heresy2guy

I just looked at the H/K website but it doesn't say anything about dynamic headroom ratings for the 430 - nor any other H/K model to boot. HDBRbuilder, you have any idea what it might be? You seem to know a heck of a lot about the H/K series so I thought I'd ask you. By the way, H/K's dual power setup seemed to be a way of delivering high dynamic headroom, so there would always be plenty of reserves when the amp called for more power on the musical peaks. That way it could deliver the necessary juice instead of running dry and producing distortion that would lead to clipping. Am I on the right track here???

I never worried about blowing any tweeters or woofers on my heresy IIs when using my proton. First of all, it had 6dBs of dynamic headroom, which means it'll produce 4 times the rated nominal output for musical peaks (the only other unit I know of that had this kind of reserve power is the NAD units of the same era) which is most likely MORE then the H/K 430 can put out - even with H/K's dual-power supply. On top of that, I always turned the loudness off past the 10 o'clock position on the dial. Third of all, I never went past the 2 o'clock position on the volume knob and it was only for a few seconds to see how loud it was. It was so loud that I couldn't stand it so I had to back it off but I never heard any distortion, thanks in part to he 6 dBs of dynamic headroom in the Proton. As a last safety resort, the Proton had an anti-clipping button that you can depress on the back of the receiver that was supposed to prevent clipping should the amplifier be overdriven to the point where even the 6 dBs of headroom fails to suffice the power requirements. To my knowledge, most amps seem to have a rather anemic 1.5 dBs of dynamic headroom and "highly" dynamic units seem to have 2.5 to 3 dBs of headroom, which is a far cry from the 6 to 7 dBs of headroom supplied by the Proton and NAD units of the 80s. Just how out of curiosity, I wonder how many dBs of headroom the H/K 430 that I just bought has???? Anybody know?

Well, with my Proton I had the loudness feature on at low volumes (under 3 on the knob, out of a possible 10) but always have the treble at max and bass at either max or 3/4ths. I like bright, sparkling highs and the max treble setting makes this happen. As for the bass, well I like it tight, which the Heresy does at mid to high volume well but not at low volume, which is why I use the loudness. Of course, with my current Technics, I have no loudness feature and the sound is pretty terrible regardless of the bass/treble settings BUT I'm anxiously awaiting an older H/K 430 that I recently bought on Ebay and can't wait to hear how it sounds! The tough part is the waiting (as Tom Petty and his "heartbreakers" once said in a tune if I remember correctly)! It's being shipped UPS ground service and it says I should get it by the 30th. It can't get here soon enough if you ask me. LOL.

They used to be HOT items in the 70s and early to mid 80s. Heck, I seem to recall that every "hi-fi" setup had an equalizer, the good one being the Audio Control C-101. How come nobody buys them anymore?

Will do - thanks!

I agree with Tripod - I used paypal a few times and I never have a fee because I transfer funds directly from my checking account, NOT my credit card. The only problem I've had was with a Philips HTIB system I bought from somebody - the thing didn't work and he was kind enough to refund my money via Paypal immediately, but Paypal then held onto it for 5 business days or something and it pissed me the hell off because I knew they were doing this to everyone and were making some serious dough holding millions of dollars from thousands of customers for weeks at a time.

Mobile Homeless gave an GREAT link about Cornwall testing! Thanks! Here's a thought - Cornwalls VS. La Scalas - I say, albeit without hearing either of them, that the La Scalas would triumph. Anybody who's listened to both care to throw their two cents in?

I seem to recall reading something somewhere that Paul use to run his Khorns off a 3watt amp. Does this sound correct? Anybody know what kind of amp he used? It would be interesting to see just what the "master" used to power his personal set of Khorns!

Thanks, HDBRbuilder - by the way, what type of cleaner were you referring to in your post to justin? I just sent payment for the unit and hope I don't get burned by buying this on Ebay. My friend bought an integrated amp some time ago on Ebay and the thing wouldn't play right in stereo mode. It would only play in mono. I think it was an NAE. Or maybe an NAD? Regardless, I think he tried to screw around with it but I don't recall what he did to try to fix it. All I know is that he ended up putting it back on Ebay and selling it somebody else. That's one thing I heard about stereo and computer stuff on Ebay - that you're taking a gamble because there's a lot of it that's broken and is constantly relisted due to people trying to get their money back by selling it to another sucker. I hope to high hell I haven't been suckered by the seller on this unit but one thing's for sure, I'm really quite excited about getting it and trying it out on my Heresys!

Well, I just bought an H/K 430 on Ebay for 60 bucks. It's opening price was only $35, but after losing two bidding wars (at the very last minute no less) on two items over the past day and a half I wasn't about to take any chances since it was the only H/K 430 currently being offered. Either way, $60 ain't bad and I'm returning the Technics so it's not a total loss on my end. Too bad I won't get it before Christmas, so I guess this means I'll have to wait for MY Christmas present this year...LOL. I can't wait to try it out! Hell, it can't be any WORSE then my Technics, right, and if so, it's only $60 and I'll just put it back on Ebay. But to be honest, I hope it really surprises me and I'll be able to come back here and write about how good it sounds. And, if it sounds crappy don't worry - I'll still come back and write just so you'll know. :-) Thanks again to all!

Wow. Seems like my post has gotten a lot of action! I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who took the time to comment and give their advice and share their experiences. I just may give the Harman Kardon x30 series units a try considering how economically viable they appear to be. I looked at the K/K website and saw that the 430 has 25 wpc and the 730 has 40 wpc. My question is, will I hear a difference? With both units turned to say, 1/3rd their indicated volume settings, will one sound louder and clearer then the other? Also, do they both have a "loudness" button? I've found that that feature makes a HUGE difference when listening to music on my Heresys at lower settings. Again, I'd like to thank everyone who responded, especially HDBRbuilder, who pointed me in the direction of these H/K units that apparently deliver performance that's equal to today's $400 mid-fi receivers but at around 1/8 or 1/4 the price.

Hi. I've got a pair of HeresyIIs that I bought new about 10 years ago and have been driving them all this time with a Proton D940 receiver rated at 40wpc with 6dbs of headroom and I always loved the sound. I needed a new receiver because my Proton "died" about 2 weeks ago so I thought I'd go the cheap route because my Heresys always sounded so good --- WRONG MOVE! I bought a $130 Technics receiver that's rated at 100wpc and now my Heresys sound like TOTAL GARBAGE! I paid around $900 for my Heresys back in '92 and I think I paid around $400 for the proton receiver back in '90. I know that prices have dropped A LOT on receivers since then so when i saw the Technics with 100wpc for only $130 I figured why not. MY MISTAKE. I've just done some researching on this topic and some people say you need high-quality SS equipment to get good sound from the Hesersy IIs. I guess my Proton was of decent quality then cause the sound was AWESOME! The Technics unit I just bought must be of crap quality cause the sound is CRAPPY! Is there a current SS receiver that'll make my Heresys sing again for say, under $400? Or should I look for a tube amp? To be honest I know very little about tube amps - do they still make them, if so, how expensive are they and how much power do you need? My proton had only 40wpc with 6dbs of headroom and they made my Heresys sound wonderful. What kind of tube amp today, would compare to the experience I had with my proton? Maybe I sould just take the Proton into an electronics store and see how much it'll cost to fix? Hmmmm.... Decisions, decisions... At any rate, some help on current tube amp choices AND decent SS choices would be appreciated if anyone has the time to post it here. Thank you!