rama Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hello Klipsch aficionados, I Own a pair 1981 Klipschorn. and I truly LOVE them. Until recently, I was coupling them with either an audiolab 8000s in integrated mode or with the same audiolab 8000s as pre-amp and an adcom 5400 as power amp. I was very happy with this set up. Also it lacked a bit of definition it had some very generous bass (which is important for me) and a very warm sound. Still I always knew I could upgrade... I recently purchased a Mark levinson ml-1 as I was told those pre-amp are a perfect match for my Klipschorn. And gave the Audiolab to my daughter. I'm not very happy with the result at all! First, I have lost some of the warmth of the sound and the bass when I play rock record are ok (not great) but I also collect 70's jazz and Funk from Africa and whenever I play those record (which were badly recorder to start with) I get a terrible subbass taking over the sound if I don't play at very low level. Another annoying thing is that I cannot turn the volume more than 0.2 on the Mark Levinson without being super loud. In general it sound ok if I listen at low volume but become terrible if I want to listen a little louder... I'm a music lover but as I'm sure you have figured out not a "HiFi connoisseur" and this stage I don't know which way to go... I was considering keeping the Mark Levinson and replacing my Adcom by a Mcintosh MC275 or a McIntosh MC225 as I was told those work with Klipschorn very well??? but do they pair well with Mark levinson ML1??? shall I instead consider a SS? if yes which one? As I would most likely buy this online without the option of sending it back I can't afford to mess up... Any help, advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. HELP!!! Thank you Rama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) I don't know for sure, but it's clear you have a bad gain-matching situation. You need much less gain in your amplifier. Is there any way to turn it/them down? Preamp volume controls have definite sweet spots, and I very much doubt that even the ML-1's SSpot is at the bottom of its range. You may be hearing a suboptimal VC positioning. I had an ML-1 on my K-horns at one time, and it was a very clean, clear, nice-sounding pre. However, I prefer tubes and ended up going in that direction. Good tube preamps are very hard to find, so aside from a CAT (over $7K new) or a Joule Electra (less than that, but not nearly as well made as a CAT), I don't have great rec's for you. Others should chime in! In the Mark Levinson realm, a pair of ML-2's would be perfect. They are a 1970's Class A amp that has very low gain, uses a lot of juice, and gets very hot. Class A is extremely smooth, pure, and sonically distortion-free. These amps increasingly need repair with age, are expensive to repair, probably have to be sent to Madrigal. The Mac's sound like very good choices -- be sure whatever you choose has level controls, a must in a K-horn system. And of course you'll need CAMAC (Lemo)-to-RCA interconnects unless you find ML-2s. Good luck Edited February 20, 2015 by LarryC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juniper Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 The best I have heard with Khorns were at Cutthroats house... Biamping with sets amps on the top and hypex amps on the bass...although he doesn't use the stock horn, this system is very refined! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 The MC275 is a nice amp, plenty of bass. I suspect you will like it. I have not heard the 225 but suspect it is nice as well. I am partial to Mcintosh gear. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rama Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thank you for your answers I'm not sure what a "suboptimal VC positioning" mean. The ML2 don't seem to come up for sell very often but I will keep looking I had all the conection on my ML1 modify to good quality RCA so it will be easy to connect to other brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rama Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I found a shop 3 hours from The MC275 is a nice amp, plenty of bass. I suspect you will like it. I have not heard the 225 but suspect it is nice as well. I am partial to Mcintosh gear. Dave I found a store only 3.5 hours away from me that stocks klipschorns and MC275 as well as many other great amp!!! (http://www.audioclassics.com) I think the best solution is for me to make the drive over there with only my ML1 in the car and try different options. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rama Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 hello I'm not sure what this means? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I think the best solution is for me to make the drive over there with only my ML1 in the car and try different options. You're fortunate as listening to something is far better that gleaning opinions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rama Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 You may be hearing a suboptimal VC positioning not sure what this mean... can somebody explain. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Preamp volume controls have definite sweet spots, and I very much doubt that even the ML-1's SSpot is at the bottom of its range. You may be hearing a suboptimal VC positioning. He's talking where the volume control knob is when you're listening to it. Different gain structures will place the knob in different positions for the same relative listening volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 not sure what this mean... can somebody explain. Thank you Sorry -- a volume control ("VC") will sound better in some part of its range. My old CAT sounded very thin near the bottom (max CCW) of its rotation. My understanding is that many controls sound better turned about half-way up. Max CW (clockwise) isn't any better since there tends to be more noise up there. Anyway, an ML1's control should be at 11-2 o'clock rotation, not at 7 o'clock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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