Stainz

In case you find an EC source for Emotiva, I wanted to chime in with my great experiences with their products. I've had their a-100 mini-X, a 50 Wpc amp, driven by an Onkyo C-7030 CD player and driving a pair Klipsch RB-81ii's. It was originally used in my 11' x 12' x 9' home office and now in my larger bonus/hobby room. It was replaced last fall in my office by a new A-100 BasX amplifier, with a headphone output (I'm using that now to listen to music - it's locally ~ 5:00 AM!) and a bit higher SNR. It has it's, own C-7030 CDP as it's input and a pair of Klipsch Heresys as output loads, with the same 50 Wpc rating as my earlier model. The power is plenty for me in both rooms, permitting plenty of sound power for my two music-only applications. My amplifiers, while admittedly 'entry level', are extremely well made and have been dependable as well. They both came impressively packed. Good products! Good luck.

I bought a beautiful looking & sounding '77 vintage pair of Heresys last Sept and replaced my RB-81ii's, which were at seated ear height on bookshelves at the 11' wall's corners in my home office. The Heresys were in front of the bookcases and on their non-tilted risers on the floor when A-Bed using my Onkyo TX-8020, a 50 Wpc 2.1 stereo receiver with the bookshelf speakers - which they 'blew away'! The bookshelf speakers are now upstairs in my bonus/hobby room on 24" HD stands slightly out from the room's corners. They sound the best they've sounded there - which is quite good. They are driven by an Emotiva a-100 mini-X 50Wpc amp fed by an Onkyo C-7030 CDP, which moved with the bookshelf speakers and was replaced with another C-7030 CDP and a then recently released replacement for my other Emotiva 50Wpc amp - A-100 BasX, which also now has a headphone jack for early AM listening that won''t bother my wife. The point here concerns the 50Wpc amps - it's more than enough for my 11' x 12' x 9' office with the Heresys. I, too, listen to ACJ, Getz/Byrd, Brubeck to Karajan/Berlin Philharmoniker and Adele to Bonnie Raitt and Dire Straits to Clapton, with my favorite CD being Paul Simons "Graceland" (The original mix/release. Oh - while I had the TX-8020 hooked up, I tried my JBL SUB 550P subwoofer, set XO <65 Hz, with both speakers and deemed it unnecessary. The old Heresys really sound great!

I bought a pair of RB-10 small bookshelf "Reference" speakers because I am a sucker for a bargain (<$90/pr shipped - and new!). I also bought the matching CC speaker - the RC-10 for a similar bargain (<$107 shipped - and new, too.). I printed the spec sheets, copyrighted 2004, from the website, noting a similar 4" LF driver to the R14M & RB-41ii, or two in the case of the CC speaker. A real deal maker was the 1" Ti dome in the HF horn. I knew I could use these as a BR TV's extension speakers, if nothing else. I even tried them in lieu of the B-10 and R-14M, similar bargains, used as extension speakers for my table top SW receivers - and they were the best yet, as far as crisp speech and decent music was concerned - even from the better sounding, if long, RC-10. Now I am wondering if I need a 5.1 AVR to L-C-R the speakers in the BR and re-cycle an old 10" sub-woofer... hmmmm... One thing bothers me - these speakers look a lot newer than 2004-ish. The boxes showed no evidence of being sealed more than once... but - they both contained the same Reference Series Owner's Manual - copyrighted 2016! So, newly made or not? It doesn't matter - they sound pretty good for the smallest Klipsch speakers I have. Oh, my Heresys have a home - the RB-81ii's, too - even though the little speakers did sound shockingly close to the RB-81ii's. Anyone know the production history on these speakers? Thanks! John

I wanted Hiii's - couldn't rationalize the ~$2k last fall - my RB-81ii's, an Emotiva A-100 BAS-X 50 Wpc amp, and an Onkyo C-7030 CDP would have to suffice for my 11' x 12' x 9' office. Then I found a decent pair of '77 vintage Heresys on Craig's List. Topped the Jeep up and was off to get them. I happily paid him his $375 price - and briefly entertained the thought of buying his K-horns for $2k - a deal - but I came for Heresys. Christmas would have been sparse for my grandkids, had I sprung for the K-horns - I made the right choice - for me - love the Heresys. My original Emotiva a-100 mini-X amp is upstairs with the RB-81ii's and another C-7030 CDP. The newer Emo 50 Wpc amp has >110 dB S/N - and a headphone jack. The Heresys sound full - and have a musical bass - great for everything from Adele to Bonnie Raitt to HVK & Berlin Phil. playing Tchaikovsky... even Marc Cohn - sounds better than ever to my 68 year old ears. Scott - just get a pair of Klipsch 'Heritage' speakers that you can afford and enjoy them! John

Here in C.A. (Central Alabama) we have lots of hills - you'll need brakes - or a great clutch and good synchro's in the box. I've considered the tone control question more carefully and decided it doesn't matter what I like... it's an individual decision. Use 'em if you have 'em... and want to!

