danielg

Cheers Manyard, I'll pop a message once the tubes have been replaced and burnt in!

Thanks for the kind response @mdm7eb, your point does make sense. As Klipsch are considered horn speakers I often tend to forget my Fortes are not actually 100% horn. At the moment anything like McIntosh is out of my budget. But what I did realise after reading your post is that the Forte IIIs have a bi-amping option. So perhaps using a SS amp for the bass and a SET amp for the top would make a good combo?

Oh interesting point about the tube rolling @tube fanatic. A few days ago I ordered two fairly cheap JJ Tesla tubes to replace my two 12AU7 input tubes let's see if I'd be able to feel any difference. This "magic" is certainly something which interests me, currently the listening is very fatiguing but not engaging. I listen mainly to jazz, ambient, classical/avant-garde, folk/blues, African, Latin. I do however come from a DJing background and would sometime enjoy disco/ house/ techno with a good volume. I sit about 2.6m from the speakers and the speakers are spaced 2.6m apart. They are fairly close to the wall and toed in, and about 50cm from the side walls (see picture).IMG_8141.jp2

Thanks for your kind response @tube fanatic! I have not tried the Fortes with another amp or vice versa. Though I have changed to the 4ohm ports. I noticed a very slight difference, but I still found the overall experience shouty on one hand, and lacking slam/ oomph on the other. I feel like perhaps there is no leeway for the amp to "breathe" because it's a 2x 40w PP amp, and it gets very loud upon the lightest touch of the volume knob up from zero. That's why I thought perhaps a low power single-ended triode amp would smooth out such characterises, with these speakers I don't really need more than a few watts and it's almost like such a powerful amp is going to waste. The thing that puzzles me is how despite this amp being relatively powerful (for a tube amp), and the Forte elements being so large + passive radiator, there is barely any kick, definition or power to the bass. I thought perhaps rolling the stock Chinese tubes to another brand / type will help taming the highs and tightening/boosting the lows, this might be my next step. Nevertheless, I'm not gonna lie, I am quite intrigued by the Single-ended side of things. What are your thoughts ?

I've recently purchased a Line Magnetic Push-Pull LM34 Integrated amp to go with my Garrard 401 TT and Klipsch Forte III speakers, I feel like the amp too harsh with my speakers, very hot trumpety high-mids, and lack of bass, oomph and flow in the music. I'm starting to get more and more interested in old horn + SET systems, and thought maybe it isn't a bad idea to build a SET amp myself. I don't have experience in electronics etc, but I'm willing to learn, I am based in the UK. I heard great things about Bottlehead, and it seems like their prices are really fair. - Does anybody here have Bottlehead + Klipsch experience ? - Which of the Bottlehead kits would you recommend that I buy? - Do you think a SET Bottlehead kit would make a good match to get some gentleness and musicality out of my very sensitive Klipsch?

Awesome! thank you!

Hi there, this is my first post here! I've recently purchased a Line Magnetic Push-Pull LM34 Integrated amp to go with my Garrard 401 TT and Klipsch Forte III speakers, I feel like the amp too harsh with my speakers, very hot trumpety high-mids, and lack of bass, oomph and flow in the music. I'm starting to get more and more interested in old horn + SET systems, and thought maybe it isn't a bad idea to build a SET amp myself. I don't have experience in electronics etc, but I'm willing to learn, I am based in the UK. I heard great things about Bottlehead, and it seems like their prices are really fair. - Does anybody here have Bottlehead + Klipsch experience ? - Which of the Bottlehead kits would you recommend that I buy? - Do you think a SET Bottlehead kit would make a good match to get some gentleness and musicality out of my very sensitive Klipsch?