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Appropriate amplifier for Klipschorn


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I prefer tubes with horns,
Me too. I think tubes get a little closer to the ultimate intimacy and highest quality of the musical sound. Good SS is very imposing, however. I like tube pres and amplifiers both.

Locally to here, Garymd's fabled system is transitioning from a Blueberry (tube) pre to Craig's NBS, and his tube amp is a pair of Craig's VRD's. He plays only vinyl and it has to be heard to be believed. There are other fine examples, but his is a very good one.

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You would have to spend an awful lot of money to do better than that Accuphase, But if you have it you probably have the means to buy a really good tube amp. I personally think I would go the class A solid state route if I was going to spend tons of cash on amps. Less trouble and great sound.

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Ran SS with Khorns and the match was fine.

Tried a couple of different tube solutions before ending up with VRD's and BBX pre, and this is a very good combination.

Is it better that solid state? I can't say from personal experience as i had only medium quality solid state amps at best...never spent the same$ on SS as i did with tubes....

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Thank you very much for these interesting answers! Probably I will stay with Accuphase for the moment. When I will find a very very good tubes amplifier I will try to get it at home and listen.. One friend told me that I could buy the new Accuphase A-65 power amplifier and the C-2820 or C-3800 preamplifier. Both very good, but I dont know how well they will synergy with Khorns. Unfortunately, I cannot take them at home..

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Amps can make a big difference in the way your K-horns sound, but you seem to have a nice amp. If you are looking to enhance the sound you are getting there are other directions to go in. Depending on the age of your speakers they might benefit from having the crossovers refreshed, or there are several people making new crossovers as well. Another way to really improve the K-horn is upgrading the mid horn. IMO those will make as big or bigger difference in the sound as playing around with good high end amps.

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Its all a a matter of taste. From my experience listening to my audiobuds' systems, including a few fellow forum members, I've concluded that no 2 people want the same sound from their system. Khorns are very good speakers on their own but as you look around the forums, notice how many different directions folks have taken with the mods and wholesale changes to this venerable speaker. There was a time on the Klipsch forum, when a thread like this would quickly devolve into a heated debate pitting the "outdated distortion box" devotees against "cold and analytical crate" followers that would almost always end with the thread getting shut down and someone being banned. Luckily, folks seem to have accepted that there is no one type of amp that will satisfy everyone and we have come to respect other's preferences.

What I'm trying to say is that you will get some benefit from asking others what gear they use but you really need to hear it for yourself. Many members with Khorns, myself included, only found what we liked after listening to many other set ups and having a parade of gear running through our systems. If that's not efficient enough or economically viable for you, then I'd suggest searching through threads on this forum and others such as Audiokarma, Audiocircle and Audioasylum, find folks who share your taste in music and listen through Khorns and take a look at their systems. You may find some common gear that will give you an idea of what sounds good and get you started down the path... Welcome to the forum and have fun!

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I like what I hear, but I don't know if a high quality tubes amplifier is better with Klipschorn. What is your experience?

The Accuphase e-530 is a really beautiful looking amp. 30 wpc class is more power than you will ever need for the K Horns. if you try tubes, don't get rid of your amp, you will probably wind up going back to it. You should try to find someone local that has tubes that you can try out.

Here are some inexpensive SET's to try (I had a pair for a while):

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/148020-fs-pair-of-wright-2a345-mono-4/

I went the tube route and wound up back with high quality SS, so I am biased.

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