I am reminded of the great Italian GP driver, Tazio Nuvolari, when he was asked, by his mechanic after winning the '32 or '33 Mille Miglia GP, "Oh, Great One, did you know you had no brakes?". His reply, roughly translated, "It's an Alfa Romeo... it doesn't need no stink'in brakes!". With that in mind, as we are all using Klipsch speakers - and they were designed to not need frequency response skewing - I would say to use the direct or bypass of the tone controls, with speaker placement adjustments necessary if the set-up doesn't sound 'right'. My music-only system is comprised of an Onkyo C-7030 CDP, an Emotiva A-100 BasX 50 Wpc amp with just a volume control and headphone jack, and a pair of corner located Heresys. It sounds great to my chronologically-challenged hearing (I am 68 - and I've enjoyed a lot of loud music and noise in my life.). Oh... I've driven an Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina (4dr sedan) with no brakes... not fun! (I didn't fully tighten a rear bleed screw...)

I always liked her... and never cared about her political leanings.

I have a 5.1 HT setup in our great room for programming and movies. Despite using the same speakers as my wife's music room stereo-only, Infinity Primus P363's driven by a Sony stereo receiver and CD changer, my Onkyo 7.1 AVR and year old Sony BRD player 5.1 HT - in stereo mode - just doesn't sound as clear as the dedicated stereo. Stop by my office and listen to an Onkyo C-7030 CDP feeding my Emotiva A-100 mini-x and it feeds my Heresys and you'll hear the best music playing system in my home. I tried to like our original Sony BRD player, the only one in the house with analog audio outputs, but compared to the C-7030 CDP, but recycled in my bonus/hobby room it just sounded flat - so I bought a second C-7030 to be used with my bonus/hobby room's system, which includes an Onkyo TX-8020 stereo receiver and a pair of R-15M speakers on my workbench. The C-7030 has pretty good D/A converters considering it's <$170 street price. A decent, albeit plastic, transport, too - my main one has seen daily use for two years without a problem.

I want to recycle an old Yamaha RX-V480 or HTR-5640 AVR and some speakers with my smart 42" LCD monitor in my bedroom. I just want the front three channels and for now, no sub. I have my ancient CC, a KV-2, but it may need 'updating'. I ordered an RC-10 for $109 delivered... but now I am wondering whether to rebuild my KV-2 or use the newer RC-10, which will probably better match my L&R speakers, either a pair of KB-15's or R-15M's. Any suggestions would be appreciated! It will likely be used infrequently, like when my wife wants to watch "Survivor"! Thanks! John

Thanks for you info, pauln. According to Klipsch site info, the Heresy response is 50 - 17,000 Hz +/- 5 dB, while their spec sheet on the Heresy iii states 58 - 20,000 Hz +/- 3 dB. While no 2.83V SPL is stated in the old Heresy's advert, the current Heresy iii states 99 dB. Additionally, my front-ported bass reflex RB-81ii speaker's spec sheet states a freq response of 44 - 24,000 Hz +/- 3 dB and an SPL of 97 dB. Something is strange here as you can hear a wee difference in levels when changing between the Heresy and the slightly louder big 8" Klipsch bookshelf speakers. I realize that their bass extension would be audibly lower than the Heresy's, but an SPL difference of 1 dB likely wouldn't be noticed. Still, while the mid & top end may be marginally better on the Hiii's when compared to my '77-vintage Heresys - blame the Ti diaphragms - my 68 year old ears likely wouldn't enjoy the improvements. I do believe the bass is better from the older Heresys, too... but that could just be wishful thinking!

