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New "bottlehead" looking to get into Klipsch


33RPM

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Hello,

Thanks for joining one insane group of Klipsch-head "cases".

This may not be exactly what you are looking for but the size and the fact that they sound well with tubes may do the trick.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/ele/1086673067.html

Offer the guy $225.00. These usually go for $125 to $300 based on condition. I bought mine for $150 and they are unblemished.

Bill

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What's the deal with the big bass drivers on the back of the KG4's? Strikes me as an unusual design....

In addition to the two active 8" woofers handling bass duties, Klipsch employed a 12" passive radiator on the rear to help the KG4's dig a little deeper. Similar design on the Forte rear.

Bill

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I have used a pair of 2A3 SET amps to drive my RF-7s until I made the Hypex amps. I prefered the RF-7s with the 2A3s over the Chorus-IIs because the high impedance upper midrange of the three ways caused more accentuation of that region than I liked. The Forte-II might be a nice compromise if you can get a low impedance output from your SET amp .. the Forte is nice. In any event, I don't know what speaker besides Klipsch that I would use with a SET amp.

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I will be the odd man out to say get a set of Heresy III's. The bass sound is better than the previous iterations, they still run in the essentially same freq range but the bass is more pronounced. To get the lower octave you'll want to add a sub in time but the Heresy III's are a very capable little speaker. The cost is very reasonable and they will be new and returnable if they do not float your boat.

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Even though I haven't lived here long enough to know my neighbors (and few of them seem to speak English, anyway), I have a feeling that with Klipschorns, they would especially hate me. Listening to Coltrane belt out "A Love Supreme" at 106dB would be quite the icebreaker, don't you think? Big Smile

On one hand you don't need to worry because, well to quote one of the Floyd gang, I think it was Pink, "Your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying."

Or, Sticks and stones break my bones, but my KHorns render your utterances moot. Never let in an armed neighbor, unless it's beer.

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I started out using my paramount 300b's with the heresy II's. Personally I did not find the combination very good. Maybe a little honky, and very bass shy. They imaged very well, but the sound was just thin. The sound seemed to be coming from way back beyond the back wall of the listening room, very distant.

I wired the paramounts for 4 ohms, switched to the RF-7's and never looked back. The low impedance really has not been a problem in my setup. When I switch to the 205wpc parasound amp, I get a little more control in the lower frequencies but the paramounts put out just as much. I'm probably only using the first watt of eight at my optimal listening level.

That said, I would also state that the heresys were more musical, while the RF's are more analytical.

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Frazier? As in the speakers, or a joke about the fact that I'm a psychologist by trade? [:D]

I've been watching Craiglist and "ePay" for a pair of Heresys. I almost snagged a pair of Forte I's, but was a few hours late. I'm definitely headed towards a pair of Heritage series speakers, as the Icons don't seem sensitive enough (the 95.5/97dB sensitivity on the floorstanders seems optimistic - probably more like 92). Anyway, my home-built gear almost begs for Heresys, with the hand-rubbed wood finishes and all.....

The only possible snag is that I *might* buy a condo and need $ for the down payment....which would mean no Klipsches for a while [:(] Knowing me, the speakers will get bought anyway!

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I've been looking at the Bottlehead Eros for when I'm ready for a proper phono stage.

I had Belles in an apartment and I managed to keep from being hated by neighbors. I just kept the volume down which only required restraint on my part. These guys are right about the KG line, Forte II's, Chorus II's, and Heresy's. However, I say buy for what you will want in the long run damm the size : ). Your low powered amps will thank you : )



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  • 2 weeks later...

I thank everybody for their advice - I'm soon to be a Klipsch convert! I snagged a pair of cherry RF-5's (a speaker I heard years ago and really liked) for decent price, one similar to what people were quoting me for used Heresys or RB-5 bookshelves. The RF-5's 99dB sensitivity and decent bass specs should work great for my smallish living room and rich, low-wattage tube gear. Plus, the cherry color even matches my amps and turntable, as that's what color I ended up finishing them with (cherry stain + tung oil).

