KdAgain

In his thread "P. Audio PH-4525 horn and BM-D750 (aka. K69)" Rudy81 has commented on how pulling his new speakers with the double bass bins into the room has greatly improved the soundstage. It got me to thinking that this could be done with the Khorns, except leave the bass bins in the corner where they need to be to properly perform. In other words take the top hat off the bass bin and put it on some kind of stand that can be brought to a place in the room that gives the best imaging. It could be a little lower than the top of the bass bin to put the top hat near ear height. This of course wont help the low end imaging, but I think most of where we need improvement is from the mid to highs anyway. Not sure if this obsacle in front of the bass bins might have any negative affect on its output? It also would worsen the existing time alignment problem between the bass bin and the mid/tweet. I plan to go to active crossovers this winter, so will then be able to deal with that issue. Very curious if anybody has experimented with this approach, and what the results may have been? Or is this just a loco idea? Rod

My husband, "kdagain", and I discussed your story, as we sometimes do on the "human interest" stuff on the internet. I had a few comments, which he suggested I pass along. First of all, how gracious is your benefactor in his gifts to you. Secondly, how admirable is your wishing to repay him for these three recent gifts. So often we take for granted those things that are given to us, and you are obviously an honourable guy wanting to do the right thing. All in all, good will all around, with years of kind history with your Mother and this man. The one thing I would caution you is to beware of insulting this good man with the kind heart. He meant these items as gifts, not a loan. It is obviously giving him pleasure to be able to benefit you in this way and you wouldn't want to take that away from him. Perhaps, if he continues to insist on not receiving payment in funds, you could consider either doing some kindness back to him, or even "paying it forward" to some other deserving person who hasn't had the advantages you have had. It is truly a blessing to give and to receive. I have had to learn myself, in impoverished times in the past, to receive graciously, and to pass on good things when my life circumstances improved. So that's my input, for whatever it's worth. In this world with its problems, it's heart-warming to hear of this goodness. Thanks for sharing it. Sandra

Meet Buddy, our mostly cocker spaniel with some poodle thrown in. This is his favourite observation post topside on our boat. We were up the BC coast in Canada, anchored in a lovely deserted cove with very high sides. Buddy barked for some reason, and a dog barked back. He looked all around and couldn't see the other dog, but he barked again, and sure enough, the mystery dog barked back. This started a period of barking back and forth that went on for quite awhile, with two humans laughing away and adding to the echoing sound. Grabbed the camera and caught his determined barking. We often have built-in entertainment with this furry mutt! Sandra & Rod

Powell River, BC v8a4z2 About 90 miles northwest of Vancouver on the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Thanks for doing this. Rod

These two will move a lot of air and cost less than $1000: 1) The home-build TH-SPUD design costs less than $250 for the materials, 2) the more powerful DTS-10 (which will not be overpowered by anything) goes for about $1000 and is easily put together in your living room in about 1-2 evenings. However, both approaches will need an external amp. I'd recommend something that is about 280 Watts@ 8 ohms (nominal) such as a Crown XTi-1000 (about $400), which can also do EQ and crossover functions for two-channel operation in addition to any HT mode of operation. Chris The Danley DTS-10 will only be available as a kit till about the end of April at just under $1,000. They will then stop selling the kit, and will only have it in finished form - and for almost 3 times the price. I'm sure glad we got ours: It is incredible, especially with the Khorns! Rod

Rudy & Claude, Thanks very much for your encouraging views on using the DCX as a crossover and for minimizing my concerns. So now it's time to quit theorizing about it and give it a try. I presently have a DCX2496 that is being used for crossover duties for our Danley DTS-10 sub. This is only consuming one of the six channels as we are running our old Khorns full range. That leaves 5 channels available and we need 6 for the Khorn drivers. What I'm thinking of doing for a first stab at this is to only use the DCX for the mids and tweets. Our Crites Type A crossover only has a single choke inline with the bass bin so I could keep that in use as a low pass. This would negate some crossover tweaking, but since the bass bin has the longest time delay shouldn't hurt me in the time alignment. Any thoughts on this approach? BTW if I end up happy with how the system works I could later on get another DCX to allow dealing with all 6 drivers. The bigger issue to work out for now is the high output voltage on the DCX outputs going to my consumer amps inputs. There are various mods available on the internet to add volume control for each channel and to improve the output stages. For now I would like to try this with what I have if it can be make workable. A simple voltage divider or pad on the DCX outputs could lower that voltage, but might present too high of an impedance to my SS amps inputs. I may also find high noise floor levels as I believe you did Rudy. But I'd sure like to give this a try now utilizing what I have. I'm sure open to suggestions on lowering the voltage to the amps, or anything else here - getting anxious to give this a try! Thanks, Rod