My current stereo setup, in my 11' x 12' x 9' carpeted home 'office', has a pair of '77 vintage Heresy's driven by a brand new Emotiva A-100 BAS-X (50 Wpc very clean class AB SS amp.) whose input is an Onkyo C-7030 CDP. The power amp has a volume control and a headphone jack, with it's 110 dB SNR, it's quiet enough to be a direct drive headphone amp! I did put an Emotiva UCF (In-line volume control.) in line with it's similar predecessor, the a-100 mini-X, to see whether my new-to-me Heresys would really need my JBL SUB 550P subwoofer's 'help', as I had done originally last year with my RB-81ii's. They were a marginal help at best - with either speaker setup! And - I even did the 'subwoofer crawl' to find the best placement for the sub. I decided to apply the 'k.i.s.s.' principle, especially after last winter's discovery of the sub's AC cord having been disconnected - for several months. My 'test' CD is my original Graceland by Paul Simon, along with a Verve print of Getz/Byrd and Jazz Samba. Even the fretless bass sounds great on the Heresys - and the 50 Wpc leaves plenty of reserve for my listening, which is pretty wide in scope. I even just played the Mama's and the Papa's "If you can believe your eyes and ears" album - including 'Monday, Monday' - which has a crispness and clarity I never noticed before. The Heresys are 'enough' for my stereo music listening. My DG compilation of von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmoniker in Tchaikovsky, especially '1812', sounds full-bodied. Heck even Clapton... and Adele - sound fantastic!

At 50% more than the La Scala, the K-horns certainly won't need a subwoofer. I've heard them, too... and, if I am going to dream 'big', may as well dream K-horns! It dawned on me while writing the last post That I had never heard the Cornwalls - on paper, they look like Heresys with extended bass - are they that - or more?

A folded horn for an 8" LF driver wouldn't need the flow area a 15" would and likely would be a shorter path to match the smaller driver's higher free air resonance. The end result would be less MDF or plywood, just as complex as far as the construction is concerned, so a labor-intensive construction (Co$tly!). Now an 8" BR LF driver and a horn MF/HF driver and you've got my PRC-made Klipsch product, the RB-81ii, which has a lower bass extension than the Heresy. Go up to a pair of 10" and a single horn and you've got the US-made Klipsch RF-7. At 2.2 times the Heresy's price, the Cornwall would seem to be the more appropriate comparison. With the same 15" LF driver as the LaScala in a much larger sealed (?) enclosure, it eeks out a below 40 Hz bass extension and, at 102 dB SPL it will be twice as loud as the Heresy, too. Does anyone have both Heresys and Cornwalls to compare? Of course, a new set would only run $4398... Santa... It's axiomatic... I just found a close decent pair of walnut '71 vintage H-700 Heresys on CL for $400 - may as well be $4k - too many bills this time of year. I am blessed to have what I do have - and I know it! Merry Christmas! John

My Heresys are such a vast improvement over my previous speakers that I will be content for a while with them. Besides, the bass extension of the K-horns, currently 1.5 times the LaScala's cost, seems to be the main gain - but what a gain. Now, the LaScala vs the Heresy - the LaScala's better be a noticeable improvement. Four times as sensitive (105 vs 99 dB SPL) is good - the horn-loaded LF driver, although larger at 15" vs the 12" acoustic suspension LF driver, will sound different, if rolling off only ~8 Hz lower than the Heresy. I am sure that the LaScala's sound more spacious, too... but is that worth four times the Heresy's cost? If I had the moola and space, I'd go for the gold and just get K-horns. When I bought my VG+ '77 vintage walnut/flat riser Heresys for $375 from a CL seller, he had a pair of nice K-horns for $2k... I wasn't tempted... and that's my story! Of course, in hind sight... I do have a room... Sadly, I have a palate for single malt, but my budget barely supports Pepsi Max.

