Peter P.

All that means is the low watt/high current amp is capable of driving speakers with very low impedance, even if they won't do it very loudly. That low impedance may not be across the full frequency range of the speaker but if it is some exotic speaker, that amp can handle it without damage. Most speakers are designed by engineers that are smart enough to design speakers for a wide variety of equipment. After all, they want to sell as many units as possible, no?

Correct; those extra watts beyond 8W only contribute to the sound volume. You could say those 92 remaining watts are wasted, or your amp has capacity that will never be used. Now, if you had inefficient speakers such as electrostatics, you might need all those watts. And since a hardly audible 3dB increase in volume requires a doubling of power, to get any meaningful increase in volume requires tremendous increases in output wattage, at tremendous expense.

The benefit is called "headroom". Any piece of music will vary in amplitude. Those intermittent, briefly louder instances are called "peaks", and require more power from the amplifier. So if your amp is playing at level "X" one of those peaks will come along and demand more of the amp's power to reproduce the louder signal. If the amp maxes out trying to faithfully reproduce that brief peak it will "clip", which means if you looked at the waveform on an oscilloscope it would look like an undulating wave but the tops and the bottoms of the wave will be flat. These flat portions indicate the amp is operating beyond its limits, which can damage the amp. If an amp has headroom, it has more power than is needed to reproduce those peaks. Some people consider headroom the ability to briefly generate considerably more power than its continuous output rating. Fair enough. Whether your amp has plenty of reserve power to drive your speakers or merely has the headroom to briefly reproduce those peaks the result is the same. Conversely, most speakers are rated in "Continuous" watts. Which means they can tolerate some peaks beyond that continuous rating as long as the amp has enough headroom to reproduce the wave faithfully. If the amp clips even if its output rating is below the continuous wattage rating of your speakers, when the amp generates that flat section described above, it is sending a DC voltage to your speakers. This is bad and if long enough in time can damage your speakers. The solution is to keep the volume down to a point where you don't hear distortion, even on those intermittent peaks. As long as you don't hear anything bad, you're not pushing your amp or speakers beyond their limits and don't risk damage to one or both.

Be sure and post what you wind up buying, and give us a review, regardless of what you choose!

...but they have consecutive serial numbers! 😀

THIS. You're not interested in the latest, greatest, and highest price. Check the used market. The subs I've listed below are from quality brands, which I found for you in the Dallas/Fort Worth craigslist listings. If the seller is willing to demo for you, you have a legitimate seller. If the ad is written intelligently, ditto. https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/ele/d/lewisville-rel-ht-1003-home-theater/7735849489.html https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ele/d/lewisville-martin-logan-dynamo-700w/7734501614.html https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ele/d/fort-worth-rel-ht-1205/7736113584.html If you really want a new subwoofer, I'd suggest an SVS 1000 Series sub. Attractively priced, good customer service. I see nothing wrong with the Klipsch Reference or Reference New subwoofers. They are in your price range and should meet your less than demanding needs.

I have an SVS SB-1000 with my Heresies and it's perfect. Their on-line tech support quickly answers questions. I bought mine from their web Outlet and saved about fifty bucks. Generous return policy. The SB-1000 is a very compact, just over 12" cube so placement is easy and flexible. I was interested in the HSU Research subs because they can be played sealed OR ported. Great to experiment. I was just too cheap to pay the price difference between HSU and SVS.

What are your requirements? Do you have size limitations? Do you need speaker level inputs? How much are you willing to spend? Do you have a preferred design-ported or sealed? Any brands you are interested in? Help the forum narrow it down.

Like others have said, if your Denon AVR had a loudness button, you could engage it a lower volumes. But looking at the manual, I don't see that as an option. Tweaking your bass tone control at lower volumes is your best bet.

Is there any reason why you can't just use an equalizer to smooth out the LaScala's response curve? I know there are ahem, "purists" out there that poo poo tone controls and such but I say use 'em if you got 'em and no one will be the wiser.

Obviously, being a Klipsch forum, we're going to recommend the award winning RP-600M. But you're going to put them on stands, no? If you put them on stands, they'll pretty much occupy the same space as your Chorus speakers, so to me the switch doesn't make much sense. And I know you said "no floorstanding speakers up front" but the new floor standers are actually narrower, offering a smaller visual footprint. There's no chance you could get away with those? In the end, if it's bookshelf or bust, get the RP-600M. Search the interwebs and you'll find nothing but outstanding reviews. Looks like they're blowing out the original version at closeout prices to make room for the version II. That will leave much more money for a subwoofer, and you'll be well within your budget. I'm partial to SVS subwoofers and have an SB-1000 myself. I also like the HSU Research subs as they come with port plugs so you can experiment between ported and sealed designs to see what you like.

