Marathon Man

Sounds to me like you are runnig into some feedbak of some type. Try connectin with a grounding plug, and I would also suggest that the unit is plugged into some type of surge protectoin with good noise filtering, such as the products that Monster makes. I know when I started getting into the larger subs with the big engines I had hums and thumps. I eventully went to the Monster line conditioner and Voltage regulator and have not had a problem since with either of my RSW-15's. Something to consider. I would hate for you to go through the trouble of returning the sub, and get another one home and it has the same problem. Try to eleminate interferance first, and if that does not work you still need to do it anyway for all your components. I purchased my RSW's when they first hit the market a couple of years ago, and i am pleased to say I have not had anything but very good sound quality, and performance out of both. Long live the RSW-15 its a nice piece.

Yesterday I pulled out of the attic my old KSW-12 to connect to a smaller system in my bedroom. I noticed that the phase switch is broken off at the toggle. Must have brushed it against something .. Anyway to make a long story short the sub will not play. Thinking that the swtich must be stuck in the middle between 0 and 180 I was able to reproduce this on another klipsch sub. If I carefully position the switch between the two settings the sub will indeed stop playing. I have taken off the back plane, and it looks like The switch will have to be replaced, but that does not look as easy as it sounds. Is suspect that the repair would be to replace the back plane. I was wondering: 1. Has anyone else had this problem? 2. Does anyone know if that collar around the toggle is removeable. This would allow me to maybe flip the toggle to either position to get the sub to play. I will post this out on the technical questions board also. I thought I would take a chance to see if anyone else had the same problems first.

I do understand sentimental feelings about older gear tho. I still have a Nikko Alpha 440 power amp with a SAE preamp that is boxed up in the original packaging in mint condition not a scratch on either piece. I will not sell it for any amount of money.. well almost any amount . ------------------ MM

Ok.. One of you guys need to sell me a Yamaha. The 800, or the 1020 will do just fine. I will offer visitation rights. ------------------ MM

I hear ya on the Moondogs. I plan to go that route once I get my theater into its new home. Just no place to put em right now. 5 mono blocks will take up some room... anyway. Here is a email address that you can contact me re: the yamaha.. ewjwkbbb@yahoo.com. Take care ------------------ MM

MH, BTW, how do you like your moondogs? ------------------ MM

MH, Let me know what you decide. In the mean time I will let the interested party know you have one that you are thinking of letting go. Im sure its a nice piece. ------------------ MM

Hi folks, Im looking for a vintage Yamaha reciever. Specifically the CR-800, 820, 840, 2040, 2020, 1020, or CR-1040. I am trying to find one in mint condition for a co-worker that is about to go nuts searching for one. Being the kind hearted audiophile that I am I decided to see if I can track one down for him. He has been looking on ebay, but playing the bid game is getting rather old, and he would like to get his hands on one of these babys as soon as possible. So if you have one of these dolls sitting in your attic or basement that you would like to sell let me know. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 08-07-2002 at 07:00 PM

strange how that right front corner seems to always sound the best hu... Yeah seal off the front door, and I guarantee you that is going to get you a WAF of zero. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 06-16-2002 at 07:39 PM

Well Im still playing with different positions. I had the original 15 in the front right which is where I get the best spl, and the 12 was in the rear left. this worked out good for that combo, because the 15 over powered the 12 to the point that I had to have the 12 closer to the listening position to get the desired effect. Now that the second 15 is in place its to pronounced when its that close so I moved it to the front left and that seems to balance out the sound stage rather nicely. I am however thinking about stacking them, because I get much better response from the front right front corner of the room, but I think I am going to wait until I finish installing the deffusers and re-meter the room to find the best position. I did some very basic spl tests using the B&K's low freq test tones and Im pushing about 110 db at 20 Hz with both subs now as opposed to a bit less than 95 db with one sub. This test was however done with a rat shack spl meter which as you know is not that reliable below 30 Hz, so Im thinking that the response is even better than the meter is telling me. My good spl meter has mysteriously disapeared . Im sure I just left it someplace and wher ever that is it has not been discovered yet. At any rate the two RSW-15's really energize the room, and the sound is incredible. I will try to get some pics posted as soon as the room treatments are done. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 06-15-2002 at 10:16 PM

Sounds good. Thanks. BTW I decided not to migrate to differnt subs. I traded the RSW-12 for another RSW-15 so the two 15's really energize the room, and I am quite happy now. I also am adding wall treatments (expensive), but well worth the money. I have done 2 seating positions for 3 speakers which is about 45 diffusers, and I have 4 other positions to do. So far im impressed with the results. Till next time. ------------------ MM

Long time no talk to my friend. Have you heard any news on the Ref-30 PLII upgrade yet? ------------------ MM

