Stereo separates

[racebum]

On 3/7/2017 at 7:39 AM, klipschfancf4 said:

 

i'm a long time adcom fan & have had many of their offerings paired with many classic klipsch speakers from kg5.5's, cf-4's, fortes & chorus ii, to k-horns.  IMO the gtp400 is one of the lesser quality preamps they offer & could be part of why you're not overly  impressed.  try stepping up a couple model #'s to the gtp 500ii, 565 or especially the gfp555, the gfp doesnt have a tuner but is supposed to be the best sounding adcom pre of that era & has a very good phono section. 

 

also i have read that the 545 amp is one of the lesser sounding amps of that series, not sure why because it has more power than the 535, but lots of people say its sound quality is lacking & it falls apart at higher volumes. the 535ii i had sounded very very good for the power it made & for all but max volume it sounded better than the 555ii, but for louder level listening the 555ii was much better. on high efficiency speakers like klipsch the first few watts are what really matters so maybe thats why the 535 sounded better at all but max volumes.  the 555 has better bass & impact at higher volumes when critical listening isnt a factor.

 

if you can afford it the newer higher end adcoms are very nice too, the 750 preamp is a very nice unit. & as mentioned above the 5300-5500 mosfet series amps are supposed to be nice too, some like them better than the original 535-555 (ii) & some dont.  all depends on your system & ears.  

 

i also have a marantz 1060 that sounds very nice when used as a integrated, but really sounds good when used as just a pre with the adcom amps, noticeably better than the adcom gtp500ii preamp. 

 

i agree with all of this. the gfp 555ii is a pretty decent pre amp from adcom especially for the $150 or so they often sell for. on the amp side of things. sound is personal preference but i would always take a 5400 over a 545 or 545ii. in fact a 555ii pre amp and 5300 or 5400 amplifier is a great low budget amplifier setup. you're talking under 300 in nice condition and the amps are very easy to re-cap. the 5300 for example uses a 10 or 12,000 uf 35mm dia 63v power supply filter cap. these are about $6 for a nice nichicon from a US based electronics supplier. as old as these amps are, especially the 535, 545 etc they really should be re-capped. the 5400 series is newer but even those are often mid to late 90s. the ESR in caps goes up with age and their values shift. this makes a sonic difference 

[russ69]

If I had a pair of Klipschorns, I'd use a pair of Quicksilver Horn Monos and a Cary SLP-98 pre-amp. A sweeter combo cannot be found.

[Mighty Favog]

On Monday, March 06, 2017 at 9:51 AM, Ceptorman said:

I hear Khorns+ McIntosh=nirvana

 

(someone with actual Khorn experience will be along shortly)

 

Sure is with Cornscalas! 

[AaronB123]

I've ran many receivers since I started here and I personally thought Pioneer and Emotiva sounded absolutely the best with Klipsch. I haven't tried many of the brands people recommend on here like NAD and McIntosh. I've always been very curious about McIntosh but have yet to try them. I personally did not really care for Marantz sound. If your looking into separates I would highly suggest you look into the Emotiva XMC-1 and an XPA Gen 3 amp. I have been extremely happy with those.

 

Before my Jubilee's I was running them with my K-horns and they sounded excellent! In my opinion Emotiva has a really gorgeous highly detailed very open spacious and extremely warm sound. If you read the reviews on the XMC-1 you will see many people find it to be really amazing and say it has sound quality that rivals processors at much higher price points. 

[chriswhotakesphotos]

I'll hop in with a good word for Emotiva. I don't know about Khorns, but I got an A-300 for my Heresies and it's been great. It really filled out what I perceived as a rolled-off top end to my speakers and manages delicacy and finesse really well. It has great instrument separation, particularly when it comes to rendering depth. I also haven't been able to find a volume level that makes it upset. It replaces an Adcom GFA-535, but I still use the GTP-500 preamp I'd bought with it.

[USNRET]

My input would be to check gain vs efficiency. Emo XPA-1 first issue mono blocks on Klipsch Belles did not pair well. Horrible ground floor hiss. XPA-5 works ok with Belles and Khorns.

[teaman]

I have Gen 1 XPA-1 and the amps are dead silent, you may have had a ground loop hum or something in your set up USNRET. So far I have owned almost every Emotiva amp outside of their Gen 3's that recently released and I have never had an issue with any of them.

[AaronB123]

On 3/16/2017 at 0:40 AM, teaman said:

I have Gen 1 XPA-1 and the amps are dead silent, you may have had a ground loop hum or something in your set up USNRET. So far I have owned almost every Emotiva amp outside of their Gen 3's that recently released and I have never had an issue with any of them.

Ya, neither have I. The only AVR I ever heard a hissing from when it was idle was the Marantz SR 5011 I had. 

