jwgorman Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 My khorns started life with the AK3 network, and I recently tried the Crites AA/4500 (and some variants) as I have his excellent 120tweets. I like the AA/4500 crossover (although I have the T4 so it's not exactly the same) as I mostly listen to music at a moderate level. Last night I started listening with normal human reasonableness, but after spending yesterday in the hot sun throwing sandbags (our town is flooding) I felt like shaking the house a bit. After I started into the Who and some old Rush LPs, the volume kept creeping up. Going from memory (always a dangerous thing) it occurs to me that the AK3s may have a better job of maintaining the tonal balance and the instrument separation thing as the db level crept up. I didn't shoot a measurement with my rat shack spl meter last night, as I was in no mood to analyze. Just curious, if you guys think there is a still-sounds-great db ceiling to the gentle sloping of the AA/4500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 You're looking for a specific number? Distortion rises with increased volume... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 I have no experience with the AA/4500, but with the AK4 my Klipschorns sound good, with excellent tonal balance and instrument separation, with clean, relatively undistorted recordings with the Rat Shack meter touching 110 dB, C weight, Fast, on peaks, in a 4,250 cu. ft. treated room, with Audyssey, at 16 feet distance from each Khorn. That probably took about 45 watts (on the peaks that were read) into each Khorn, in that room. Naturally, there were unread peaks, since my particular Rat Shack meter is analog, and uses a needle. According to PWK, needle ballistics will cause very brief and loud peaks to be read up to 13 dB low, but I don't know if he was thinking of a Fast or Slow setting, but even the Fast setting would be subject to the drag caused by needle ballistics, just not be artificially compressed as is the Slow setting. Examples of music that can peak at that level on my system are Fanfare for the Common Man (Copeland) on Chrystal Clear records direct to disk album, Sonic Spectaculars, and Mahler's second symphony "Resurrection," beginning and end of the 5th movement, Ivan Fischer, Channel Classics SACD. I would never play Rock at that level, because of its greater uniformity of SPL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 About the same db as the Klipsch AA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 I have the A4500 with the Crites tweeters and have blasted them to the point my ears could not take anymore but never heard anything fall apart or distort. What amp are you using? Also, maybe the rock track had some production issues that are hidden until they are cranked up enough to bring them to the front. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 5 hours ago, jwgorman said: Just curious, if you guys think there is a still-sounds-great db ceiling to the gentle sloping of the AA/4500 As you pump more watts into the Khorn drivers, at some point (usually extremely loud - above 105 dB), the voice coils begin to heat up and change their resistance. This is probably what you're hearing: the AA/4500 crossovers beginning to react to that changed driver resistance. If the design of the Crites crossover is different than the stock Khorn crossover, they will sound a little different when the drivers are hot (and any resistors in the crossover networks). Additionally, if you're using an amplifier with high output impedance (...and we all know what kind that is...) then the increased woofer resistance will translate into further reduced bass SPL, usually near the K-33 impedance peak (about 30-45 Hz). If the midrange driver voice coils heat up, the midrange will also reduce the output at 1-5 kHz. When you allow the voice coils to cool a bit, everything will go back to normal...except if you melt the voice coil adhesives in any of the drivers. But this only happens when you're running everything at or near 110-120 dB at one metre. Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwgorman Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 Thanks for the replies fellas. I've measured what I consider "rocking before" and the peaks are hitting 110 db is +/ a couple from my chair about 12 feet away from the back wall (fast response C) in a 425 sq ft room and honestly, I don't do that very often. I spun some more vinyl tonight, and I'm not as exhausted and it sounded much better, peaks never quite hit 110. I think I have my answer. So last night I was probably fairly north of 112db and screaming along with with Daltrey on Who Are You when he screams "Who the **** are you...." because, in my brain, I'm still 18 and it's still 1980...anyway, I could barely hear myself. I suspect, now, all human reasonableness was gone from the human in charge of the remote and I pushed my Luxman SQ38u into cunch land. Mark, I think you're probably exactly right 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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