autokelley Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 hello everyone. i am new to this forum, so be easy on me. hope you don't have some wierd initiation process. just jok'in: after reading through the forum i concluded that you are all corteous and knowlegable. so here are my dilemas and questions. i have been slowly building my system component by component as my wallet and priorities allow. most of my listening is music, but do enjoy home theater. i have no center channel but considering a belle if i can find one by itself. is this a good combination for music (SACD) and HT? my k-horns are spaced 18ft apart and listening distance is 9ft, lascala's 7ft behind listening position. another problem is @ low dB levels, in 2-channel of course, i notice that the lower frequencies are weak, the music just lacks it's fullness and soundstage. my k's are still equipped w/AA networks, so i am researhing ALK networks. has anyone used these and/or built them using his kit. now is where the flood comes in. from what i have researched, and having a back ground in sound reinforcemet at a large church, and working w/digital and analog domains, is that most horn loaded drivers prefer (here we goooo) TUBES. unfortunatly i have never listened to home music w/tubes. i just concluded that if my source is digital (cd's dvd's etc.),even though the signal goes through the D/A process, that my amp's should be solid state, and of course HT requires higher power than most tube amps can provide. so now i am researching quick silver components or other recommendations. also, should i use a tube preamp. i am researching sunfires vacuum tube preamp. finally, if i do go sporting my tubes, any ideas of being able to use both systems (one for music & one for HT) through the use of controller system. thank you for your time and god bless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 tube amps can be powerfull, they are not a lot but it can be up to 200Wpc. unfortunately an amp tube as powerfull as this is very expansive. if you have korn and lascala i think you don t need a very powerfull amp, even with a big room 100Wpc should be enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hi and welcome, at lower volumes, the loudness switch or variable pot can be your ears best friend. Are the Korns actually in korners? I've found that amps do one thing good. They excel at high volume or low, but not both. Could this be the nail hit on the head? Sorry, not a tube in the house. I'd shirley be , with those Sherbourn's though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 AutoKelley, DaddyDee might have a Sunfire preamp up for sale before too long. If he doesn't he can still offer you some good advice and a synopsis of how he likes his. Your Khorns and Scalas will make a great combo 2 channel/HT. I have a simlar setup, and I am thinking about getting an SVS sub and mono SS amp to power it, along with tube amps for the mains and rears. You could also find a switchable HT amp to configure between 2 and five channel although they get pricey. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 EDIT: double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Yes a Belle Klipsch will make an excellent center speaker that is what PWK had and a number of folks use that very combo. As for your initiation you and a fellow newbie of your choosing must walk around the main street in your hometown at noon with your pants around your ankles with one yelling "I am a newbie" and the other yelling "I'm his friend" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I have an all Heritage Home Theater with an Outlaw 950 preanp that has a pass through feature that I use for records and cd's. My cd's are processed through jitter reduction, upsampling and other processing devices that make them sound more like super audio cd's. I found that sending their two channel stereo signal through a dynaco tube preamp and using the 950's bypass feature produces a great sound similar to records but without the surface noise. The preamp's tube sound amplified wth the omph! of a great solid state amplifier (I use an Outlaw 7100) into my Klipshorns produces a great audio experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Hi. Welcome. As a former Newbie myself, the only initiation I've had are lessons in grammer! I don't know whether I want to walk down the main street of Goulburn (in Australia) with my pants around my ankles. It's below zero outside at the moment. About your lack of low frequencies at lower volume levels - I wonder if it's a room related issue. I don't have that problems in that area with my Khorns and I think you should expect very good low frequency output at all volume levels. My tube amp outputs around 20-ish watts per channel on a good day. I don't think I could stay in the room if I turned the amp past 12 o'clock. So I guess 100 watts would be Huge even in a big room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnorv Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 At low listening levels, the ear does not "hear" all frequencies the same. Both high and low frequencies are atenuated realative to the mid frequencies. It all evens out at about 90 db. See http://www.webervst.com/fm.htm Jim N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Autokelley, To my ears, Heritage speakers in HT applications are more forgiving of SS systems than in 2 channel use. If having to choose between a tube preamp or a tube poweramp, I'd suggest to go with the tube pre. The preamp seems to have more to do with the smoothness of tubes than the poweramp. Interestingly enough, Bob Carver says the same thing in marketing his Sunfire Classic Tube Preamp. I've been using it for a year and pleased with the results. It is HT friendly in that it has two pair of main outs, a sub out, remote control and contour controls for some adjustment of bass and treb frequencies. It is also available with a phono stage or linestage only. Mine is the linestage. Sheltie Dave is right in thinking that I will probably be offering it for sale in the next few weeks. I've got a Peach on the way, and it is also a killer preamp and sounds better in my system the Sunfire. It would be worth taking a look at the Sunfire tube pre at sunfire.com. They've got a downloadable user's manual, too. Let me know any particular questions, I'm happy to answer. This is one fat cat preamp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Yeah. Daddy Dee, I've noticed in my friends home he runs solid state with heritage - it sounds pretty good. But dedicated two channel solid state/heritage nirvana is more difficult to achieve. It seems some solid state two channel amplifier manufacturers have a point to prove and their products can sound too much like hi-fi and forget musicality. I guess they need to make their product stand out from the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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