whell

My 2 year old daughter was born with Downs Syndrome. As a father of a child with special needs, I look at something like that picture and I am both angry and dismayed. "No one has EVER said that humor has to be politically correct or even in good taste for that matter" "People need to lighten up a little and learn to laugh, especially at themselves. So what if it poked fun at the Special Olympics or "Special Needs people". Did it get its point accross? I think so. And if by posting this means that one or all of you get pissed off at me then tough chit! Get over yourselves." PKuziel: Are you asking that my 2 year old daughter needs to learn to laugh at herself because she has special needs? You sir, are a moron, and for you to defend your actions by atempting to claim a moral high ground of being above the ire of others who view such a post as in exteremely poor taste shows exactly how out of touch you are with the children that you claim your wife works to help. I pity you, that you have such a narrow world view to think that a picture like that is somehow OK, and to have such a distorted view of yourself that you think that others views are the problem, and not your own.

Sadly, the DTS soundtrack is not always available, and I would guess suffers from a lack of identity among many HT system owners. How many "average Joes" simply drop in the DVD, press play, and don't worry about audio set up? To complicate matters, the addition of the DTS sound track is often a vicitm of adding "special features" onto a DVD (the trailers, the deleted scenes, etc.) due to lack of space on the DVD. DTS has been arm twisting manufacturers to put the special features on a 2nd disk, put the number of new releases with a DVD sound track is still in the minority.

I actually owned the 901 Series V for several years. They did double duty as a home speaker, and as a main speaker in my mobile DJ service. They worked out very well in the DJ capacity, as you could throw any amount of clean power at them and they could fill a large hall very easily when well positioned and elevated. However, I found that as home speakers, they left alot to be desired. They might sound every bit as good as other speakers in their price range when set up correctly in the propper room. These are tremedously particular speakers as far as set up goes. However, even when set up right, they did not sound as good as other speakers I've owned, my current RF-7's included.

Listen for youself side by side with any product manuafactured by any respectable speaker, Klipsch or not, and decide for yourself. You might find it difficult to audition the 901 in this manner, however. Around here, anyway, the 901 can only be found in "Bose Outlet" stores. And if you're thinking about tube amps, forget about the 901.

I run the RC-3's right now with RF-7's and RF-3's in the rear. The RC-3 is fine with the 7's, there are no "matching" issues, and the sound is clear and cohesive. Incidentally, the dealer where I bought my Klipsch said that the customers quite often buy the RC-3 over the RC-7, mostly due to space limitations. I really think you'll be pleased with the resutls.

If you're not willing to go down the road of a tube amp, I've had good luck with my Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro. These little jewels run in Class A, sound warm, and don't suffer from the harshness that some experience when combining Klipsch and solid state gear. If you're in to 2 channel listening, definately spend the effort to pair the Monarchy with a good preamp. Monarchy makes a couple of their own, but I've not tried them.

I house my equipment in a cabinet shaped like a pyramid. The cosmic energy conductance of the pyramid actually has an age reversing effect on the capacitors in my vintage audio gear.

The decision of whether or not to go with K-Horns versus the RF-7 is as much of a lifestyle choice than it is anything else. The ability of the K-horn to render outstanding results when set up correctly is almost a given. The ability of the average person to comfortably LIVE WITH K-horns is as much a part of the buy decision as how the speakers perform.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3060871224&category=32861 These are about 12 miles from my house as the crow flies. I'd be curious to see/hear them. Are they truly close in sound to the original Klipsch-made version?

IMHO, the RB-5 on a nice set of correctly placed stands is one of the smoothest sounding bookshelf speakers I've ever heard. I'm using a pair now on my 2 channel set up. Frankly, the bass is just right to my ear,though no hitting the deepest notes it is certainly clean and not boomy. Midrange and treble are smooth and accurate. Guys: the Heresys do not qualify as "small footprint" speakers, per the original post.

Trying to follow this thread with my dial up connection is a killer!

