bijaker1

Thank you CECAA850! I did exactly what you said and the drivers are all within about +/-1dB of each other at different frequencies and volumes. Totally fixed the problem. I think I may just upgrade the crossovers anyways.

Hello everyone. I just got back not too long ago from a long summer away from home and I took my Cornwall II's out of storage. After a few weeks of light listening I noticed all of the highs coming from only one of the speakers. For example, the "smack" of the kick drum always seems to be coming from the left speaker. The speakers don't image as well as I remembered, so I took out my SPL meter and compared the speakers at different frequencies. It seems that the right tweeter (and to a lesser extent squawker) are quieter than the left channel. The right tweeter is 5-10dB quieter than the left one. The woofers though seem to be at the same volume. Did 3 months in hot storage ruin these guys? Could it be the crossovers? Or the tweeter? I swapped channels on the amp, cables, and channels from the source to the amp, with no change in which speaker was quieter, so I'm sure it is the speakers. What do you guys think? - Bijaker1

Ok great, I may just go and listen to both. I would like to get the Fortes but am hesitant. What do you guys think of $375 for the Forte Is without grills? I talked to Bob Crites and ordering new grills would amount to about $100 after shipping.

All the decorations only have WOW factor when NOT watching a movie. Who hangs out in a theater room when they aren't watching a movie?

Hello All, I think it's time to upgrade. I have a chance to buy either a pair of RF3 II's for $225 (good condition) or a pair of Forte I's missing grills for $375. I will have a chance to audition both but I want your opinion before I do so. What do you guys think? I have a pair of KG 5.2s for reference. Thanks!

Thanks Maynard []. Email Sent, let me know if you don't get it. If anyone else has input on the design I would very much appreciate it []

Hello Everyone, I plan on buying an HRT Music Streamer II DAC to feed 2 Marantz MA500 monoblocks. In order to keep volume control in the analog domain without buying a preamp, I plan on making a passive volume control from scratch. The max output voltage of the DAC is 2.25V and the output impedance reportedly 200Ohm. The monoblocks have 30kOhm input impedance with a sensitivity of 1V. For this reason the volume control is designed to drop the DACs voltage to 1V from 2.25V at 0 attenuation. Attached is a picture of the circuit so far. I do though have a question: what is more important, presenting a high input impedance to the DAC (by the volume control) or presenting a low output impedance to the amps? I can increase the size (max resistance) of the left/right pots (right now at 5kOhm max) and increase the input impedance or decrease the size of the pots to decrease output impedance. Thanks for all the help! EDIT: The label "Amp_Left" should read "Left_Input" meaning the left input to the amp, modeled by the 30kOhm resistor.

CD R.E.M.'s first album Murmur

That's great as I don't want to have to spend another $135+. I am currently using onboard audio: ALC662 with Windows 7 OS (that's why I want to add the DAC). I think I may have jumped on the mono blocks too early. I bought them today (before reading 1504-5's post) after demoing them at the owner's house. They sounded good at moderate volume on a pair of low-quality Sony speakers. When I got home and hooked them up to my KGs they sounded noticeably (although not horribly) worse than my Yamaha at low volumes. As soon as I turned it up the amps lost all sound and started making a clicking noise. I looked online and the source of the click is from the protection circuitry cutting off power to the amp. This kept happening at around the same volume (about 76-80dBA so not too loud at all! My Yamaha can make the KG's put out 97dBA!). Was I tricked? The owner did not play them any louder than 75dB (in retrospect I was stupid not to ask him to). What should I do? Attempt a repair (from what I saw it is most likely bad caps that need to be replaced)? Attempt a return? PS I checked the DC offset and it seems to be in range: 10mV on both amps.

Sorry for that, I guess I have to figure out how to make links clickable. Here is the URL for the link: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=573&name=Case-Fans I've bought lots of 120mm fans for my PCs as well as some smaller ones. Go with one that is both rated at a low SPL (around 20dB or less is very good) and has reviews saying it is quiet as manufactures aren't the most honest when it comes to fan SPL. Any 12V power supply with 500mA or more will work. Because you will be adding a fan to your AVR which does not have dedicated fan 12V supplies you should get a 12V adapter (like this one: http://www.12vadapters.com/adapter/power-supply/12v/1-amp-1a.html) and cut the end connector off so you can strip the wires and solder them to your PC fan wires. I wouldn't buy a 12V adapter because they are very easy to come by. I have several in the garage leftover from appliances that broke/were replaced. This may be overkill but I found an instructable that describes what I imagine you want to do: http://www.instructables.com/id/Mod-your-stereo-amp-with-PC-fans/?ALLSTEPS

NewEgg.com has a great selection of PC fans, that's where I buy mine. You can search by size, and noise level (which may be very important for an AVR) by clicking on "Advanced Search" on the left. Here's a link to their fans: Newegg Fan Link.

