coffeejim Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Greetings Fellow Klipsch Owners! I finally made it and got a pair of pristine Heresy's (1980) and was wondering what to get next... Currently have an HK3250 that pumps 50 watts per channel and the Klipsch's sound GREAT. However, I was thinking of getting a TUBE AMP and using the HK as a Pre-Amp. Any Suggestions? Thanks- Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Jim, Congrats on the Heresy's. I would suggest replacing the caps in your crossovers. After 25 years, they will almost certainly have drifted off spec. You will notice an improvement when you do that. It's not expensive and can be done as a DIY project if you like. If you decide to go with a tube amp, I think you'd be better pleased with an integrated tube amp. Using you HK as a preamp for a tube power amp would not yield optimal results. For whatever reason, in the tube / SS equation, tubes make more of a difference in sound when used on the front end. If you want to use the HK, it would do better doing the power amp side of the setup. However, a recommendation to go with a tube integrated instead of a tube preamp to run with your HK, is that matching the right preamp to your HK would be pretty important. You could still end up with a new tube preamp and not a satisfactory match with your HK poweramp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 What kind of music do you listen to and with what kind of medium do you listen to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 What kind of music do you listen to and with what kind of medium do you listen to it? Is there a difference between a ball gazer or a card reader? I listen with a Voodoo chicken bone seer myself.[] Dee is on the ball here. New good quality caps are the first step to sonic bliss. A pair of 2uF and a 33uF cap in each. If you are adventurous, you can pad the squaker and tweeter a few Dbs For a great first tube amp many of us have started with rebuilt vintage integrateds by Scott, EICO or Pilot. The tone control circuits on these amps can add a bit of bass to your Heresys plus, many of them have "center channel" outputs for a sub hook-up. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeejim Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 CD's (usually MFSL or DCC) that are mostly rock, but I also like a fingerstyle guitarist named Phil Keaggy. So, that being said- I would like to hear my MFSL copy of Dark Side of the Moon at an optimum level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeejim Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 I guess I'll go with the intergrated TUBE and sell the HK. I saw a Jolida that looked like a good price and had rave reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeejim Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 Could you elbaorate on cap replacement? (please) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Jim, On cap replacement, I'd suggest to check with Bob Crites (BEC) on this forum. He can rebuild your crossovers with new caps, or supply the parts for a DIY job. Over the years the crossover caps will drift off spec and become resistive. Hearing your speakers with new caps will be like they just came out of the factory. There are other folks on the forum who also build and or service crossovers. DeanG and Al Klappenberger could be of help here, too. Suggesting Bob as a starting point is simply because the work he does is the most basic and economical of all your possibilities. Bob's working philosophy is to restore Klipsch crossovers to factory spec. It is a fairly inexpensive proposition and a bang for the buck winner, since Klipsch factory spec is pretty darn good. Both DeanG and Al K do fabulous work and their focus is on higher end products than what Bob does. I've got crossovers from all three of these men in my house and like them all. I can recommend all of these guys without hesitation. It makes sense to me to restore to factory spec as a base line reference for what Klipsch speakers sound like. Some people are happy with that and others want to go beyond to squeeze out more performance out of their speakers. My recommendation is just what I think of as conventional wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 www.nosvalves.com Has a few offerings of Scott and one Fisher vintage integrated amps on the web site. Detail, soundstage and realism would be much improved over a reasonble sounding HK SS integrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 CD's (usually MFSL or DCC) that are mostly rock, but I also like a fingerstyle guitarist named Phil Keaggy. So, that being said- I would like to hear my MFSL copy of Dark Side of the Moon at an optimum level Oh man, big fan of Phil Keaggy here too! Seriously, if you listen to rock then you need to fill in that bottom 2 octaves with a good subwoofer. There's a lot of richness and power that you're missing out on. Though at the same time your amplification could probably improve too. You have more than enough watts to drive the system to insane levels. Just running numbers in my head I think you can achieve a good 118dB with your 50 watt reciever. Do you watch movies at all? The newer recievers have infinetly better DACs (digital to analog converters) in them which make them extremely good to be used as a pre-amp - especially if CD is your source. The amplification is leaps and bounds better too so you could get by on a reciever before moving to tube amps (though I find even a reciever to sound better than any of the fancy tube systems I've gotten to demo....an extreme example would be Indyklipschfan's new HT running lascalas all around powered with an old denon 3802!). The reason I bring this up is because the DACs in your cd player most likely stink...and no matter what crossover upgrades or amplification changes you make, you're still going to be stuck with that same nitty gritty DAC. But if you upgrade to a reciever that accepts the digital output from your cd player then you've got yourself a better DAC and better amplification at the same time (and later on down the road you can get into tubes or crossover upgrades). You can of course purchase a totally seperate standalone DAC and run that into your tube preamp and tube amplifier, but then we get into huge cost and most bang for your buck issues. I know it's not popular to suggest moving to a quality reciever, but I would bet money that it results in a better change in the sound than any of the other tweaky ideas [] Heck, go find a local audio dealer and try to get yourself an inhouse demo for a week and see for yourself. Now to go listen to some Phil Keaggy which I haven't done in a long while.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Jim, Congratulations!. There is no hurry on this stuff. You already have a decent amp and the real trick in matching an amp to a high efficiency speaker is to find one that is quiet and clean at the low power levels. The speakers do not present a low impedance, so you need not worry about an amp that will deliver high current levels.At this point the biggest impact on your system will come from spending some time on locating the speakers/listening chair. This is not sexy but it is absolutely necessary. Next some room treatment is in order. This can range from simply moving/adding/removing drapes, carpets, pads & furniture to more exotic treatments such as foam and bass traps. Before you perform the latter (since it can be expensive) you need to get a clear idea about what it is that you like and dislike about the sound. Refreshing the crossover is certainly in order also. The isssues of amps & pre-amps are secondary to the set up & room tweaking.Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeejim Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 Now to go listen to some Phil Keaggy which I haven't done in a long while May I suggest "Beyond Nature", considered his best work. Very rich and great depth- I use it and then Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon-MFSL" to test equipment. Thanks for all the advice! I will begin with the simple and work my way up. 1. Speaker Placement (they don't have tilt stands, so I'll get those first). 2. Better wire (I have some "Monster Cable" that probably will fit the bill). 3. Cross-over replacement. Already in contact with Bob. 4. Better CD Player (mine is a DVD/CD/MP3 $79.00 model). As I progress, will see if my old HK needs replacement. Eventually, but it really sounds clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Have a look at this crossover for the Heresy: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/450375/ShowPost.aspx It has received nice praise and it makes the Heresy's top end a bit flatter, similar to a La Scala. It also flattens the impedance curve making it better for simple (low feedback SET) tube amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 There is a rebuilt and modded Dynaco ST70 for sale in the 2 channel Section of the fourm for $525. to my mind that is a real deal, because all of the old stuff should have at least some rebuilding for safety reasons. If it's in your budget I'd go get it before it disapears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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