foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 I'm in the market for a new amp. I right now own a Harmon/Kardon HK3370 integrated amp. which is about one and a half years old and has been in a box for about 3 months ever since I got my Luxman A-357 integrated amp. I am also looking at getting new speakers. First off, im not sure if i should sell my 2 amps and get a whole new amp altogether or not. But i am getting new speakers for sure. I've been shopping arouns and have looked at the Klipsch RF-3II, Klipsch Heresy II, PSB 4T, PSB 5T, and Paradigm Studio 40's, Paradigm Monitor 9 and 7's. Now i like the way these all sound. I listen to all kinds of music. Everything. Now I've heard the Klipsch would go better with a tube amp since theyre a horn loaded speaker etc. etc. but i know close to nothing about audio. need tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 The speakers you list are quite different in the way they sound. Pick a speaker first and then you can match an amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 hrmm, i know they are all quite different. i listen to basically all music though...i dont know where to go. Ok, what if we were to compare the Klipsch RF-3II and PAradigm monitor 7. know anything about these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeJampton Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 foodshouldbefree, This site is a wonderful source of inspiration and information. Based on my experience, I would recommend that you take a very careful look at the Heritage speakers (Klipschorn, La Scala, Heresy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 I'm no audio reviewer, and I don't know the specs to all the loudspeakers you mentioned. Klipsch, PSB and Paradigm all build excellent, but different sounding loudspeakers, so you're just going to have to do a little leg work and audition each model with your favorite music and hear which ones please you the most. After you've decided which loudspeaker leaves you smilin' most often, then find the right amplifier to match them and your expectations, your sources, and in what direction you want to go with them (either HT or 2-channel stereo). Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 FSBF, I listened to the RF3iii, and the Paradigms side by side. To Me-the Klipsch had a cleaner, more powerful sound, where as the Paradigms were smoother, and more difussed with the voices,(probably wrong word), sound to them.... both were nice, but I went with the Klipsch for the cleaner, more realistic sound and because my Klipsch dealer was local ...... Follow JT's advice................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 I was unable to find any information on the Luxman amp you listed, but in my experience, any Luxman (or even the HK) would be a good option for the Klipsch speakers you are looking at. Again, JT is right.... do the leg work. Most shops should let you bring them home for a demo in your own home, with your equipment. It will be worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 I searched everywhere. I could also find absolutely nothing on my Luxman A-357 integrated amp. OR Luxman D-375 CD player. Absolutely nothing. Not even in the blue book at Audigon.com. I wonder. I believe it was manufactured in the mid-ninties to late ninties. I hate the original manual, box and remote. I'm not sure if its a good match for Klipsch though...hrmm...to me it seems that it is quite warm sounding, if not flat. I quite like it but I know Klipsch speakers sound warm - so maybe if I have warm X2 it may get annoying.<?> Well see. I get Klipsch for cheap(er) since I work at a Klipsch dealer. That's the reason I'm swaying towards buying a Klipsch Reference product. Anyways if ANYONE EVER, EVER, EVER hears or sees anything about the Luxman products I have please mention something to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 actually...klipsch speakers are not considered "warm" sounding..... just the opposite....sometimes referred to as "bright" ...esp with the wrong amplifier.... if your luxman is "warm" then the klipsch speakers should sound great with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 bingo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 ---------------- On 4/6/2003 7:42:35 PM foodshouldbefree wrote: I'm not sure if its a good match for Klipsch though...hrmm...to me it seems that it is quite warm sounding, if not flat. I quite like it but I know Klipsch speakers sound warm - so maybe if I have warm X2 it may get annoying.<?> Well see. ---------------- I've heard Klipsch speakers described in many ways-Bright/Harsh/Alive/Too "in your face" but never,ever warm sounding. Most here are trying to curb this with tubes amps,rope caulk,crossovers,etc. Honestly thought-your the first person on this Forum I've read who thought they were warm sounding. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 Hah. I think i meant bright. If i say they mean warm what does that mean? Or does it not mean anything. lol. oops. What I'm saying is when I compare it to other speakers at my work, and you switch it back to the Klipsch its almost like your bringing the band closer to you. More of a "live" sound I guess..? I dont know audio terms. I'm new to this stuff.. Teach me, if you want to that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Not to be snobby BUT read old forum threads, they are quite amazing. I copy some to save as MS Word files for my kids to read. Some of the information is timeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM135 Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 These folks are all correct--horn speakers are very particular about the types of amps you pair them with. The more expensive the speakers the less forgiving they are I have found. A lot of advice on this board points to older gear. If you are afraid of tubes, look for an older pre-1980 SS amp from either Marantz, Yamaha, Pioneer or Sansui. See www.classicaudio.com for info on why these older amps. Around 1980 the manufacturing process shifted towards mass production and convienece. Still some great SS gear made today but from a cost perspective, the older stuff I think is a better value. Many can be found on eBay for cheap--although you will pay as much or more than they sold for new in their day. I used KG4s for years with a variety of SS amps including HK. I think they are the best Klipsch speaker for the money--KG4s can be found for reasonable sums. They are a 2-way design and the bass, especially, I thought was very good. I upgraded to Forte IIs a year ago. Found a mint pair. They did not sound significantly better than the KG4s except in terms of clarity and bit more detail. Really had some buyer's remorse for awhile. But, after experimenting with positioning and going from HK to a tube amp I am now more impressed with the Forte's 3-way design. Klipsch also pair well with lower wattage tube amps in particular because of their incredible sensitivity of nearly 100 db/watt-meter. (or upper 90's). Takes nothing to drive these to ear bleeding levels. I think if you listen to Klipsch and find a pair you like you can't go wrong. The natural presentation of the older models and Heritage line will compete with speakers costing 2-3 as much or more IMHO. Enjoy the search. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 foodshouldbefree, Klipschspeakers use very little power wjen producing a substantial amount of sound. In order to sound their best, they should be driven using an amplifier that has low distortion at low (1 Watt and under) power. This doesn't mean that's all the power you might use, it just means that with an amp that has low distortion at low power, Klipsch speakers will sound good. Brightness, harshness, grain, lack of bass, etc., are, in my estimation, all a result of distortion at low power. Transistor amps tend to excell at high power. Tube amps tend to excell at low power. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 If you do a Google search for "Luxman A-357" (with the quotes), you get 4 pages, all in another language. One of the pages (http://club.idecnet.com/~modegar/guia/amplificador.htm) shows a date of June-98. I would guess it was only available overseas. How long have you had this amp, & where did you get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 Thanks so much "MBM135" and "leok" for the usefull information. - It's much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodshouldbefree Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 This amp was sold at a store here in Canada for a short period of time. When the 'head office' of the store decided to stopped selling the Luxman equip. the individual stores could not sell the remaining Luxman equip. to customers - I'm an employee so i decided to give them a try (I had never heard of Lux) and bought the CD player and amp for quite cheap (about the equivilant of $100 US dollars). I looked in inventory and theres a Luxman power amp at another store somewhere near me, I think I may go pick it up also sometime. (i like taking 'stuff' apart and playing with it...hee)(i plan on destroying my cerwins....when i get my new speakers.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 AH! ... Question answered!.. thanks. That was driving me nuts. Anyway, back to the orignal topic, I would bet the Luxman would drive the new speakers great. I even just pulled my M-111 amp out of storage just to play, & now I remember why I bought it. It really does have a great sound. In fact, I noticed the high end was cleaner than my Adcom (verifing what many on this forum say about low-powered amps). I just knew joining this forum was going to cost me $$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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