I could not find any old Yams (M or MX series) in my price range, but I will keep my eyes peeled for them.

I was planning on getting one of these: HRT Music Streamer II (Link) Which has an output rated at 2.25V RMS. The input sensitivity of the Marantz Monoblocks is 1V. Does this mean that a preamp is needed to reduce the output signal of the Music Streamer to match the 1V of the amps?

I think I may just go with that setup. I'm speaking to both of the sellers now. Thanks for the help guys. I do have another question though; would I even need the Marantz 2226B as a preamp if I'm going to be using a DAC connect to my computer? Can't I just connect the DAC to the Marantz monoblocks?

Thanks guys for all the help! I've been looking on ebay/craigslist and found a few. While I did not find any 2270s or 2265s, I did find a 2226B on CL for $135 (no shipping as I would pick it up). Another interesting find was a pair of Marantz MA500U Monoblock amps for $100 each also on CL. What do you guys think? Do you think these will sound better than the Yamaha I currently have?

Yes I am only looking for a two channel setup and I only have two speakers. I will be using this amp for 80% music and 20% movies. I looked at those vintage amps you posted and they look nice, although a bit expensive. My budget is about $300, that's why the pro amps looked so appealing. What do you mean? Will the Marantz amps you posted (rated for 70WPC) actually put out more power than the Yamaha I have (rated 100WPC)?

Hey Guys, I've been looking around for a power amp for a while in order to give my system some more oomph and I need some help. First of all, I have a Yamaha htr-6030 receiver (which I've been using to drive the speakers) which I would like to use as a preamp, although I do not know for sure if this is possible. I have read that in order to use a receiver as a preamp it must have preamp outputs, and as far as I can tell none of the outputs are labelled preamp or anything like that. Here is a picture of the back for reference: Link Here are a few used power amps that caught my eye. Here they are with their prices: Samick SMP 6000 --- $120 Ashley FTX 1500 --- $150 Niles SI-2125 --- $250 Peavey PMA 200 --- $75 I don't necessarily care about looks and I would be willing to go with one of the proamps and buy the necessary cables to do it. Please let me know what you think of these. Oh I have KG 5.2s which the amp will be driving.

Thanks djk!

Thank you BEC. Where exactly can I find one for a KG 5.2 crossover rebuild? I did not see any for sale on the Crites website.

Hello, I am currently attempting to build my own KG 5.2 crossovers, I noticed that the 4.2 and 5.2 schematics both have a weird resistor with a slash through it symbol labelled RDE 070. Does anyone know what this means? Thanks Bryan

Hey guys, I recently bumped into a pair of RF7 II's at a local Fry's Electronics and after listening to them for a while (they were wonderful, incredibly detailed) and attracting the attention of an employee I seem to have caught the bug... While searching for some floor-standers I came across a pair of RW10s for $325 (for both) in a local craigslist posting. It seems like an awesome deal, although I am relatively inexperienced with buying subwoofers so I'm looking for some guidance. I have a pair of KG 5.2s to pair up with the subwoofers although I am interested in getting a hold of some Heresys in the future. What do you guys think? Thanks for helping out! Bryan

Thanks for the advice Rivernuggets and Rusty Melton. I listen to artists like R.E.M., Elton John, and Madonna, and also some modern electronic music. The electronic music would definitely suffer without healthy lows, although I do think bands like R.E.M. would sound great on HII's based on what you and others have told me. After reading the threads (superedge88's and Texas Bone Crusher's) I think I'm going to have to pass on the HII's. I have a SS Yamaha htr-6030 receiver, which I'm afraid may not play well with the HII's and I didn't take into account the cost of stands nor a good sub. The KGs will have to do for my modest dorm setup. I may still audition them, although I'd feel a little bad having the seller set them up when I am unlikely (as of now anyways) to buy them. Who knows, maybe they'll persuade me. What do you guys think?

That's a shame, I do not have a sub up to par with the Heresys, although I've never been much of a bass-head. Assuming I do get a good sub, how would you compare the speakers?

Ok great, they are not yet sold, I will be making an appointment to audition them this weekend hopefully.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/2898501990.html What do you guys think? I have KG 5.2's to compare them to, will I notice a big difference?