Jump to content

Powering the klipsch heresy


john

Recommended Posts

50W of good quality power should please about anybody, unless the space is too big, then adding an electronic crossover and sub will probably do it.

 

The problem with smaller amps (that are inexpensive) is that they may not be of the best quality, but that may also true of bigger inexpensive amps as well.

 

I custom built a pair of speakers for a friend using dual K43 woofers and a JBL HF. He wanted a bit more 'oomph' than his high quality 160W amp had, just on a couple of albums. I took over a 1KW per channel QSC MX2000. While it did play a tiny amount louder in the midrange, it lacked the finesse in the HF, and did not have the 'slam' in the LF that the hi-fi amplifier had.

 

Just because it's bigger, doesn't mean that it's better.

Edited by djk
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soooo let me through my 2 cents in..........

For this I'm with Bob Carver.....Bob says "you can never have too much power". Do you need to use it all.... NO...

Yea... I know all speakers will have a different sound with different amps, tubes, SS, . And yes it takes just a few watts to get our Klipsch jumping....

 

Now my heresy's I will not throw big power at them. Cuz IMHO they can't put out BIG sound......oh they sound good and I play them at a softer listening level....

But when I want BIG sound the Chorus II's are powered up with a big watts at em (Carver TFM-55x) all 380 watts and then some....Yea it's loud...concert loud....chest thumping.....yea yea yea.....that's what I like. But not all the time...

Yea I love my little Heresy's but they could never put out that sound that I want sometimes.

 

Well that's just me...

MKP :-)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

When I moved from a 125 wpc amp to a 300 wpc amp the Heresies saw significant improvements

 

Try a better quality amp. 

 

I went from a Emotiva 125 watt amp to a McIntosh 50 watt amp, and the Emotiva was sold that winter.  

 

Personally I love my Scott 222c on my Heresies, nothing like 20 watts of tube power to make them sing.

 

I still disagree with you. My buddy used to run a McIntaosh tube amp....still owns it....but now runs a Bryston 4B-SST pumping out 250 wpc paired with his KHorns and it sounds amazing. It's not that you can't run flea powered amps, you can....and some people like yourself actually prefer that...I don't ....and in my experience with over forty different speaker and amp combos in my lifetime the higher power amps (as long as it is clean power) bring the most out of your speakers.

 

Ever wonder why concert venues and auditoriums don't run 20wpc amps through efficient speakers?

 

 

what's your listening distance, room volume, and preferred listening level in dB?

 

I bought a 73" DLP from a dude just over 2 years ago. He had it crammed into a modern house 3rd bedroom, sitting 5 feet away, and it was ridiculous. your eyes couldn't focus on anything

 

In my living room, 20ft away, it's just right and not fatiguing to the eyes.

 

You should buy the amp that suites your environment and delivery preferences, not just the biggest one you can afford.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Steven1963

I like options. My normal setup is my Klipschorns with my DBX amp running in 2 channel at 100 watts per. It's plenty,and I could run 4 sets of speakers off of that amp in that configuration should I ever get the inclination. OR, I can bridge the amp and run 400 watts into 2 channels ala Chorus II's, should I ever have an inclination to buy them. The amp, IMO, sounds clear and precise with lots of power for the peaks. It tends to favor the higher frequencies a bit, but that is solved with an EQ and a subwoofer. For whatever reason it is a very overlooked amp.

Just my two cents: buy big and for the future, because you don't know what the future holds and limiting your options now will just cost you more later.

Edited by Steven1963
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
You should buy the amp that suites your environment and delivery preferences, not just the biggest one you can afford.

 

Good advice. But audio/music listening is a hobby and it reflects one's taste of music, personality, etc...

 

You'll never get anyone to agree on the same preferences with regard to stereo amplifiers. It's akin to arguing about what beer tastes best.

 

One Cornwall plays 95db with roughly 2 watts. I use a little Magnavox 6BQ5 SEP console amplifier with around 3-4 watts per channel in a small LR with Cornwalls. Sound quality-wise, I like the little tube amplifier...balanced, with sweet midrange...a liveliness that seems to absent with a SS amplifier.

 

But not everyone will agree. Most common disagreements are the flea amplifier will clip with musical peaks from lack of headroom. They aren't wrong, but provided the amplifier is working in it's proper parameters and not pushed, it shouldn't be a issue. (from my experiences.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

number and facts are silly.  :rolleyes:

 

 

You forgot boring too.  I thought about raising the point of "noise" when running separates where noise can be an issue if the amplifier is too powerful or has too much gain.  However, then it would have led to a silly and boring discussion of how noise can come from the preamp circuitry and become much more apparent when boosted by high amplifier gain.  :o  :wacko:

 

 

Thanks for posting that Dope from Hope--I've been pursuing this question for quite some time and the common denominator I have found is some people like amps and some folks get most of their information from energetic posters on the internet who have alot of "Likes."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You should buy the amp that suites your environment and delivery preferences, not just the biggest one you can afford.

 

Good advice. But audio/music listening is a hobby and it reflects one's taste of music, personality, etc...

 

You'll never get anyone to agree on the same preferences with regard to stereo amplifiers. It's akin to arguing about what beer tastes best.

 

 

I actually think what you are describing is that some people care more (or at least as much) about gear than what they hear--I bet if something sounds good on one amp that isn't clipping, it will sound good on another amp that isn't clipping with the same speakers to most people, if not all (in an unsighted test of equipment).