I've been giving quite a bit of thought this past week to using my DCX2496 as an active crossoveror for the Khorns. All my source material is ripped to a PC and it presently feeds an EMU-0404USB external DAC that sounds suprisingly good for the money. Something that bothers me is taking the output of the DAC and sending it to the DCX which includes an ADC/DAC set of conversions. That's two DAC processes, which must add some colorations. A long, long way from a straight wire with gain! I've been researching feeding the DCX straight from an SPDIF from the PC, but life then gets very complicated. Not too bad now that I'm only 2.1, but when I get to 5.1 down the road it becomes quite difficult. Especially since it seems that for max resolution the volume control should be after the DCX - or at least a part of its analog output. Rudy I believe your source is also a music server and that you feed it to the internal DACs on your pre/pro. Have you noticed anything negative that you might attribute to the additional conversions? I'm also wondering if you feel the loss of resolution by having volume control before the DCX? You seem to be very pleased with the SQ so perhaps the benefits of the active crossovers and time alignment outweigh what I perceive as negatives in the system. Thanks, Rod

Take a look at the Harmony One remote control. For a couple of hundred bucks it may solve all your switching and remote problems. An incredible contraption with huge WAF! Rod

Things are never as easy as they should be, eh. Have done a little Googling on interfacing pro and consumer and it gets complicated. Since I wont be getting another DCX for awhile this will give me some time to study the issue further. Rudy, I can't remember if you are using pro amps now? I do remember you going thru many iterations before you were satisfied. I do have some of the Behringer hum issue with my DCX which is being fed from an old HK Citation 11 Preamp. Haven't taken the time yet to totally resolve it. So thanks for the warning - I'll definitely heed it! Rod

Rudy, Thanks very much for your earlier informative answer to my post on the DCX2496. I have followed the links and read your further posts - it is seeming like this may be a great way to go.I'm anxious to give this a try, but don't want to give up my 2496 that is presently being used as crossover/equalizer for our new Danley DTS-10 sub. So looks like I'll need to get another 2496 - that may be a little while. For amps we are presently using an old HK-430 on our Khorns, which does quite a job for it's low price. I do have a couple of Tweak City Audio 'Gizmo's' laying around. These are Class D stereo amps, so I might try them for the midrange and tweeters, and keep the 430 for the bass bins. If this whole scheme works out I would love to build up some amps using the Hypex UCD modules. Thanks again Rudy for all your sharing on this exciting project. Rod

Only ONE? I'm extremely pleased with my single, but I certainly envisioned you with - well certainly more than one! Rod

Rudy, I have been following your progress for awhile now and am really happy for you that it is finally coming together. If I understand your system correctly you are using one channel of a Behringer DCX2496 for each driver (6 total). I have read on several different forums that this device is good for subwoofer crossover/equalization, but is not supposed to be very good for full range use. This is due to the DA/AD converters and general circuitry used. As an owner of one of these and Khorns I am pleasantly suprised to hear of your high SQ results. Mine is presently being used for subwoofer crossover and equalization as I don't have a modern receiver in the loop. But using it for active crossover duty is very intriguing! Thanks so much for sharing all your trials and tribulations. Rod

Christmas of 09 I bought a Harmony One for my wife since she was lost with the 5 remotes. When she first saw it she thought "There he goes again - buying me a techie present that he really wants for himself". Once I set it up she became an instant believer and totally appreciated it. Incredible WAF! About 7 months later I foolishly left it on the floor and our dog thought it was a new toy for him. No, it did not pass that test! Well we quickly became very lost without it and of course had to get a new one. Not to be left on the floor again! Rod

That will be a "Statement" alright! Looking forward to your photos and listening reports. Good luck, Rod

I don't think they have an online ordering system set up. Remember this kit MAY only be available till the end of the month. My suggestion would be to send an email to Danley and explain that you have voice problems and how would they suggest you proceed. I found them to be amazingly good to work with and I also believe them to be an extremely ethical company. Is one cabinet enough to have fun. Well, it probably has more output than any other commercially available subwoofer for the home market. A lot depends on how loud you want it. In our somewhat small 1800 cubic foot room I'm a little worried about structural damage to the house when I really crank it up. So it sure is enough for us. Unless you have a really large room, or want to listen at insane levels one should be enough for volume. Where multiple are helpful are in diminishing room mode problems. We found that when we integrated our single with our Khorns that it really helped to flatten the frequency response. That's because the Khorns go fairly low on their own. We are running ours crossed over at 60, but with the Khorns going full range. The DTS-10 does have a peak in the 50s and some other stuff a little over 100. With equalization I believe most people are getting fairly good upper SQ. Perhaps Brandonnash can address this as I believe his mains don't go very low. Rod

