T.H.E. Droid

Don't count on the latter happening too soon. But there's that arrogance that I previously noted.

ditto for me, I've got a set of Monster speaker cables that have been slowly been getting shorter for 20 years now. I like them because they are very flexible and lay flat and have enough copper to keep resistance low, but the terminations suck and need to be replaced from time to time. I can't really think of any cables I've ever had problems with, including interconnects. It's always been the connectors themselves, the most troublesom being RCA types. I've replaced many of the connectors with gold plated ones. I think the biggest breakthough of all will be a new type of connector that is very positive and reliable. Things like RCA and XLR's are based on near 100 year old designs. Can't we do better in the computer age?

Wow, this thread is a gold mine for audiophile mumbo jumbo, self-fulfilling prophecy, wishful thinking, and most important of all, conspicuous consumption. My conclusion is that people who spend enormous amounts of money on audio equipment don't want to be embarassed by using mere zip cord or Best Buy Monster cable to connect their speakers. The whole point is the cost.

JBL L-300 Summits. If I could only keep one pair of speakers, it would be the Summits.

Ultimately the points I'm trying to make are: 1. Taking a Heresy speaker and modifying it to the extent mentioned means it isn't a Heresy any longer. It's a speaker that uses some Heresy parts (mainly the cabinet) and is nothing more. 2. Frankly, the author seemed to be quite arrogant about "fixing" PWK's (implied) defective design. Once again, coming from someone who I'm sure I've never heard of, and never will. (as a successful loudspeaker designer and manufacturer.) Also, remember, PWK did most of his stuff with a sliderule rather than somebody else's software and I doubt many of these folks could even master the math. 3. The intent and execution of the Heresy was clearly not to reproduce the nauseating over-bassed synthetic stuff that passes for music these days and I'm sure most of it would have sent Paul running out of the room with his hands clamped over his ears. The Heresy's were designed to be used in smaller spaces or for center channel speakers with other Klipsch products.and were never intended to produce the kind of bass that larger speakers like the Cornwall produce. If you want more bass, get a Cornwall. (after all, the Heresy is a Cornwall with a smaller, sealed cabinet.)

I can't figure out why this should be an issue that demands a lot of effort. Getting the balance set up to your listening position is what the control is there for in the first place.

Reminds me of the "very honest" woman that had a pair of infinity sm12's at a garage sale. I asked her if they were working and she said, yes, they worked great. When I popped the grills off them, both woofers had completely blown away foam surrounds. Sounds like you're being fed a line of BS. If they are truly honest, they'll give you your money back. Good illustration, though, of why you NEVER buy a piece of electronics without testing it first. If they make excuses about why you can't check it out, they're trying to rip you off and you need to walk away.

I don't see how I confirmed what you stated in your original post......If the amp hums, hisses and is lacking bass by the degree you mentioned then something is wrong. If you're offering to get the performace to where you think it should be, let me know and I'll drop it off so you can take a look. I'm not planning to dump any more money into it though.

Resistance goes down with wire size increase, not up. Good speaker cables have higher strand counts to make them more flexible, resulting in a cable that lies well and doesn't have that cheap, kinky look of zip cord. There's no relectrical eason why you can't use solid strand Romex, which I have used on occasions in the past where there were long runs of cables in protected plenums, and the cable didn't have to flex past initial placement. Using reasonable sized speaker wire insures that your cable resistance is low enough that it doesn't affect the damping of the system or create loss in the cables. Remember, cable resistance in the circuit creates a voltage drop (and dissapates energy) that would otherwise be used to drive your speakers. Some people fail to read the "reasonable" part of the sentence though, and spend big money for snake oil products that don't produce any measurable benefit. Running multiple cables in parallel also decreases total resistance but you can get the same decrease by going to larger gauge wire, without the complications of bundling multiple cables together.

Craig, this was an LK48 that someone on the forums had you restore and I purchased it from them. I am NOT disappointed with your work, and I have set up the bias according to the instructions you produced for the amp. I think even though you didn't intend to, you simply confirmed what I was saying when I recommended the original poster proceed with caution and not commit money he can't recover if he (like me) doesn't feel that an amp in that price range doesn't perform as well as SS equipment in the same price range.

In your price range you might be disappointed. I bought a fully restored (by Craig) integrated amp to drive my Cornwalls and I was very disappointed. The mids/highs are fine but the 35w/channel amp simply runs out of steam when it comes to producing clean bass. Being a tube amp, it is also very noisy/hissy compared to good solid state equipment. All I can say is to be careful and before spending your money and make sure if you are getting something new, it can be returned if you don't like it. Also, having an amp rebuilt is expensive and you won't be able to get a refund if you don't like the results.

I also have an Adcom 555 and have used it with Khorns, Cornwalls, Heresy's and my JBL Summits. (similar configuration to the Cornwall.) I think the 555 can drive anything Klipsch with real ease and have plenty of reserve for good transients and tight bass response. I think if I had to pick one of the Klipsch system I've owned, it would be the Cornwalls. They are very easy to set up and give good response in a variety of room situations, have good bass (unlike the Heresy's).

You must be looking at different speakers than we are. Take most of the popular designs on the market during the heritage years and you'll see an overwhelming preponderance of direct radiators, where all Klipsch heritage designs use horns for at least the midrange and high frequency. That's a very substantial, fundamental difference, and one you can hear.

Marantz is one of those brands with some good stuff (older electronics and the higher end new stuff) and some bad stuff. (low end products, especially speakers.) Why marry good components into a mediocre consumer product? With so many options around for good, properly matched components, I think you can do much better with some of the kits on the market. Check Bob Crites site for some good options. You'll spend a bit more, but nothing is worse than spending money for a dud project.