 

{EDIT: My comments are in regard to SS amps}

Edited by tkdamerica
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I moved from a 125 wpc amp to a 300 wpc amp the Heresies saw significant improvements

Try a better quality amp.

I went from a Emotiva 125 watt amp to a McIntosh 50 watt amp, and the Emotiva was sold that winter.

Personally I love my Scott 222c on my Heresies, nothing like 20 watts of tube power to make them sing.

I still disagree with you. My buddy used to run a McIntaosh tube amp....still owns it....but now runs a Bryston 4B-SST pumping out 250 wpc paired with his KHorns and it sounds amazing. It's not that you can't run flea powered amps, you can....and some people like yourself actually prefer that...I don't ....and in my experience with over forty different speaker and amp combos in my lifetime the higher power amps (as long as it is clean power) bring the most out of your speakers.

Ever wonder why concert venues and auditoriums don't run 20wpc amps through efficient speakers?

ever heard of a thing called placebo?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

 

 

 

When I moved from a 125 wpc amp to a 300 wpc amp the Heresies saw significant improvements

Try a better quality amp.

I went from a Emotiva 125 watt amp to a McIntosh 50 watt amp, and the Emotiva was sold that winter.

Personally I love my Scott 222c on my Heresies, nothing like 20 watts of tube power to make them sing.

I still disagree with you. My buddy used to run a McIntaosh tube amp....still owns it....but now runs a Bryston 4B-SST pumping out 250 wpc paired with his KHorns and it sounds amazing. It's not that you can't run flea powered amps, you can....and some people like yourself actually prefer that...I don't ....and in my experience with over forty different speaker and amp combos in my lifetime the higher power amps (as long as it is clean power) bring the most out of your speakers.

Ever wonder why concert venues and auditoriums don't run 20wpc amps through efficient speakers?

ever heard of a thing called placebo?

 

But hey, I paid so much more money for it so it MUST sound better so to me it DOES sound better.

It does not take huge power to get great sound,  it is all about the quality of the amps. The most power I am running is in the HT, there my Cornwalls are being driven by a Fort'e amp that CAN go up to about 300 w but it sounds best when running in class A under 15 w and even then in the HT, it is OMG loud.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So according to that spreadsheet I would require 185 watts before I begin to come close to a Klipshcorns maximum spl output? How does that compute when considering they only handle 100 watts? And what is meant by the "reverberant field?" Does that mean further out into the room than 1 meter? I guess that's what is throwing the numbers?

 

 

It means you can't get there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest thesloth

If you are only looking at the max power out specification when comparing two amps then well you DO NOT have a good understanding of the interaction between speaker and amp.

 

When comparing the 300 watt amp with the 20 watt amp what was the output impedance of the two amps? What kind of distortion dominates in each amp?

 

When speaking about SS amps yes headroom is important because more times then not SS clips poorly, so you don't want to reach a SS amps limits. Tubes will clip much more gracefully.

 

 

Figure out how much power you need and add a bit of headroom and be done with it. If you need more then 50 watts with heresy's and are in a normal listening space well then you are probably deaf. You can't enjoy music when it's too loud, at least I don't.

 

I have found that I leave my Scott 299A (20wpc) hooked up to my heresy II's and find that it is plenty loud. I have tried all kinds of amp and when you reach a certain SPL with tubes or SS it just gets unpleasant to listen. The Scott 299 can get to that level for me.

 

 

Having a fast car doesn't get you around town any quicker, there are still speed limits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

If you are only looking at the max power out specification when comparing two amps then well you DO NOT have a good understanding of the interaction between speaker and amp.

 

When comparing the 300 watt amp with the 20 watt amp what was the output impedance of the two amps? What kind of distortion dominates in each amp?

 

When speaking about SS amps yes headroom is important because more times then not SS clips poorly, so you don't want to reach a SS amps limits. Tubes will clip much more gracefully.

 

 

Figure out how much power you need and add a bit of headroom and be done with it. If you need more then 50 watts with heresy's and are in a normal listening space well then you are probably deaf. You can't enjoy music when it's too loud, at least I don't.

 

I have found that I leave my Scott 299A (20wpc) hooked up to my heresy II's and find that it is plenty loud. I have tried all kinds of amp and when you reach a certain SPL with tubes or SS it just gets unpleasant to listen. The Scott 299 can get to that level for me.

 

 

Having a fast car doesn't get you around town any quicker, there are still speed limits.

 

If you were referring to my post above, it is the SAME amp, it is bi modal and auto switching when power is demanded. SS Class A / AB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest thesloth

Yes most devices conduct current the full 360 degree waveform under low power conditions, this is the class A part of class AB. When you need more power one device ends up conducting more then 50% of the waveform but not the whole 360 degrees. These devices when they shut off create whats called crossover distortion and it is not very pleasant. So yes at low power in class A the amp will usually sound best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 years later...

Hello everyone I’m new here & at asking questions about a pair of heresy’s in good shape I was given from early 80’s now bear with me .. I don’t beat em but wondering I have an onkyo receiver & a mackie fr1400 can the amp be used ? Receiver is Onkyo TX-8410 100 wpc but is it 8ohm? Thanks Howard 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/6/2021 at 1:46 PM, BigHow said:

Hello everyone I’m new here & at asking questions about a pair of heresy’s in good shape I was given from early 80’s now bear with me .. I don’t beat em but wondering I have an onkyo receiver & a mackie fr1400 can the amp be used ? Receiver is Onkyo TX-8410 100 wpc but is it 8ohm? Thanks Howard 

 

It'll be fine. Connect and enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...