Georg: Monoblock is a term used to describe an amplifier that is designed or set up to amplify a single stereo channel. Thus, you would need two monoblock amps to amplify two stereo channels. The SE 100 is designed for monoblock operation only. The SM-70's are switchable between stereo amd mono operation. The SM-70 does not need to be run in balanced mode to be used as a monoblock. However, the amp is said to offer its best performance when used as a fully balanced monoblock.

I found my SM-70 Pro's used on Audiogon. They arrived here for about $500 including shipping, and were from an authorized dealer. The SE-100's are well reviewed, but are also Monoblock-only operation. The SM-70's perform well in stereo mode, and can be bridged for monoblock operation (this is supposed to be where the amp really shines). They are truly the best bang for the buck monoblocks you can buy. As a value for stereo, at their retail price of almost $1000, they are not much of a value. Used pricing, the value improves significantly. Don't know of too many Class A amps that sound as good for the price. As a mono-block, show me a pair of monoblocks that can be had used for under $1000 that outperform these. I'm VERY satisfied with the performance gains that I've experienced with the SM-70 Pro in stereo mode.

First, the OJ trial. Next, Baretta bumps off his wife. Then, Kobe Bryant. I'm sure I'm missing a notable or two in between. I guess this is the next media feeding frenzy/Court TV freak show.

Hey Georg: Dig that "Messiah" tune. I moved from the RF-3 to the RF-7 (edit). RF-3 is a great speaker for the price, the RF-7 moved you to another level. I don't think you'll get the most bang for the buck with your proposed choice of Rotel amp. More watts per channel is not what is critical for RF-7's. CLEAN amplification, especially at the amp's lower output levels matters most. I chose to drive my RF-7's with a Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro. This amp only put out about 30 WPC, but is biased to class A operation, is built like a tank, and drives the RF-7's exceedingly well, even at higher volumes. But the key is the class A bias, which gives the RF-7's alot of clean amplification to work with. Many here on the forum choose low power tube amps for their Klipsch, and swear by the results.

Whatever you do, try to go with 12 guage rather than 14 guage. You can also find great deals on Audiogon for other name brand cable that might be used. Some are more pricey, but you get the advantage of a great cable at a very reasonable price.

The first concert I ever saw was Heart at the Wings Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, MI. Ann walked on stage in a tight leopard skin outfit that left little to my 16 year old imagination. Ever since then, she has been my personal posterchild for raging tennage hormones.

Here's my experience, for what its worth. My Klipsch RF-7's are in a room that is approximately 13' X 22". They are on the short wall at the front of the room. I'm using Monster 1.4 Bi Wire speaker cables, connected to a Monarchy Audio ST-70 Pro amp. My "pre amp" is a Marantz SR 19EX receiver, with the Monarchy connected to the pre-outs of the receiver. Cables are Monster M1000i RCA's. The room is heavily damped with carpeting and cloth couches on the long wall and the short wall at the back of the room. I normally listen to CD's on a NAD T-550, with the Marantz set to "Source Direct", and using the D/A converter in the NAD. I bought my RF-7's used from a local seller, so I did not have a concern about a break in period. I listen to many genres of music, and am pleased with the reproduction of the RF-7's across the board. Of course, my system also doubles as a HT system. The best $500 I spend was acquiring the Monarchy for listening to music. I've also found that I give up none of the HT listening experience with this amp either. But for music, I get a sweet, liquid midrange that I had not heard before, controlled tight bass, and the treble is "just right" for my ear. I do not experience the RF-7's as having a "too hot" top end. Treble tends to come through faily smooth and natural. The Monarchy has a "warmer" and more detailed sound than the Marantz's amp section. I did experiment with the placement of the speakers for a week or two when I first got them. I now place the speakers in an approximate equilateral triangle, with the speakers at two points of the triangle, and my listening position at the 3rd point. This does wonders for imaging and creating a very realistic sound stage. Unfortunately, my listening position, I've found, is probably not in the most optimum position to experience the RF-7's low end capability. I have notices that if I move my listening position forward, away from the back wall, bass is more focused and pronounced. This also sacrifices sound stage, however. This hobby of ours is sometimes an excercise in compromise. In summary, the best way to experience any speaker is in your own home. Every room has accoustical properties and challenges that must be overcome. Also, the RF-7's really do benefit from being matched with the right amplification, as several others have observed here. I'm curious about the crossover modification that Leo and Dean have discussed here and in previous threads, but so far, I'm not "hearing" a need to reduce the high end output of my RF-7's.

