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suggestions on how to hook my k-horns


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hi. i just bought a pair of k-horns 2 days ago & am very excited to get them hooked up the best way possible with what i have. i'm looking for suggestions on how to best hook them up. they are 1995 vintage with ak-3 x-overs. i will list the components i have & would like to hear opinions on the best ones to use & best way to use them. its all solid state stuff, no fancy tubes or super expensive brands.... yet. just some mid-fi stuff i feel should be ok for now. just want to get the best performance with what i have. i'm open to bi-amping or bridgeing if the extra power will help. i listen to classic & modern rock usually at high volumes. & some oldies & loving good jazz the more i hear it. i dont have any fancy wires or cables yet but am open to decent priced stuff... no $100 speaker wire etc. :rolleyes:

heres what i am working with. my receiver has pre amp outputs to act as a pre-amp or i have a seperate preamp too. mainly lookig for 2ch suggestions but will consider using the k-horns for home theater as well, but i have built in sub def techs bipolars that are pretty darn good on movies so for now 2ch with the k-horns is priority.

onkyo 805 7.1 receiver 130wpc. makes a decent preamp in 2ch too.

adcom gtp 500ii tuner preamp

2 adcom gfa 555ii amps. 200wpc & 600watts bridged mono

rotel rb990bx amp. 200wpc. not bridgeable. sounds very warm compared to the adcoms.

onkyo m-504 amp. 165wpc. also a nice warm sound.

adcom gcd 600 cd player

onkyo integra dxc730 cd player.

best amp & pre amp arrangement for the k horns? then any opinions on the cd players, heard great reviews for both of them. open to all suggestions & will experiment with any of the ideas.

thanks in advance!

Edited by klipschfancf4
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I would skip the Ht receivers at first and try the other amps first, see what sounds best any one you have is plenty enough power. just connect don't bi-amp or anything, I would start with just plain #14 wire nothing fancy you could always change after you figure out the combination you like.

Be sure to have them tight and sealed in the corner and skip the subs.

I say this so you can get use to the sound a little and go from there, you have to know what the sound is before you try to improve it.

Just one oponion

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I'm not an amp guy, per se. But the Adcom 555 family (by Nelson Pass) gets great reviews including some people here with K-Horns.

If I were in your situation I'd start with that and then make sure the seals to the corner of the K-Horns are optimized.

WMcD

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yes, forgot to mention that, i plan to audition each amp briefly with the same preamp & player. right now im using the receiver as a pre amp in stereo mode only. using some decent 16awg wires, onkyo dvd/cd player hooked up optically. mainly looking for opinions on the amp set ups, hypothetically what would be the best combo for k-horns? i think i wll go with the adcom preamp for 2 channel mode if it sounds as good or better than using the onkyo recveier as a pre amp & keep the theater system totally seperate.

my initial impressions in 2 days of listening for a few hours first on the onkyo 504 amp so i could see the power output (big green power meters) it sounded "good" pushing up to about 5-10 watts average, about 1/3 on the volume knob. then i swapped to the adcom 555ii & instantly noticed a worse sound overall, kind of "echoey" & "shrillier" than the onkyo if that makes sense. it has good bottom end but not as musical in my few hours & limited recordings. next i will try the rotel amp which gets great reviews on its sound quality & when i tested it on a different set of speakers a few weeks ago (only had it a couple weeks now) i noticed the same thing compared to the adcom... just way more musical & a nicer sound. the adcoms may have the big power levels but so far i dont think the sound is as good as the onkyo or limited time with the rotel.

is bi amping a popular thing for k-horns? maybe the rotel or onkyo on the mids & tweets & an adcom on the bass bins? or even bridged mono adcoms to the bass bins? just thinking out loud. will definantly audition the amps more before i play with other combos.

Edited by klipschfancf4
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hard to say on the recordings, just standard cd's that all sounded fine on my previous set ups, fortes & ~100wpc onkyo receiver. but some that used to sound fine, dont sound fine on the k-horns. the current player im using (not mentioned in the list) is a onkyo dvd player that will play SACD & DVD-A, but i dont have any music in those formats yet.

my main test cd's that have always sounded good in the past are led zepplin 2, pink floyd dark side or the wall, steely dan greatest hits, eagles greatest hits ("those shoes" up loud is incredible) & some toto. i also use some "newer" stuff that are excellet recordings based on previous setups like collective soul, kings of leon, a perfect circle, slower pearl jam songs etc.