I've had RB-81ii's for over a year in a dedicated 2-channel set-up, first with an Onkyo 50Wpc stereo receiver and CDP (TX-8020 & C-7030), along with a JBL SUB 550P subwoofer. This was in my main music listening room - my 11' x 12' x 9' office. I needed the receiver upstairs in my bonus/hobby room, so I got another C-7030 CDP and a 50 Wpc Emotiva power amp (a-100 mini-X)and had the best stereo I had ever owned. The subwoofer wasn't needed. Then, two months back I found a pair of VG+ walnut '77-vintage Heresys... oops. I ended up buying the latest version of my simple 50 Wpc power amp, the Emotiva A-100 BAS-X ($195 on sale) - BIG WOW! I can pot up one amp for the big bookshelf speakers - or the other one for my Heresys... mostly, I now listen mainly to the Heresys. I still have the sub - but I don't need it. It will join the big Polk and smaller Sony subs in the aforementioned hobby/bonus room, also known as a boneyard for older audio equipment. There is something to be said about my simple system - a CD player, a power amp with just a volume control, and a pair of Heresys (Or RB-81ii's, which are book shelf versions of the RF-82ii's the op is considering.). My music ranges from Stan Getz/Sergio Mendes/Dave Brubeck to von Karajan leading Berlin Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky to Eric Clapton to CSN to CCR to Loreena McKennitt to Bonnie Raitt to, gasp, Adele! I am not missing much in low bass with either speaker, I feel. I don't need an FM tuner - and AM is at best an afterthought these days in AVR's, etc. I have a decent table radio for local AM & FM station listening (A Tivoli Audio Model One - the best $50 evil-bay radio purchase ever!) and several short wave radios (... driving Klipsch R-14M's - another hobby!) for 'distant' reception. Don't worry about age-related hearing problems - they are a fact of life, it seems. I have tinnitus as well. I have seen a few more passages around the sun (I am 68.) and I am retired, so money is in short supply. Still, I'd find some way to afford a pair of Klipsch Heresys - or RF-82ii's - sooner than later! My Heresys came from CL - and were a steal at <$400/pr.

My vinyl collection was a victim of a 'domestic conversion' decades ago... but I still have my '68 vintage AR turntable.. a bit of a hoarder, I suppose. I did start acquiring my CD collection of my 'old music' three decades ago - and that is my music source today. My Philips CD-960 CDP taught me a valuable lesson re parts availability vs longevity (Scrapped due to unavailable drive belts!), as well as how one can easily spend too much money for perceived 'quality' (A 24# CDP! A $30 Apex DVD layer from a grocery store read CDs more reliably!). My appreciation for music returned several years ago when I discovered the Onkyo C-7030 CDP. First connected to my older HT AVR's: Yamaha RX-V480 - replaced by a HTR-5640 and it by an Onkyo TX-SR505 (Current HT AVR.), it finally got it's own stereo receiver, a 50Wpc Onkyo TX-8020. My recycled HT speakers - Polk Large Monitors - were soon superseded by Infinity P163's (More HT hand-me-downs!) - and they by my first audio speaker for music listening only purchase in three decades - a pair of NHT SuperOne 2.1's. The NHT's are acoustic suspension with a 6.5" LF/1" dome HF and an optimistic SPL of 85dB. But... they sounded like my Advent Large from four decades ago - great - an improvement over recycled HT speakers. Parallel to this, I had tried a pair of Klipsch KB-15's as external speakers for my short wave table top receivers and was seriously impressed with the loudness a Watt of audio could produce, not to mention the clarity afforded by the horn mid/hi frequency driver. I had to try them on the Onkyo pair and was seriously impressed. Now that CDP & stereo 50 WPC receiver are my upstairs bonus/hobby room stereo with the NHT's and a year old R-15M pair to select from. They were replaced in my 11' x 12' x 9' office by another C-7030 CDP and an Emotiva a-100 mini-X 50Wpc @ 8 Ohms power amplifier with volume control to drive my new RB-81ii's over a year ago. I enjoyed great music listening, whether in my office or the hobby room - I thought I was content... silly me! I always wanted the Heresys... especially since hearing one over four decades ago as a cc for a pair of K-horns... WOW! I grabbed a pair from a CL vendor in October - great condition for '77 vintage. They needed their own amp, thus the 'boutique' amp question. The replacement for my earlier Emotiva amp, the A-100 BAS-X, had just been released at a Seasonal price of $195 - a pittance in boutique power amplifier terms, yet with great spec's. In use, I feed the CDP through the new amp, which drives the Heresys, and then the older amp, which drives the RB-81ii's. Thus, I can pot up either amp/speaker pair as I wish. It should have made deciding which speakers I preferred easier. It didn't! Instead, it gave me a reason to keep both systems and reinforced my indecision. My attempt at 'simplification' was thwarted. Okay, no loudness contour or scratch filters - not even tone controls (... to bypass!) - just a volume control (... or two.). I am happy... actually elated - I finally have my Heresys - and didn't have to say goodbye to my RB-81ii's, either. Yeah, they deserved their own amp! Sorry for my ramblings.

