KungFuNat Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 im in the market for a pair of Heresy II speakers, and i need to figure out what kind of amp to use with them. i know that tube-amps are preferable because of the high-efficiency of these speakers.. but i have no idea what to look for. i was reccomended audio-note mono blocks, but they are out of my budget. i wanna keep this under $3000 any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Shomaker Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 If I had that kind of money to spend I would get rid of the Heresys and buy some La Scalas then get a pretty good tube amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 i was under the impression that la-scalas were significantly more expensive, and would break the bank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Shomaker Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 would you buy la scalas used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Welcome to the forum. If you've got the space for Klipschorns... one could do well with Khorns and tube amplification for under 3K! Nice LaScala's can be had on Ebay in the neighborhood of 1K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Welcome. Have you ever heard any of the speakers that have been mentioned above. If not, I think that there are members on this BB in your area who may let you listen to the speakers. How much room do you have to place the speakers? There is nothing worse them buying them and get them home and discover you don't have the right room. What kind of music do you like and how big is your room? The money you mentioned you could buy new Wrights 3.5 amps and preamp if you want to go the SET route. (http://www.wright-sound.com/products/listing.asp Try audiogon.com for used. You will get ALOT of information here. You are going to have great speakers once you decide. Again give us some more information about your tastes. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 ---------------- On 1/21/2004 5:51:08 PM NatGun wrote: im in the market for a pair of Heresy II speakers, and i need to figure out what kind of amp to use with them. i know that tube-amps are preferable because of the high-efficiency of these speakers.. but i have no idea what to look for. i was reccomended audio-note mono blocks, but they are out of my budget. i wanna keep this under $3000 any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated. ---------------- Welcome to the Forum. With $3K at your disposal you can do better than the Heresys. For that kind of toast you can think about getting some nice efficient Cornwalls or Lascalas and a nice rebuilt integrated tube amp like a Scott, Eico, or Fisher. You'll likely even have some bucks left over to get a nice SACD player and a TT too if you shop smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmyforte Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 nothing says you HAVE to get a tube amp or for that matter get Heresy's. Heresy's are very nice little speakers but imo you need a subwoofer to cover the bass region. with a $3k budget you can afford some klipschorns, La-scalas's or Belle's if you want. there are many GOOD solid state amplifiers as well. try Krell, B&K, Aragon, Acurus, Hafler, Rotel and many others. you have so many options with $3k. you could still afford a nice pre-amp and cd player to boot. nothing against Tube amps, but until you've tried both SS and tubes i wouldn't jump on either wagon. no matter what you choose there is tons of help through this forum for answers to all your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 ---------------- On 1/21/2004 9:02:17 PM itsmyforte wrote: nothing says you HAVE to get a tube amp or for that matter get Heresy's. Heresy's are very nice little speakers but imo you need a subwoofer to cover the bass region. with a $3k budget you can afford some klipschorns, La-scalas's or Belle's if you want. there are many GOOD solid state amplifiers as well. try Krell, B&K, Aragon, Acurus, Hafler, Rotel and many others. you have so many options with $3k. you could still afford a nice pre-amp and cd player to boot. nothing against Tube amps, but until you've tried both SS and tubes i wouldn't jump on either wagon. no matter what you choose there is tons of help through this forum for answers to all your questions. ---------------- Yep, he's right on the money with his assessment of the Heresy's lack of bass. Especially so with a tube amp. You can buy a nice used SS amp or receiver and a nice used tube amp. Listen to both and decide which is right for you. You will generally not lose money reselling either on eBay or Audiogon. Through personal experience I notice that my pair of Heresy's sound great (good bass) powered by my vintage Sansui 9090DB receiver. But they lack bass when driven with my Scott 299D tube integrated. On the other hand, the Scott 299D sounds absolutley awesome powering my Cornwalls. Plenty of bass with great mid and high definition. The same cannot be said with the Sansui 9090DB powering the Cornwalls. Yes it gets extremely loud, and yes there is plenty of bass to knock you off your feet. But the highs and mids seem way too bright and edgy. Hard on the ears if you will. I actually get a headache after about 5-10 minutes of listening at medium volume. So, pick your poison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I ordered a new pair of La Scalas with the grills for $3600. They should be shipping them soon, I hope. You might be able to find a used pair also. I have two Monarchy Audio SM 70 Pros each 80 watts that I'm going to start with and later get some tube amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 ---------------- On 1/21/2004 9:21:45 PM jbsl wrote: I ordered a new pair of La Scalas with the grills for $3600. They should be shipping them soon, I hope. You might be able to find a used pair also. I have two Monarchy Audio SM 70 Pros each 80 watts that I'm going to start with and later get some tube amps. ---------------- Ouch! That's a lot of greenbacks. Why did you go new as opposed to used from around $1K? Just curious. Anyways congrats. You'll surely enjoy them whether they are new or used. Even more so N.I.B. What's the anticipated delivery date from Klipsch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 yes, ive heard heresys... my friend had a pair of the original heresys and a nice sony proffesional series amp. this was 10 years ago, but i was really impressed with the sound.. then a few years later, i found out that a friends father had a pair of klipschorns in his house. he bought them in the 60s, and to this day i have never heard better.. ever since that day, ive been drooling over my very own k-horns. i thought that anything higher end than a heresy would be out of my price range... but if i can find a pair of used la scalas or cornwalls then i will persue that route. the room im gonna put them in is probably 20x15, but the right wall is