m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 So my belles have arrived. They are not as in as mint condition as I was led to belive. They have some scratches that I am not thrilled about. Not sure if they were there prior to crating or not. Overall they are in very good shape though. The crating job itself was really top notch. They did a good job of that. As far as sound goes... A couple of things here. I have not really been able to open them up due to the wife being home as well as the kids. The top end is very nice. Very detailed sound. The midrange seems to be just as nice as the top end. As everyone said, the base in these are not all that deep. It's tight. Now, with all that being said, they are definitly not placed in the best position. I decided to pull them in close to the TV considering where the the TV is located and the fact that when watching movies, we use the stereo speakers. Watching a movie was too weird sounding the way they were placed. I am planning on moving the TV and speakers though. I hope my spreading them out a little bit further and having the ability to NOT have them toed in so badly they will sound better. At any rate, you can see how they are setup now. I am working on talking my wife into a living room change. Shouldn't be too hard considering we actually used to have the living room setup the way I am suggesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 Crated in the back of my truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 Crossover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 horn cabinet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 So, with these being 76 belles from what I was told, is there any maintenance I should do to the crossovers? Does anyone suspect that unscrewing the wires from the terminals and cleaning everything will have any affect on sound? I didn't see any corrosion or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 I would clean all the connection and rewire them. Most would say use high dollar silver wire and what not but I wouldn't waste you time and money. The way you have them placed right now the sweet spot would be real close to where the ball is in the picture so you havn't heard nothing yet. Also wait till you push them hard the bass will come to life in a unbelieveable way !! You need to get them at least 8' apart and toed in at the sweat spot. I sit in a 9' triangle withmy Lascalas with them firing right at my ears !! There incredible and thump you hard you would swear you in the front row of the best Concert of your life !! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robforst1 Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Very cool speakers! Did you buy them off e-bay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Moon, Congratulations on your purchase and arrival of your Belles. I have followed some of your worry and angst over their purchase, shipment, and how they will sound. My best advice as a fellow Belle owner is; 1. As many have suggested to you previously. At the present time, do nothing other than take some serious time to listen to them and find proper placement within the room. 2. I thought this was to be a 2 channel only, music system. IF so, please disregard any relationship with the location of the boob tube and movies. 3. You have good networks in your Belles already and should not consider changing anything, not even one wire for the present. 4. Consider a good vintage integrated tube amp, EL 84 based PP(Push-Pull) ones are "generally" least costly in the outlay for tubes and will really make the Belles show you what you've been missing as well as how good the horn loaded bass sounds. 5. Weak components on the front end will not be forgiven in the sound that comes from your Belles. 6. Relax dude! Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vavoline Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 m00n, congratulations on obtaining what in my opinion is the most aesthetically pleasing speaker PWK ever designed, the Belle Klipsch. I think they are simply beautiful. I know once you have them set up a little better, and get to crank them up a bit, you will be impressed. I've read some of your previous posts here in the 2 channel forum on tube recommendations, and I wish you good luck in finding out "just how deep the rabbit hole goes." As far as mods or re-wiring, I would just listen to them for a while and see how they sound "as is." Let us know how you think they compare to your RF7s after you have had them for a while. I think you will see what the Heritage fuss is all about very soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Did the belle come with the TYPE AA oil caps in 76? Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 m00n, Congrats on your belles! They are beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the expression on your sons face while trying to watch TV! Enjoy Bill H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Down the road, after you have settled in with them -- you might want to do a few things. BTW -- you can get some really nice 14 AWG, silver coated copper from www.northcreekmusic.com for a whopping .40 cents a foot. Not exactly 'high dollar' CRAIG. Yeah, yeah -- thumping, whopping, tight bass -- don't forget to stuff some cotton in your ears before you try this. The midrange is sure to take off on you and drill a nice hole right through your head. Seriously though, a handful of mods turn Heritage into better than 1st rate. Since your not likely to be driving these to those levels most of the time -- for now, just relax and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike82 Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Congrats m00n. Before I got my Khorns, I had Belles. I experimented with placement and ended up placing them in the corners along the long wall of my room (14' x 21') and directed them straight to my listening position. Amazing center fill even 20' apart! The corner placement also helped reinforce the bass. Even though the bass didn't go as deep as other speakers I've owned, the speed and tunefulness more than made up for any comparitive lack of deep bass. I agree with Craig about rewiring. no matter how good the dielectric is, there will be oxidation/corrosion after all these years. My Khorns were '85s and sounded much better after rewiring (I use copper). Rope caulking both the mid and tweeter horns also tames the mids and highs. This is a cheap, very effective tweak. As far as amps go, any low powered tube unit will do. I used a 45 which had enough power. There's enough info about the other SET and others. Happy listening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 I wondered about that AA also, is it possible that the top section is from an older Belle? what are the drivers mOOn? tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssh Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Congratulations,m00n! Great looking speakers.You'll soon forget about the scratches.It's really been fun experiencing this quest with you through the Forum. Somehow I expect not to see these on a gravel bar on the Caddo. Get used to them before you start modding(OK,so who takes his own advice?).ALK's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 I want a Belle vs. RF-7 comparison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 25, 2003 Author Share Posted March 25, 2003 Hey all! Thanks for your comments and what not. I will try to address your questions. Yes this is for 2 channel. However, when we watch movies, I pipe audio from the DVD to the receiver. These are not for home theater. Yes I bought them off ebay. I will at least clean the connections for now, don't want to get to confident just yet and rewire everything. Yes they are AA crossovers. At least that is what was on the crossover. I am using my existing 12 gage Monster wire for my speaker wire right now. Unfortunitly I don't have a whole lot of options on placement due to WAF and simply we have a jacked up shaped living room. This is the most audio setup unfriendly living room I have ever seen. I am still wanting to get an old tube amp. It's not a 100% necessity right now as I have my Harman Kardon 520 right now to push these with. I have no idea off the top of my head what the drivers are. Stock I assume. It does not look like these are anything BUT stock. No... No you won't see these on some gravel bar. Prodj.... R7 vs. Belle comparrison. Well, you will have to wait a while. My RF7s are put away right now due to theater construction. Sorry. Wife has already made it quit clear that she gets the top of the belles to put pictures and what not on. I just left it alone as I knew it was not open for debate. They need to be oiled as they are very dull in color looking so I will most likely be going out this weekend and buying some boiled lindseed oil and lathering them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Congrats Moon buddy. I also would not change the wiring or crossovers. The AA is nice and you have the right drivers, looking at the pics, to work with the AA. Listen to them for a while, find your sweet spot and enjoy. After some time and you get use to the sound, try dampening the K500 midrange. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Yes moon i see no K-55-M you have the type AA K-55-Vs, nice bud, these are k-horns, la scala, BELLES! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Dean, Your imagination is running Uncontrollably wild again BTW -- you can get some really nice 14 AWG, silver coated copper from www.northcreekmusic.com for a whopping .40 cents a foot. Not exactly 'high dollar' CRAIG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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