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There's No Question -- KHorns Need Tube Gear

Can you point to where I said testing one old amp speaks to the characteristics of *every* amp topology?

Second, where did I say that mosfet has higher distortion?

The amp in question is singled ended class A with class AB output pairs of npn transistors. As I said earlier, driver in this amp is singled ended class A, which obviously has an effect on the sound.
 
Here’s a photo of one of my 1978 decorator Klipschorns that I bought in very bad condition for $850 around 2005 that I’ve I completely restored their cabinets building their entire tops which took me months to do in my garage with only a low cost circular and jig saw and palm sander that greatly increased labor time from me really wanting Klipschorns, my enjoyment of basic woodworking, basic electronics knowledge and love from music in combination. I replaced everything that current flows through the Klipschorns along with my Scott 299C I bought already restored and I added female test points on top of the 299C for easy access for bias adjustment. They sound glorious together and look good together too.

I agree Klipschorns and tubes the sound glorious together including this combination, I’ve experienced my Klipschorns sound amazing with good tubes, solid state, and combinations of them and the better quality system the better they sound. What goes in comes out especially with Klipschorns, because they’re very accurate, sensitive, revealing, and of course extremely dynamic. Paul W Klipsch surely knew acoustics designing then manufacturing his Klipschorns eventually becoming a great speaker company by a great man who I greatly admire and would have enjoyed spending some time with.

With a good system, Klipschorns sound phenomenal and as mentioned and we know the better the system the better the sound.
 

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Since PWK has been mentioned, it’s worth noting that later in life, he disavowed tube amps for solid state, as our late friend Claude was fond of mentioning at every opportunity. Given that horns produce exceptionally low distortion compared to direct radiating cone speakers, it follows then, that the amps used to drive them should be similarly low in distortion. To that end, class D amplification drives horns exceptionally well and many here, myself included, use class D amps from the likes of Fosi Audio, Ayima, Hypex and Pioneer, among others. I do, however, split the difference with push-pull ultralinear EL84 & 5751 mono blocks on the mids.
 
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Gigantic said:
Since PWK has been mentioned, it’s worth noting that later in life, he disavowed tube amps for solid state, as our late friend Claude was fond of mentioning at every opportunity. Given that horns produce exceptionally low distortion compared to direct radiating cone speakers, it follows then, that the amps used to drive them should be similarly low in distortion. To that end, class D amplification drives horns exceptionally well and many here, myself included, use class D amps from the likes of Fosi Audio, Ayima, Hypex and Pioneer, among others. I do, however, split the difference with push-pull ultralinear EL84 & 5751 mono blocks on the mids.
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That’s a great post and interesting! I agree with it, it makes total sense

I watched a video of yours of you playing Bela and the Flecktones with your speakers and they sound phenomenal!, so I definitely read, respect, learn, and enjoy reading all your posts. You know audio. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time!
 
Gigantic said:
He's dead to AK, there's speculation that he got himself banned on purpose, a digital suicide, if you will.
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Thank God. He was over the top.

Anyways, enjoying reading this thread about tubes and SS. I haven't had the opportunity to run tubes with my Cornwall's or Heresy's. I got kind of burned out searching and collecting so much gear. Had to take a break.
But I'm just kind of keeping my eyes out for a good deal on tube gear. I'd like to give them a try.
 
I am currently listening to Allison Krauss on a set of LaScalas driven by a Dynakit pre and amp (wired for triode mode). I started the afternoon off with Concrete Blonde.

I am not really interested in what topology PWK ended up favoring. I know I prefer tubes first and MOSFET amps second, and prefer Class A mode in Both. I also have a 2A3 amp ~5w/ch, and it drives the LaScalas with aplomb.
 
We need more over the top IMO. Over the top is where it's at. Where would we be without those who dare to be mavericks, to forge ahead, to speak their mind?

I miss Claude & his great insights. I hope he's doing ok

Back on topic: I wouldn't claim Klipsch need tubes, but they're sure a lot of fun with them.
 
ducati_EL34 said:
I am currently listening to Allison Krauss on a set of LaScalas driven by a Dynakit pre and amp (wired for triode mode). I started the afternoon off with Concrete Blonde.