a large open archway into the diningroom(which is about 30x20), not really a wall at all, and in the right corner of the room is a smaller door-sized archway... i couldnt really fit a large speaker in the smaller archway, its almost flush with the small bit of right wall that i do have... i am completely open to used equipment, and i will check out audiogon. i must admit my knowledge of high-end stereo equipment is somewhat lacking, this is why im asking for help. i do have a friend that is more knowledgeable in these matters, he is the one that told me about pairing high-efficiency horn-loaded speakers with tube amps, but he is more of a B+W/sunfire *****... although i must admit, his stereo is fantastic. i personally love the sound of horns, and klipschorns are my holy grail... my main music tastes are rock, especially classic rock. AC/DC, led zepplin, pink floyd, etc. I also listen to a smattering of gansta rap. but i have a real love for instrumental rock: satriani, and vai especially. the instrumental stuff is what i really look forward to pumping through my horns. i want to hear every note they play as if i was sitting next to them. any tips nomatter how noobish are welcomed. i just want to do it right the first time. thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 If you are into Rock then the Klipsch speakers for that, IMHO are the Forte speakers (or the Chorus - the Forte's big brother). I am yet to hear a Klipsch do rock better (outside of the KHorn) although I have not heard the Corwall or the Belle. The nice thing about the above 2 is that they are relatively inexpensive 2nd hand and present an easy load for a tube amp. Mate them with a KT88 based PP amp and you should have all the bass you need. They have the additional benefit of a relatively small footprint (similar to the Heresies). I'd budget around $1000 to $1500 for the speakers and the amps - leaving you a fair budget left - for a turntable maybe and, say 500 albums..... NirVana is nirer that you think..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivendell61 Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Good idea Max! Forte's can be had for much less than the 'real' Heritage stuff: my 1989 'mint' Forte's were $475 in August. Although--with NatGun's room size the Chorus might be even better. NatGun: both are MDF construction vs Ply, so command a lower used value. There was a thread late last summer with a Cornwall/Chorus listening session which had some leaning toward the Chorus. Both have plenty of low end. And they occupy a smaller footprint than La Scala/Cornwall. Take a look at them over on the main Klipsch site under 'Classic Product' subhead 'Heritage'. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Max and Mark, I hope you guy's are right. I'm picking up Chorus I's this weekend for my living room. I am definitely a Rocker at heart ! To rock takes some serious reserve power. I do think the $1500 budget is a bit low for really nice speakers and KT88 amps though. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Craig, Dont know prices too well in the US - but I reckon I could do it here with $1500 so it should be do-able in the US. If Forte's can be found at $750, let alone $500 then getting a little KT88 PP amp running Tesla JJ's or something should be possible - or have prices gone up recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritageBob Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 You should love them for rock Craig. Just put a spare 299C or D on them when they arrive. Should be more than enough Bass for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 KT88 based PP amp? is the KT88 a kind of vacum tube? any specific models you can think of? as i said before, im a big noob. what is MDF and Ply construction?? is one better than the other? also, i noticed that the forte and chorus both have 2 versions. whats the difference between the original models and the II models?? should i try to get the IIs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 ---------------- On 1/21/2004 5:51:08 PM NatGun wrote: im in the market for a pair of Heresy II speakers, and i need to figure out what kind of amp to use with them. i know that tube-amps are preferable because of the high-efficiency of these speakers.. but i have no idea what to look for. i was reccomended audio-note mono blocks, but they are out of my budget. i wanna keep this under $3000 any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated. ---------------- This amp--> HH Scott 233 driving a pair of Lascala, Cornwall, Chorus, or Forte's will meet your budget and sound awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 "KT88 based PP amp? is the KT88 a kind of vacum tube? any specific models you can think of? as i said before, im a big noob." Yes the KT88 is a kind of tube. It is comparible with the 6550. Generally it is felt that the KT88 offers decent bass reproduction, although it is not considered to offer particuarly "tubie" sound. I used to run these on my last amps which were 45 wpc monoblocks and did a great job with Heresies matched with a REL Strata 3 sub-woofer. We did try them once on a friend's Forte 2's and they did a fine job with a very similar result to the Heresy/sub combo. Most amps that run EL34 tubes can be switched to KT88/6550 operation with no further change (other than biasing) and vice versa. The EL34 is sweeter and more tubie in sound but does not have the bass. I picked up a matched quad of Tesla JJ KT88's for something around 100 pounds (say $160) and was EXTREMELY pleased with the results. Much better than the previous 6550WE Sovteks I used to run. An alterntive that many seem to like is the 6550C Svetlana tube but I have only head that one in another amp and not in my original. Pricing is on a par with the Teslas. "what is MDF and Ply construction?? is one better than the other?" MDF - Medium Density Fibreboard. Ply - Plywood. MDF is considered better by most for speaker construction. I actually thought all Klipsch speakers were MDF anyway but I could be wrong... "also, i noticed that the forte and chorus both have 2 versions. whats the difference between the original models and the II models?? should i try to get the IIs?" You will find proponents for both. the 2's are just later models with slight differences in drivers and/or crossovers. Usually these differences are more due to problems of supply of the original parts than a desire to upgrade the sound. I've only heard the chorus 2 and the Forte 2 (both owned from new by friends). Interestingly of all of my friends into audio these 2 sets of speakers are the only ones still in place since the mid 90's when this audio-mania started spreading amongst our "gang". KHorns, LaScala's, Heresies, RFs, KLFs etc. have all come and gone in various houses but the Forte/chorus pairs remain. I wonder if that means anything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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