WOW! nice thread. ------------------ MM

I don't think this one has been mentioned. I just got it today. Dragonheart w/ Sean Conery doing the voice over for the dragon. WOW! This movie will really let you know just how dynamic your system really is. The dragons voice is deep and bassy, the "ole code" scene has the dragon flying around Dennis Quaid and I swear to you it sounds like this dragon is in the room with you. I watched the movie in DD 5.1 using rear side mounted speakers and I could have sworn I had the rear centers dialed in. Excellent imaging. Its one to own for sure. Its kinda hard to find locally tho. You might check out mediaplay.com, or amazon.com and order it. MUST HAVE! ------------------ MM

Max, The RF-5's will be just fine with the RC-3. The RF-5 is basically the RF-3 in a larger cabinet, and are said to have better wiring. The larger cabinet does seem to make the 5's sound better IMO, but you need to compare them side by side and decide for yourself if you purchase them or the RF-3. If you plan to one day migrate to the RF-7, then I would go with the RC-7 as a center. This way you are set if you decide to upgrade. If you don't decide then the RC-7, and the RF-5 will be fine together also. Remember try to get as much speaker as you can the first time. A good pair of speakers should last you a lifetime regardless if you change gear or not, unless your budget dictates you get there by way of upgrades. I say get em now and be done with it. The yamaha should be fine, but there are better recievers on the market for the same money or less. I was a big Yamaha fan and I owned a DSP-A1 which was one hell of a piece, but for the money it just did not have the flexability that I was looking for by way of setup. Other than that I loved the piece. The sub. The sub I would follow skonopa's advice and go with at leat the RSW-12 especially if you are going to move your theater into a larger room. If that is the case you will need a larger sub, or plan to add a second 10. Your choices in subs is plentifull, but if you decide to go with Klipsch I would go with the RSW-12, or 15 even. Im sure others on this board will have other sub options for you, but I use a RSW-15, and RSW-12 currentlly and I think they are nice subs, eventhough I think Im going to try much talked about SVS to replace the RSW-12. Thas my two cents. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 04-24-2002 at 11:45 PM

I got mine today about a month or so wait. Im glad it was free because if I had paid for a postage stamp to send off for it I would have been pissed. The THX intros were good, but I can watch that on the Toy Story dvd. I guess I should have known it was going to be a big Kenwood advertisement, and Im not wild about anything that Kenwood makes anymore (just not like their old stuff late 70's early 80's thats for sure). If anyone is going to to order it give me your address and I will send you mine and save you the long disapointing wait. ------------------ MM

Crash, Good good thread. I have been reading the replys on the topic and at first I have to tell you that I was indeed disapointed to hear what you had to say. However in the back of my mind I was pleased to know the truth. See in this hobby the truth will set you free. Its obvious that if what you are saying is true (and I think it is) that its unavoidable no matter how hard it is to hear it especially about a product that you had/have a lot of trust and respect for. Be it as it may I say if you own the speaker like I do, then deal with the truth. Thats not to say don't enjoy the product. You own em now. If it is causing you to loose sleep then you do have an option. Sell yours like Crash did, or take them back to the dealer where you purchased them (hopefully you did not buy them on the internet) im sure they will accomadate you since the speakers have been out less than a year. Most dealers have speaker trade up programs and they will be happy to sell you something else. The home audio industry has been lieing to you for years so why do you thing that this is so tragic. Remember this is all about money, and apparentlly Klipsch has found a way to produce a speaker that delivers hi end sound with not so expensive parts, and they have done a good job. This is not to say that their pricing is in line with the quality of the product. If Crash had not brought this up everyone that has read his post would have gone on thinking that the world begins and ends with the RF-7 (if you own them that is). If you think thats the end of it pop open the hood on some of that mass market gear that you are using (if it applys to you) with those RF-7's and a lot of you will be thinking the same about it also. This is one example of how this industry has lied to you all these years. lets take power ratings on receivers. (edited to not offend --> ) Some marketing person someplace found out that many people equate power rating with quality, and the industry uses this to its advantage. They know that most people don't start buying gear at hi end stores, and most people who don't just are not that informed about what they are buying. This was all of us at one time or another. Anyway they found out that if you put a product on the market and tell you it has a power output of 200 watts per channel that people will buy the product. Guess what... what they don't tell you is how they arrive at that power rating. They don't tell you that this 200 watts per channel amp or receiver is really only 80 watts with all 5 channels playing, or that the product was only rated at that output at 1Khz which means to conjure up the lower octaves that power output may drop to 50 watts per channel, because its not rated across the enire frequency band. You buy the receiver and the only thing you can tell your friends is that its 200 watts per channel, and life is good. I know that this is none of you right? Right. I bet that a good portion of people reading this post don't know how the amp section in your receiver or power amp was rated. If you found out that the receiver or amp you have is not putting out 100 watts per channel across the entire ferquency band., but more like 70 would you be mad? maybe, maybe not, but you would be informed same with the RF-7 talked about on this thread. I saw a receiver at Best Buys for $199.00 that had a power rating of 125 watts per channel. Now if you believe that receiver will perform at 125 watts per channel from 20Hz - 20 Khz then I have some beach front property in Ohio to sell you. Oh and the reference equipment WOW! The main difference between a reference power amp and a non reference 2 channel power amp is the wiring. But a good power amp is still a good power amp. Its marketing because the word reference sells gear. Did you know that out of all the pre/amps and receivers on the market that have various prices, that there are only one of three processor chips that will be inside no matter how much you pay for the piece. This is not to say that there are other variables that go into a good processor, like dac's and power supplies etc.. but the brains of a $10k pre amp could be the same brains in a $1k receiver. I could go on and on, but Im not sure how many characters you are limited to on this board.. . I don't hear crash telling you not to buy the RF-7, and he never said that the speakers don't sound good. I think I hear him saying don't let these dealers sell you the speakers for $2200.00. I think thats good advise with the info that he has uncovered. I don't think they will blow up or fall apart, but if they do then lesson learned, but Im not going to go out and replace 7 speakers in my theater because of this new insight either. that would be like spending money to save money. Try justifying that one to your wife. She will look at you like your crazy. If I had not purchased the equipment then I would think twice about closing that deal for the money they are asking, but I own the speakers now and so be it. So take this info and make sure you do your homework on your speaker purchase. Good Job Crash. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 04-25-2002 at 12:16 AM

