2 channel system (on a budget)

[cyto]

I started with an old Technics SA-390 receiver I had laying around. Found a pair of Klipsch KG4s on CL and upgraded the caps and horn diaphragms. Also picked up an old Sony CD player from the 80's.

For the amount of money I have in this it sounds awesome

My wife thought I was nuts for spending $150 on 20 year old speakers, now all she says is WOW.

I may upgrade to a separate amp later.

[dingus]

nice pick up. i have a strong appreciation for vintage gear for this very reason. looks like you've got around $300 invested in this system and it would be very difficult to match it in sound quality with modern gear for the same $$.

you may find the Klipsch's will benefit from being put on some small speaker stands if you've got some.

[bobsticks]

Very nice and I agree with dingus, bang-for-the-buck you can't beat vintage.

[cyto]

you may find the Klipsch's will benefit from being put on some small speaker stands if you've got some.

How high would you raise them?

I have heard some people tilt them back with blocks under the front, I wonder if would have a similar effect?

[dingus]

typically, you'll want the drivers pointing at ear level when in the listening position. how high the stands are depends on what you've got on hand, or how far you want to go towards making diy or buying stands. if you go for keeping the speakers close to the floor then you'll probably want to tilt them back. if you go for a tall stand you'll probably want the speakers level. either way you can get as elaborate as you want, but if you have a skill saw and a sander you could easily make simple low profile stands for about $10.

[02audionoob]

Strangely enough, I find it good to get below the projected direction of the tweeters, so I agree with tilting them back. My speakers are tall, so I can just sit low. But those people who aim their Klipsch speakers up seem to be doing it right, IMO.

[poppachubby]

Well done...oh and well done on the stereo system too. Keeping the wife happy is job 1.

One thing I will say is that your speakers are keepers. Do you plan to do any upgrading? If so what would your budget be? At this point I would suggest a better CDP. Nothing too crazy, perhaps a vintage Philips, Marantz or Arcam. They will blow your Sony out of the water without making your wallet an additional victim.

I am using a system very comparable to yours in my family room. It's tons of fun and sounds great. I have a Marantz 1515 with Mission 707's. Then I use an external dac, and use a Yamaha changer as a transport. I also have a Squeezebox lined into the dac.

Like I said, not state of the art but really fun and enjoyable. Your Sony looks like a changer. The changer with an external dac is great. If your Sony has digital outputs, I highly rec looking into a budget external dac. The improvement in sound will have your jaw on the floor, and of course the convenience of the changer is great.

Have fun and enjoy the music!!

[Worf101]

Of course you know this makes me jealous I wish I had roum enough for ANY kind of dedicated 2 channel righ... Harrumph!!!!! But in all honesty that's a cool set up that would make me smile every time I heard it and crap my pants with joy anytime someone asked how much the rig cost. Well played sir... well played.

Worf

[cyto]

Thanks everyone.

The only problem so far is that is I turn the volume up to the halfway point (which is ear splitting) the receiver cuts out for a split second every once in a while.

The Technics is rated 50w/channel @ 8 ohms, the KG4s are 6 ohm so I assume the amp is just being over driven. I was seriously thinking of adding an amp anyway.

I just had to post this photo on Facebook earlier today.

[pixelthis]

Thanks everyone.

The only problem so far is that is I turn the volume up to the halfway point (which is ear splitting) the receiver cuts out for a split second every once in a while.

The Technics is rated 50w/channel @ 8 ohms, the KG4s are 6 ohm so I assume the amp is just being over driven. I was seriously thinking of adding an amp anyway.

I just had to post this photo on Facebook earlier today.

Uhhh..yeah!
Most gear these days is just not that sensitive to what OHM load the speakers are,
however I BET THATS NOT THE CASE with the TECHNICS, which isn't exactly
a high end piece of kit, maybe just an end.
But you're having fun and learning stuff. If you're interested in getting serious(but not
too serious) there is a variety of inexpensive stereo receivers out there.
LIKE the one HARMON makes. I would look around for decent amplication.
TECHNICS mainly existed so that PANASONIC could claim they had "high end" gear,
but while reliable, their bean cutters always undercut everything.
ANYWAY, have fun.

[dingus]

well, until you get a beefier amp in there, i guess you'll have to be a bit judicious with the volume. if you ever run across one, i'm thinking that a bigger, nice warm sounding Pioneer SA series amp would do nicely with the KG4's.

[cyto]

I see a lot of Onkyo M series amps going for low prices on Ebay, what do you guys think about them?

[thekid]

I see a lot of Onkyo M series amps going for low prices on Ebay, what do you guys think about them?

Congratulations on your system from a guy who knows a thing or two about building a system on a budget.

I think you are correct in not pin-pointing the problem with the Technics. A better vintage receiver or separates might be an option. Most of the Onkyo M-series amps you see on E-bay are from late 80's-early 90's rack systems. I have owned a couple and still have a M-5000 sitting idle at the moment. They are not bad little amps and matched with a good pre-amp would not be too bad in a pinch. If you are thinking about separates for not too much coin you might want to consider the Kenwood "Basic" series. You could probably score a M1/C1 combo for around $100 and it would provide plenty of power.

[bfalls]

I've had my Kg4 powered by a Yamaha M-65 2-ch amp at one time. Very nice sounding. The amp and speakers. Kg4 are a great bang for the buck. Nice tonal balance, excellent imaging. I've had mine since the 80's and won't sell them. I've even purchased a pair of the poly mid/woof should I need replacements.

The original mid/woof drivers are very hard to find. You see them every so often on ebay, but a good percentage have dust cap wrinkles. I'm not sure why, but it seems to me they have uneven stresses within the driver, so I bypass them. Others I've seen want way too much money.

[dingus]

the combination of blu-ray and SACD\DVD-A ability is what moved me to change my all vintage main stereo system into a relatively modern 5.1 surround rig. however, my secondary system is all vintage and i want to keep it that way.