steve

note AncientDudes address under his moniker.. Steve

Larry as for your question..I really like the AH! 4000..but it takes a lot of hours for the magical "break in"..I highly recommend it. It does cost a few bucks, and I personally think it's worth it. But then again..I'm a member of the SET camp too, after numerous SS amps, and a couple of high dollar/higher wattage tube amps to boot! Does my opinion still count? Regards Steve

Just sent via Paypal. Nice touch Dean. Steve

hey Craig very very sorry to hear of your father's passing..I too know the feeling as I lost my dad last August. Time will heal, but stay well during the healing process. We're here for you. My sincere condolences. Regards, Steve

Lisa actually, it was the combo of the traps and tapestries..it really balanced things out. As for the tone controls..well, most of the time the treble stays at the 12:00 position, and the bass is at the 1:00 position. A lot of my listening is 60s-70s music, and the bass on some of those recordings is somewhat lean. But there are some recordings I even inch the treble up on.. Oldbuckster..yeah, you spotted a lava lamp..actually there are 4 of them in there! I can almost smell the scented candles too... Steve

I have to agree with the other forum members here. I'm surprised Mr. Wright even answered you in the first place. I'm even more surprised you posted all the email content for everyone here to judge! I'll venture a guess that you might, just might have gotten more than you wanted from the Wright company if you had been somewhat civil! You do get what you give!

and finally, I have 5 traps in the wall/wall to ceiling corner on the high side..

note the three traps where the wall/ceiling meet..

and there's that pesky heat register I cut up!

you can kind of see the concrete footing (rug covered) between the LP rack and the speaker..

