AWG-Hospital-Grade-Power-Cord-NEMA-5-15P-to-IEC320C13-Black/2269222?pfm=rvi?pfm=rvi 20 ft https://www.amazon.com/20ft-Nema-Hospital-Grade-5-15P/dp/B00S9XFLQ8/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=hospital+grade+20&qid=1627073020&sr=8-6-catcorr&srs=2529098011

I'm talking about the brand and partially about the construction. Belden purchased Gepco. There is Mogami and Gottham. All pro cables are terminated in balanced configurations. Home audio are unbalanced and balanced. We both know that..don't we.

I got off the audiophile cable wagon a long time ago. Back in 1990 I purchased cables from Walter Fields of NBS. I found out about shielded cable induced noise (SCIN) and all cables depending on how they are constructed will either add detract or be neutral somewhat. I use these with my NBS and they work well.and stand alone also.

Not really....this is the cable they use to make all the recording people listen to.

See if you can find a good quality hospital grade power cord....probably in 12 awg https://www.americord.com/hospital-power-cord/nema-5-15p-hospital-to-nema-5-15r.html

I use these....can't be beat IMHO 20 ft is the accepted limit but these are made of quad mic cable so that's not the case. Extremely flexible and great quality connectors/ I use Gotham Quad and Gepco....great cable with minimal coloration. and they are CHEAP in price. https://www.amazon.com/Foot-RCA-Cable-Pair-Interconnect/dp/B08SJ1TY9C/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=worlds+best+cables+rca+20+foot&qid=1627062838&s=electronics&sr=1-4

Just a observation. I purchased a set of 1989 AK2 a month ago and they are stock. After reading a lot of posts about the sound quality and reading threads about modding this and that. My conclusion after listening to mine with all kinds of music at moderate volume levels is Khorn sound quality is 95 percent dependent on their room placement,just like any other speaker. That means Khorns are room dependent. I have a 16x20(16ft on centers) room with one opening leading to a door that acts like a vent or resonator. I can find no serious fault with my setup I think adjusting the high hat for dispersion angle is a good idea. If that still leaves issues then a recap. You can start down a path and spend a lot of time and money. Luckily I'm satisfied with mine....my 2 cents and that's all it's worth.

I found this excellent thread. If any new developments or thoughts please add...

I have a pair of 1989 AK2 Khorns with I think the composite K400's. I do not want to change the horns or crossovers. But I do what to move away from the stock CD's. I can keep the originals if I ever want to return them to stock form. Question....there are a lot of aftermarket choices. I would like to know is there a advantage using a 2 inch throat CD over the 1 inch provided that it could be adapted to the K400? Does anybody use 2 inch CD's? Thanks

I have a pair of 1989 Ak2 K horns and am researching the same thing. My system doesn't quite meet the same objections you have,but I'm looking at improving the SQ. I have looked at different compression drivers and found 3 options :BMS,Fostex,and Radian. Still researching,but I found this thread. Not a Khorn but the Radian is a 1 inch 8 ohm driver. Also the Fostex look interesting but more expensive...they do make the best super tweeters in the world. Good luck and following this thread. https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/229225-midrange-compresion-drivers-fostex-d1400-vs-tad-td-2001-a.html https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/speaker_components/HornDrivers.shtml

Atom heart mother

Now that I have my bedroom system in place,although the Marrantz 4400 receiver is temporary. I'm using my Panosonic UB9000 blue ray player and it sounds good,but I have no speakers on the opposite side of the room and was thinking about adding a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers. There was a pair of WO's on my local CL but I blew it off...$600 too. dummy. Does anybody have Khorns and Heresy's for cinema? How do they sound as a system. Just wondering...thanks.

All my Ampex can play up to 30ips,all others can play 15 ips except the Sony 777's which are 7 1/2 the higher the speed the lower the S/N ratio...distortion.

Ampex,Crown,Studer and Sony....love them all. I listen to classical,opera,jazz,big band,country,and 1960's and 1970's rock.

The Federal Reserve is the engine of inflation joined at the hip by a corrupt government. been that way before I was born.

Very nice indeed....congrats!

Why did I wait so long? I have systems in other rooms and the master bedroom was the perfect spot. I'm a night owl and these K-horns make sure it stays that way....Glorious. Btw whose crazy enough to have K-horns in their bedroom? Me.

These were stored for about 4 years....were purchased in Okinawa Japan no less. They have about 30 hours on them and from first listen they have really changed. Great center phantom image. L and right channel are becoming non directional on some minimal mic'd recordings. The thing I like best is the bass is starting to "swirl" around the room. I think I might leave these stock. You members that told me to just listen and enjoy were sages.