chriswhotakesphotos

Are you able to post a JPG of it? PDF is a very 'loose' format, I'm wary about opening PDFs I find over the internet because they can be easily compromised

I have the KG 5.2s and Reference RP-280Fs. I haven't done a head to head yet, but I find that the RP-280F is better for a wider scope of material. The KG 5.2 sounds bright to me, to my ear it's better as a home theater speaker. I currently have the KG 5.2s set up next to my Heresies and I use the KGs for The Legend of Zelda because their pronounced treble makes for engaging location sound. The Heresies, I use for everything else.

I suspect the bigger KG series like a lot of power. I have a pair of 5.2s that, as a matter of fact, may also not be broken in yet. (The person who gave them to me said they were never used.) In my listening so far, going between a 60w amp and a 3.5w amp, it's the 10" driver and passive that suffer when dropping power, not the horn, which tells me that more power is needed overall to get the most out of them. The sound is much fuller on the 60w amp, while the 3.5w amp seems to barely push the 10" driver and the passive at all. They sound bright to me even on the higher-powered amp, but again, my pair may also not be broken in. I've been meaning to set them up with a 125w HT power amp I have to see how that will treat them, but I haven't actually done it yet.

Do you think it would be hard to find replacements when needed, though? Tubedepot and other sites carry them, but it seems like it's mostly new old stock, and I'd wonder if it would be tough to find them matched. Thanks for the information!

Here's another question: Is it easy to replace 6AD10 tubes? It doesn't seem like there are many of them around, and everything I can find is new old stock or otherwise pretty nondescript. Edit: Just saw NOSValves' second response. Bummer! Maybe I'll get the three-tube one later on, it seems like it uses much more common tubes.

That sounds about right to me. I may get the Tubecube with three tubes at some point in the future just to see how different it sounds, the two-tube PA1501A I have only has one red terminal for each speaker, while the Tubecube has terminals for 4, 6, and 8-ohms. Do you think that would make a big difference for the bigger speakers?

Oh, and while we're here, how about a question on tube rolling? It has 6AD10 tubes that, with no comparison, sound pretty good to me already. If I want to try other tubes later, how will I know which ones will be compatible?

I listened to it a good bit over the weekend and I'm definitely impressed that you can have sound like that for $200! It's no good with the KG 5.2s, I suspect that it has a much harder time pushing the 10" driver and passive than the horn. Those speakers sound pretty bright to me no matter what, but with the APPJ they were unlistenable. Haven't tested with the RP-280Fs yet, but it's a delight with the Heresy KP-201s. I've used it for jazz, big band, pop, and electronic so far, as well as video games, and it holds up quite well. I like processed music as a benchmark for smoothness, if I can listen to Psy or dubstep and not want to cover my ears, then something's being done right. (But as is always the case with Heresies, a subwoofer is much needed) Build quality seems quite nice as well, I initially wondered if it would have suffered aesthetically to meet its price. Instead, it's quite presentable and looks really nice. I like how it looks and the thick metal enclosure is great. Volume knob and power switch feel good, too, and it's nice and heavy. It really does raise the issue of good watts vs many watts, if you ask me. I haven't pushed it to massive levels yet, but I like to listen fairly loudly no matter what. So far, it seems to have plenty of juice for any of my ordinary listening, I haven't been any more conservative with levels than when I use my 60w Adcom. It's definitely interesting that I can enjoy similar levels with a seventeenth of the power! It does like a preamp, I've determined. When I fed it the DAC, it reached distortion pretty fast. When I use an Adcom preamp, it's no problem. I do plan to try it with the RP-280F as well, but I'm expecting it to perform similarly to the KGs. It just seems like it takes more power to get big drivers to perform at 100%. But for any smaller speakers, or Heritage speakers, I can't imagine finding anything better for $200. There's plenty of time to come up with further impressions, but I'm really enjoying it so far!

I'm in the club that likes power amps, my choice would be the Emotiva or Parasound. My own setup is an Adcom GFA-535 amp and GTP-400 preamp, two Heresy IIs (sometimes I switch in my RP-280Fs) and a Klipsch 12" subwoofer. It's very much all music-geared equipment, but that means that dynamics can breathe through like there's nothing there. I use it for video games and music only; I play Star Fox Zero with the bass tone control up all the way and it pounds. For games, nothing is better than having music and effects come out with no limitations on dynamics or levels. And that's only with 65w! (I just picked up a 3.5 tube amp that may become my main gaming amp too; Klipsch speakers sip power) I'm going to push it to a five speaker system in the future, or seven if Nintendo's next system supports it. For my purposes, I'm much happier having a stellar two-channel system than an okay surround system, so I've really focused my budget and energy on that.

