GriffinFL Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Not new to the forum, but it's been so long since I've been here most wouldn't remember me anyway, unless they were on the first factory tour (I still owe someone some money for that, but I gotta find him while I'm here...) So yeah, I moved to Florida, and my wife and I started talking about audio options for the house, which led me to talking about my bucket list (either a pair of K-horns or a pair of Belles) speakers and the why and how of them. Lo and behold, I scored a beautiful pair of Belles out in Satellite Beach for $2500, and the guy even threw in his Marantz surround receiver (which I probably won't use, as it's way more complex than what I need for the lifestyle application here). And my wife agreed that they not only look like nice furniture, they also fit in perfectly with the living room furniture she already picked out, so win-win-win! So now I'm contemplating a number of things, including the space they're going in and what kind of miraculous treatments I'll need to maximize their strengths in the room, but also various options to power them. Initially, again due to our lifestyle, I'm looking at some Bluetooth preamp options (kinda like this Denon unit) , and I'll probably use my old Onkyo block to power them temporarily, but I really, really want to at least dip my toe into the tube waters. But I look around online these days, and it sure looks like there be sharks everywhere! What's a good entry-level SET power amp, preferably sub-$1K, for these speaks? And keep in mind reflective surfaces are literally EVERYWHERE in this house - tile floors, glass sliders on half the walls, etc... so I really need to invest in tasteful-looking (read: the expensive shit) acoustic treatments before I blow big bucks on the amp, or it's just throwing money down a hole... Of course, you all might look at me and say, "Bluetooth? You're throwing your money down a hole anyway, you jackass!" Which is a perfectly acceptable response. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 19 hours ago, GriffinFL said: I scored a beautiful pair of Belles out in Satellite Beach for $2500, and the guy even threw in his Marantz surround receiver (which I probably won't use, as it's way more complex than what I need for the lifestyle application here). Enjoy your speakers! You might as well connect some speaker wires from the Marantz to the Belles. That should work just fine while you do some more research. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 19 hours ago, GriffinFL said: I'm looking at some Bluetooth preamp options (kinda like this Denon unit) That is intended for commercial applications. There are many nice looking home stereo units available. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Yes and that Marantz likely has a pure direct for 2 channel stereo mode bypassing processor. Congrats and welcome... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinFL Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) Well, Sunday I'll be moving them into the new place, so I can certainly test them out with the Marantz, if I can figure out the display. Worst case, I can hook them up to a laptop with my pro audio DAC/interface direct into the aforementioned stereo block as a temporary solution, since I did notice that said Marantz kept dropping into thermal protect every time I turned the volume up when I tested it at his place. Edited March 19, 2021 by GriffinFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 On 3/17/2021 at 9:32 PM, GriffinFL said: Not new to the forum, but it's been so long since I've been here most wouldn't remember me anyway, unless they were on the first factory tour (I still owe someone some money for that, but I gotta find him while I'm here...) So yeah, I moved to Florida, and my wife and I started talking about audio options for the house, which led me to talking about my bucket list (either a pair of K-horns or a pair of Belles) speakers and the why and how of them. Lo and behold, I scored a beautiful pair of Belles out in Satellite Beach for $2500, and the guy even threw in his Marantz surround receiver (which I probably won't use, as it's way more complex than what I need for the lifestyle application here). And my wife agreed that they not only look like nice furniture, they also fit in perfectly with the living room furniture she already picked out, so win-win-win! So now I'm contemplating a number of things, including the space they're going in and what kind of miraculous treatments I'll need to maximize their strengths in the room, but also various options to power them. Initially, again due to our lifestyle, I'm looking at some Bluetooth preamp options (kinda like this Denon unit) , and I'll probably use my old Onkyo block to power them temporarily, but I really, really want to at least dip my toe into the tube waters. But I look around online these days, and it sure looks like there be sharks everywhere! What's a good entry-level SET power amp, preferably sub-$1K, for these speaks? And keep in mind reflective surfaces are literally EVERYWHERE in this house - tile floors, glass sliders on half the walls, etc... so I really need to invest in tasteful-looking (read: the expensive shit) acoustic treatments before I blow big bucks on the amp, or it's just throwing money down a hole... Of course, you all might look at me and say, "Bluetooth? You're throwing your money down a hole anyway, you jackass!" Which is a perfectly acceptable response. The forum now has a Talkin’ Tubes section with a huge amount of info about using tube amps with Klipsch speakers. If you post your question there I, and others, will gladly give you stuff to consider. Maynard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinFL Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 1 hour ago, tube fanatic said: The forum now has a Talkin’ Tubes section with a huge amount of info about using tube amps with Klipsch speakers. If you post your question there I, and others, will gladly give you stuff to consider. Maynard Duly noted, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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