(1978-79) I was a precocious 5 year old. When my brother would go out, I'd go in his room and use the beautiful Pioneer PL-55x turntable that sat atop his stereo rack. I'd power up his Sansui 7070 and select a record from behind the smoked glass doors that hid them. Beautiful music poured from the cheapish Ego speakers and I sat and bask in all its glow. I'd experience similar hi-fi feelings when my uncle would play his Altec Santana 879a loud...I mean LOUD! The Nikko 9090 receiver seemed to know no bounds. The turntable was nothing exciting, I was a very discerning young audiophile. Afterall, while I'd be in big bro's room I'd be reading Stereo Review, and planning my big system full of buttons and sliders and EQ's! Well years of hand me down junk later, I pick Klipsch kg4's for my 16th birthday. They are mated to a Nakamichi TA-1a receiver and an overpriced, crappy NEC cd player. The sound is good, but it misses the big sound, and the warmth and presence that their systems managed. But I press on and eventually buy receivers, and amps, and speakers and suffer severe upgrade-itis. I blame everything from cables to speakers to CD's and room acoustics for the less than stellar sound I was getting. The Klipsch come and go, and I use them in a second system for a while, but I always tire of their sound, and usually quickly. The kg4's eventually end up in a bedroom with a Marantz...4430, I think. The 15 watter 4 channel model with the Quad Matrix or something. They no longer sound bad, just dull and completely lifeless. I sell the Marantz on eBay and the kg's sit, again. That is until I come across a Harman Kardon 930, I remember reading a good thing or 30 on here about the H/K Twins. I quickly rush to see the 930 and the entire system which was part of this crazy lady's moving sale. The AR92's are beat and without woofer foam. The Technics turntable is a mess, and the stylus on the Ortofon XX 15 FE mkII makes a left turn. The Pioneer cd player is the only working item. Well, I think it works. It functions, but I can't hear anything as the receiver isn't outputting anything. The ad said best offer, we agree on $80. I scatter home and remove what looks like "junk from my trunk" and place it inside my house...the neighbors must be talking. The Harman undergoes a good cleaning so that the knobs are once again silver. I check the fuses and discover both output fuses are toast. I replace them and fetch my kg4's for a listen. I get some static and quickly shut off the speakers and give all the controls a quick turning to clean things up. Speaker 1 engaged, press play. Music, sweet music. It's been too long and far too much money spent trying to attain this very sound. I dig out the vinyl and it gets even better. The synergy between these H/K's and Klipsch is incredible. I spend a week comparing it against my reference system which has more of everything, including price...but completely misses the music. The Klipsch also sound full and rich now, and at any volume. I can also play any CD, any record. Amazing. Music, pure and simple. I'd like to thank all the members who have posted with their great advice on this forum. Thanks to you, I have new love for my old speakers...and more importantly I now listen to music.

Nice story, Jim. Glad to have you back.

I always enjoy a story with a happy ending.

Enjoy,

-Tom

The system is nearly without rest, as am I. I am losing sleep and forgetting to eat, such is the great music that now fills my space. I scream the virtues of vintage and Klipsch to anyone who calls. My snobbish audiophile buddies want me committed. Yep, I've drunk the Kool-Aid. Next stop tubes...well someday.

Hifi jim:

The system is nearly without rest, as am I. I am losing sleep and forgetting to eat, such is the great music that now fills my space. I scream the virtues of vintage and Klipsch to anyone who calls. My snobbish audiophile buddies want me committed. Yep, I've drunk the Kool-Aid. Next stop tubes...well someday.

May the Force be with you.

 

Hifi jim:

The system is nearly without rest, as am I. I am losing sleep and forgetting to eat, such is the great music that now fills my space. I scream the virtues of vintage and Klipsch to anyone who calls. My snobbish audiophile buddies want me committed. Yep, I've drunk the Kool-Aid. Next stop tubes...well someday.

 

Ahh yes, when you finally find that perfect synergy..... 

Does not have to be some huge, high-dollar $$$.  Heck, I would not mind eventually scoring one of those old H/K reciever to try with this pair of Pioneer CS-99As I still got sitting down in the basement pretty much doing nothing (for the simple fact that I don't have an amp for them). 

Also, a bit newer, but a pair of RF-7s with B&K Ref 200.7 amp - friggan KILLER!  The dynamics!  The clarity!  The details - un-friggan-believable! Even brand new, it was still way less than many of these big "audiophile" setups that I've seen and heard about, yet I found myself coming back to this despite listening to some high-dollar setups, such as this one Krell/Focal rig I checked out at a local audio dealer.  Was very nice, but still - was great to come back home to the Klipsch and B&K.

