Help me pick a pair of speakers in the 3-4k range

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Bananas&blow, Dec 17, 2021.

  1. Djohm

    Djohm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mi Casa
    I bought the 1060 about 3 years ago as my first vintage gear. Its never been serviced and we do prefer the nostalgic sound per se. I got a 4270 soon after and it was serviced which sounds more neutral. Used it for preamp duty with the Mystere tube amp for a while prior to the arrival of the Doge 8 tube preamp. Its currently at the back of the listening room for OTA radio.

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  2. Ilusndweller

    Ilusndweller S.H.M.F.=>Reely kewl.

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Im watching Rockers bc of your post, so thanks! :agree:

    [​IMG]

     
  3. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    You win
     
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  4. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    I agree with @SHU; why not try to connect the 803’s to your new tube amp. Maybe it has a pre out connection so it’s possible to connect it to a power amp?
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2022
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  5. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Reggae music is like made for the vinyl format. I’ve slowly put together a quite nice little reggae album collection on vinyl. A lot of them do sound fantastic- especially the ones I’ve from the Island label.
     
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  6. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    The bass definitely gets wooly as the caps age. They tightened up like crazy after the recap of my 40-year lod Pioneer receiver.
     
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  7. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Sorry you lost that vintage warm sound.
     
  8. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    No ! I like the sound WAY better now ! The difference is subtle anyway, but I can tell a marked improvement.
     
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  9. jonwoody

    jonwoody Tragically Unhip

    Location:
    Washington DC
    So B&B I was looking at a listing for the SLI-80 just now and noticed it can use the KT77 tube. You must drop in a quad of Genalex Gold Lion KT77 repros in my opinion, and those of some folks who's ears I trust, it's a very special tube.
     
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  10. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I will keep this in mind and am sure I will try rolling power tubes. I was considering some NOS El-34 RFT's next. Have you compared the two? I would think I'm losing some power going to the KT-77 no? Frankly I'm very happy with the Kt-88's right now.
     
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  11. jonwoody

    jonwoody Tragically Unhip

    Location:
    Washington DC
    You will lose a little power yes but you should still be fine and never compared them against NOS EL34s I listen too much to afford NOS power tubes but they are certainly the best modern EL34 variant in my experience.
     
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  12. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Well I tried the Cary with the 803s. This was the first time the KT-120s added something positive to the sound. Music played. Nothing broke. But the speakers never really came alive like they do with a beefy solid state amp. If I had never heard them with another amp I might have thought the sound was pretty good. But it was a sound that was kind of dead and gave me the feeling I was getting like 60% of the speakers' capabilities. The bass was soft and slow with the KT-88s. With the KT120s the bass was actually pretty good but the midrange and upper frequencies were pedestrian. Not terrible. But not sweet or involving either. The speakers didn't show off the sweet midrange capabilities of the Cary. And the Cary didn't show off the power and realism and room filling capabilities that are the strengths of the 803s. Certainly there could be a lot of confirmation bias going on. I didn't expect it to be a good pairing. And the sound matched my expectations. There was no magic midrange and if I'm going to run the Cary amp, there's no point unless I'm running some speakers that can deliver that midrange from 40 Watts. Interesting experiment and I'm glad nothing was damaged.
     
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  13. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    It doesn't have a true pre-out in the sense that the amp would still be powering the speakers. The pre-outs are designed for Left and Right subwoofers but using them does not disable the power tubes. When you bias the tubes Cary recommends disconnecting the speakers, which used to be a big no-no for tube amps. But the circuits on the Cary are designed for this to not damage the amp. However just because you bias the tubes with no speakers connected, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable running the preamp regularly without speakers connected.
     
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  14. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Yeah I listen a lot too. The thing that made me want to try a quad NOS was some say they last longer that the current Gold Lions. If I'm replacing Kt88's or 77's every year, just curious how many hours I would get out of the RFT's. I don't think I'll roll power tubes until I settle on what my speakers are going to be.
     
