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Cranked up the (new to me) Belle's tonight....


jimjimbo

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1980 Belle's, all original, AA crossovers. Will update the crossovers at some point....

Played several selections from Steely Dan's "Aja", Clapton's "Unplugged", and a few from Anita Baker....

Well, all I have to say is, holy sh*t. Absolutely stunning. Amazing depth and realism. The bass is better than I expected, and I'm happy about that....Wow.

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You know, it's funny, I had done a ton of research and reading, and had formed this now obviously incorrect (for me) opinion that the Belle's were going to be weak in the bass freq's. But, I was prepared because I have a couple of very nice subs, and thought, no problem, if that is in fact true, then I'll just switch them in and away we go....Well, I don't think I'm going to need them, cause I'm quite happy with the overall sound. I'm sure it also has a lot to do with the fact that I'm powering them with a kick a$$ ampsandsound Stereo 15 Special Edition (thank you Justin), and a very nice Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp. If I had the corners for a pair of Klipshorn's, I'd probably be pursuing those sooner or later, but for now, the beautiful Belle's will do very nicely.

I agree, the bass is very nice and well balanced. Had mine for about 3 months but still haven't upgraded the networks. Wanted to wait a while to really appreciate the difference when I do after becoming accustomed to their sound.

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Welcome to the club. I'm listening to my pair right now. A pair of 1979 with original X-overs. Just like Tasdom, I want to really appreciate any upgrades. But, for me, they sound beautiful as they are. I sometimes use the subwoofer; it depends on what I'm listening to. I'm not sure if new crossovers would enhance the bass or not. Can anyone give me an answer?

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Guest David H
I sometimes use the subwoofer; it depends on what I'm listening to. I'm not sure if new crossovers would enhance the bass or not. Can anyone give me an answer?

Upgraded crossovers will better balance the sound, so I suppose that could translate to enhanced bass. Though I think taming the top end might be a better description.

Dave

Edited by GotHover
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I'm not sure if new crossovers would enhance the bass or not. Can anyone give me an answer?

Right now, your mid and high frequencies are somewhat diminished, so they are a little out of balance with the bottom, which is probably more pronounced than it should be. If you have old Type AAs, and you go to new Type AAs, the bottom will recede a little as the mids and highs come more forward because of the new capacitors. This is one of the reasons I use vintage type capacitors like the Jensen paper in oils and the wax impregnated Jupiters -- they do a better job of maintaining the balance between the drivers as well as the tone (though this is a bit of an oversimplification since those capacitors have other attributes as well). Modern polypropylenes tend to be somewhat on the bright side, and some/many prefer that the midrange be dialed back some via the autotransformer -- which is what I did to the Type AAs that Steve bought from me: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/151224-my-new-deang-networks%E2%80%A6/

Edited by DeanG
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