dont get me wrong, both amps sound good so far, i just expected a huge improvement with the k-horns, but so far they are a little overwhelming compared to my other klipsch speakers with the same gear hooked up. the terms used to describe sounds are so vauge & can have different meanings to each person. just expected a big WOW factor with the k-horns that isnt quite there yet. & keep in mind the room they are in is far from ideal, 25x13 with a low 7' 6" drop ceiling & they aare on a short wall about 9-10' apart & im about 10' away from them. thats probably most of the "in your face" issues im hearing, where as the fortes etc can be placed/angled much better & are more forgiving of recordings & room size. so even if i have to live with the room limitations with the k-horns i will, a new larger house is hopefully in the near future. just trying to optimize them with what i have for now...

so, can anyone provide some suggestions on what they think the best amp set ups would be? i know i have to listen for myself, just looking for ideas on what y'all think would be the best way to go. many speakers have bi-amp capabilities for a reason, as it can have its benefits. but i dont think bridged mono is needed on such efficient speakers.

thanks

Edited by klipschfancf4
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forum member tromprof is running his k-horns with a brand new pioneer SC-1222-K ( $1100 MSRP ) on sale at newegg.com $549 and loves it. don't know his room dims.

if they aren't sealed in the corners they ain't gonna sound good at all

Edited by Budman
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im working on sealing them with pipe foam. they fit in the corners pretty good as is but the back edges of the tops & the side panels on the bass bins with the grille material hit the corners before the tailboard & horizontal edges of the bass bins im sure.

thanks for the suggestion on the pioneer, but im looking for opinions on the best arrangement using MY components.

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heres a couple pics of the room & speakers. as you can see they are on a very short wall & the ceiling is way to low im sure... but they are gorgeous oiled walnut in 9.5 out of 10 condition.

post-57869-0-10020000-1391284065_thumb.j

post-57869-0-04060000-1391284073_thumb.j

Edited by klipschfancf4
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im aware of that, the big def techs are only temporary, they were there first as part of the theater set up. i lay them down when doing any critical listening. but the k-horns are too close together im sure, just over 9' from center to center of mid horn.

Edited by klipschfancf4
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Sorry to say, wider is better. Any chance of moving to long wall?

moving them is possible. the right one would stay where it is & the left one would go down the end of the long wall. but that gets in the way of the rear/surrounds for the theater. the k-horns are only 3 days old to me so they will stay where they are for now. a new tv is in the works & the basement is mainly a movie watching hang out. always wanted the k-horns & had a good deal locally i couldnt pass up so i had to get them. their final location will be worked out down the road or in a different house.

can i get some ideas on how to use the gear i have??

Edited by klipschfancf4
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What you are considering is referred to as "fools bi-amping". People are fixated on this for reasons that don't make a lot of sense. Find the amp that sounds the best to you in that room and sell everything else. Use the money to replace the horn and/or crossovers. Those are probably in desperate need of rewiring as well.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bi-wire_bi-amp.htm

Edited by DeanG
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im aware of that, the big def techs are only temporary,

What big def techs? You mean the speakers dwarfed by the KHorn?

;)

yes very true, i used to think they were big, now they look tiny next to the behemoth k-horns.

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What you are considering is referred to as "fools bi-amping". People are fixated on this for reasons that don't make a lot of sense. Find the amp that sounds the best to you in that room and sell everything else. Use the money to replace the horn and/or crossovers. Those are probably in desperate need of rewiring as well.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bi-wire_bi-amp.htm

great article, but i am confused a bit. why wouldnt breaking up the tops & bass bins be beneficial? one amp (possible better sounding) to the tops (mid & tweet) & a seperate amp to the bass bins. in theory doing this would improve the sound for 2 reasons, 1> you are putting less load on each amp, one is designated to only mids & highs & is not stressed by sending bass signals. 2> you are essentially doubling the power sent to each speaker, instead of one amp sending lets say 200watts to handle bass & mid/highs, you have 2 amps sending 200watts each, total of 400 watts. again, one designated to only bass & one for only mid/highs.

last i knew or understood seperating the signals greatly reduces stress on the amps. now imagine the "top" amp is a high quality tube amp or a mcintosh etc for much better mid high sound, then the bottom is a designated brute for bass. how or why wouldnt that improve the sound the speaker puts out?

i agree bi-wiring is pointless, but it seems like true bi-amping would have obvious improvements. but again, im no professional, just looking for opinions. thanks for the input.

also, can you elaborate on why the crossovers are "in desperate need of rewiring" & what i would replace the horns with?

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