I've been wanting to write a post about tweaking my room/equipment etc. for a few months now, but just haven't gotten around to it. (unlike Rick-3Dzapper..get it..a round tuit?). So I thought I'd post my trials and tribulations and results... if not for the reader's amusement, then maybe for some help it may provide other listeners with their set up. Let me start out by saying I've had my Klipschorns since 1983, but at that time they were used with only vinyl, and a HK730 intergrated amp. Fast forward to 1991, when I started collecting CDs, replacing (but keeping) most of my LP collection for the newer format. My HK went south one day..probably an easy fix, but I opted to try new gear..and I went thru a few pieces, but never thought much about it, as my rig was set up in the living room. Well, that changed, as in 1995, I had a friend construct a 4 car garage, but at last minute, I chose to insert a 14 by 21 foot room, for a dedicated listening room. My wife was in total agreement, as she knew I kept the music down at night so she could sleep. Now that I had a detached room, playing Black Sabbath or Deep Purple, or whatever didn't bother her at 2AM. But, this is where the saga started. My listening room has a sloped ceiling, from L to R speaker, from 10 and a half feet to 6 1/2 feet. I couldn't tuck the KHorns in the corners, as I had a concrete footing on the left side, jutting out 6 inches into the room, and my baseboard heater on the right was too high for the Khorn cut out. I lived with this, thinking all was OK with world, although my bass lacked something and the room was a little bright. My first set up was all Adcom..the GCD600 CD player, GFP565 preamp, and the GFA545 amp. I had this for a couple of years, then decided bigger was better, and sold it all..bought the NEW Adcom state of the art, high end, high priced GCD750, GFP750 and (why, I don't know) GFA7802 (I think that may be the number, anyway it was 2 channel 300 watts SS!) What a mistake that was. I almost cried. The CD player was probably the best of the lot, but the preamp really bothered me. It was lifeless..I guess this is where I realized I like the tone control option, whether I use them all the time or not! And the amp..well, with KHorns, it was just a waste! Plus it had that clinical, sterile, emotionless (to me) solid state glare. I sold the preamp and the amp, taking somewhat of a bath, and kept the CD player for awhile. I used an Adcom GFP710 preamp I robbed from the garage, and then I bought a 300B SET 8 watt amp from Assemblage, a spinoff of Sonic Frontiers. I absolutely loved the sound of this amp, and basically this was where my love for the tube sound, especially SET amps came into play. I wanted a new CD player, and settled on the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 3000 what with all the positive reviews. I was disappointed with this unit at first ( I had purchased all the bells and whistles, such as the upsampler, goofy feet etc.) as it sounded harsh, but Kevin at Upscale Audio told me to keep it for an extra month to let it "break in"..and I must say, after about 250 hours, it changed. Magic? Maybe. Smoke and mirrors? Possibly. But whatever it was, I love the sound, and I haven't even rolled any tubes into it! It's my CD player to date, and the GCD750 is long gone. The AH! has great clarity, pronounced clean bass, and it reads CDs extremely fast!! I then wanted a tube preamp, and I ended up buying Craig's (NOS Valves) refurbished Scott 130 preamp (now belongs to Forrest-Woodog) I really enjoyed this preamp, but it had a noticeable hiss at idle..and Craig said this was the nature of the beast for that preamp..and of course, horn sensitivity. Once again, I made the mistake of thinking bigger (and more expensive!) was better, so I ordered the new McIntosh C2200 tube preamp and the new McIntosh MC275. I sold the 130, but held onto the Assemblage SET. In all fairness, I posted my longings for the new tube gear on this forum, asking opinions, and some said I'd like the bass a lot better, but I was also advised by a few that I may not like the 275 at all..one poster had owned a few, and didn't like them either. Well, I ignored all advice (and I was actually told I probably would ignore the advice if I was dead set on purchasing the electronics..right again) First off, let me say they were right about the MC275. I first thought I enjoyed it, due to the slamming bass! And it is a nice piece of gear..but the more I listened, the more I missed the smooth midrange..SET had gotten under my skin. I also thought some "clarity" was lacking, but thought that may be the MC275..so I sold it, barely having it in m y system for 2 or 3 months. I know I'm going to hear "well, you didn't break it in" but even so..I just didn't like it. I got a pretty good price for it, and the buyer was happy. I put the Assemblage back in the system..and although I enjoyed it more than the MC275 (by far!) there was still the lack of detail! Not as bad, but noticeable. I thought maybe I had a bad C2200 preamp..but heck, for close to 5 grand, that couldn't be possible! I posted my disappointment here on the forum, and most said send it back! I even emailed McIntosh, and I must say, they were very helpful..I swapped some tubes around, checked other things..to no avail. I chalked this up to "new" technology, thinking maybe I had been listening to too many "colored" preamps. So I lived with it. In it's defense, I have never experienced a better attenuation control..this thing turned up/down the volume in such small increments, there were no surprises! That feature was so, so incredibly smooth! So then I ordered Al K's crossovers for my 22 year old (last year) KHorns. I got them, noticed an immediate difference! A lot smoother..Al said I'd notice that change more than I would any equipment (amp) changes. And although I did get the immediate change, it wasn't as startling as I thought it would be! I monkeyed around