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Chorus ll power needs


Tucahay

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Hello all, new member. I just acquired a pair of Chorus ll which were included with a Kenwood rack system. Having never owned vintage Klipsch, I have been reading alot about these speakers. I have read that the Chorus ll sound best with around 100 wpc. I'm wondering how my Onkyo A-7070 will drive these at 70 wpc, any opinions?

 

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@Tucahay,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

5 hours ago, Tucahay said:

I just acquired a pair of Chorus ll which were included with a Kenwood rack system.

 

How do they sound with the Kenwoods?  My buddy once had a vintage Kenwood integrated amp(45w/ch) driving his Chorus 1s and the combo was wonderful.

 

5 hours ago, Tucahay said:

I have read that the Chorus ll sound best with around 100 wpc. I'm wondering how my Onkyo A-7070 will drive these at 70 wpc, any opinions?

 

Probably pretty darn well.   I never owned the A7070 but did have a 90's A-9711(80w/ch) integrated amp driving my Heresy 1s, Heresy 2s, and Quartets and all combos sounded great.

 

Bill

 

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7 hours ago, Tucahay said:

Hello all, new member. I just acquired a pair of Chorus ll which were included with a Kenwood rack system. Having never owned vintage Klipsch, I have been reading alot about these speakers. I have read that the Chorus ll sound best with around 100 wpc. I'm wondering how my Onkyo A-7070 will drive these at 70 wpc, any opinions?

 

--these speakers are rated at 100 watts per channel ---best is 200 watts for even more headroom -

you'll be ok with 70 watts to play the speakers , but dont play them too loud , for a longer period of time ,  as the sound will be distorted -but , at low volumes should be ok -

 

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I think those who say that must mean 100w via a modern a/v reciever. I say try your Onkyo 1st, then decide. I have a 70w Luxman (R-115) pushing my Chorus 1's & with the volume at about "10 o'clock" things start falling off shelves & my chest feels like CPR has started ! (& 0 distortion)

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8 hours ago, Tucahay said:

Hello all, new member. I just acquired a pair of Chorus ll which were included with a Kenwood rack system. Having never owned vintage Klipsch, I have been reading alot about these speakers. I have read that the Chorus ll sound best with around 100 wpc. I'm wondering how my Onkyo A-7070 will drive these at 70 wpc, any opinions?

 

 

Hello and welcome.  Chorus II perform best with quality SS amplification and at higher volumes, you can push them pretty hard for as long as you like and not be concerned with any damage.  You will likely damage your hearing before you damage these speakers.  You will never even get near hitting them with 100wpc.  Those who say you "need" 200wpc are clearly misinformed.  Chorus I and IIs are distinctly different animals.

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I am in the middle of restoring a newly acquired pair of Chorus I speakers. My plan is to drive them with a Decware Super Zen Triode amp when I finally get mine. Currently there is a 24 week wait, and I should have it before summer. 
 

The speakers are currently apart and the cabinets are being restored by me. I have a complete Crites crossover and Ti diaphragms arriving this week. Also some oak veneer to redo the risers. 

A14BC0E6-0556-467F-ABB4-7A6301949876.jpeg

Edited by Sixes
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1 hour ago, jimjimbo said:

 

Hello and welcome.  Chorus II perform best with quality SS amplification and at higher volumes, you can push them pretty hard for as long as you like and not be concerned with any damage.  You will likely damage your hearing before you damage these speakers.  You will never even get near hitting them with 100wpc.  Those who say you "need" 200wpc are clearly misinformed.  Chorus I and IIs are distinctly different animals.

Can you go into more detail as to the differences between the I and II?

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9 minutes ago, Sixes said:

Can you go into more detail as to the differences between the I and II?

The Chorus I is not as placement dependent as the Chorus II due to it's being front ported and not having a rear passive driver.  As I said previously, the Chorus II responds very well to high quality solid state amplification, and is more capable of higher volume performance than the Chorus I.  

