Jump to content

MMurg

Regulars
  • Posts

    733
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by MMurg

  1. Looking at your pictures, it looks like you could just disconnect the leads going from the crossover board to the transformer at the transformer end, disconnect the wires going from the transformer to the input cup at the input cup, remove the spade connectors from the crossover input leads, and crimp on connectors compatible with the input cup posts. You might not need to do any soldering,
  2. I posted an update to the Klipsch Owners Facebook group but forgot to cross post it here. Here it is: It’s been about two months since I got the KI-102-SMA-II Klipsch Professional “permanent installation” series speakers to uses as Atmos/DTS-X, to upgrade the Jubilee system from 5.0 to 5.0.6. Quite a bit has happened to date. However, there is still a bit more to go. The first hurdle was bypassing the 70V transformer, as the ones I purchased during a blowout sale were the 70V distributed audio model and it turned out that these speakers don’t have another set of connections to use these as regular 8-ohm speakers. This was more involved than I had anticipated. The transformer itself has 20 AWG wire input and output leads. The output leads are directly soldered to the crossover. However, the input leads are spliced to 16 AWG wires that then are soldered to the speaker input panel. I’m not sure why this was done, maybe to make the speaker assembly easier. The original instructions I got were to just cut the transformer leads going to the crossover at the transformer end and solder those to the input cup. However, I didn’t think that using those thin 20 AWG wires would put the speaker back to the 8-ohm 200W power handling spec. I decided to leave the 16 AWG wires on the input cup, cut those off at the splice, and solder those to the crossover. That way all the internal wiring is 16 AWG. Unfortunately, that meant taking the entire speakers apart to get the crossover and transformer out of the cabinet. So, I completely disassembled all of them. I attempted the desoldering of the transformer leads from the crossover and the soldering of the input panel leads in their place on the spare speaker that I bought. I’m not skilled at soldering, but I actually accomplished the task. However, the soldering job, while solid, is ugly. I also stank up the house doing it, even with the windows open and a fan in the window. So, I paid a local electronics repair shop to do the desoldering/resoldering work on the parts for six speakers I will be using in the setup. It was worth the $100 cost. However, removing and replacing 30 screws per speaker during disassembly and assembly was no fun. They are all reassembled now and working fine. They sound great. The next task was painting the optional SB-102 mounting brackets. The speakers are black, but Klipsch only had white brackets in stock. That wasn’t a difficult task, but I had to park outside for a few days as that’s the only place where I can spray paint anything. Luckily, I managed to get that done before the weather turned too cold. The last things I’ve accomplish was getting the brackets on the ceiling and getting the speakers mounted in the brackets. I had to wait for my son to come home for the holidays to help me with getting the speakers mounted in the brackets. I could have done it myself if I had three arms, but I don’t. 😊 I replaced the supplied mounting screws with threaded clamping knobs (aka thumb screws) as this makes loosening/retightening much easier when adjusting the speaker tilt. The positioning of the speakers on the ceiling was constrained by a few factors. The ceiling in this room is the floor of the upper floor, so I can’t do anything inside the drywall (like adding blocking between the joists) without cutting into it, which I did not want to do. I also did not want to put any of the speaker’s weight on the drywall itself (considering that most will hang over the Jubilee or La Scala) or add blocking on top of the drywall. So, I was limited to hanging them along the ceiling joists so that the 1/4" lag screws I used were always screwed into wood. I would have preferred some horizontal toe-in, but I don’t think the current positioning will be a big issue since I can control the vertical pointing completely. I also wanted similar spacing between the front, middle, and back pairs. Finally, I didn’t want the front set of ceiling speakers to be in front of the Jubilee horns so that the ceiling speakers are acting as an early reflection sources. I also didn’t want them not to be so far behind the Jubilee horn frames that the frames to block some of the sound from the front ceiling speakers. I’ll be running the speaker wire to them soon. Since I don’t want to break the drywall, the wires will be visible. It won’t look great, but appearance obviously isn’t the main goal for this room. It’s insane sound quality. 😊 The next things after that are the more expensive ones. I must replace my current 7.1 processor with an Atmos/DTS-X one, purchase six more channels of amplification, and get a taller equipment rack since my current one is full. I’ll be doing the research and making those purchases after the holidays.
