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About angelaudio

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  1. This first video are just some brief comments on the reasons for doing a part II of this comparison. There were some comments by several others in these forums as well as Steve Huff who are far more experienced, so I wanted to go back and do this again. My friend Mirko is also a far more experienced and better listener than I am because he understands it better than I do and my biggest problem is that I lack experience. The first comparison thread and video are linked below as well. I'd like to reiterate my reasons are for doing this. A few commented that I was only using a 2.5 watt Decware and that it wouldn't be enough to drive the bass of the I'V's and I understand the concern there. My issue was that this is one of the amps I still listen to for easy listening at night like Bill Evans and Chet Baker for example. That being the case, one may not hear much difference in the bass between the IV's and II's at those lower listening volumes right off the batt. I decided to take the Heresy II's over to my friend Mirko who owns the IV's and compare them using the Primaluna EVO400 integrated amp and McIntosh MHA100. We also compared the Klipsch KLF20's and took well over a dozen comparison videos. I realize videos will never convey the incredible sound when hearing it for real BUT they do help display the "relative" differences of the bass and even the highs and mids. I'm still going to be uploading many videos today so bear with me. Another criticism I got was that the walls in my previous video are slanted corners and that the bass of the IV would not resonate, so I believe we got that nailed down better in the newer videos. Another matter was the the break-in period. I have no idea if the decibel levels increase with break-in but for some strange reason, the IV's unquestionably sound as efficient as the II's which was not the case in my first video several months prior. Mirko has put tons of hours on the IV's to break them in so perhaps this is a result of break-in? Not really sure. All I can say is that their volume levels sound the same now. This is why I think it's important to go back and listen to speakers again. These comments are merely what's being heard. I really believe room size and acoustics have a huge influence on the results one hears with speakers. My own room where the first comparison of the II's and IV's took place dampens extremely fast! If you clap your hands in that room, there is no audible echo at all! In Mirko's room which is bigger and more wide open, there's a bit of brief echo but I also like his room because it's as if all the speakers have more breathing space. It's probably a placebo effect on my part but I like it nonetheless. I will just say that I really love Klipsch and their story. It's not about high class fidelity like you get in these ultra expensive and ultra refined speakers sold on the market for tens of thousands of dollars. The Klipsch Heritage series just have have this crude but absolutely beautiful sound that just seems so realistic, dynamic and right at you. Sometimes it brings so much emotion to me. Realistic sound doesn't always sound refined IMO. That realism is why I love these little Herey's so much. Others may not have this same experience, but the II's I have which are completely bone stock, definitely exhibit more treble and the voices seem to shout a little bit more than the IV's. Mirko didn't refer to it as treble but he did express a similar impression of the sound in the highs and I think this will easily be audible in the videos if one is wearing a pair of earbuds or headsets. I have to be completely honest about the bass in all three speakers. The KLF20's almost seem to have quite a bit more bass than I would actually need (at least for my tastes) while the Heresy II's sound as if they are lacking some bass, but the Heresy IV's OMG! They are just so damn perfect and I get the idea that it's just such a complete speaker. I was blown away by the IV's. The bass of the IV's is very audible in Mirko's room. It's controlled, tight and very palpable and overall, I actually liked the Heresy IV's even more so than the KLF20's because the bass rocks the room but it doesn't overwhelm the music. It's just so damn perfect! I think the reason my Heresy II's seem to work so well in my room is basically because the dampening and deading are so well controlled that it helps dampen the highs in the Heresy II's and I imagine it deaden's the bass. I'm also using one and often two REL T5i's because they are super fast and match so well with the Heresy, it's really incredible. If you have never experienced this sub, it's one of the most amazing experiences. I invited Mirko to another room where I connected just one REL T5i to my pair of Heresy II's using a modified Dynakit Stereo 120 solid state I got from Kenny Russell and an Erhard Audio Aretha tube preamp. We played Tom Sawyer by Rush using a high fidelity Vinyl recording. At one point we were a little over 107 decibels and he said it was the best example of the song he had ever heard which was pretty awesome. Normally he plays music at 80 decibels because he says that you don't wanna play too loudly for sustained periods and hurt your ears but it was just a fun time. In all, the Heresy IV's were king during this experience and the top end sounded a bit smoother and rolled off compared to my Heresy II's. I really love both these speakers, I really do. If you're playing stuff like Albert King, Stevie Ray and voices, all these speakers will rock. Sooooo much fun!!!!
  2. I should also add that I'm definitely willing to sit just 9 ft from them. Didn't realize the bottom cabinet was wider? https://audioroundtable.com/PiSpeakers/messages/14409.html
  3. Thanks a lot guys. Yea, unfortunately that little wall on the right, next to the arch is the one that's really got me scratching my head. the longer side is 19" x 17" to the arch. Am I correct in assuming that the width of the K-horn will protrude into the archway?