I am not really interested in what topology PWK ended up favoring. I know I prefer tubes first and MOSFET amps second, and prefer Class A mode in Both. I also have a 2A3 amp ~5w/ch, and it drives the LaScalas with aplomb.
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I’m listening to mix of new music through a quad 6SN7-driven preamp and a pair of EL84 & 5751 mono blocks in addition to my quartet of Class D Fosi ZA3 mono blocks with Burson V7 op amps on my Not Scalas. The class D on the woofers deliver strong, clean bass down to a measured 20Hz while on the tweeters, the give clarity without being clinical, with very low distortion and with both amps, a remarkable signal to noise ratio; when they’re not playing, they’re incredibly quiet and their dynamics are fantastic, as is the soundstage. On the mids, it’s back to what you guys have been talking about.
 
uteman1011 said:
Thank God. He was over the top.

Anyways, enjoying reading this thread about tubes and SS. I haven't had the opportunity to run tubes with my Cornwall's or Heresy's. I got kind of burned out searching and collecting so much gear. Had to take a break.
But I'm just kind of keeping my eyes out for a good deal on tube gear. I'd like to give them a try.
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Good deal of tube gear? No such animal.

Don't get me wrong; I think it's well worth what one has to pay. But one either pays to get something in good shape or one pays to fix up something that needs work. Wish I had been around when there were real deals. But was there ever such a time or has tube gear held its value all these years (since it's always had its fans and everyone stopped making it for decades).
 
The definition of a "good deal" varies from one person to another.
If wanting to try something for the first time (like a tube amplifier) a good deal to me is a relatively new piece at a price I can resell and get my money back.
 
opnly bafld said:
The definition of a "good deal" varies from one person to another.
If wanting to try something for the first time (like a tube amplifier) a good deal to me is a relatively new piece at a price I can resell and get my money back.
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To that end, I'm more than pleased with my Glow Audio Amp Two(s). I got my first one for under $500, new from the company owner, the second one was under $600; their original list was in the ballpark of $1300. I was tube curious (I had a Fisher console pull int he 90's that burned out and was unfortunately discarded) and had been eyeing more expensive Chi-fi like the Willsenton R8 or R300. I got the Amp Two as a stopgap until I could afford something "better." Out of the box, it sounded pretty good, but rolling the tubes, first to JJ EL84 and JJ Gold Pin 12AX7 and ultimately to NOS Soviet 6P14-EV from Ukraine and JJ 5751, improved the SQ considerably. With some guidance from @THD+N, I added a bypass capacitor and upgraded the filter caps, using a combination of Audyn Cap Plus and Mundorf Evo Oil really took them to another level. Meanwhile, the Chinese designed and manufactured amps that I had my eye on turn out to have significant flaws in both components and design, as well as questionable customer service from the manufacturers and their importers, while my American-designed, Hong Kong-made amps have performed flawlessly with a solid topology, impeccable point to point construction, with corners cut with regard to electrolytic and film capacitor selection as well as OEM tubes being the only evident flies in the ointment, which were easily and somewhat inexpensively rectified by me. (I recognize that most don't have the stomach to modify new gear and would rather purchase something that they don't have to open up ever). With the replaced tubes and capacitors, I probably have about $800-$850 invested per amp, with end results that approach close enough to endgame quality, that I've stopped looking at what's going to replace them. That isn't a "good deal" to me, it's a fantastic deal!
 
Gigantic said:
He's dead to AK, there's speculation that he got himself banned on purpose, a digital suicide, if you will.
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In my non-medical opinion possibly the best thing for AK/Claude as his misdirected anger was heart attack waiting to happen.

Back to topic, I found a "magical" combination of tube amps for the mids/tweeters and SS amp for the woofers for my Forte's. The SS amp provides the chest thumping bass and the tube amps provides the "smooth" upper end."

This topic now has me seriouly considering adding Klipschorns to my Klipsch collection.
 
Southern said:
In my non-medical opinion possibly the best thing for AK/Claude as his misdirected anger was heart attack waiting to happen.