Nov 2015 found me getting a pair of RB81ii's to use in my office stereo, comprised of a 50 Wpc Onkyo TX-8020/C-7030 combo. I soon moved the Onkyo's to my upstairs bonus/hobby room, replacing them with another C-7030 CDP and a 50 Wpc Emotiva a-100 mini-X amp in my office. Fantastic sound - and I was 'happy' - even when upstairs, as the repurposed Onkyo's now drive R-15M's. Then, as I was perusing CL earlier this fall, I found a pair of affordable '77 vintage Heresy's. Oops. I hooked them up... That just wouldn't do... do they really sound that much better? I couldn't A-B the speakers with the Emo amp... so I retrieved the TX-8020 and compared the pairs of Klipsch speakers. The RB81ii's are just at seated ear height in corner bookcases on a 12ft wall with the Heresys on their level risers at the bookcases' foot. Both fed with 10ft of #14 pure Cu stranded zipcord. The Heresys are a bit less sensitive, don't seem to go as low (But... I love their refined bass!), and, obviously, have a real midrange. Sadly - I wanted to more easily A-B the speakers, so I bought the Heresys their own amp! Spending the kilobuck plus tor a SET hollow-state was out. But... the new version of my Emotiva was freshly 'out' and with a 15% Seasonal discount, it was an affordable $195... it was here in two days. New is the 110dB SNR... and the headphone jack, with an internal jumper to put full power available, if wanted. With it's volume control, it's quite a decent headphone amp. I had returned the Onkyo upstairs and made-up the speaker cable necessary to connect the new amp to the terminal strips on the Heresys by the time the amp arrived. I run the CDP's line out into the new amp and it's line out, a pass-thru, to the older amp, which drives the RB81ii's. I can now turn one up and the other down - rewind (go back!), reverse the pots, and compare. Thus far, I am not in a hurry to remove anything. My question is this: Is it heresy, when you have the opportunity, if not the means, to not buy your Heresys a proper boutique amp? Perhaps more info would help. I am 68, have a roll-off over 10 kHz, a dip from 3-4 kHz (I really don't hear my wife...), and I almost always have something to listen to - I have tinnitus. Could I really tell the difference? Besides - I really like the little Emo amp! Of course, first reading about the K-horns and Heresy's over a half century ago helped place them on my bucket list.

Here is the opposite Heresy from the one with the grill off in my other thread. My Lowe HF-225 ('92 vintage) 10kHz BW S-AM detector is feeding the Heresy, with it's normal load, a K. R-14M to the right of the radio, which was tuned to Radio Australia (9,580 kHz) which was fading then (1535 UTC) - all but gone now (1600+ UTC). Wow, Maynard, DXing with K-horns... you win! I've been on/off over the years with the NRC - currently on, although it's $45/20 issues/yr now - the excellent 'AM Radio Log' is up to the 37th edition now & $27/$31 Priority Mail member/non-member - and worth it!

I've been a shortwave radio listener for over sixty-four years - and a medium wave broadcast listener for even longer. As both broadcast services use amplitude modulation, ultimate fidelity wasn't as important as the crowded bands dictated tighter bandwidths on SW and only clear channel MW stations could enjoy hetrodyne-free reception. Then there was the typical non linear detector most AM radios used, which provided it's own distortion. Solid state integrated circuits provided a more complex, but lower distortion detector - the Synchronous AM Detector. Then - some notable communications receiver makers actually put lower distortion audio power amplifiers to use - often with a Watt or so of clean audio. Of course, a built-in speaker would remain an afterthought. I have several examples of the long closed British firm, Lowe Electronics, Ltd's, radio - specifically, two HF-225's with S-AM detectors and one HF-150, too. They sounded okay with the Radio Shack Minimus 7 diecast speakers, although the audio was boomy and not very loud (SPL = 84 dB). I would try various other bookshelf speakers, finally settling on Klipsch KB-15 and later, the smaller B-10's. I also bought a pair of R-14M's for the same $99 as the B-10's - they are the best combination of size, sensitivity (SPL = 90 dB), and fidelity. The loaded horns make speech easier to understand while the 4" LF driver provides enough bass - music is pretty good, too Of course, I had to try the big bookshelf speakers - my RB-81ii - wow. Then there was my recent Heresy acquisition - absurd but double WOW! I just thought I'd share a different application!

