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Wait...are the RF series 8 ohms or 4 ohms?


nicholtl

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I ask this because Klipsch reference speakers are among the most efficient speakers around...so without really thinking about it I assumed they were 4 ohm load speakers...until I read the spec sheet. What speakers are 4 ohms, then? Darn, and I thought my amp was delivering 400 watts per channel, instead of the 250 watts they are really giving at 8 ohms.

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So what is the point of people buying power amp seperates that deliver like 125 watts per channel at 8 ohms? That's basically the same, if not less, than what higher end receivers can handle (such as the 49TX, 5803, or RZ-X1)...seems like that line of power amps would be pointless, no?

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On 7/31/2003 1:08:14 AM nicholtl wrote:

So what is the point of people buying power amp seperates that deliver like 125 watts per channel at 8 ohms? That's basically the same, if not less, than what higher end receivers can handle (such as the 49TX, 5803, or RZ-X1)...seems like that line of power amps would be pointless, no?
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welcome to the forum..... do some research here on the klipsch forum concerning separate amps......

what you will find....basically:

1. "Quality Power" is more important than "quantity"..... a good separate amplifier will provide a much better sound because of lower distortion...esp. at the lower power levels required by klipsch speakers

2. separate power amps generally have much larger power supplies that can provide higher reserves of power or more headroom if you do push your speakers hard...

3. a separate power amp can be one of the best upgrades over the sound of your receiver.....

4. with separate amps, brute force is not always necessary....i've gone through several different amplifiers over the past few years.... each one was a definite improvement in the sound over my pioneer elite receiver.... my current amplifier is an old dynaco tube amp that puts out a whopping total of 17 watts per channel.... by far the best amp that i have used with my klipsch speakers......

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An outboard amplifier is the very best way to go with most recievers due to clean power. I currently have a 150 watt x 5 channel amp (.02%thd) used with an Onkyo TXDS797 which has 100 watts per channel @.08%thd. That system is now in my bedroom and my new main system features a Yamaha RX-V3300 that has 130 watts per channel @.02%thd. The amplifier did not help the Yamaha at all due to Yamaha's dedication to clean power. For me to "upgrade" the Yamaha's power I would need to add a 200watt amplifier, but with Klipsch speakers that is just too much power that I will never use and I can spend that money on a good DVD player.9.gif

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philmays...

"An outboard amplifier is the very best way to go with most recievers due to clean power. I currently have a 150 watt x 5 channel amp (.02%thd) used with an Onkyo TXDS797 which has 100 watts per channel @.08%thd. That system is now in my bedroom and my new main system features a Yamaha RX-V3300 that has 130 watts per channel @.02%thd. The amplifier did not help the Yamaha at all due to Yamaha's dedication to clean power. For me to "upgrade" the Yamaha's power I would need to add a 200watt amplifier, but with Klipsch speakers that is just too much power that I will never use and I can spend that money on a good DVD player.9.gif "

I have to disagree.....Quality is more important than quantity when discussing power and klipsch speakers!!!!!

i just replaced a solid state Carver TFM-25 amplifier (225 watts per channel) with a tube powered Dynaco SCA-35 (17 watts per channel) and the sound improvement was truly outstanding!!!!

watts per channel are not as important as the "quality of power"

also, please take the spaces out of your equipment list....

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The rated impedance of a speaker has absolutely no bearing on the quality of a loudspeaker - (neither does rated efficiency for that matter).

These are important specifications which must be considered when buying equipment to be sure but do not directly reflect the sound quality. The impedance rating is utterly irrelevant regarding sonic character but the efficiency spec. might well provide a clue as to the speaker's dynamic character and real power needs.

In other words a 4 ohm speaker rated at 100 db/1watt/1 meter could easily be sonically superior to one rated at 8 ohms impedance with an efficiency specification of 104db/1 watt/ 1 meter.

You can however be certain that the inferior speaker rated at 8 ohms impedance with an efficiency specification of 104db/1 watt/ 1 meter will not be the mighty Klipschorn !

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So what is the general consensus as to what kind of amps are best paired with Klipsch? I personally think my setup sounds truly awesome, but I've also heard people say my setup (parasound + klipsch) is over warm, and too "forward." Wondering if people know what are the best amp combos for klipsch?

Also, a little off topic i guess, but what how exactly do TUBE amps work with all those little glass bottles on top? And what would you call amps that aren't tube amps? Digital amps?

Forgive me if i sound like i'm rambling, i'm on my 5th scotch and soda...glenlivet is great.

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Hey Nicholtl.....slainte mhath!....I've got some 12 year old cask aged Balvenie around somewhere....is it noon yet?...a pub owner in Scotland would rinse his already clean glasses in water before pouring his single malt drams. He said the thin film of water separates the Scotch from the glass. I've been having it that way since and the flavours really come out...

...and Phil Mays.... I've got a Yamaha RX1300 for my home theatre and am really impressed with it. So I'm sure you're enjoying yours. Some people forget to respect that audio is a matter of personal subjective preference. If it wasn't, we'd all have the same thing. Take care all... Hamish

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I was asking that exact same thing in another forum. Aragon. Nobody ever mentions them, yet some members say they are very expensive and that is the reason...most cannot afford them. They don't seem to be more expensive than most higher end seperates I've heard of.

I'd love to listen to them, but as far as I know, Klipsch doesn't have much of a stance in terms of components.

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You have a very nice setup, and the John Curl designed Halos have been very well reviewed and received. You are already moving closer to diminishing returns as far as solid state goes. The 200 wpc, 2-Channel Aragon 8008 MK II retails for $3000. However, they can be picked up on the used market in mint condition for around $1500. Is Aragon better than what you have? Maybe. Will you hear a substantial difference? Probably not.

You have committed to multi-channel sound, and a move to tubes would be hideously expensive. A good option for you would be to upgrade your processor to something like the tubed Anthem AVM-20 v2, or B&K Reference 50. Either of these would give you a substantial improvement in performance.

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I respectfully disagree there...moving to an AVM-20 I feel would be more of a horizontal move, and to the B&K 50 from what I have read/learned/talked/heard would be a downgrade...not by much, but by some nevertheless.

Quick question since you brought up a cool point tho...tube amps..."hideously expensive?" Are tube amps better than "regular" amps? And just for my knowledge bank, how on earth do glass bottles ontop of a metal slate amplify the sound??? They look ridiculous IMO, but I guess to true audiophiles they look like...eh...well I'll leave that to your imagination.

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You don't have the unit I thought you had. You are right, you have about as good as you can get on the processor side of things.

As far as your tube questions go, you might start with these:

http://www.dwfearn.com/whytubes.htm

http://www.milbert.com/tstxt.htm

http://www.vtl.com/pages/whytubes.html

http://www.anthemav.com/OldSitev1/pdf/taste.pdf

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