That is certainly true. I purchased my used Heresy IIs about 5 years ago and paid $675 for the pair. It was a touch high at the time as I saw prices in the $500-$600 range then. But in the past few years, perhaps due to what I'll call COVID inflation, prices of used Heresies have gone up roughly 30%. I agree while those Heresies are not a more recent vintage maybe meriting a more closer to new retail used price, the same could be said of those H700s-either the price is high due to their very old vintage, or the price should be lower for the same reasons. With that current COVID inflation in my mind, I wouldn't pay above $1k USD for those Italian Heresies, but if Klipsch speakers of ANY vintage or even new are hard to find in Italy, the price might be acceptable. I suppose in the end it's what the buyer is willing to spend. In my case above, I was willing to pay above the then current median price to get my Heresies.

No. Keep what you have. Unless you're driving your Denon to clipping and need more power, you're fine.

You'd have to have openings for the bass cabinet output, and with that design you'd be blocking one side of the bass horn. Makes no sense to me. I agree with pbphoto; get some bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer and put THEM in the cabinetry, with preferably a front firing subwoofer.

Report back with your impressions of the speakers, and if you're satisfied!

Agreed. From the music you describe listening to, here's what I would do: Buy the RP8000s if you want an all-in-one package of an outstanding speaker with low end reach. Since you mentioned rear wall mounting and muddy bass, note that the manual does not recommend any specific placement distance from the rear wall, despite the rear facing port. At 18" deep, they will project out into the room a considerable distance once you accommodate the rear port. If your room can fit them, go for it. If the Heresies are being offered at an attractive price and, if you add a subwoofer, are still under the price of the new RP8000s, then I would get the Heresies. They are more compact than the RP8000s and more flexible in placement because of the sealed box. I feel they need a subwoofer; I added one to my Heresies. Once you add a subwoofer, you'll realize what you were missing and you won't regret the decision. Edit: It's not that the Heresy has weak bass. The bass is accurate; it's just that it doesn't play LOW. I've had 8" bookshelf speakers that play lower than the Heresy. It kept reminding me of the saying, "Where's the beef?"!

Since your Nines play down to 34Hz with their Dynamic Bass Extension down to 22Hz, I'd say you might not experience the benefits of a subwoofer. Those are pretty low frequencies especially for a bookshelf sized speaker. I don't have real world experience with the Nines and a sub but my opinion is most music would benefit from a subwoofer. I confirmed that when using a subwoofer with the Nines, the Nines get a high pass 60Hz and up signal. That's good, because it alleviates the Nines from working hard to reproduce low frequencies. In that case, by all means get a subwoofer. You'll be able to play the system louder without straining the Nines and you'll have the benefit of lower frequencies which are present in a lot of music.

The "click" heard when a subwoofer turns on is a relay closure. I'm betting the "thump" heard is the relay de-energizing. I wonder whether Klipsch has a flyback diode across the relay's coil, and whether that would cure the turn-off thump?

It's the horns, I'm tellin' ya'!

What does "the bulb just went out" mean? The amp is rated for 40W/ch into 8 ohms. What's the resistance rating for your kg4's and your Forte 1's? It should be on the back of the speaker. Since you've been operating your speakers for many years without an issue, I'd conclude it's not the amp being underpowered or the output impedance going too low, all channels driven. It could merely be a component failure due to the age of your amp, which was manufactured in the late 70s. Repair might be the affordable solution assuming parts are available. You could take the cover off and see if there is an internal fuse. If so, replace the fuse and see what happens.

Sometimes you have to ignore the acoustic ramifications and meet your other needs. You're right; LaScalas and two huge subs take up way to much space along that short wall, and in the room in general. Placing a pair of Klipschorns in the corners is the right solution. Few people have the ideal setup for a pair of Klipschorns yet they enjoy them just the same. I say go for it with one caveat; since you've got the TV screen I assume you watch movies. You'll want to use one sub for movie effects as you have mentioned so you'll have to find space for it. Sounds like you have a plan for that.

Plug the old Yamaha back in and see if the problem clears. Trying to establish whether the problem remains after the switch back, which would mean something changed in the subs' software as a result, or if it's amp related.

I tried a Starkey Evolv in my left ear. Just went through the process this past fall. The fit was spot-on. Cost was $1k, not covered by my insurance. I did not like the fact that it required a smartphone for the app to adjust the hearing aid; there was no PC based app which I verified with tech support. I don't own a smartphone so I had to resort to using my work phone. Lots of adjustable features but quite frankly it didn't work for me. Also, as a cyclist I couldn't wear it while riding because the wind noise was amplified and it made no sense to remove it and carry in my pocket; it would likely wind up in the wash or get lost. I had 60 or 90 days to return it, which I did, for a full refund.

I don't believe he will need to unsolder them to check capacitance. Looking at the photo, he can simply disconnect one leg from the capacitor leading to the terminal strip. Then he can accurately measure the capacitance without all that mucky soldering jazz. Otherwise I agree; listen to them before changing parts.

I hate blocking windows-THE VIEW! THE SUNLIGHT! Buy speakers that don't block the window. If you're not satisfied with the bass because speaker size will limit bass, then get a sub to fill your room volume.