with the different taps, but ended up staying with the X-4 standard taps, preferring them over any other combination. I also built half false corners, to compensate not having the Khorns stuffed into the real corners. Again, an improvement, but not as much as I thought it should be! So now I get some LERND bass traps, as suggested by Artto..who has a perfect room by all depictments. I order twice as many as I should (16 in all) but sell 8 of them on eBay. I originally got them to cancel room modes (bass, hoping the bass would reposition in other parts of the room)in the corners..but I also learn thru reading, and experimenting with them, that they are broadband traps, and will cut some high frequencies too! I don't want too dead of a room, but I had some bright issues too! More on this later. As a last ditch effort, I keep reading the forum, and since my KHorns are 21 feet apart, I believe maybe my lack of detail is no center channel! Yeah, that's it! So I ask Tom Mobley to build me one (which he does, thanx Tom!) and I order a brand spanking new Belle, as Klipsch is discontinuing them..and I figure why not? I also find another Assemblage SET 300B amp exactly like I have, and wire it in mono to drive the Belle. Got this from a guy named "Zig", from Canada, and on the Audiogon forum. Great guy..I also buy some spare tubes from him. Amp in new shape. Well taken care of. So I get my new stuff, and it does do a great job filling in the "hole"..which isn't really noticeable, until you shut that center speaker off! I also dial it in at about 4-5 db lower than the KHorns..I measured it at 1 meter out..right or wrong, I thought it was pretty balanced. So here I am, wanting a little more bass.. I pull the false half corners..and I take a jack hammer to the concrete footing on the left side..and I trim the sheet metal on the heat register on the right side..and I stuff those KHorns into the damn corners like they should have been in the first place!!! Ah yeah..that's a LOT better! Very clean, clear, filling NATURAL bass! I might add at this point, I had been using a Bob Carver True subwoofer MKII now and then, and although very powerful, it didn't sound right with the KHorns. In fact I think it cancelled the KHs bass! Is that possible? Anyway, it sounds a lot better in the house, on the surround sound rig with movies..NOT music! The KHorns give me everything I want in bass! But I'm still lacking that clarity. Hmm..this is months later. Maybe I'm having false memories of the way it "once" sounded..who knows. Then I try the unheard of.. One night, on my weekend, and well..ahem..a few beers in me, I go to the garage and grab the GFP710 (Adcom pre) I never liked it as well as the GFP565, but I thought, what the hey..let's put this in the system. I was floored. All those memories came back..music like I've never heard. I had tweaked the system thru all this, having the McIntosh preamp in the system, and never noticed any big strides..well, I heard all my work rewarded with this little 600 dollar SS preamp! I played music all night, it was like having a new collection! Bedtime came too soon (or was it too late??) and when I woke up, I thought it may have been the beer..so I went out to the music room, coffee in hand, and listened again..for hours. It was even better. So knowing I liked the GFP565 better, I set out to find one on eBay..watched a couple of auctions, and ended up with a very clean example of one for 200 bucks. (my new original, back in 1991 cost 900) Anyway, the whole system was better than I imagined it could be! Finally! All my little improvements came to life! Al K's crossovers took on a whole new level! Amazing how smoothly they blended the different frequencies..almost seamlessly! I must say Al was right..but I didn't notice the difference until I had a preamp that was right for my system! Now the new crossovers were coming thru like they should! The KHorns in the real corners were putting out a smooth bass like I had never heard..not boomy, or overwhelming, but natural and tight. The Assemblage amps were wonderful, and the Belle sounded like..well, it just disappeared into the wall in the center of the room. I have since hung a couple of tapestries on the speaker wall, and left wall, and repositioned the bass traps..I feel I have my room where it's just right. Not bright, but not dead either. It's just a full, rich sound, very natural, and it never leaves you fatigued! I've been in hog heaven for a couple of months. I have no desire to change things any time soon! I still feel weird when thinking I prefer the sound of a relatively cheap solid state preamp over a new high dollar, well received, well respected brand name preamp. Go figure. And I don't mean mildly so, I mean strongly so! I've also added a 37 inch Philips LCD TV (on top of the Belle for now, will be mounted to the wall) for CONCERTS ONLY! All movies are played in the house, on the so so surround sound! I just watched the Gov't Mule 3 hour DVD included in "The Deepest End" release the other night. Phenomenal! As an aside, I tried a JM Blueberry quite a while back, before most of you here bought a BB or Merlin or Peach. It wasn't my cup of tea at the time, as I wanted tone controls. But it did sound nice, and Mark was ever the gentlemen when taking it back. He was extremely easy to deal with, but I know I'm preaching to the choir here! I also have nothing but praise to say when I speak of Craig. He answered any questions I had about the 130 Scott, and some that he could probably care less about. Anyway, that's my story. Done? Maybe, maybe not. But happy? EXTREMELY! Funny how all little tweaks add up, but one component made everything come together! A strange choice, maybe..but it's all about the music! And at this time, I'm in music heaven. Keep trying Lisa! I know you too can find it! I'm going to post 4 pics, one of each corner of the music room! Thanx for letting me share my story! Regards, Steve

