Dream Speakers = landed. Now I need to feed them!
Then again, if you're expecting audiophile equipment to be sold by those platforms it's probably worth looking online elsewhere (i.e. Audiogon to start Which is why I went first to the Klipsch forums, then here, after the shock of trying to sort out what the hell I was looking at in terms of new tube options. |
@mesch - that last line is the key for me. Upgrade path. Start with components I can replace as both my needs and budget increase. But at the same time, there's wisdom in the idea of taking individual steps and see how my needs evolve. Maybe just getting a DAC to address the TV problem, build the HTPC, then, free of the need for BT, make a more SQ-focused choice for a pre or maybe even an integrated unit. I mean, I said they sound great with the Sony, but I've heard these things truly sing at the Klipsch HQ on a tour, so I know how far I have to go before I hit that potential. |
BTW - didn't mean to gloss over this one, just been mobile most of the afternoon/evening and am only now back on the laptop - lastly if your speakers are original consider updating the tweeter and crossovers huge improvements here. Bob Crites is reasonable priced and will bring the Bells up to modern spec. not to mention make the high end much smoother and enjoyable. The boys over at the Klipsch forums also suggested that I convert the AB crossover to an A, making a few cap replacements, but I'm NOT good with a soldering iron. I might look him up when it comes time to make that tweak. But I have the K-55-M tweets, which from all technical reports (including some direct A/B spectrometry) is the far superior option - were you thinking of the old K-55-V's? |
For that price, get the best integrated you can afford and pair it with a Pi Streamer or Pi Streamer/DAC if the integrated does not have a DAC. If you want a bit of tube-ishness consider something with a tube preamplifier. Ditch the Bluetooth. Continue to dream about the mono blocks, this will be a good upgrade you can replace piece by piece, pre, power, streamer, DAC, as allowed.Oh, I've got a box all prepped and ready to be turned into an HTPC. I'm just waiting for an additional hard drive to arrive. |
Don’t care what anyone will say but you can’t do HT and two channel with one system without major compromises to the two channel sound. Even if you have to plug and unplug the speakers for the different applications keep they systems separate. Trust me been there three it thought it was great but soon realized it was a big fail. Went to two channel independent and never looked back.I have no intention of trying to deploy a surround system. "HTPC" was probably better termed as "Media Server". Meanwhile, I think I might have found a one-box answer to the various and sundry connectivity questions, and enable me to keep the Media Server in the office where it belongs. Anyone had any experience with this seemingly perfect little solution? https://www.abt.com/Denon-HEOS-Link-HS2-Black-Wireless-Pre-Amplifier-HEOSLINKHS2SR/p/100967.html?cam... |
@Whiteknee (not sure why this works for some users but not others...) "Are you using your Sony’s tone controls or loudness feature to get your current ‘great’ sound?" I am not using the loudness feature, and the only tone adjustment I made was +3dB on the treble to overcome what I believe is a reflection artifact from all the glass and hard surfaces in the space. I'll have a better feel for that once I get the dampening curtains and a few panels on the walls. The acoustic panels are definitely a sore spot for the wife, who has been otherwise completely supportive of every aspect of this adventure. I'm very pleased with the bass response to this point. |
I too went down a similar journey and found that a pre-owned Peachtree Nova 150 did the trick until I could afford to build the front end I really wanted. Lived with it for 2 years and it's really good for the money @ $800-$1000 used. It has a decent DAC, good class D power with great low end control and all the connections you could possibly want, including optical and even Home Theater bypass.Just saying, I'd just as soon stand pat with my Sony if I can't move into tubes. Klipsch speakers, particularly the Khorn, Belle, and LaScala, were literally designed for tubes. I feel pretty strongly like I have a path here, starting with the Denon DAC I just ordered and ending with the Quicksilver monoblocks. I might look at tube preamps afterward just to bridge that gap, but there will be a lot of room treatments (not to mention house reno work including cutting a big hole in a wall that is currently a big reflector in the back) happening before I even consider taking that step. This is not a set-in-concrete plan, but it is a point of emphasis that I'm not interested in spending on digital or SS amps to pair with these babies. Even the shitty Sony sounds great through the Belles, and I'd rather put up with its deficiencies than spend money on kit that doesn't get me closer to the end-state. |
Whatever you choose to power them optimizing the internals of the speakers will increase the apparent sound quality by as much a 50%. Putting in the best polypropylene capacitors (top Wimas are recommended) & Vishay resistors will do wonders. Better audiophile wire as well. Klipsch in the 70s put monster cable in their production speakers which meant it was Paul Klipsch's idea. Don't know how that progressed but it clearly points the way. You may need to double up on caps for their values to match what's in the xover. That might mean an exterior box. One thing's for sure, you'll be near staggered by the difference in sound quality.Actually, I'm looking seriously at doing the full crossover upgrade from Bob Crites. Not fully committed to swapping out the squawker and tweeter, though there are compelling cases to be made to do so. I'm definitely more into the idea of a fully assembled replacement over risking my poor soldering skills defeating whatever gains I was supposed to make replacing caps. :) |
@jbhiller The room is good sized, and it has the added advantage of not being square. The listening area is 21x12.5, but it's open to a dining room behind which is an additional 12.5x9. So far I haven't dared push the Sony (100wpc) above 75% volume, which is enough to not only blast the listening area with absurd volumes, but be clearly audible outside, with all windows closed. I doubt 25 tube watts from those Quicksilvers will have any trouble driving them. |
@jbhiller As someone who witnessed the entire development of "prosumer" digital audio interfaces for recording purposes, I'd 100% agree. DAC's from 25 years ago just didn't have the bandwidth, error correction, or even the dithering and noise shaping algorithms we have today. I might be convinced to give a 25-year-old audiophile DAC a spin if I could pick one up at Goodwill for 5 bucks. But $1500? Nope. Not a chance. |
Enjoy the experience and don’t rush it. Great speakers deserve both time and thought. Once the Quicksilvers are in, that's exactly what I intend to do. Relax and enjoy. I've already got some upgraded interconnects coming in to solve that problem, though I am shopping around for some quality gold-plate spade ends (for the speaker side) in advance. |
Update: The Denon HEOS is working perfectly as a DAC right now, feeding into the Sony. Detail and imaging on the Bluetooth signals and the optical from the TV (even doing Bluetooth casts from the laptop to the TV). Quicksilvers are on order, but he's running 3 weeks behind on delivery, so I don't expect to see them until the end of the month. Will be interesting to see how the Denon functions in variable mode (right now it's set to fixed into the Sony) as a preamp. The most important part, though, as much as I'm drooling over getting the Quicksilver monos into the system, is that I, my wife, and all of our friends and family that have come over are marveling over the realism these speakers deliver. Listening to music is a joyful thing, a communal thing, and there's no doubt the Belles have made the experience that much more joyful for us. |