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  15. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I have some clarity on what I'm doing with this stockpile of speakers I've acquired. I sold the KEF R300's today. Great speaker that is fun and gives you a lot for the price. Not resolving enough for my main system. I'm selling the Triangle Duettos. They are the most amazing speaker I've had for acoustic jazz instruments. If all I listened to was Jazz my search would be done. But I'm a rocker and they are too bright on rock. The deep bass on them is incredibly good. Not quite as deep as my 803's but faster and tighter. Just better. Too bright dulls my ears. Also selling the 803's as I'm going to stick with the Cary Tube amp and that pairing just doesn't work. I'm also going to sell my Sonic Frontiers preamp. Excellent preamp but I like a simpler look for my system and I'm looking to stick with integrated amps for now. If I go back to solid state I'll look closely as Yamaha A-s2200 or possibly some Luxman.

    So for now I'm looking to sell off some equipment. I did find a good deal on some new KLH 5's and will be picking them up in LA on Sunday. Excited to hear these speakers.

    I've spent a lot of time listening to my system lately. I'm ready to get back to listening to music. From what I've read the KLH's are perfect for that.
     
  16. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Ironically after 16 pages and a month I still don't have the speakers I'm looking for.
     
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  17. CoryG85

    CoryG85 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    You will as soon as your order those Forte IVs! Get em from Amazon. 12-month interest free financing and even has like a 60-day return window! I think anyway...
     
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  18. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Honestly I am a little gunshy of horns at the moment after my Duettos didn't work out. God they sound so incredible at times and other times my ears are bleeding. The most frustrating component I've ever owned. I listened to jazz for 3 hours last night and was just blown away by how incredible they sounded. Put on one reasonably mastered rock CD and my ears dulled and I had to stop listening. Aggravating. Guess they were just made for jazz.
     
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  19. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Damn there is a pair of the Walnut forte IV's for $3500 right now on ebay :help:.
     
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  20. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I was thinking if I was going to try a Klipsch I would try the Heresy IV though since I got my sub working again and I love the look of those little guys. And they seem to have really improved the Heresy from the III to the IV.
     
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  21. CoryG85

    CoryG85 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Pair of Heresy IVs and a sub and you'll be golden. Or maybe you'll wish you'd just bit the bullet and got the Foret IV...if you're anything like me. I wanted Heresys too and was gonna get a pair. Then I was considering Forte IV...and finally I just said F it and did interest free financing on Cornwall IVs. And since I genuinely can't afford the next step up there's no FOMO.

    Honestly, I don't know what you were thinking with the boutique audiophile fufu brand Duettos. You were saying you wanted something that didn't need a sub and then you go let someone talk into buying fancy bookshelf speakers. Klispsch Heritage speakers are big, fun and made in America. You literally cannot find a bad review on the Forte IV, even the dude at ASR liked it.
     
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  22. Gasman1003

    Gasman1003 Forum Diplomat.

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    But you do have an amplifier.

    BUY THE PMC TWENTY5.23 SPEAKERS!
     
  23. Mr.Sign

    Mr.Sign Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Yes indeed! Saw him 1980 over here.
     
  24. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Oh if you heard jazz on the Duettos you would be blown away. Or any vocals. I could play some music that I seriously doubt any Klipsch could reproduce with such a refined touch. Or such deep and tight bass. But alas, the voicing just doesn't work for me in my room. The Duettos are good down to 38hz, no need for a sub with those. I don't like bass much lower than 35Hz, too fatiguing and often boomy, and for the music I listen to unnecessary.

    The guy on ASR is the biggest douche ever.
     
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  25. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I agree that the Forte IV's get great reviews. So do the Duettos. If you can find a non-glowing review of those I'd like to see it. Which just shows you don't really know until you get the speakers in your room. I'm sure I'll try a pair of Klipsch in my system at some point. Just a little leary of speakers with a strong house sound at the moment.
     
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