A Kenwood KT-6007, all stock, no mods. Nothing special about this unit really, other than it sounds great for the money, and came to me fairly cheaply. I have it connected to a Magnum Dynalab outdoor whip antenna. Pulls in stations really well, though adjacent channel rejection is a slight problem. Prior to that, I had a Yamaha T-85 that I found at a pawn shop for $50. Kept it for a couple years, then sold it recently on Ebay for $310, deciding that I didn't listen to FM that much, and could use the extra cash for other equipment. The T-85 was a great unit, but the Kenwood sounds fine to my years, and I'm $260 ahead!

Pete: If the speakers are only 6' apart, and the listening position is 9' from the speakers, then that could point to the problem. Ideally, the listening position would form an "equalateral triangle": with two points being your speakers, and one point being your listening position. This placement is described in the Klipsch Owners Guide that accompanies the Reference Series speakers. Moving the listening position closer to the speakers, or move the speakers further apart than 6' is the right answer, though you describe this as not feasable. You might have tried this already, but you could try changing the toe-in angle as follows: Lets assume that you've arranged the toe in angle so that each speaker is pointed at your left and right ear respectively. Try gradually changing the angle so that the horn points outward from your ears. Try moving the speakers to they point at your shoulders first, then maybe the arms of the chair. See if this helps at all.

I must disagree with all of you on this one. Consumer Reports testing strategy is very precise and accurate. You must not be aware that there is a large population of audio enthusiasts who enjoy listening to 1Khz test tones. Why, I spent hours the other day swapping speaker cables and interconnects in and out of my system to try to get my 1khz test tone to sound...well...like 1khz. I just couldn't get it to sound quite right, and I am now getting more frustrated by the day with my system.

Randy: I bought a spare Thorens headshell, and modified it to use with any cartridge I wanted. You have to pop the metal "logo" plate off the top. Below that there is a metal slider that also can be removed. What is left is the Thorens headshell with "standard" mounting holes that will accept a wide variety of cartridges.

I've got the 145 MK I and love it. Here is THE place to go for tips on how to get the most out of your Thorens: http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_dept_.htm It is a site that is stocked to the rafters with great tips, suggestions and pics of modded Thorens TT. Your 145 is very much like the 160, but has an auto return feature. If you choose to adopt any of the mods, follow the guidleines on the site for the 160. For whatever its worth, I've not chosen to modify my 145 at all, and I still enjoy it very much. Have fun with your TT!

At the risk of piling on, don't let the scare stories about Ebay throw you. I've bought and sold a number of times on Ebay, and have had overwhelimngly favorable experiences. Only once have I received something that wasn't as described. In that case, I'm fairly sure that the seller didn't know what he was selling well enough to detect the problem. As an occasional seller, I do try to make sure that I provide as much info as possible to the prospective buyer, and make the buyer feel good about the puchase after the sale. I find that many sellers are like me in this regard. In any case, follow the advise outlined about, ask lots of questions, read the feedback, get shipping quotes, ask the seller how he/she intends to package the merchandise for shipping, etc. If you're lucky enought to find a seller close to you for the speakers you're looking for, ask the seller if he will allow you to pick the item up locally. But by all means, once you've qualified the seller by asking good questions, don't hesitate to proceed. This process, by the way, is the way to go on Ebay, Audiogon, Audio Asylum, etc.

Have your hearing checked if you swap things around and get the same result. I'm not being a smart a** with this response. I had a similar concern about a year to two ago, and did go in for a hearing check. Found I had a small amount of fluid in my ear, and that impacted my hearing on that side.