Back to topic, I found a "magical" combination of tube amps for the mids/tweeters and SS amp for the woofers for my Forte's. The SS amp provides the chest thumping bass and the tube amps provides the "smooth" upper end."

This topic now has me seriouly considering adding Klipschorns to my Klipsch collection.
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I wouldn't be here if not for Claude, his guidance in converting my H-700 to Super Heresy and ultimately to a pair made from scratch; he got me started on my DIY journey. Otherwise, I would have flipped the speakers and ended up with something generic, along with a workaday, run of the mill receiver and I wouldn't have known any better. Instead, along with cajoling and enabling from him and many others here, I've built 5 pairs of speakers in the past 2-1/2 years, gotten separates and a DSP based, multi-amp system and spent dog knows how much money...

That said, after he had a heart attack a while back, his demeanor changed dramatically. He'd always, as far as I could tell, been irascible and salty, but after his stint in the hospital, he became even moreso, as well as even more self-focused and narcissistic. There were many occasions where folks came here looking for help and I threw him total softball opportunities to bask in his narcissistic glory and help these new people; instead, he'd lose his patience and temper without reason and go off on people at random. He consistently drove people away; I hope he's doing better with distance from the internet. I'm deeply indebted to him (if not also in debt because of him) and sincerely wish him well, but it's not a coincidence that our little korner of AK has become more active in his absence.
 
Gigantic said:
I wouldn't be here if not for Claude, his guidance in converting my H-700 to Super Heresy and ultimately to a pair made from scratch; he got me started on my DIY journey. Otherwise, I would have flipped the speakers and ended up with something generic, along with a workaday, run of the mill receiver and I wouldn't have known any better. Instead, along with cajoling and enabling from him and many others here, I've built 5 pairs of speakers in the past 2-1/2 years, gotten separates and a DSP based, multi-amp system and spent dog knows how much money...

That said, after he had a heart attack a while back, his demeanor changed dramatically. He'd always, as far as I could tell, been irascible and salty, but after his stint in the hospital, he became even moreso, as well as even more self-focused and narcissistic. There were many occasions where folks came here looking for help and I threw him total softball opportunities to bask in his narcissistic glory and help these new people; instead, he'd lose his patience and temper without reason and go off on people at random. He consistently drove people away; I hope he's doing better with distance from the internet. I'm deeply indebted to him (if not also in debt because of him) and sincerely wish him well, but it's not a coincidence that our little korner of AK has become more active in his absence.
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I hope my comment didn't come across as "good riddance Claude", I also appreciated his technical contributions and selected willingness to help others dive deeper into speaker design. I just learned to ignore his narcissism as life is too short to take people on the internet seriously. I also wish him the best and hope that he is spending more time with his grandchildren and less time from the internet.
 
I appreciate the technical experience he offered. My system is, and soon will be even more so, what it is because of his backlog of posts. That said, I hope he and the community benefit from his decision.

I’ll chime in just by saying I’m a huge fan of variety when it comes to powering horns. Originally, my quick foray into tubes was with a wilsenton r8. Sounded great, sounded different enough from my emotiva unit to really appreciate the pro tube sentiments. Then I found it unreliable and high maintenance. I sold it for what I bought it for. I’ve been on the Decware Zen list for years and hope at some point this year I’ll take delivery. That said, now I listen to my favorite speakers on both Fosi Class D monos and Schiit Aegir Class A mono blocks; both with their own strengths, and therefore genres and moods they match.
 
Makes a lot of sense. Tonight I'm in heaven, having stayed up "til 2:30 listening to a newly acquired Fisher 800b with the KHorns. The 800b is tonally similar but not identical to my Fisher 400, which I also love with the KHorns. The way it stands out, though, is when I flip the loudness switch on. The 400's loudness is subtle by comparison. This one really packs a wallop, apparently designed to boost more frequencies and to boost them more. For me it's addictive.

I honor everyone who likes whatever they like. Sound is totally subjective. But for me, at least in this moment, I don't see myself ever going back to solid state.
 
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