  3. Since it won't, here's a picture of a partial EKlipsch from a few years ago for you. 😂
  4. As @wuzzzer mentioned, the RP-500SA can also be used as a wall-mounted surround. The speaker has a switch on it that changes the crossover between up-firing Atmos speaker mode and wall-hanging surround speaker mode. If weight is an issue, other speakers to consider are the Klipsch outdoor speaker models. I used four AW-650 (https://www.klipsch.com/products/aw-650-outdoor-speaker) for a time as Atmos speakers in my basement Palladium series basement theater system. They worked fairly well and were light enough to hang from the drop ceiling grid using the included mounting brackets with just scissor clips and clamping knobs. The only reason I stopped using them is that they weren't a perfect sonic match and I'm very sensitive to sonic mismatches. I eventually went to Palladium P-17B bookshelf speaker on high shelf units for Atmos. The overhead localization was a little less precise, but the sonic match was perfect since they are the same series as the ground level speakers. I have the AW-650 in my garage now. They are fantastic for outdoor or garage use. Below is picture from when I was testing the P-17B as Atmos speakers but hadn't yet taken down the AW-650. If you want to go the outdoor speaker route, be aware that the line including the AW-650 and all the AW models is being replaced by the new RSM series (https://www.klipsch.com/residential-surface-mount-speaker-landing-page).
  5. I recently purchased six KI-102-SMA-II speakers from the Klipsch Professional "permanent installation" line (https://www.klipsch.com/pro/permanent-installation). I will be hanging these from the ceiling with the optional SB-102 U-brackets as Atmos speakers for my current Jubilee, Belle, La Scala 5.0 setup. I figured something from the Pro line should be able to "keep up" with and match sonically with my ground level speakers. You might want to also consider the smaller wall-hanging cinema surrounds for this too (https://www.klipsch.com/pro/cinema/cinema-surround-speakers).
  6. I wanted to correct the assertion made about Khorns supposedly no longer needing corners just in case any potential buyers thought that this was actually true and made a purchase based on that being the case.
  7. The fully enclosed back does not mean that the Klipschorn is no longer a corner horn. The enclosed back eliminates the need for the cabinet to be tightly against the corner, allowing changes in toe-in. However, the speaker still needs to be close to a corner to achieve full bass response. Here's the quote from the current AK6 product page (https://www.klipsch.com/products/klipschorn). "The Klipschorn's low frequency horn has been redesigned and is now fully enclosed. This eliminates the need for the loudspeakers to be positioned snuggly in a corner." From the current product manual: "The Klipschorn (AK6) has a fully enclosed low frequency horn and no longer has to be flush to the corner in order to operate properly. The Klipschorn can now be toed in or out to obtain the best imaging. The corner still serves as an extension of the low frequency horn, improving low frequency performance. For best results, Klipsch highly recommends the Klipschorn be placed in the proximity of a corner."
  8. I haven't heard that particular combination, but I can pretty confidently say that the Heritage Jubilee would be a significant step up. The K-402 horn can control lower than the JBL horn. The new wide dispersion phase plug significantly improves off-axis high frequency response. The polars of the K-402 and the Jubilee bass bin were designed to match up well at the 340 Hz crossover point for a completely integrated sound. Finally, the Jubilee is capable of low-end response down to 18 Hz in half-space and lower with boundary gain. Even after doing a significant deep bass cut due to too much bass room gain in my room, the - 3 dB point is at 16 Hz. I don't think any modified Khorn is going to beat the Jubilee.
  9. Klipsch Heresy, Decorator model. https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/heresy-decorator-model-questions.496874/
  10. I am listening to my Jubilee in a room smaller than that right now. There are a few things that have to be taken into consideration when using them in a small room, but nothing insurmountable. I go into some detail about it in this post.
  11. Being Heritage, they should definitely have names, not letter/number designations. I like the idea of naming them for famous organs. The line of subs can be called Deep Roy Subwoofers. 🙂
  12. Palladium Atmos setup? Who would want to do that? 😁 Are you going to try to do P-17B height speakers like I did? I hope you find what you want.
  13. From the manual, it looks like you just change the filter type from PEQ to the desired type in the input or output EQ.
  14. As are mine. They were purchased in 1994, but they are still working well.
  15. You are only the second person that I've heard of that owns VMPS subs. I have two of the Original Subwoofer in basement Palladium theater system.
  16. There was some discussion of that, but I forgot to ask @Chief bonehead if that was information that could be shared.
  17. Yes, the XL sub is different from the Jubilee bass bin. While the XL is slightly narrower than the Jubilee bass bin, it is also taller than the Jubilee bass bin. The lower response is due to several things. One is a 14 Hz horn flare rate vs. 18 Hz for the Jubilee. There are also more ports in the vented enclosure that fires into the horn in the sub (in think there are six if I remember correctly vs. three for the Jubilee). Finally, the Jubilee bass bin must be able to have high enough response and correct polars to match up with the K-402 horn at the 340 Hz crossover point. The sub does not have that concern as it will usually cross over to the mains much lower than that.
  18. Well, not from me you didn't. If someone else spilled the beans, I can't stop that. 🙂
  19. Didn't I just say we aren't allowed to post about it? If I told you I'd have to kill you. 😁
  20. I posted pictures in the thread linked by @82 Cornwalls above. LOL. I checked with Roy. He said we could post pictures of the subs. Just no posting of the "teaser" item.
