dome tweeters anyone?

[boom3]

No, not yet...did replace the mid cap with a Solen unit though...will go all the way and mirror image when I do. So many projects, so little time

[leok]

I dont have exactly the same speakers refered to here, but it's my

experience that if you drive Klipsch speakers with a signal that's

sufficiently free of distortion and noise at low power, they are very

detailed, but also free of any harshness. I would look at cleaning up

the signal.

Now the disclaimer: I have installed Voltage conditioned Hovland caps

in the Chorus-II and RF-7s. But the RB-5s are stock. I suspect the

Hovlands mostly improved detail and it's the clean signal that removes

the harshness.

Other speaker technology can be fine. But I don't think it's correcting

for Klipsch inability to play effectively at low volume. I think it's

correcting for electronics' inability to deliver a clean low power

signal to the speaker.

Leo

[colterphoto1]

Leo, I've used a modern Yamaha 2 ch receiver and an HK 730 with these setups. Unless my iMac signal is flawed, but wouldn't I notice that on all setups, not just the one I don't prefer?

I tend to think that it's just a matter of specific listening taste when in this room where I make my income. Or maybe I've just not found the right Klispch speaker yet. hmmmm fortes....

I'll try some RB's when I get back in town Sunday night. Will be picking up some ALtec 511 horns in Chicago.

Michael

[leok]

Michael,

Right, I wasn't really thinking about the line sources, except that at

moderate listening levels you might be more sensitive to distortion and

noise.

I was thinking more of the amplification, or the environment within

which the amplifier is working. Do you use a line filter? Have you

tried an amp that's designed to excel at low power? If not, it's worth

a try. The inexpensive Tripath implementations, the Crown D-45, or a

SET that you borrow. You may not like everything the low power or

pwm amps do, but the experiment will tell you if the harshness you

refer to is speaker or signal. I thought there was a TEAC amp making

the rounds as a loaner. Anyway, I encourage you to give high quality

low power a try.

Leo

[Marvel]

Leo, I've used a modern Yamaha 2 ch receiver

and an HK 730 with these setups. Unless my iMac signal is flawed, but

wouldn't I notice that on all setups, not just the one I don't prefer?

Michael

Michael,

The iMac line out may not load correctly into those receivers. Does it sound okay with a certain receiver but not on the others?

Bruce

[J.4knee]

Leo, I've used a modern Yamaha 2 ch receiver and an HK 730 with these setups. Unless my iMac signal is flawed, but wouldn't I notice that on all setups, not just the one I don't prefer?

I tend to think that it's just a matter of specific listening taste when in this room where I make my income. Or maybe I've just not found the right speaker yet. hmmmm fortes....

I'll try some RB's when I get back in town Sunday night. Will be picking up some Altec 511 horns in Chicago.

Michael

My recommendation would been try a set of Ref RB's maybe a set of RB 15's or RB 25's. Yer gonna love the 511b's.

[Speedball]

If there were ever two opposite sounding speakers, it would be Polk and Klipsch.

[Erukian]

Speedball, agreed, but just because polk uses dome tweeters i don't think people should be lumping all dome tweeter speakers in with them.

That'd be like putting the MTX horn speakers (sold at circuit city) in with the klipsch crowd. Eeek!

I don't know what you would call this tweeter.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=264-555

-Joe

[Speedball]

www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=264-555

That looks just like the Vifa tweeter on Polk and Onix speakers.

[DrWho]

Will be picking up some ALtec 511 horns in Chicago.

You plan on swinging by? You're more than welcome....all we got here are some bose speakers, but I can promise you a great home cooked meal [] (no worries, I'm sure I can get my mom to cook it, haha...she doesn't like to let me into the kitchen) [H]

We can send you home a quicker way this time so that you can avoid all the crazy chicago traffic

[ancientdude]

I have been listening to my pair of rf7's for a while and at times the high's did get really high. []

Then just recently (yesterday) I got a pair of rb5's i bought and wow, those highs are taimed a little. I have them set ontop of the rf7's....so thats like 4 feet above my head but they sound great. With the svs pc ultra, everything is right there. They pack a punch for being the 'little guys'.

Im only 19, and I still think I have most of my hearing...of course i do!

But all in all, the klipsch sound is for me. < period

[jt1stcav]

Micheal, I'm guessing you may be experiencing interactions with horns within a small room, like I did with my big ol' Cornwalls within the confines of a small 12 x 13.5 x 8 room. Especially at higher levels the horns just didn't agree with my ears...at times very harsh and extremely unlistenable! Which is why I eventually went with dome tweeters and obtained a pair of '97 Triangle Acoustique Zephyr small, slender 2-way towers (see pic)! Excellent loudspeakers that pound when asked to, and still sound dynamic and full-bodied at lower levels, without the harshness and shrill horns can produce. And now I'm using single-driver Loth-X Amaze bookshelf monitors without any tweeters in this room...simply amazing!

This tiny room of mine simply is not horn friendly...not being an acoustical engineer I really don't know why. No matter where I placed the Cornwalls inside this room, they just didn't sound as smooth as they did many years ago when my dad had them placed within the large formal living room of their (now my) house, where the Cornwalls filled up the huge space with grandeur and authority! I know just how marvelous my Cornwalls can sound inside the right environment...the large living room is just such a place...my small spare bedroom/listening room is not. Maybe this is also why none of your Klipsch work well inside your office...I dunno.

I have to admit, my small Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 PC loudspeakers do sound fantastic in this same small room, sounding much larger than they are and without any harshness! Maybe you could use the latest Reference Series RB-10 or even the mini RSX-5 monitors, or any of the Synergy bookshelf and floorstanding loudspeakers in your office.

Just a thought.