thanx Michael, Todd, Dr Who and Forrest for your listening reviews. I think most of us like hearing others systems, yet are comfortable with our own..but like you all stated, we Klipsch folks all appreciate the advice other Klipsch owners give..I have learned a lot here, but have also tried and disliked equipment many here give a five star rating! I really need to post a long winded summary of my trials and tribulations of my personal stereo nirvana accomplished between last fall and this "spring"! That said, my room also had that"slapback echo" that Michael is talking about in Todd's room..I actually solved that using Lernd bass traps..although they say bass, they are broadband absorpstion traps..I used 8 in all, and since my ceiling is sloped, I used 5 on the high side, which seemed to echo more, and 3 on the low side..some on corners, some on wall/ceiling surfaces..anyway, it really did the trick. I'll post pics when I write my my long story. At any rate, thanx again guys..wish I was closer and could check out your stereo systems and vice versa.. PS-Woo ..you still using the Scott 130? Steve

Michael Ian Gillan has a new release? What's it called, and how does it fare against his other albums/CDs? Thanx Steve

What are ya talkin about Craig? We have Amy!!

if you have Allan's congrats..you made the right choice! Way to go! Steve

aw, c'mon JPM let everyone have their fantasy. After all, Kathy may show up at the next Klipsch get together!!

wow Greg you deserve twice the price for the great write up you did on eBay! I don't think I've ever witnessed a product being sold backed up with as much info as you provided! Outstanding job!

it is funny how we all perceive the same thing so differently! Of all the LPs I replaced with CDs , I still think the Page remasters were by far the biggest improvement in clarity over the LPs. Yes, I was a big LP fan, I was one of the last converts. But I really feel these were done right! Just my opinion.. Steve

Beautiful room Kevin! How does the horn dispersion sound vs. stock KHorns? Steve

what a great review! Although I run 300Bs instead of 2A3s (which I would really like to audition!) I too am an addict to the SET sound..have been for years. I also do NOT want to make this an amp war..just agreeing with your views on SET. I just sold off a brand spanking new McIntosh MC275 tube amp in favor of my lowly SET amp..just because I preferred the sound. I wanted to experience the difference, and definitely liked the SET better. But like I have stated before, I am not the norm here. Congratulations! It's YOUR ears, and your preference! Enjoy! Steve

actually, I had the 4 disc box set first, then wanting all the releases in the correct order (yeah, I know..) I got them..but they're all remastered by Page. Same thing..different order. Great sound..IMHO Steve

obviously, I'm in the minority here. I have all my Led Zep LPs from the late 60s and early/mid 70s which I bought new when they were released. Although I'm as big of a Zep fan as most, I was always dismayed by the "muffling" of the sound of the first three albums..and well, disappointed. As one of the last people my age to finally make the switch to CD, I was probably most amazed by the sonic differences between the first CD transfers/releases and the later "remastered" versions. I MUCH prefer the latter, as it shows all the details of Plant's voice..I do notice Page's guitar work a bit tipped up, but I really like what has happened to Plant's vocals. But I'm usually in the minority..go figure. Steve

yep! 1983 Klipschorns, purchased from an authorized dealer in Juneau, Alaska. I can't remember the name of the outfit..he doesn't have that company anymore. All I know is I got a discount on them, as he said it would take months to get them..I found out from my brother that the guy was gonna demo them and try to sell more(hence the story about the long delivery time).so I was lucky enough to be visiting Juneau, and was at his shop when they wheeled them in..and before he could get them unpacked, I had them loaded in a truck, taking them back to the airport, and shipped them home! I didn't ask for demo models, and I'm glad I was at the right place at the right time! I'm also the original owner of my 2005 Belle, just built by Klipsch before they stop making them..makes a perfect center channel for the KHorns..as was intended. Steve

I've owned many Adcom amps, and I must say, they do sound a tad bright with KHorns..BUT! I really liked their preamp, the GFP-565..it was a nice unit for solid state..I have A/B'd it with my McIntosh C2200, and the C2200 isn't 5 times better by any means! (it cost 5 times more when both were purchased new) The tube pre is smoother..but again, for the price, the Adcom SS pre was a great deal!

Craig my thoughts are with you and your family..you're always here for everyone else..I believe that what you do comes back to you..keep positive thoughts. Best Steve