  21. I finally had some time to report on SubFest. It was another enjoyable class/demo put on by Klipsch Chief Bonehead Roy Delgado and others. The first half day on Friday consisted of Roy talking about the idea behind the new subs based on the horn-loaded vented system first used in the KPT-1802-HLS cinema subwoofer and the Heritage Jubilee. If you are unaware, the horn-loaded vented system is unique in that both the driver and the ports in the woofer enclosure fire into the folder horn, stacking the efficiency advantages of both vented and horn-loaded system. He discussed what he learned from designing those products and what new things he learned designing these new subs. There was lots of Q&A. The others session that day was a historical look at Paul Klipsch’s quest for better bass when designing the original Klipschorn. This was presented by Klipsch Museum curator and general fountain of knowledge of all thing Klipsch, Jim Hunter. He went over what he found going though Paul’s letters with his “beta testers” who had the early units and reviewed what changes occurred because of those interactions. As a final capper to the day, we went over to the Klipsch Museum to hear something that no one has heard for decades, the original Klipschorn X-3 prototype with the original X-5 HF horn actually playing music. Museum members Iain Moore and Chris Hornbeck undertook a project over the last two years to restore it to operational condition. They found a compatible woofer (since the original is damaged and no one wanted to risk ruining it by attempting a repair) and got the Western Electric tweeter working. They also used Paul’s original plans for the tube amplifier that he used with the prototype and created a functional replica. Jim demoed it for us. While the HF only goes out to about 8 kHz, the speaker sounded surprisingly good. That evening we had a meal of steak fajitas and BBQ chicken at the Klipsch Museum Visitors Centers, featuring Roy’s secret fajita sauce. The second day was introductions to each of the four new sub models and demo sessions of each in the Klipsch lab listening room with Roy’s demo material. There were also alternating sessions to provide an opportunity for the attendees to listen to the Heritage Jubilee after an introduction by Klipsch Heritage Brand Ambassador Mike Dyer. In the morning we heard the two smaller subs, the “small” sub paired with the Sixes and the “medium” sub paired with the Nines. In the afternoon we heard the two larger subs, the “large” sub and the “extra-large” sub, both paired with La Scala. (If you are wondering why the front of La Scala top-hats are blacked out in the large and extra-large setup photos, let’s just say we got a tease of some upcoming things that we are not allowed to discuss or show at this time. There may be another Chief Bonehead class in the spring on this topic.) Here are the preliminary stats on the new sub models. Since these are still under development, this information is obviously subject to change. Dimensions are approximate. Small: 21”H x 32”W x 18”D, one 8” driver with one port, 27 Hz Medium: 26”H x 37”W x 21”D, one 8” driver with multiple ports, 24 Hz Large: 34”H x 42”W x 28”D, one 12” driver with multiple ports, 18 Hz Extra-large: 47”H x 45”W x 30”D, two 12” drivers with multiple ports, 14-15 Hz These are all active subs with DSP amps. There are plate amps built into the cabinet on the smaller three models. The extra-large may have the amp in a separate chassis. I guess at this point I imagine you are wondering, how do they sound? Well, in a word, excellent. These subs don’t sound like the usual direct radiator subs. They have a clean, ultra-low distortion sound that’s similar to what I hear from the Heritage Jubilee bass bin. Obviously, as they get bigger, they get better and are capable of more output and deeper low extension. They definitely dig down to the lower frequency limits listed above with ease. The only time I heard anything I didn’t like was during the small sub demo. There were points where I thought the demo setup seemed to “struggle” on the challenging parts. Whether this was the sub itself, the Sixes running out of gas on the peaks, the demo volume just too high for this setup, or something else, I can’t say. I would have liked to have heard the small sub with more capable mains so that there wouldn’t be any question. Other than that, I can highly recommend these subs. The large or extra-large sub would be a great match for La Scala or Klipschorn. These will be great additions to the Heritage line. There is no information on pricing at this point. Availability was discussed as maybe “spring”. However, given what happened with the Heritage Jubilee between the estimated dates and when they actually shipped, my guess would be that it will be longer than that. Thanks to everyone who helped make this class possible. Another great event. (Edit. I uploaded the pictures in a chronological order, but when I hit submit it shuffled them up. Anyone know how to prevent this?)
  22. If the dumb 2 MB upload limit didn't exist, I'd do it now. However, I don't feel like resizing pics on my phone. So, you'll have to wait a bit. Sorry.
  23. Cool. I saw you're Facebook post. Meant to call you a copy cat but forgot. 🙂 I can ask Roy about what else is different between the old and new ones, perhaps some crossover changes.
×
×
  • Create New...