twk123

Back when I was at CU around 2008 I would frequently go over to my buddies room with his gas mask and record player. Some good times I can barely remember. Im surprised that my Slightly Stoopid 'Chronchitis' album still plays for how many nights ended with that and a few bowls. I think part of it is knowledge and younger people not knowing how to get a decent setup put together ie DACs and good computer outputs. I did have an interesting experience a few months ago when I bought some Epic CF-4's in Denver for my Mom's significant other. I showed up at the apartment expecting it to be some old guy but it was a kid in his mid 20s that was selling them to make room for his RF-7 II's. We were talking and him and all his buddies all had high end Klipsch gear they frequently sold and traded between each other. His setup was 90% geared toward music and not HT as well.

I am a big Class D fan and power my LaScalas with a $20 Lepai 2020 A+ amp and it sounds great to me. Unfortunately they dont make the Tripath chips for them anymore so they are very hard to find. Here are 2 other options I think you will be happy with: Here is a Class D amp from Dayton Audio that costs about $80 that should work well for your needs. https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dta-120-class-t-mini-amplifier-60-wpc--300-3800 This is a well regarded AB amp from Dayton audio as well that is a bit more at $140 but has pre-outs for a subwoofer: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-apa150-150w-power-amplifier--300-812

That is actually one of the reasons I got my LaScalas, they are reasonably cat proof aside from them sleeping in the horn section sometimes. I would never declaw my cats though, for the same reason I own firearms.

Agreed. I always love listening to a live album all the way through. You really can hear the band warming up and get into the groove as the musicians and crowd build the energy up together. If you have a chance to find it, the Blue Riddim band album is awesome in that regard. Its a blues/reggae band of a bunch of white guys from the midwest who play their biggest show to date at a Jamaican Reggae festival. The lead singer is so nervous at the start his voice cracks but the crowd loves them and each song they build confidence and end up rocking out by the end.

1st Place is: Lynyrd Skynyrd "One More From The Road" 2nd Place: Blue Riddim band "Live in Jamaica"

I have heard good things about the bifrost as well. I have the Modi2 and its a decent device. A quick word on caution on picking an outboard DAC. Windows has recently made an update or something which causes issues with DACs that are only USB powered like the Modi. The Bifrost has its own power supply so its fine but I have not been able to get my computer to recognize my Modi 2 in the last few weeks despite resetting the drivers etc. I personally really like my Aune T1 although it is not as well known as other brands and you can swap out different tubes in the buffer stage which is cool.

I agree, I have these in my office with the titanium tweeters and they are a really fun set of speakers. They are very 'open' and kick out a ridiculous amount of bass. I work from home and every Friday afternoon I crank them up at the end of the day and always end up with a mischievous smile on my face. If anyone is into electronic music especially, I would recommend these over almost any other line from Klipsch. GLWS

Thanks for the heads up, I have edited the post for the actual speaker code instead of the tweeter. I think I will just use the AVR for now and if needed can upgrade. This project is still a moving target regarding final budget and setup etc so I want to keep the cost as minimal as possible but still hit a good part of the cost/quality curve.

Interesting how they play with the numbers. I have not looked at new AVRs in a while and thought that with many companies going to Class D the ratings would be more accurate for all channels. Speaking of Class D, I am thinking of maybe running three of these bridged as mono blocks for the LCR: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-apa150-150w-power-amplifier--300-812

Thanks for the input guys. Due to budget constraints, I think I am going to just use the AVR to power them for right now as it is a smaller room. I am thinking of using a Denon S-730H which can put out 165 W per channel. I am trying to get the budget down to around $8,000 which is about as low as I can go and still do a pro- audio setup and run it as a 5.1 for now. I will have another post with a full gear list soon. https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometheater/receivers/avrs730h

My Mom has moved into a new house with her boyfriend about 20 min away and he wants to build a top of the line HT system. I am still putting the pieces together but I would like to do a false wall with AT screen and Klipsch Pro audio speakers for LCR, probably either KI-396-SMA-II (advice from @MetropolisLakeOutfitters) or K-310. What do you guys recommend for a power amp for these? I will have the AVR handle the surrounds for 7.1 but want something really good for the front soundstage. Total budget is about $10,000 to $15,000. Thank you for the help in advance, I am really stoked on this project and will do some more posts once I get the pieces better figured out in my head.

Ive got my spine... Ive got my orange crush.

When I lived in UT there would be awesome deals on heritage stuff that would come up every now and again. I would put them in the Alerts section but nobody could take the 8+ hr drive to check them out.

