joshnich Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a few local Klipsch – heads. This is pretty much the same group that has gathered a couple of times in the somewhat recent past. At the previous gatherings we mostly compared power amps. PCats, VRD’s, SET and high-powered ADCOM s. Since we had pretty much done the amp thing (BTW there are now 4 PCAT owners in the group) we thought it would be fun to compare source devises. It ended up that we listened to Reel to Reel, CDPs (rega apollo, Oppo, Adcom), my Olive server, Benchmark DAC, and Vinyl. Additionally we ended up comparing Belles, Cornwalls, and CornScalas. We also tried a couple of different tubes in the Merlin. A vintage Amprex versus a vintage Mullard. Have to say that not a lot of “critical” listening took place as we were talking and making it up as we went along! I pulled out my Tandberg tube reel to reel (model 64) that was playing as folks arrived. We didn’t do any comparisons but I believe most were amazed at the fidelity of this vintage gem. I was playing a Jim Croce pre-recorded tape that I had recently picked up at a garage sale. To start the day off we compared the new Van Morrison Moondance re-issue and compared it to the Super Disk version. The consensus was that the new re-issue beat out the Super Disk. I hoped that the attendees would post that in an effort to enhance my opinion for publicly saying that it was the best! So I guess Ill have to say so myself! We then started playing with CDP’s The Apollo shined in this group. I think that we all liked the onboard Dac versus playing it through the Benchmark. The ADCOM was also deemed to be a worthy CDP. Can’t say that the Oppo fared as well. OK but not to the level of the other’s listened to. I think most were impressed with the sound of the Olive server through the Benchmark. All appeared impressed with the access to music as well as the sound quality. Cant say there was a preference one way or another regarding the tubes in the Merlin. They were different but both sounded great. As did the super tube version of the Blueberry. We then started listening to the various speakers. The cornwalls featured new crossovers as well as new tweeter diaphragms. Can’t remember if they also had the cast crites woofers. At any rate all loved the sound. The midrange was certainly compressed versus my Trachorn Belles. The bass was deeper but not as quick or as accurate as the Belles. The CornScalas did not disappoint. They were very similar to the Belles with more apparent bass but again not as quick or as accurate. The owner if the Cornscalas brought them along, as he had been somewhat disappointed in how they sounded at home. I think after the session he will be looking for a pair of Pcats, as the speakers were amazing. After hours of BSing and listening, we went to the local high school to tour the incredible all-klipsch theater as well as the La Scala equipped music room, choir room and main auditorium. A Klipsch lovers day for sure! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ah, THAT Bay Area. I was wondering why I wasn't invited... Sounds like a great time If you ever get down to THIS Bay Area, drop in! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago_Pete Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks for posting, very interesting. You guys sure get a lot done in a day. Im kinda in the dark on the CornScalas. I see Bob has something on his site but is anyone selling these done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ah, THAT Bay Area. Dave There's another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Other than Galveston Bay, the one with the really BIG city on it? Apparently there is... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighting guy Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Ahem.....3 big cities Dave.......SF, Oakland, San Jose, and a BUNCH of small ones in between.[] More people than this Arkansas boy feels comfortable around sometimes, yet it manages to feel homey most of the time. It certainly helps to have Klipsch bretheren around! Josh, I had a great time at your fine crib last weekend. Good people, music, food and drink! It was fun to do all the comparisons even if critical listening was hard to achieve with all the socializing. After all, the comaraderie is the most important feature of the get-togethers. I am currently listening to your Apollo with the Mullard 6dj8 in the BBX. Very, Very Nice! It was fun to hear all the different speakers, including my first Cornscala. Nice work Bob! Incidentally a couple of days later Bob helped me do a quick re-solder job. This community here is a great resource. Thanks Fini for the help posting the picture of the VRDs, and for bumping the post yesterday in the GS section. I was able to post my first picture (all by myself [:$]) yesterday in the cleaning colored vinyl thread. Wow a technical breakthrough! Bryan, sorry I had to leave before I got to see the school's system, I'm sure it ROCKS. Myron, good to see you again, hope you find those Khorns for the "barn". Next time we'll have to get Mark D, down here, it's pretty much turned into the JM club. Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighting guy Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Mark, first we heard an Amperex orange 6dj8, it had nice definition and dynamics through Josh's Belles. Then we switched to a Mullard and didn't pull it out. To me it sounded a bit more liquid while maybe losing some dynamics. Testing was pretty subjective as we weren't doing really critical listening. I have the Mullard in my BBX right now as Josh was kind enough to let me borrow it. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 His Master's Voice...Josh's dog wishing he were inside listening to Bob's (Sherwoodhifi on the forum) Cornscalas! Oops! Turn head 90 degrees... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Critical (?) listening, friendly visiting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Listening & talking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Critical (?) listening... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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