The Two Channel Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Nov 10, 2016.

  1. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I was planning on doing the crossover upgrade myself if I do it. Might try to find a schematic and buy the parts individually to save some $$.

    There are no titanium diaphragms for the k-77 tweeter in the Cornwall 1's, but crites makes a whole titanium tweeter replacement that's supposed to be better, although it's $280 for a pair. I'll see how I like the stock sound before I mess with anything too much.
     
  2. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    A good deal can quickly become a money pit while chasing the elusive dragon.
     
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  3. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Maybe do the Xovers first if you're trying to save $$, but the tweeter replacement, if like the Forte diaphragm replacement will likely extend the top end while making it a lot smoother. I sold Klipsch during the series II years and my main complaint was the top end was too rough unless gooey tubes were used for amplification. The titanium tweeter upgrades so far totally changed my position on that. BTW, an Aegir is a great cheap amp for these speakers.
     
  4. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    [​IMG]

    All I can say is... WOW.

    The treble isn't as smooth as the KEFs, which I was expecting, but everything else is just.. DAMN

    And that BWC bass? Insane.

    Also, despite the cosmetic flaws, I love the way they look.
     
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  5. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Maybe I'm crazy, but I actually prefer the sound of these Cornwall's from my Sony STR-DN1080 AVR vs the Emotiva pre/amp. The other Klipsch speakers sounded better on the emotiva than my previous Sony AVR but I never did A/B with the new one. Obviously I couldn't run the 4 ohm KEFs on either AVR.

    Today I installed some adjustable feet on them to level them on my wavy wood floor, then I sanded them down with 400 grit and then rubbed them down with some watco rejuvenating oil. The oil made a huge difference. I'll rub them down as needed in the future.

    New grill cloth from Crites should be here tomorrow and they should be good for a few decades.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I thought this was interesting. Someone covered the mid horn in boom mat.
    [​IMG]
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Not to spur any nervousa, but now is the time to start fiddling around with fun low-powered amps!
     
  7. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Back when I sold Klipsch the old timers said a common mod was to put plumbers putty on the backs of the metal horns. I never tried it and that was before Dynamat type products really existed.
     
  8. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I thought about getting a surround processor so I can run a nice amp for the Cornwalls and an emotiva 3 channel for the center and rear speakers, but other than emotiva I can't find any that aren't outrageously expensive.

    Maybe I could make some kind of switch box for just the front channel speakers and run 2 amps. One for music and the other for movies/tv.

    IDK, it sounds really good right now so I'm just gonna ride it out for a while.
     
  9. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    It’d be interesting to see the inside of modern Cornwalls, I’m sure there’s bracing and probably a lot more rock wool or whatever on the sides. I looked around a little this morning to see if I could find a similar photo to satisfy my curiosity but didn’t really see anything.

    @LetMeBeFrank If you ever get bored https://community.klipsch.com/ has a technical/modding section.
     
  10. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    This guy shows the interior of the IV's. Looks like bracing front to back around the woofer and a shelf with foam behind the tweeter.

    The front to back bracing isn't possible with mine since the whole back has to come off. The shelf I could do, but I'm assuming that's for bass and I'm sure the crossover effects that too.

    It's crazy how complicated the new crossover is compared to mine which is just 4 components and a bus bar.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2022
  11. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Looks like a crites / similar crossover is in your future. Just love the relative simplicity but good solid approach to the build
     
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  12. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I considered ordering new caps from Dayton but they sound really good as-is. Is there a danger to leaving the old caps in there? The autoformers are the most expensive part but they seem relatively inert compared to caps.
     
  13. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Poly caps are usually OK and if it sounds good, why mess with it.


    Edit. Looking at the picture, they look like motot run caps which will outlive us all. Many people use motor caps for audio.
     
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    Last edited: Aug 24, 2022
  14. karas

    karas New

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    I am planning to change my whole system, starting with a LIM.

    I plan to build Troels 2 way speaker, my room is very constrained and 1 speaker is really stuck close the one corner, really not ideal.

    I have seen the 2 designs : http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Illuminator-71.htm and http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/8008-CORNER.htm.

    Would you recommand one over the other ?

    I was planing to get Freya S + Aegir, it should be a good match with the 8008 corner but is it powerful enough for a 87dB 2 way speaker (I listen mostly at moderate volume and room is 30 m²) ?
     