I'll let you guys know how they mate with my Bottlehead gear once they arrive, probably next week! Anybody want a pair of Polk RTi A1's? [:D]

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have you gotten the speakers? Let us know how you like them.

If you built the S.E.X with 8 ohm outputs, I would suggest listening to them in this configuration at least a week so you can get a good impression of the sound. Then wire them for 4 ohms. I bet you will hear the difference immediately.

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La Scalas and a wee sub sound like a borderline proposition when size is considered. Easier to accommodate than Klipschorns. Bigger than Heresys. More than capable to filling any size room in any place you're likely to live. Just get a pair that are cosmetically challenged but functionally unchallenged.

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No speakers just yet. The seller took forever to ship them, so they won't be here until next week.

Are the 4-ohm windings on the S.E.X. output transformers better for these speakers? How low in impedance do they dip? I've heard that the 8-ohm windings usually sound better, but if these things dip down to 2 ohms or something, I don't know.....

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Are the 4-ohm windings on the S.E.X. output transformers better for these speakers?

Since you are a DIY'er you should definetely try it both ways. I'm not familiar with the S.E.X amp, but on the paramounts I just had to swap a couple of connections on the output transformers.

I wonder if anyone here has an impedance curve for the RF-5's. On my 7's the improvement was not small. It really improved the bass response even with a less than optimal room placement.

Low power tubes may not be the absolute best match for the reference series, but my system sounds better than ever.

The DIY thing can be an addiction. Before long you'll be building your own awesome 24 step attenuator and upgrading capcitors in the amps and speakers. If you're not careful you'll end up making custom interconnect cables. I've become the kind of person who would pay more for the kit than the finished product. [:$] I still find it hard to believe that I actually built something that sounds so damn sweet.

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Once the speakers arrive, I'll play around with both the 8 and 4 ohm connections off the transformers and report my findings.

You're right about the DIY thing - it is very addictive. My S.E.X. amp is no longer bone stock - I removed the original phone jack and put in a shorting one with the same type of 120 ohm resistors to standardize the impedance. C4S boards and better caps are next.

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The speakers finally came! A little rough around the edges cosmetically, but I was able to touch up a few spots, as well as clean and oil the wood. They look great now. At first, one of the tweeters was out, which was easily fixed by pulling out the crossover and connecting a wire that had jarred loose during shipping. The sound is awesome - all the old stereotypes about Klipsch being "fatiguing," "tizzy," "shouty," "honky," etc. do not apply here. On my Bottlehead amp, they are rich, detailed, and maybe even a little warm, without a trace of fatigue. Pianos and saxophones sound more real then I've heard them on any other speaker - and as a musician, I should know what they sound like in real life! In fact, on a Bill Evans album, I heard sharp noises from the bass strings hitting the fingerboard in a way that I have never heard unless I'm playing my own bass. These were definitely a good pick for a SET. My Polks sound dull in comparison, and are headed for eBay very shortly. I'm already hooked!

I've barely played the louder than about 10 o'clock on the volume dial, which is probably about 350-400mW per channel, and is plenty loud for my apartment. That 99dB sensitivity certainly helps when you only have 2W to play around with! So far, I've only tried these on the 8 ohm taps. Tomorrow I might wire up some switches to go between the 8 ohm and 4 ohm taps of the autoformers - I can already tell that damping isn't so great, as the bass isn't very present or tight. This is typical for an amp with no NFB and a very low damping factor. My guess is that the RF-5's dip down to about 3.5 ohms in a few places. Since classic rock and jazz aren't that bassy to begin with, I doubt I'll notice much of a difference, other than about a 2dB loss in overall gain.

I'm thinking that I still may eventually have to try out some Heresys, but the Reference towers will serve me well for now!

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