[USNRET]

On 3/15/2017 at 11:40 PM, teaman said:

you may have had a ground loop hum or something in your set up

60 hz hum vs. hiss? Not even close to the same issue. It was a gain issue or two XPA-1s with same malfunction.. XPA-1s did it, XPA-3 and -5 did not. I am still using the -5.

[derrickdj1]

duplicate post

 

[derrickdj1]

On 3/8/2017 at 10:51 AM, Srinath said:

Oddly I don't really believe separates are better than integrateds or even receivers.

However this is true I believe of all of the above.

There can be something that will drive a difficult load without burning up but sound like mud. My favorite amp to throw into this pile is a Pioneer sx 1250.

There can be good sound but lacking power, and a lot of tube amps fall in this pile and it wont matter to a Klipsch heritage owner, but any ribbon based or even hard/soft dome centric speaker set, it can. Adcom 535. 5500 etc. Sound great but totally give up when you run it into a very inductive speaker like a B&W 802 matrix.

Good sound and good power - but wont handle a drifting load. Pioneer 80 series. 1280 and 1980 - maybe its the age of the components in these. KR9600 kenwood as well.

 

The holy grail is to get all of the above. Good sound, good with drifters, good power, and all the rest of it.

 

As always the search continues.

My Proceed amp 5 was a bit of a disappointment to me for the year + I tried it with everything under the sun. Then one day I ran it off a NAD3155 pre into my carver amazing 3's and wow did it ever light those up. Those guys are power hungry, as per carver they ideally need 700 watts a side amp. This guy is rated @ 125 X 5.

Run the proceed/nad on most anything else, it sounds ordinary.

 

My carver silver 7 mono blocks ran a pair of B&W 801 S3's rather dismally, but they absolutely lit up a infinity kappa 9.

 

A bit of synergy comes in there too I'll bet.

Anyway, I'll bet you'd be hard pressed to get the Khorn's to sound better than your current equipment by a big margin I'll bet. Different - yes, better - unlikely. Of course tubes add a nice flavor that you will probably not find in an SS amp costing 10X as much. So for different, maybe go tube. That's it.

 

Cool.

Srinath.

 

Very well thoughout and said.

 

On 3/10/2017 at 5:46 AM, pzannucci said:

Newer modern separates.  Only way to go.  Nostalgia in the old is nice but the engineering in the new (provided in your price range) can turn your speakers into new speakers. 

Minimum of Emotiva separates.  After that the sky is the limit.   IMHO.

My thoughts exactly after owning some vintage amps.  I even went through the updating caps and having them serviced.  I'm not saying all of the vintage gear is bad but, you need to be very selective.

[pzannucci]

7 hours ago, derrickdj1 said:

 

My thoughts exactly after owning some vintage amps.  I even went through the updating caps and having them serviced.  I'm not saying all of the vintage gear is bad but, you need to be very selective.

Yes, typically good vintage gear is pure nostalgia or very very good.  The very good electronics compared to today is far and few between.  Read some of the comments in the measurements sections on say McIntosh mc275.  "Can't believe it was designed 50 yrs ago."  Measurements, sound quality, and durability is for today's reasonably priced gear.

 

The very good electronics will cost you but is out there, particularly if you think made in Asia-Pacific isn't what you want.

Have an XPA-2 Gen1 I swap in and out periodically.  Nice amp and is a tank.  They can be gotten very inexpensively.  My Bel Canto REF 1000s surpass it but for 4+ times the price, they better.

 

I remember back in the early 90's I had a Yamaha CA-800 (44lb integrated 45 watt amp with class A) which I thought was excellent sitting in the closet.  Sounded much better than some Sansui and McIntosh gear I had heard.   At the time I was using a set of Adcom separates.  Adcom GFP 565 preamp and GPA-555II amp.  I moved the Yamaha back into the system with a set of '75 vintage K-horns only to find out the Adcom separates blew they Yamaha away, at least in my opinion.  Maybe I didn't listen long enough but that was when I started realizing maybe you should move forward.  Price/sound quality equation gets more in the purchaser's favor except for the high end where it is what the market will bear.

[dtr20]

I just went in a different direction again. I heard my friend's McIntosh ma5100 on his forte ii speakers and it sounded awesome. I just won an auction last night on eBay. I have friends that can service these if it needs it. Now for the anxious wait.

[pzannucci]

On 3/20/2017 at 9:39 AM, dtr20 said:

I just went in a different direction again. I heard my friend's McIntosh ma5100 on his forte ii speakers and it sounded awesome. I just won an auction last night on eBay. I have friends that can service these if it needs it. Now for the anxious wait.

Hopefully it works for you.  System synergy is as important as everything else.  Good luck on your search  

[KenazFilan]

On 3/14/2017 at 11:43 PM, Mighty Favog said:

 

Sure is with Cornscalas! 

 

McIntosh + Fortes is also pretty darned nice. 

[kevinmi]

I own K-horns and have tried many different types of amplification with them including McIntosh. The best sound I have found is with tube gear. As with most things, the more you spend, the better the results.