100% Ears, Hey do you think that sticker boy has been moved to stuffing? :0 ------------------ MM

Disconnect the other two speakers from the center and use one center channel speaker, unless your reciever has another pair of binding posts to connect two CC's like the yammy DSP-A1. I really don't think that your Kenwood is designed to play at 2.5 Ohm. Instead of adding a whole troth of speakres to the center be sure that the center is aimed into the listening position. If that does not do it then its ok to turn it up a tad bit louder than the mains if you just have to have the center so pronounced. ------------------ MM

No need for redundancy so Im going to retract my comments since the Ears comment, and the one that I had posted basically says the same thing. This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 04-23-2002 at 10:37 PM

See you had to go there.. . My very first piece of decent stereo equipment was an old pioneer ( I have no clue what the model number was ), but this thing had a wooden cabinet with a screen in the top for ventilation. I remember that because I had an old Akia Reel to Reel 7" or so reels, and this thing had a 8 track tape recorder in the side of it. It had its own speakers that had metal flaps that covered them which could be opened for listening. Anyway. I had to be careful not to stack the reel to reel the wrong way or the feet would punch a whole in that screening. This pioneer I know had to be the first or one of the first stereo products that had a remote control of any type. The remote was hard wired to the front of the receiver (plug in din connecter) and you could only use it to move the radio dial. I thought it was the coolest thing. The thing actually sounded very good. I think that receiver is still floating around in my families younger generation to this day. Most likely in somones attic. I can't even remember what type of speakers I used, but Im sure they were make-shift... ------------------ MM

Im thinking that if Boa12 toed in a PA speaker and a driver-in speaker, and Ears toes in the speakers in front of his toilet, then toe in should indeed be the standard. I am still laughing about that. ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 04-23-2002 at 03:12 PM

Ah,, Sansui.. now you are conjuring up memories. I used a Sansui (can't think of the model number) intergrated amp prior to going to two channel seperates. Man I have not thought about Sansui in years, but they did not make a bad amp back then. ------------------ MM

Ears, LOL on the bathroom setup. Thats pretty funny. I can see you sitting there wondering to yourself toe in? toe out? LOL. I think thats the last place I would think to put stereo speakers. There are just some rooms in the house that you need total concentration, because lack there of could cause a mess.... and I do mean litterally. Thanks for the comments guys.I think I will leave it the way I have it. Its nice to know that in this hobby the one thing you have right, you really do have right. Boa12, LOL, I know I did not read that you used a PA speaker and a drive in speaker??? Man I bet that sounded good. Talking about void of bass or anything else for that matter.. LOL ------------------ MM This message has been edited by Marathon Man on 04-23-2002 at 12:51 PM

boa12, Ah! you rember those days hu. yep those were the good ole days. Now look at us. I still use a old SAE pre/amp and two channel Nikko Alpha 440 power amp. That stuff was build like a mac truck, and I will most likely have it forever. That power amp has not been turned off in now I guess over 6 years, and it still sounds good. I got that thing back in 1979. This is a two channel amp and it has to weigh about 70 lb's. I know that technology has come a long way but that stuff was built to last. ------------------ MM