Just no contest, the mid and highs are the same but the Cornwall bass is almost startling compared to the Heresy. To get it, you must accept a larger cabinet in width and height. (both are about the same depth.)

Always a joy to go through 8 pages of dickering between people who have never designed and manufactured a successful loudspeaker trying to "improve" one of the most successful products of a speaker designer who is considered an icon of the industry. Go figger.

Ah, welcome to the wacky world of Audiophilia.

at least with a Ferrari you can get girls. With a high end stereo all you can get is a headache.[]

I stopped using my Scott LK48 with my Cornwalls because it simply didn't have enough oomp for bass at moderate to higher levels. I think the LaScalas will produce more bass at the same wattage, so you want to make sure your amp will be able to drive Cornwalls to your satisfaction. Since you already have the amp, perhaps you can find some forum members in your area that can help you audition it with both speakers before you choose.

I didn't know that you could buy a used car for that little...? 1980 mint Yugo? Dennis (djk) is pointing out the DIY version, whose parts are a few $s, and that is something that Nelson Pass clearly supports and encourages - he actually wants innovative and knowledgeable competitors (not that many have taken him up on the offer...). Nelson Pass sold 100 units--which apparently went fast--then released the schematics--a policy that he never fails to follow for his "First Watt" company (this is NOT "Pass Labs") that he runs on the side with his son and a son's friend. Pretty cool, I'd say. I wish that I could do that for my son and friends--as well as he has done. I don't begrudge paying someone for innovation, quality and outstanding performance not available elsewhere (...sounds like PWK's M.O. ...), because this amplifier exhibits all three characteristics. I'm delighted with paying him for that. If I want to make clones for myself, that is apparently okay with Nelson Pass. It seems to me that the really big electronics giants like Sony, Yamaha, HK, Philips, GE, etc., don't do that--at least in my experience... Chris Well, to get it over with, I would expect someone who paid that much for a high school electronics class design to feel the need to justify the outlay. Audiopiles always go to great lenghts to justify the outlay. And yes, you can certainly buy good used cars for much less than that, but of course you need to use your intelligence and car knowledge to get one. I'm into my third year of driving my $500 Mercury minivan, with a total outlay of $300 for new tires and $850 in repairs. That works out to $550 a year plus gas and oil changes, or the equivalent of one or two car payments. Not bad, huh? But I won't blame Mr. Pass. Bilking rich people out of money is the American way, after all. Perhaps a $5000 power cord or some magic stones will make it sound even better?

What recourse you have depends on which state you live in, but there are some basic principles that apply when this happens: 1. Repair people in your home can't indemnify themselves against careless or neglegent acts through any contract you may sign. Because they are charging you for a service, they must show knowledgable, professional conduct and due care in doing their work. Knocking a speaker over and damaging it is carelessness. A good technician would secure anything that could be knocked over before starting work. 2. A parent company providing the service through contractors is liable for any damage. The contractor works for them, not you, and the parent company is responsible for anything the contractor does in your home. (Including stealing or committing a crime.) It's the parent company's responsibility to make sure the person is qualified and is not a criminal or will not commit criminal acts. They cannot absolve themselves of this repsponsibility through your service agreement. 3. Because of number 2, if you need to take legal action, you need to go after the parent company, not the technician. They might actually have the technician resolve the problem, but it's still their responsibility. 4. If you go into a small claims court, the overriding principle is the reasonable man principle. What wouild a reasonable person do? In most cases, I think a judge would agree that the repair person was careless, and find in your favor. In the future, some prevention on your part will save you a lot of trouble. Secure things that can be knocked over and move equipment if possible to make it easier for the tech to work. For some reason, all my cable techs seem like they're about 7 feet tall and 300 pounds (maybe buys that size don't need a ladder) so it helps to give them some maneuvering room. good luck.

The main issues I've seen are rotted foam cone suspensions and degraded crossovers. (aside from blown drivers.) You can replace foam surrounds fairly easily, there is a cottage industry of people selling the replacement surrounds. Ditto for crossovers. Most common parts to replace are aged capacitors, easy to replace. I guess the ones you want to stay away from are designs that are difficult to impossible to repair such as electrostatics and ribbons. Some speakers also bury druvers inside (I think the KEF 104/2 is such a design) and also subject to foam rot. It's hard to beat open designs such as the Heresy which, as far as I know, is not subject to foam rot and has easy to find replacement parts. As always, the bottom line is how much and for what? For example, I see lots of Heresy's at a very wide price range. Mine were brought from a friend who mainly wanted them in the hands of a Klipsch enthusiast, so for $100 I got a pristine pair of oild walnut spekers in the boxes without a mark on them. On the other hand, I've seen people trying sell beat up unpainted or badly finished birch Heresy's for $600 a pair, at least $400 more than they are actually worth.

gosh, and only the price of a used car. unfortunately, I'm never surprised at the gullability of audiophiles and their willingness to to pump huge piles of cash to dubious characters like Mr. Pass and his dealer cohort. One should be clued in by the reviewer's disturbing monstrosity of a system which I can be sure costs far more than it can possibly deliver.

Get the feeling the guy is compensating for something that's too small?

Actually, a good cabinet maker certainly will use plywood in areas such as backs, drawer parts, shelves and in may other areas, often using a good cabinet grade veneer plywood for the main construction because it is strong, easy to work with, dimensionally stable, and glues well. And with apologies to a computer geek, carpenters build houses, cabinet makers build chests of drawers. Beware advice on esthetics from a man known for not bathing for months or longer......[]