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I've heard that too, and so far I would say it does great with power. My experience is limited, but that big ol woofer can use the power to really control it and keep it tight. Maybe dampening factor is more important that watts. Mid and highs are great with anything.

 

I've gone from 25 watt HK430 to 120 integrated, now at 150 watt NAD and 220 watt B&K. Kinda liking the NAD at the moment.

 

Edit - revising this post as I have no idea whether that woofer has any bearing on anything, that's something I read and it made sense. Trying to get away from speculative hearsay.

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1 hour ago, Tucahay said:

Thanks for all the info, sounds like the Onkyo will do just fine. I didn't know what the differences were between the  Chorus models. Very helpful.

 

1 hour ago, billybob said:

If you are looking for Chorus, cannot see you disappointed in the 1s...

Welcome!

You are welcome.  I'm sure you will be pleased with either model.

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  • Klipsch Employees

This is a preference question or a Math question....

 

Math...

101db@1w/1m

2 x power = 3db 

100 W ph.  

1 Watt dubled, then dubled...

1,2,3,8,16,32,64,128...that  is 7 times. 

7 x 3 =21db output...

101 + 21 = 122db max out. 

to get there clean, you need at least 6db headroom. So 4 x the power.

128 x 4 = 512 Watts per channel to reach full volume with headroom at 1 meter. 

 

Your seat is ....4 meters away...for fun...-6db every time the distance is doubled.

that's 2 x -6 = -12db off the level due to distance. 

SO, with about 500 Watts to each speaker, you can have 6db of head room and about 120db at your seat. 

IF you want 3db less than that, cut the power in half. 

 

 

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17 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

The Chorus I is not as placement dependent as the Chorus II due to it's being front ported and not having a rear passive driver.  As I said previously, the Chorus II responds very well to high quality solid state amplification, and is more capable of higher volume performance than the Chorus I.  

 

curious why you say the chorus 2 is capable of higher volume than the chorus? they are essentially the same speaker with the same drivers, just different mid horn & ported vs rear passive.  same power ratings & efficiency, aside from placement issues & a better mid horn on the 2's they should both be capable of the same volume performance.     

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17 hours ago, Sixes said:

Can you go into more detail as to the differences between the I and II?

 

the other big difference between the 1 & 2 that wasnt mentioned is the 2's have a better tractrix mid horn than the 1's, or at least the majority of people feel its better. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, EpicKlipschFan said:

 

curious why you say the chorus 2 is capable of higher volume than the chorus? they are essentially the same speaker with the same drivers, just different mid horn & ported vs rear passive.  same power ratings & efficiency, aside from placement issues & a better mid horn on the 2's they should both be capable of the same volume performance.     

Perhaps "capable" was a poor choice of words.  I feel the 2 "sounds better" at higher volumes, to me....maybe that's a better way of putting it.  And yes, the 2 mid horn makes a difference for sure.

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On 4/12/2021 at 9:34 AM, Trey Cannon said:

This is a preference question or a Math question....

 

Math...

101db@1w/1m

2 x power = 3db 

100 W ph.  

1 Watt dubled, then dubled...

1,2,3,8,16,32,64,128...that  is 7 times. 

7 x 3 =21db output...

101 + 21 = 122db max out. 

to get there clean, you need at least 6db headroom. So 4 x the power.

128 x 4 = 512 Watts per channel to reach full volume with headroom at 1 meter. 

 

Your seat is ....4 meters away...for fun...-6db every time the distance is doubled.

that's 2 x -6 = -12db off the level due to distance. 

SO, with about 500 Watts to each speaker, you can have 6db of head room and about 120db at your seat. 

IF you want 3db less than that, cut the power in half. 

 

 

Thank you Trey.

 

That explains why for 30 years I have always loved these with big ole amps. With all the other models I've owned the K-48 is a freaking beast!

I've found that 1200 wpc works very nice.  I have to thank Craig for that one.

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