Glad you finally found what you were looking for! 

Thanks Steven. It feels good to finally have a system with synergy again. I enjoyed the Maggies, but tired of their few faults, and the Revel m20 driven by a Theta Intrepid is quite good. But I find it refreshing, the presentation of the Klipsch when properly driven compared with my other set-ups. I don't always care to know what color socks the tambourine player is wearing. The Revel/Theta combo allow that kind of detail, but I find it overwhelming particularly in my nearfield setup. It's great for home theater, but I had stopped listening to music. I've never enjoyed these kg4's so much, they simply sing now. And I've fallen in love all over again with the many positive attributes of a horn driver...when properly driven. It was a looooong lesson learned.

Great story

Welcome home, Jim!   

Another believer in the x30 Harman Kardon/Klipsch combination!

I too bought a 930 based on forum information and found the receiver to be an ideal combination with my Cornwall I's.

Since then I have bought three 930s and another 730.

My son uses a 730 with his Heresy II's and as you say, the synergy is there.

A perfect match. And for such a small investment.

Too bad they aren't all new with fresh caps and filters and whatnot.

I wonder what a refreshed 930 would do compared to, say a new $1000.00 receiver.....

Hmm...

Thanks for the welcome Amy. Arfandbark, it's good to hear that the synergy is there with Heresy and Cornwall as well. I'm thinking of Forte's perhaps someday, but I dream about Cornwalls. Your collection reaffirms my thoughts that this is as good as it gets...at these prices anyway. I've read that there is little difference soundwise between the 930 and 730, have you ever directly compared the two and if so, would you agree? I think these receivers have no modern competition as few if any $1500 receivers have dual power supplies, US design, and solid Japan build. In addition, most modern solid state designs sound far different from these tube emulating amps. NAD comes to mind, but the models I've tried do not compare to these H/K's. I'd like to go with a 730 for the newer face plate design, and the pre out/in jacks (as opposed to the 430), but only if the sound is very similar to the 930. Still listening to my system non-stop, just can't get enough music...

I honestly can't remember noticing any sonic differance between the units when I compared then a few years back.

The 930 has a slightly better FM section and 5wpc more than the 730, but neither of those are of great significance, at least to me.

As far as my son and his HII's, he has used two differant 930s yet prefers the 730.

You would think a 23 year old would want those 5 extra watts....Nope.

And he claims to get better FM reception out of the 730.

The sound is similar. Very,very, very similar. 

arfandbark:

I honestly can't remember noticing any sonic differance between the units when I compared then a few years back.

The 930 has a slightly better FM section and 5wpc more than the 730, but neither of those are of great significance, at least to me.

As far as my son and his HII's, he has used two differant 930s yet prefers the 730.

You would think a 23 year old would want those 5 extra watts....Nope.

And he claims to get better FM reception out of the 730.

The sound is similar. Very,very, very similar. 

Thats good to hear. I'll be on the prowl for a 730 now. I got a deal on a Sansui 7070, and I picked up my friends Nikko 9090, both have sentimental value to me (as the story tells), but I'm curious how they will face off with the 930. I've read great things about all of them. but the H/K sound is really doing it for me. Once they all arrive I'll do a proper comparison. Thanks for the follow up Arf.

I've used both the Sansui 7070 and 8080 on my Cornwalls and have found although there is more power available, they allow some "screech"

out of the K600 mid horn that the H/Ks seem to control. I've never tried a Nikko.

The Cornwall has a touchy midrange that will let you know if your receiver is not matched immediatetly.

You may not have that problem with KG's.

Give that 7070 a fair shake, so to speak. It does provide more headspace.All depends on synergy.

I have a G-7700 Sansui that sits unused....Not a good match with Cornwalls.

Maybe I"ll plug them into my Infinity RS5Bs and see if they like each other.

Looking forward to your comparison.

 

Tubes and KG4's are nice .......... but ....... if you really want the Klipsch sound, try their 3-way systems. I started with KG4's, went to Heresy's, and now run Cornwalls ............... Tubes run them all quite nicely !!!!!!!!!!!

I've got Cornwall I's and heresy II's run them with my Mcintosh 2505 SS brilliant!!! then on my Sansui Au7900 and Au 11000....match made in heaven!!! Untill I find a Au-111 6L6GC.......I'll never leave the house!!!!