If Flac will work well on your system it's a great way to go. We have all of our music in FLAC. You will find some purists that claim they can hear a difference between FLAC and WAV, but most believe you can't. I can't help you with a digital out card that will work in your Linux box, in fact don't even know if the cards are OS specific. We are using an EMU-0404USB external DAC. It does 192/24 over USB 2.0 using proprietary USB drivers done by EMU. But I have a hunch it will only work on Windows machines. There are some folks on the Audio Asylum, Computer Audio Asylum section that are using Linux boxes. Good luck. Let us know how it works out. Rod

What computer are you using for ripping and playback - a Pc or Mac? That will have a big influence on the encoder you choose. Are you sending analog or digital from the computer to the receiver? Also do you use a separate DAC or do you have a high quality soundcard in the computer? Typically taking the computers original analog out to a receiver will not give as good of sound quality as a decent CD player. Rod

Not sure if you meant the DTS-10 is impressive, or the thread at HT Shack. If it's the latter, the thread on HT Shack is 8 pages. The one on AVS is 116! If you meant theDTS-10 - yes it's very impressive. So glad we decided to get one! Rod

Oh no, it's the 'Illuminated' side! Used Klipsch Heritage has to be some of the best values in audio. And what a match with our DTS=10s! Keep stuffing those coins in the jar Barandon. Good to see you both here. Rod

I'm just using the inexpensive Behringer EP4000 (the rebadged EP2500) as are several others with the DTS10. I also got a Behringer DCX2496 to use as a crossover and for equalizing the Danley. What is a big help is to get REW to be able to run sweeps and see them on the computer. I found that the sub was out of phase with the Khorns and that in my room crossing over at 50 Hz worked best. Also my old 2 channel receiver doesn't have a crossover so the Khorns are running full range. I think that helps to smooth the frequency response - a little like multiple subs for all but the very low end. Good luck with yours! BTW I am 'nwboater' on the other forum. Rod

We built one about a month ago. LOVE IT!!! It's a wonderful match with our old Khorns - horn loaded all the way down to 11Hz. Keep in mind it will probably only be available as a kit until the end of this month (rumor has it). Cost is just under $1000. Assembled version will be just under 3k (rumor has it). Best to check out the thread at AVS as the other person mentioned. As of today it contains 105 pages. And you will find that there are lots of people grabbing the opportunity and everyone so far is extremely pleased with its performance. Rod

I recently assembled a Danley DTS-10 kit . This thing is incredible!!! What his tapped horn design gets out of 2 12" woofers is astounding. Very strong solid response down to about 11 Hz. It has no trouble keeping up with our Khorns, and makes a very real difference at the bottom end. And it is clean.Did I mention it's also BIG? First home speaker I've seen thatmakes the Khorns look small! 60" x 45" x 16". It's only going to be available in kit form for a limited time - rumor has it till the end of January. The kit without amp is $975. Many of us are using it with inexpensive Behringer EP2500 or 4000 amps. Bang for the buck - this sub has to be near the top of the heap. And remember it's not just the bang - this thing puts out CLEAN bang. I feel very fortunate to have a Danley sub, and to be fully horn loaded with Klipshorns from 11 Hz on up! Not sure if it's okay to mention other forums here, but there is a huge thread on this sub at AVS. (If it's not I would appreciate being corrected.) Rod

Sorry for the double post. Does anyone know how to delete a post? Rod

GroomLake Area 51 sent some of his 'Associates' over to fix it! Rod

Our good Cannon digitil camera just died and it will be Christmas before my wife gets a new one. So sorry but can't get you any pictures now. The Danley is big though! It's the first speaker I've seen that makes the Klipschorns look small. And you are right, the way the Khorns fit in a corner helps to disguise their size. Keep in mind they designed it primarily for home theater use. With it's 16" depth it can fit behind a screen or be used as a riser. In our case it probably wont be used either way. But our room is primarily dedicated for music, and will later also be a home theater. So we are willing to contend with it's size for the incredible performance it gives. Rod PS You are welcome to come for a listen (& look), but since we are 100 mile north of Vancouver, BC it would be quite a trip.