  4. I'm looking for advice on anyone who's experienced with placement of klipschorn's. I've never heard them in my life. I've only seen pictures of them. I have an opportunity to get a pair of 1980's models in great condition with Crites crossovers. The issue is that my living room is about 11.5 ft x 20 ft and they would have to be placed side to side against the smaller side of the room which means the drivers would only be about 8 ft apart. Will the bass be non existent if they are toed out? Manuals seem to indicate that they should be at least 10 ft apart from the center of the drivers, but not sure if I'm interpreting that right or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The issue is I don't quite have a full corner space. I'll try to add a photo of the room. Thanks! ---daniel
  5. Unfortunately no response was ever received from the seller. Still open to anyone selling some Forte 1's. Thanks!
  6. I spent some time listening to my friends Evo 400 again recently using all the stock tubes including EL34's. When we first tried it, it was almost unlistenable on its own with the Heresy IV and Heresy II because it was just so bright and brittle sounding at first. For that reason, he was using a separate solid state preamp to add some roll-off. I must admit I was somewhat skeptical about break-in but now I'm a believer. Since he been breaking it in for many hours over the past few months, the Evo 400 sounds amazing on its own now. It doesn't sound bright and brittle anymore. Soundstage is big, wide and beautiful.
  7. Limberpine, sorry so late here. I came back and said omg 6 pages! What happened? Then I read along. I've been through everything you are going through and then some. You wouldn't believe the things I've tried to remove buzz. Made some interesting discoveries along the way the past couple of years. Here's the issue with the ST70 I have as well as most amps. THEY DON'T HAVE ATTENUATORS and the ST70 is one of them. I tried Bob Latino's attenuator for the ST70 but it was horrible. It totally ruined the sound of the bass and only worked from the 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock position. I just had the whole thing removed and didn't even want it in the circuit anymore. The gain on the ST70 is insane no matter what it's coupled with! I can't believe others don't even talk about this. You have all that gain combined with a highly efficient speakers like the heritage line and it's a bad combo. My Decware SE84UFO has a built in attenuator and it works like a charm. Even the Parasound A23 Halo has attenuators and my Aretha played nicely with both. Then you have these guys that are OCD about noise. Not referring to you! Your situation is totally justified, but these other guys who put their ears up to the speakers and listen for anything they can find are seriously OCD. If it bothers them that much, then just add an attenuator to calm things down some. Even the McIntosh MC30 tube amps had attenuators. I realize if the buzz is excessive, there's only so much you can attenuate out of it. Here's something that recently happened for reasons my friend is investigating as of last night. Currently I'm running my Heresy II's with two preamps. One is the Funtastic Dynakit PAS-M which is insanely good and the Erhard Aretha which is also insanely good. I've compared all sorts of amps and preamps. I even spoke to Will Vincent on the phone last year. For some reason still unknown to my friends and I, when the Aretha is coupled to the new Dynakit ST120 solid state, it goes completely quiet and it sound absolutely incredible. Out comes this beautiful, open airy sound stage like all the instruments are floating in space. Even when I turn the ST120's attenuator all the way up, the Aretha is still completely quiet. I recently ordered another Dynakit ST120 solid state from Kenny at Funtastic Vintronics for my second system which with replace my ST70. My friend Luigi is reading up on the stats of the newer Dynakit ST120 solid state that Kenny makes at Funtastic to see if he can find out why the Aretha is so quiet by comparison with it and we are going to talk more tonight.
  8. Shakey, it seems like you raised a good point there. That makes sense to me when I think about it too, so maybe my thoughts are off.
  9. Maybe it's just me, but this idea about break in seems a bit much to swallow in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I believe the bass drivers break in makes total sense. The more that flex material around the woofer moves, the more flexible or effortless it becomes over time. That seems almost common sense to me. What makes no sense to me are the tweeters and midrange. I can't fathom how a small diaphragm is going to change sound. It's such a small, low mass object. I think a lot of it is placebo. For example, complaints about the highs and mids get mentioned then someone is arguing about the bass breaking in. They're two different areas of break in. Klipsch heritage speakers are my favorite speakers. I absolutely love the way the present music. In my opinion if a listener finds the highs and mids a bit too bright, they can counter that with a solids state integrated amp. For example, the Yamaha S501 sounds more rolled off compared to any tubes I've listened to so far. It also has excellent bass, so maybe that's a better way to warm and smooth out the top end a bit. I think it's more important to match the amp to the speaker and that will have a far greater impact than break in.
  10. The one I wonder about is golden ears mainly in the sense that there are things I didn't and still don't fully understand. For example, when someone says something sounds balanced. What does that mean? What am I listening for if I'm critiquing something? I was told that when something sounds balanced, it basically means nothing stands out more over the rest. The other way I could do this is just say heck with it, I'm enjoying the music and it doesn't matter. But, if someone is evaluating something, in my opinion, I think it can sometimes be helpful if a reliable source tells you something isn't balanced and that's just one of many subjects regarding the sound of something yes? If a sound engineer understand sound, then doesn't that help them record music?
  11. I have a Schiit SYS. It's only $49, but IMO it sounds very sterile like and lifeless. The gain or volume is quite low when coupled to the ST70 I have and I mainly use it sometimes as an attenuator. I get the idea of the placebo effect it has on one's conscience because it's a simple unit. I think the internals are even made in Japan of all places too, but a dedicated preamp like the Erhard will absolutely blow it away. It's no contest when I compare the two and my Aretha has tone control. Obviously the Erhard is many times the price of a Schiit SYS but you'll definitely hear your money's worth with the Erhard. For me, Holger has been great to work with and answers many of my questions and his products are top notch. The phono stage in my Aretha is fantastic too. Great clarity and punch. There's some pics of my Aretha here.
  12. I'm curious to hear others impressions as well on the EL34 vs 120's.
  13. The Evo400 has a big soundstage presence to it. The only thing is it does sound a bit too brittle and bright on its own. Tried it in two different rooms with three different sets of Klipsch speakers with the same results. Maybe a tube change would be needed to roll the Evo off a bit.
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