Photo of my Khorn System

[J M O N]

Well I don't have a digital camera, but my realtor does. So finally I am able to post a picture of what I have put together over the last several years. Of course things are going to change with the impending move -- hopefully I will be able to find a Khorn-compatible house. Here is a photo of my system as it currently looks in the house that we are selling. As you can see, there is a pair of oiled walnut Khorns with black grills in the corners. The room is approximately 18' x 12' and the Khorns are on the long wall. I have set this up as a two channel system with the HT portion augmented onto the two channel so that the HT system is added without any compromise to the two channel system. You can also see the Walnut Lacquer Belle with cane grill cloth used as the center channel. Not shown in the photo are a pair of Heresy speakers for rear surrounds and one of those JBL Pro bass bins from the JBL tent sale of two years ago for the HT LFE channel.

[Audible Nectar]

If you can't find a house that's Khorn compatible, fire the realtor

Just like the other requirements - 3 bedrooms, garage, 2 baths, central air - room compatible with Klipschorns

[jt1stcav]

Damn nice system you have there, JMON. Like my brother chops, his is strictly a high-end 2-channel audio system with a decent HT package thrown in for added enjoyment (but his sound comes first)! Love your tube equipment, and also your Denon (I owned the DP-62L for 19 years...it was the best DD 'table I ever owned). And with your walnut Klipschorns, your realtor had better find a suitable home for 'em (and for your family, too).

I gotta ask...the Belle Klipsch isn't magnetically shielded (that I know of); doesn't that effect your TV screen?

Good luck finding your system a new home!

[tillmbil]

Nice gear and set up. I hope you next house is as HT friendly.

[Ray Garrison]

Is that an Apogee Centaur next to the right speaker?

[jorjen]

Hey JMON, looks nice, what is your address....exactly?.

[J M O N]

Thanks JT / tillmbll / jorjen!

Audible: Yes, I will be working my realtor very hard, but it really isn't easy finding a Khorn-compatible house.

JT: Yeah, I really like that DP-59L that I bought new back in 1986, even though I don't use it much. It's the only component that I haven't replaced when I bought my first "real" stereo system back then. Although I still have the CV speakers that I can't tear myself to get rid of -- they actually are pretty nice. The Belle has the Alnico drivers, so the speaker does not have any affect on the TV. That was a problem that was nice to find I didn't have to worry about!

Ray: You've got a keen eye. Yes, that is the backside of an Apogee Centaur. I got it recently when in Michigan when I wasn't sure just how long I was going to be there (and away from my Khorns). The other speaker is not in the photo. They do sound quite nice, just don't have the dynamics or volume ability of the big horns.

jorjen: Your realtor can show you exactly where my address is. No, the sound systems does not come with the house!

[jdm56]

nice rig there, JMON. I guess that makes us like, some kind of kin, doesn't it? (check out me sig)

[White01L]

Nice

[sunnysal]

nice set up JMON! like the tubes and HT mix there!...the apogees work great in a bedroom system, if yoy have the space...regards, tony

[Randy Bey]

nice, but I'd get rid of that big glass thing in the middle.

[J M O N]

Thanks again guys! Speaking of that big glass thing in the middle, here is something very interesting that suprised me. It might be kinda hard to see, but there is a pair of Wright Sound WPA3.5 monoblock 2A3 SET amps there in the left rack that put out (yeah, you guess it) 3.5 watts each.

Well, as I mentioned, I have augmented my HT system onto the 2-channel rig. What this means is that I have the HT receiver preout for the front speakers going to an input in the 2-channel preamp (a Cary SLP-94L by the way). I then adjust the volume on the 2-channel setup to a position where I can more-or-less repeat fairly easily (12 o'clock position), and set up the HT levels to their appropriate balanced levels for all 5.1 channels. I have set things up this way so that when I am listening only to 2-channel, there are no compromises due to the HT equipment -- they are not in the loop at all.

Well, I was pretty sure you couldn't do HT with a 2A3 amp, but what the heck, I'll see what it does. I fired up the sound, and although I did have to make a fairly significant compensation on the front two channels when seting up the balance of all speakers, I certainly did not hear any defiencies once it was going. I had no lack of volume. In fact, I tried to test it out using U-571. Well it so loud it scared the little lady who was upstairs! Yeah, unbelievably, I didn't have any issues with using a 2A3 amp in HT mode. Granted, the front speakers are helped with the other speakers in the system, not to mention the big JBL bass bin.

I guess I shouldn't have been so suprised since even in 2-channel mode, with the other speakers off, I can get pretty loud levels, probably loud enough for 99% of my listening. That last 1% probably has more to do with just seeing how loud the thing can play -- for fun's sake and not necessarily for music's sake. Of course the fact that the room is relatively small has something to do with it, so maybe this wouldn't work in a large room. I hope to be in position to find this out.

Yeah, I know this is the 2-channel forum, but I did throw some 2-channel stuff in there and I generally hang out in this forum anyway.

[eq_shadimar]

Very Nice. Kindda bummed that you won't be moving back to DFW so we can hear it. Good luck on finding a house that can fit those beasts!!

Laters,

Jeff

[Deang]

I'm jealous -- you have a nice room for the K-horns. Good luck on your search for another house that will suit them as good as this one appears too.

[Erik Mandaville]

JMON:

Thanks for posting this! Our setup is very, very close to yours, but we don't have a center channel Belle or La Scala. I asked my wife what she thinks about that, and my feeling was that it would put the TV up too high. Do you get that from your arrangment? Meaning, do you feel you are sort of craning your neck to look at the screen? (pssssssssssssssst: please say 'NO' and that it is actually better that way than having it lower down) Maybe I can convince Marie to let me start looking for a La Scala to use between the two K-horns.

Also: Would you explain how you have the the center channel wired? it just needs a left and right signal, correct?

Erik

[J M O N]

Thanks Jeff, DeanG!

Erik: The TV is a bit higher than you would normally see, and I was just a bit concerned about that. However, it has not been a problem whatsoever and is not even thought about anymore. In fact, it's probably no higher than a TV would be in some of those armoires (sp?) you find in furniture stores. My friend has a similar-sized TV in one of those armoires, and his is at least as high as mine is, maybe even a bit higher. Although he is able to sit further away from the TV than I am. However, even in my setup where my eyes are probably less than 9' away from the screen, it hasn't been an issue at all. As far as the center channel goes, it is only operational in HT mode, so it is connected directly to the HT receiver.