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Belle Klipsch..new to me


Sprogk

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I picked up mint Belle's this weekend. All original & I will be the second owner.

They have type AA crossovers indicating they we're manufactured prior 1983? (Correct me if I am wrong)

 

I have two questions for all of you.

 

1. The one speaker top is a little dry and needs some TLC. I called klipsch & they said I could use Watco rejuvenating oil. Could you guys confirm this will be ok to use? Any other recommendations to treat the veneer?

 

2. I will need the crossovers restored or replaced. I know there are few options like Crites/Alk or Freeman Tuell. Recommendations here please. The ALK engineering extreme slope crossovers ES500 are over $900.

 

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Wow, nice!!  Beautiful grain on the fronts!

 

Yes, use the Watco clear rejuvenating oil, and put on a few coats over a few days (On all the wood surfaces on both speakers).  Follow the directions and you will see a very nice difference.

 

Crossovers:  if you are able to solder, I would recommend you try the Dayton Precision Audio caps from Parts Express first, and see what you think.  They represent a very good value, but failing that, send them to Bob for a refresh.

 

Post the serial numbers or pics of the labels and we can tell you the exact dates

 

 

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From my understanding this is just for one half of the crossover, the LF section. To get a "full" crossover from what I understand you would also need an ES5800?






Seems you are correct the ES500 is 2 way only. Thats one expensive crossover. I'd probably spend the money if it makes a huge difference....but I'm relying on what people tell me. The chances of me listening to la scala or belle with these crossovers are slim.


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The Parts Express option is a good one. You might want to search "Bypassing" and take it up an extra notch for a few dollars more (eg. Dayton film with a Solen polyprop).

If truth be told, you will get a far bigger impact by experimenting with speaker and chair placement/orientation. It is a tedious process, but it can produce some very real improvements. 

 

 Good luck with your project

-Tom

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My thoughts (on Al's stuff) would be first, how do you listen?

 

If you crank things up, then it might make sense.  If you listen more as background music, it might not.

 

How far do you sit?

 

If you are far away, it might make sense, if you are up close, it might not.

 

I had a pair in my Khorns and at 30 feet away, found a distinct (for the better) sound from them where they were "one voice"

 

Later, with the Jubilee's (being 2-way and aligned signal in the active) that sweet spot starts around 7 feet away.

 

When I was with a crowd and we did some side by side...  (of an steep slope verses "normal") I felt that the steeper slope "lifted a veil" off the sound.  I finally understood what that phrase meant and that is the only way to describe it.

 

That said, I don't think that difference was sufficient enough that I could have walked into the room and said (while snapping my fingers) ah-HA, you are listening to the (enter choice) crossover!

 

Side by side, I think I could tell 99% of the time but on their own??  Nope.

 

I'd go with what Tom said....  put your energy into the room first.

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Ohh I've seen that clarity cap shell logo somewhere....I just went back to the ALK crossover pictures and there it was. The shell logo...thanks for the link.

Just to add to all this I haven't even bought an amplifier yet.


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I guess I'll just refresh the caps on the type AA crossover and then focus on the room. How will I know if the other components on the crossovers are good? Speaker sound just fine...so I guess that good enough test?

So everyone is in the know I am new to high end audio. These are my first quality pair. That should explain why I don't have a amplifier for it yet. I really do a lot of research before buying anything.

The the listening room/area is going to be a lot of trial&error I guess. (Because I am so new to this)




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22 minutes ago, Sprogk said:

I guess I'll just refresh the caps on the type AA crossover and then focus on the room. How will I know if the other components on the crossovers are good? Speaker sound just fine...so I guess that good enough test?

So everyone is in the know I am new to high end audio. These are my first quality pair. That should explain why I don't have a amplifier for it yet. I really do a lot of research before buying anything.

The the listening room/area is going to be a lot of trial&error I guess. (Because I am so new to this)




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Components other than the caps are typically OK.

 

Tell us more about your listening habits, music choices, sources, 2 channel or Home Theater, etc.  It's good to do research, and lots of folks here have done a bunch, and can help with amp choices.

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Components other than the caps are typically OK.








 








Tell us more about your listening habits, music choices, sources, 2 channel or Home Theater, etc.  It's good to do research, and lots of folks here have done a bunch, and can help with amp choices.





I enjoy a wealth of music genres. I am 32 years old and typically listen to modern music but often revert to the likes of simon & garfunkel or eagles. My wife loves dance music..she is 31.

So i guess its not typical audiophile music. This setup will be 2channel dedicated for music. I have Klipsch Reference II HT setup.

Music sources are digital. Currently my Marantz 7005 is networked to my computer via ethernet to play music direct from the computer. I also have some blu-ray with live performances like Adel & Kings of leon. (You can see I listen to anything)

For this new 2ch system (in a different room) I want a high quality amp/pre amp or integrated that can play music from a laptop or other digital source.

When we picked up the Belle's Sunday the audiophile's son auditioned some of his modern music off Spotify streaming app through Macintosh SS and it sounded very good playing through the Belle's [emoji846]


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Dang...those are nice! Congrats! Find a good reasonable tube amp...maybe 20wpc or so given how efficient those are. In solid state, Harmon Kardon twin drive 430 is very good, older Sony solid state like the 6060 sounds really good (I have one) or smaller McIntosh amps; maybe their integrated amps. Stay away from A/V receivers if possible. ;)

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Dang...those are nice! Congrats! Find a good reasonable tube amp...maybe 20wpc or so given how efficient those are. In solid state, Harmon Kardon twin drive 430 is very good, older Sony solid state like the 6060 sounds really good (I have one) or smaller McIntosh amps; maybe their integrated amps. Stay away from A/V receivers if possible. [emoji6]


Thank you. I am experiencing amplifier overload lol [emoji3]. Who on this forum has heard Luxman? The Luxman 590Axii is about 30W per channel. Perfect but who know what it will sound like....


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I have and have had Belles; 7 at one time in HT. I have fed them with a variety of amps / receivers from tiny tube to 500 wpc ss mono blocks. One thing they do not like is high gain, mega watt amps that cause floor noise hiss. That experiment was the only one that did not work. Chill, use what you have and listen.

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I have and have had Belles; 7 at one time in HT. I have fed them with a variety of amps / receivers from tiny tube to 500 wpc ss mono blocks. One thing they do not like is high gain, mega watt amps that cause floor noise hiss. That experiment was the only one that did not work. Chill, use what you have and listen.




As this very minute I don't have an amplifier to even experiment with. I'm just getting into high end stereo with this being my first purchase.

I had to start somewhere [emoji23]. I decided to go Klipsch Heritage because of my previous Klipsch experience has been excellent.




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