lighting guy Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Hi, another newbie here, but actually a long time Klipsch follower. (I used to live right next door to PWK himself, but that's a whole other story). Recently became the proud owner of a pair of '78 horns, built the year after I left Hope High school. In the rush to get 'em cranking I bought an Adcom GFA 545II (100 wpc) and an Adcom pre and they ROCKED, but not the clean, musical sound I know they're capable of. So, I did a lot of time in these forums reading about the different crossover mods and amps, SS vs. SET, etc., etc,...... put a recapping project on the to do list.............. Well, I've just joined a local audio group (where I seem to be the lone Klipsch guy) and expressed my desire for trying tubes. One member loaned me a pair of Wright 3.5 monoblocks. Plugged my low end cd player direcly in and............WOW............... that's what I'm talking about ! Now I know what it means to hear musical clarity and sweet vocal hormonies! I'm now a SET believer! But what about the chest thumping low end I also love out of these monsters? I'm sure someone out there is running SET on the top and SS on the bottom? Yes? Do I need an electronic crossover or can Al K. build a set for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaspr Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 lighting guy... Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to some good PWK stories. As to your question about crossovers... I believe ALK universals allow you to bi-amp. http://www.alkeng.com Good luck. Garth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LousyTourist Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I biamped (briefly) my 79 khorns, mostly as an experiment about a year ago. Got a SS integrated amp, fed it off the preamp out and wired its output directly to the woofer (no change in xover necessary -- opening the woofer circuit effectively removes it from the circuit). Adjusted the bass level via the volume knob on the integrated, and listened for a week or so. No significant change, but then I'm running 300B amps, not 2A3s, so I took it all apart. The biggest and bestest thing I've done for my khorns was put in a Bob Crites type A xover last weekend. The 25+ year old caps in the old xover must have been going bad. I'm not one for 'flower talk' but the sound opened up, a veil was lifted, blah blah blah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I added a sub, but I have to keep it dialed all the way back on volume and EQ - helps the deep bass though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighting guy Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 thanks Garth, after posting, I think technically I was asking about active vs. passive xovers, right? (I'm only a lighting guy after all ). I'll check into ALK and ask him. As far as PWK stories, I never could see him , but his back fence abutted ours. Sometimes I could hear his model train running out of his house and I think around his pool. Modest, older home, not a McMansion. His second wife was the German (and French, I think) teacher at the high school. She was very short with dark hair, he was very tall with white hair. Quite the couple! I met him one Sunday afternoon, briefly. After shaking my hand, he took out his famous notebook, jotted something down and proceeded to ask me a very technical, mathematical question. I could only stare blankly and reply "Uh, I'm sorry Mr. Klipsch, I don't know." Took the wind out of my sails, I thought I was a pretty smart high school senior! Nice guy though, I could tell he wasn't trying to make me feel stupid. I did have a few older friends who worked at K&A. Great people. They really were happy there. They always looked forward to the Friday afternoon beer and music sessions. BTW, excuse the "differnt" in the Subject Heading. We don't all speak that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Look at active crossovers. You will also need a passive crossover for the SET Amp which will be feeding your Mids and tweeters (Al or Bob should be able to help you out with that) For a very detailed article on active crossovers, google "Rod Elliott" "Benefits of Bi-Amping" and you should hit the article. The article also has details on building your own active crossover. The Ashley units are cheap and I hear very good. Rane also makes a decent product but I hear that the Ashley is better. I am tri-amping and other here are Bi-amping. I have never heard SET amps but hear great things. If you want to spend less money and not deal with the heat of a SET, a Teac L700P is outstanding and you should be able to pick one up for about $100 used (yes I am serious and this is an outstanding "digital amplifier")Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I remember talking to ALK a few years back and him saying he thought biamping was a waist of time. I could be wrong though. Your going to need an active external crossover to do this. I know one guy who does this using a 2A3 for the top and a SS MOFSET on the bass bin. If you serious, look into triamping and time alligning as well. Personally, IMO, FWIW I would not do it. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Hello and welcome, This forum has alot of great people with vast knowledge and opinons as well LOL. The articles by Rod Elliott are fantastic and his site is a must save in the favorites. I was inspired by his article on biamping along with a few members here to configure my La Scala's 2way utilizing Altec 511horns and 902 drivers.I have a Rane 2way active x-over dividing the signals,Decware SET tube amps for the highs and Bryston SS amps for the lows.I am very pleased with the sound I am hearing and enjoying the best of both topologies. I think if you choose to biamp your rig the best route would be an electronic ouboard x-over. And then there are members of this forum who have designed and sell some of the best passive x-overs tailored to your Klpsch speakers,if you choose that direction. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Here is the link http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Have you tried a digital amp in your bi-amped setup compared to the SET? I am wondering how much I will gain if I go to SET (I am already tri-amping and it sounds awesome). Thanks, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 some food for thought http://www.whathifi.com/newsMainTemplate.asp?storyID=60&newssectionID=3 http://www.whathifi.com/newsMainTemplate.asp?storyID=59&newssectionID=3 Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighting guy Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 Thanks everyone, a lot of good info to consider. Steamer- I now live in the hometown of your favorite team. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Thanks everyone, a lot of good info to consider. Steamer- I now live in the hometown of your favorite team. [] But are you true believer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighting guy Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 Have to say no. It's been a pretty dismal few years for BOTH bay area football teams.............I'm more into baseball............The A's are fun to watch but every year they sell off their best players. Very frustrating!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Klipsch speakers are very efficient so, regardless of how loud you play them, you tend to hear how well your amp handles low power. Many ss amps, including your Adcom evidently, produce excessive, and very annoying distortion at low power giving efficient speakers a very harsh sound. Some feedback tube designs distort in a similar way, but not as badly. The SET amp handles low power very well, so it sounds good within the constraints of the power limitation. If you want chest thumping, you want the low power capability of the SET and high power capability of, well, higher power amps. I've found the Crown D-45 does this trick better than any other "higher power" amp I've tried. I'm told the Crown D-75A (not D-75) does it as well and delivers even more power. Other members have solutions they've found. But I believe, in the end, what you're looking for is low distortion at low power and then as much power on top of that as you 1) think you need or 2) can get. Good hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.