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This is my inaugural post of what I hope will be a series of posts chronicling my tube amp builds as well as my new found appreciation of Klipsch... It started last year when I retired from my career in solid state and digital electronics and got back to my first love... tubes. I stripped out an old 40's intercom desk box (pictured) that had always been a favorite of my son and installed a hand built Morgan tube amp in it. I tweaked it for more gain and when it first (gently) hummed to life, I was instantly transported back to my childhood. You folks who are around 60 or so know that sound... Sigh I then found an engraver who made the all in one face plate for it (note that I disguised the input jack as the old "Press to Talk" lever) and I presented it to my son. He likes and uses it but he does not share my nostalgia for the soft hum it produces when idling. Kids! =\ Enter Maynard "The Tube Amp Designer". I met him on-line and if you don't know his body of work, make it a point to. His contributions to this forum are invaluable. He suggested that if I wanted a tube amp with clean sound, I should build a stereo tube amp of his design that he had dubbed the "Little Gem". I built it and just as he promised, it is NOISELESS. You can't tell that it is on until you provide a signal to its inputs. When you do, the music just leaps out of the previously silent speakers like a tiger springing from the underbrush! Naturally, I wanted the amp to look as good as it sounds but even so, I had a problem with paying $100+ for a ready- made, chassis/ box. You fellow builders know what I mean. Fueled by that frugality, I drew on my first amp, the (intercom conversion) which inspired me to find and re-purpose another ready made enclosure for the Little Gem. After 40 years in the electronics industry, I have plenty of pieces of disused equipment to pick from and as you can see below, an old '90's Ethernet hub filled the bill nicely. I stripped out all the original electronics except the AC input module which left it with some very nice built in power line filtering. Another bonus is that this chassis is aluminum, so no eddy currents. I then built the Little Gem into it. (Pictured) BTW, even if you don't have a basement full of old equipment, there's always e-Bay. I just saw the exact same model that I used for the "buy it now" price of $20.00! I then housed the whole thing in an early 40's Philco home entertainment cabinet and added a few bells and whistles to make it even more eye-catching. The old phono bay is where the Little Gem now resides and it now opens electrically with the touch of a button. Also I couldn't resist putting lit VU meters on the amp chassis as well as a modest light show in the old 8" speaker location. BTW, I re-purposed the old phono turntable. It now hangs above my desk with two ten watt led's hidden where the cartridge used to be. The knob that used to switch the needle from '78 to LP is now a brightness control for the led's. Also, it's a great way to show case old picture disks. I take some flak for re-purposing as opposed to restoring old pieces but as I see it, their are a lot of well restored pieces out there and they all have one thing in common: they are all just as BORING as the day they were new. Here is a 60 second long video of the Little Gem it in action (yes, ACTION!) Bear in mind, I posted it before the Klipsch RB-61's arrived, (Read on) Enter Maynard (again): By now, I was very aware that he is a BIG proponent of not only single ended tube amps but Klipsch as well. He gently nudged me towards the RB-61's and since he hadn't steered me wrong yet, I confidently ordered them. As I hoped, they worked out VERY well and I have nothing but praise for them. Even though the RB-61's provide a sonic-ally accurate room filling sound even with a low power amp, I am the sort who without fail, eventually ends up turning it to 11. As such, am always looking for more volume. So months later when I saw the +98dB sensitivity spec of the Klipsch KF-28's which is a full +3 dB more than the RB-61's, I ordered them, with Maynard's blessing of course but that was out of respect for him as I am now a full blown Klipsch believer. I met the UPS truck in the driveway and I think it was under 5 minutes before I had them unpacked and hooked to the Little Gem! I was immediately struck by the extra volume and bass they provided. I know they aren't top-of-the-line Klipsch but wow, they look and sound great with the Little Gem. In short, believe the reviews. They do indeed present " A Wall of Sound"... They are what I now use with the Little Gem exclusively. The RB-61's are still GREAT sounding and more technically advanced, (as I believe) but I have decided to pair them with my next, more powerful amp. =] I am calling that amp the "P.T. Barnamp" because of its built in showiness and gimmickry. It is well on it's way to completion at the time of this writing. I hope to show it in another month or so. Thanks for the chance to get to know you and you,,, me! Stu