  15. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    Cannot help specifically on the amp. But, I would love if you would document this build. I have a friend who wants to build his own pair of speakers and I've been pushing him to do something interesting from Troels Gravesen.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    There’s a few Troels builds here. One is an older tower version of the Illuminator that @karas is inquiring about

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/troels-gravesen-illumina-66-build-log.11071/

    big 3-way speaker

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...en-3wc-15-and-any-of-his-other-designs.10575/

    and this 2-way bookshelf

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...nspeak-discovery-18-diy-troels-gravesen.4406/
     
  17. Salamero

    Salamero New

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    Hi everyone, so my current set up is a bluesound node 2i streaming (Tidal & Amazon Music HD) into the internal DAC of my Cambridge audio CXA81 out to a pair of Focal Aria 936 floorstanding speakers (no subwoofer currently). I listen to a lot of rock and alternative/indie music so midrange is pretty important to me. I'm very happy with the current sound of my system but I've always been curious about adding a tube pre-amp to the audio chain to "warm-up?" the midrange (I always assume tubes "enrich" this part of the frequency range) so I am currently considering a Schiit Freya. My question to everyone here is, is it worth the $800 or $900 and by that I mean am I actually going to notice a difference? I know I can tell the difference between Spotify and Tidal or streaming Tidal through BT aptx vs Tidal through the Bluesound so I like to think I have somewhat discriminating ears but there's also been times where I can't like when I listen to my old Paradigm Studio 60 v5s vs my Focals for short stints I have a hard time hearing the difference (for longer sessions I definitely feel the difference in terms of the paradigms being more fatiguing and sometimes missing some of the midrange fullness that the Focals deliver). I know this is all subjective to a certain extent but would I just be adding noise to the audio chain or is there a noticeable improvement that can be had from adding the Freya to my system? Thank you!
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2022
  18. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    You’ll likely notice a difference, but doubt you’ll gain the full potential of it since the CXA81 doesn’t have a preamp input, you’re still going through the preamp in the CXA before getting to the power amp section. Therefore, in addition to possibly doubling up on gain and/or attenuation within the CXAs preamp section, you’re also potentially subtracting (or adding in a bad way) to the sound quality, based on the inherent quality of the internal preamp of the CXA, which will limit what the Freya can really do for you, and keep the “flavour” of the CXA preamp in the chain anyhow.

    Also to do this, you would need to use the DAC in your Node in order to use the analog outputs of the Node to feed the Freya. Don’t know if you considered this or not and/or whether you prefer the DAC in the CXA over the Node, but you can’t use the DAC in the CXA in that setup.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2022
  19. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    Hi everyone.

    I have finally made a decision to upgrade from my Monitor Audio Silver 300 6G and put almost all of my budget into a pair of Monitor Audio Platinum PL200ii (4ohm 90db sensitivity, measured closer to 87-88db). The idea is to gradually build/upgrade my system around these PL200ii over the next few years. These PL200ii are very neutral, accurate, fast speakers that are pretty much flat linear in frequency response. (I have made a deposit but not yet received them yet)

    My current system is a IFI NEO IDSD DAC, Schiit Freya + tube preamp, Roksan K3 power amp, PL200ii and a pair of Power Sound Audio S15 subwoofer.

    While I don't believe the new speakers should be particularly hard to drive and I figure the K3 power amp with 140wpc @ 8ohms and 220wpc @ 4ohms should have enough juice to drive them in a 14" x 32" x 8" listening room, I did read many reviews claiming the speakers will benefit from having more powerful amplifier.

    Hoping to hear from everyone who may or may not have heard or owned these speakers advice on what I should be looking into for solid state amplifiers (new or used say with a budget of 3-4k)? I have read some of the newer class D amps - VTV purifi, hypex will give you the power you need and are relatively affordable to have.......

    Thanks in advance and look forward to hear from you

    Cheers

    Deric
     
  20. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I don’t know your speakers really, but if I had $3-4K to spend on an amp, I’d be grabbing 2 Schiit Tyr monoblocks, no question. You may want to take a look at them if you haven’t already. I just can’t do class D, although I’ve not heard the Purifi stuff yet or some of the new GaN stuff.
     

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