Here is one speaker with the grille off.

Sorry - they were out of my price range, so I didn't look the K-horns over. He has taken his H ad down from CL (The K-horns weren't on it then - he had a tentative trade he was considering.). I'll take some pix of where they are now, but they are destined for my upstairs hobby/bonus room - when I make room, that is! Right now, I am enjoying them where they are.

Well, I bought them! They sound great - more distinction in some instruments - perhaps more 'presence' than the RB-81ii's. Bass is there and well controlled - perhaps not as much or as low of it's extension as the 8" BR bookshelf speakers - but close. Certainly, they are keepers. They look great, too, really so considering their age (Model 'H-OW' & s/n '46R6XY' - consecutive.). My office stereo is an Onkyo C-7030 CDP feeding an Emotiva 'a-100 mini-X' 50 Wpc amp, which has one set of speaker outputs and no sub-woofer output. The RB-81ii's were mounted at the same height - seated ear level just above the speaker's base - in bookshelf or corner bar/cabinet and angled similarly towards the desk chair, which is centered in the 12ft wide wall, with my chair at the middle of the 11ft deep carpet on concrete room. Equal 12 ft lengths of #14 stranded copper speaker wire left enough length to disconnect the RB-81ii's and drop the leads down to the Heresy's, which were on their level 1" risers and on either side of my desk and at 45 degree angles. The near field high end sounded better with the Heresy's tilted up, a couple of books being placed under their front risers effecting that. I know that neither speaker's placement is ideal. The Craig's List seller from whom I bought my Heresy's also had a pair of K-horns in his garage - for $2k! My hobby room over the garage would be ideal for the big horns, if I could get them up the stairs to that room without the use of a chain saw (On the house... not the K-horns!). Firstly, I would need the $2k... I had the $375 for the Heresys (Seemed quite fair - I didn't even consider dickering!). I am so pleased with the sound from my Heresys that I have resisted the temptation to open one up to visually inspect the crossover and drivers for updates. I took some CD's, including my first, now ~30 years old, copy of Paul Simon's 'Graceland', Getz/Byrd's 'Jazz Samba', Marc Cohn 'Marc Cohn', and a DG set of Karajan and Berlin Phil. 'Tchaikovsky' from '67 (1812 Overture), an LP of which I lost years ago. I didn't get past 'Graceland' at the seller's garage - but added Pablo Cruz 'It's Good to be Live' last nite - couldn't wait for the sun to rise this AM so I could listen more. What year were my Heresys made (Model H-OW & s/n 46R65X)? Should I check the crossovers fr 'old' caps, etc? Thanks! John

I am going to look over and probably buy an older pair of Heresy's today. Their walnut veneer looks great - the enclosures appear to have been well cared for. The speakers mount from the inside and the pix do not show a Klipsch badge of any kind, other than the glued on back panel paper label. Any suggestions on how to test them, other than, hopefully, with a known CD (I lost my vinyl in a move long ago!)? I won't be expecting room shaking bass. My best Klipsch speakers currently are my pair of RB-81ii's - which I love. Thanks for the help!

Sadly, the P-17's are rear ported, taking them out of consideration for my bookshelf mountings, which begs the question of why they are called bookshelf speakers, like so many others, anyway? If I had room for stands, I'd likely have room for Heresy's. I actually could raise a shelf an inch or two and likely fit the Heresy's, less the risers, on the bookshelves - they could support the weight, which is ~2x the weight of the front ported RB-81ii's (They are in there now.). The P-17's just have killer looks, while the Heresy just looks like... a Heresy! The price is essentially the same... Ah, pipe dreams (Without the pipe!). Congrat's to the OP on your fine acquisition! John

I wonder if I would really be happier with a new pair of Heresy iii's than an older pair of refurbed ii's. On paper, the improvements look impressive - mainly the higher SPL. I am retired - and money is tight - so I can't afford the Heresy's without selling something else - thus, even one K-horn is out of the question. I guess the real question revolves around how much 'better' the Hiii's horns would sound than my RB-81ii's. Anyone compare them? On paper, the RB-81ii's 8" bass reflex design goes a bit lower than the Hiii's 12" driver in it's sealed enclosure - is it realized in use? Thanks! John