My KP-201s have them, too!

Behold, the Tube Depot Tubecube 7! And the APPJ PA0901A/Miniwatt! This is one of those China-built wonders that has no clear origin, but appears under several brand names. I'd ordinarily be wary, but between being sold by Tube Depot and having an awful lot of good impressions available around the internet (and no counts of one bursting into flames,) I find it quite interesting. Even Klipsch has one! (http://www.klipsch.com/blog/u-turn-audio-orbit-basic-turntable-review/) In true "Shoot first, ask questions later" spirit (and possibly against good judgement,) I've ordered one of these second hand. Actually, that's not true. I've ordered a self-reputed updated version that has two tubes: https://www.amazon.com/Gemtune-APPJ-PA1501A-amplifier-6AD10/dp/B00X5ECQ4Q/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1470282830&sr=8-9 By the way, it's $180. What a world to live in where you can try tube sound so cheaply! I'll certainly be back with impressions once it arrives, but while we're here, has anybody here heard it? What does a tube amp sound like when it runs out of juice? Do you need to wait for the tubes to warm before you listen, or can you listen while they warm? Will it blow up if I feed it from my Adcom direct-coupled preamp? Will it blow up anyway?

When I bought my Heresies, I used "Soul Bossa Nova" from Quincy Jones to test for blown drivers. The opening orchestral section is just calm enough that you'd be able to hear anything conspicuous. I didn't use a paper towel tube, instead electing to hold my head up to each horn, but that would have been a great idea. I also used Burning Down The House by The Talking Heads to test a bit louder after. I picked those two songs because I thought they'd do well to show any flaws. Once you get them, set them up with a decent amp and enjoy. Klipsch speakers will let you know if your amplifier is no good! You absolutely don't have to break the bank, focus more on finding good watts than a lot of watts. The best thing about Klipsch is that you almost never have to worry about amp power inadequacy. Enjoy!

I've spotted a KV-3 center for sale locally. It's certainly handsome, but which models is it meant to match with? Judging by the dates it was sold, it looks like it would probably go with KGs or Epics. Can anyone figure how it might sound with a pair of KP-201s?

Not very elegantly! I currently have one on a Synergy Sub 12 and the other on a kitchen chair of the same height. Ikea Lack tables were recommended to me as a cheap and easy way to get them where they belong, they're $10 a pop. I'm planning on buying a pair once I can make it over to Ikea!

Neat, this is something I can weigh in on! I currently have a pair of KP-201s and KG 5.2s set up in the same system , the Heresies being closer together and at ear level and the KGs sitting on the floor. I'd consider using the 5.2s as surrounds, but they do have a distinctly different sound to the Heresies. To my ear, anything compared after playing the Heresies for a few minutes sounds like it has a pit in the midrange. Even my RP-280Fs sound worse by comparison. The KGs are nice, but the KP-201s really distinguish themselves with their intensely rich midrange. If that was me with the HIPs (great find, by the way!), I'd hold out for another pair of Heresies or Cornwalls and do a whole 5.1 with nothing but them. That'd definitely be my agenda if I found three HIPs for that price, I'd pick them up and use my KP-201s as mains.

Sounds like it's been quite an adventure so far! I have a pair of KG 5.2s. They're by far the best deal I ever got on a pair of Klipsch speakers; a client gave them to me! It's hard to say for sure what mine sound like; he said he'd bought them new and never ever used them. So I don't think they're broken in, and with the passive driver, I expect to have to commit quite a bit of listening before they'll sound 100%. They're definitely closer in sound to my RP-280Fs than my KP-201s (Heresy IIs). Since the crossover is all the way at 1600hz, it's best to sit on the floor (or put the speakers on something) since those frequencies will hide down there otherwise. They do well for music, but I most like them for video games. I find that the higher treble extension (as compared to the KP-201) is great for games like The Legend of Zelda series, where ambient location sound is a big part of the experience.