Good subs are a must. There is a misconception that more/bigger subs just means louder bass. It is true you can get more output but the real reason for upgrading is to have cleaner bass. The Klipsch philosophy is that if it moves it distorts and that is very true for subs as well. A small 10'' huffing and rattling in a corner is going to be far more offensive than a decent 15'' dropping the floor out of the room like a roller coaster ride. For a good budget option, this Dayton Audio 15'' is well regarded and is around $200: https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1500-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B00JZTQIJ4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1501778684&sr=8-6&keywords=dayton+audio+subwoofer

CECAA lives in Texas. He could simply argue the mailbox was 'standing its ground'.

Listing is still live and price drop to $275. If you are even thinking about it, I would jump on this.

Here is a great talk from Tony Andrews about audio compression and the adrenal effects of bad sound vs the dopamine response of good sound. Interesting stuff and Tony is pretty much the English equivalent to PWK. There is another video about him discussing his speaker design as well.The notable difference is Tony's Funktion 1 sound system uses horn loaded paper cones while Klipsch uses compression drivers. The Funktion 1 system in Beta Nightclub in Denver is actually what got me addicted to horn loaded music and down the Klipsch rabbit hole.

There are generally two schools of thought on this. The first is the "Digital is only 1s and 0s so the cable doesn't matter" and the other is the "Digital 1s and 0s is still expressed as voltage levels thus a cheap cable can distort these levels to the point the DAC can misread them" Personally, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle and would get a decent monoprice one from amazon and call it good. https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-6-Feet-24AWG-Plated-105438/dp/B003BXPQF2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1501186398&sr=8-3&keywords=monoprice+USB+6ft I have heard though that going past 6 ft with a USB run can degrade the quality though. If you are using a PC, make sure to be sending out the digital info through WASAPI or AISO instead of your computers audio mixer. This will make a MUCH bigger improvement over USB quality.

Congrats! I am glad someone here picked it up. You should post some photos when you have them together.

Very cool. Building boomboxes is an awesome hobby, its a fun challenge to balance performance/portability/durability in one small package. What amp did you use? Also, is it a mono-summed network or full range L/R with sub?

This guy ordered new lug nuts and they were one size too large for his threads. I will let the video speak for itself:

When we moved I wrapped mine with blankets then took that plastic stuff that comes in a roll for packing and wrapped them up with a few layers around the blanket. I would second richie on the Van, they are cheap for local rent and I would much rather have them covered for the journey.

Your problem sounds like your world got small. When you dont go out for a while your experience here on Earth becomes limited to seeing the same 4 walls. Since you have no fresh stimulation you lose the ability to appreciate your guitars etc because you always see them and can always wait until tomorrow to pick them up. Since you have spiraled down to the point you are at so far, doing something big like a substantial hike in the mountains is too big of a hurtle to climb. So, start with something small to break out of those walls. Go for a walk. Seriously, dont plan on where you are going just open your door, pick a street and start walking. Check out your immediate surroundings the first few times then maybe google maps a nearby park and make it a point to walk there. Walk every day nomatter the weather. I used to work in a hellhole grey cubicle doing Online Enrollment for insurance and the only thing that kept me sane was to spend my full lunch hour walking. Literally days I would come back drenched from a downpour but I HAD to take my walk. Walking is great for a number of reasons. First you dont need much equipment like you would a bike or other exercise. It is extremely accessible as you literal just walk out the door. Also, it does something to you psychologically. Every step you take takes you closer to something cool, new and fresh. But every step is also a step you will have to take to get back. But that is the crux of it, you know you need to walk back but your will and inspiration drives you to whatever destination. Soon, you will see even little stuff like a squirrel climbing a tree or a dude playing a guitar on the street and he will make you think about the passion he has to put himself out there in public to play simply for the love of it and when you get home you will see your guitar and that same love that street performer has will well up inside you as you pick it up with a new appreciation. Seriously, even for the first time just go around the block- go for a walk. “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Based on your room size I would personally go with the atmos route so you get the effects of atmos and a well placed 5.1 system can be immersive on its own without the extra speakers. If you really feel you need the extra side speakers you can always use the pre-outs on your AVR then use an RCA splitter for each output and run each side into a cheap Class D amp to get the extra channels. So you would have one amp L/R be for the left and right surround and the other amp be for the back surrounds. You would not be able to set the distance separately for the surrounds and rears from your AVR but you can at least use the volume knob on the amp to fine tune the SPL for the Surrounds and Rears independently. It sounds complicated but its not too hard to put together (We can help you with diagrams etc too) down the road and in the meantime be able to enjoy the atmos effects.