Hi, everybody! Things are really great with the KP-201s I picked up not long ago. Sound pours out of them like water...as long as the grilles are off. I wasn't a believer that grille on/grille off made a significant change in sound, but I didn't like the sound of them at all until I took off the grilles. It's a shame, since I really like the look of the ones they came with, but the sound from the HF horn seems to get eaten entirely by the grille. Since these are far from new (1989!), I'm especially concerned with preserving the longevity of the composite (?) cones and surrounds, as well as the compression drivers. Is there anything worth knowing about taking care of these when exposed to dust? How much risk is associated with dusting inside the horns, and can the cones be dusted at all? Thanks!

After a bad experience with a stereo receiver, I'm a bit biased against them as a whole. I bought a Yamaha a few years ago that said, on the spec sheet, 100w per channel. It was the most miserable-sounding distortion box I'd ever heard, and it could barely push medium volume on a pair of 95db Synergy towers before distorting tremendously. I later found out that a lot of these units are measured unrealistically at a single frequency or other means like that; it'd be like if you measured your car's MPG at 40mph in top gear, with the interior stripped out, while going downhill. The ensuing number would be worthless. And as others have pointed out, the numbers are sometimes confusing about how many driven channels it refers to. One good way to ensure an upgrade path would be to make sure your chosen AVR has pre-outs. That would mean that you could add separate power amps later and achieve drastically better sound. You could do this gradually, too: You could get a dedicated power amp for your mains and center to begin with, for example. Or you could start with your AVR (with pre-outs) and get a full 5-channel power amp later. Another path, which is what I'm doing, would be to focus your budget on the electronics and the two front speakers and add the other speakers as your finances allow. You could find a very nice power amp and surround preamp now and have a 2.1ch home theater, which will sound incredible, and add the other speakers as you see fit. In my case, I have an Adcom GFA-535 (65w) stereo power amp and a GFA-7607 7-channel amp (125w), as well as plenty of speakers. Once I find a suitable HT preamp that meets my needs, I'm going to use the GFA-535 for my mains, then the GFA-7607 for all other speakers. If there's anything I've learned, it's not to neglect the importance of good electronics. I use my 2.1 system for music and video games, and while I'm not playing in surround, there's nothing like being able to experience the full crack of game music and sound effects without compression or distortion.

I don't think you can unless you have the original paperwork or unless you compare the veneer to see if the two speakers are book matched. Bill Are Heritage speakers usually book matched? I didn't know that!

Lower bit rates sound bright to me. It makes sense, you're essentially chopping off from the top when you lower the bitrate, which means you're left with frequencies that don't sound good all on their own. I notice it most with big band or other instrumentals; dynamic sections lose punch or busy sections tend to mesh together instead of sounding like a whole band.

I'll also vouch for Heresy. I got an older pair a little while ago (KP-201, the professional H2) and to my ear they really spank my RP-280Fs. Not as bassy, but their midrange is magic.

I'll give a +1 to considering Heritage speakers. I have a pair of old KP-201s (professional Heresy 2s), KG5.2s and RP-280Fs and the Heresys are my favorite for any source material. I use them with an Adcom GFA-535 and GTP-500 preamp and nothing compares to them for how full they sound. Music pours right through like they're not even there! I was always a fan of my Klipsch speakers, but it really is a surprise how much more I enjoy them than I thought I would. They're a very warm sound, as well. The La Scalas, with their larger mid horns and horn loaded bass drivers, could only be more of a good thing.

I haven't heard that one, but I can vouch for the usefulness of the lesser, older Klipsch Sub 12 that I use with mine. It did take some figuring out in order to get the blend just right; the Heresies like a subwoofer that is taut and musical, and the Sub 12 was the cheapest Klipsch 12" available when it was released. Even still, once blended properly, I have yet to listen to source material where I said, "Ah, yes, I just heard subwoofer." I expect that a newer one would sound even better. Of course, it's best to read reviews and get an idea of how well other people are liking theirs, especially folks who are using it with other non-bass-heavy speakers.

The solution to WAF isn't prettier speakers, it's to buy them and then tell her!

I'll second the utility of tone controls. For how light they are on bass normally, they're surprisingly capable if you use tone controls. I normally listen to mine with a Klipsch Sub 12 (not ideal for them, but it does the job), though I sometimes turn it off and turn up the bass tone control on my Adcom preamp instead. It won't rattle the windows, but it really brings up their polite bass. Your mileage may vary, likely depending on how the tone control circuit on your preamp sounds as well as where the slope is. I'll also add that even though I really, really like bass, I so much prefer the sound of my Heresy IIs over my RP-280Fs that I don't use them very much anymore, and they do rattle the windows.