Hello, I was planning to sell my dad's KHorns and Hereseys, but the more I find out about them, the harder it is to let them go. So I'm going to try them out. I don't know much about power requirements. Would someone please tell me how much power I need? Do I need a different amp for the Hereseys? Is there a site that will answer these kind of questions? Thanks John

I'd say a quick answer is, just about any amp will work for you.

Once that baseline is established, then the question gets more nuanced.

Do you want concert levels and chest pounding while standing 20 feet away and to go deaf within 3 years?  Then a higher powered amp might fit your bill.

Do you on the other hand, listen to jazz type stuff at background dinner levels and every now & then turn it up a bit for more toe-tapping but not "concert" levels?  If so, then perhaps a "flea powered" amp would fit your bill.

I've had a 1 1/2 watt/channel tube amp on my Khorns and they filled the room nicely and was probably the nicest sonic sound of all.  I've had same Khorns attached to a 400 watt solid state amp and it brings out an entire different potential in them.  I've had various amps as well (8 watts, 16 watts, 30 watts, 100 watts and 450 watts).

All had enough power for my needs while doing reasonable listening and maybe some light toe tapping.  When I was out of the room (working in another part of house) and really wanted to step into it, I had to use the larger amps.  I wasn't blasting it while 'in' the room with them....well....not for long anyway

Thanks for the input. Happy Thanksgiving.

Good to hear that you're going to try them out: you may decide that they're keepers (...or maybe not...it's okay either way...). 

shawjohn42:

Would someone please tell me how much power I need?

If you're using a transistor-type amplifier, something with about 15+ watts per channel is more than sufficient. The better the quality of the amplifier (if it is a low power amp), generally the better the sound.  Tube amps will typically sound much more smooth than most transistor amps, and you will find tube amps are generally much lower power - as little as 1.5 Watts/channel.  These will work, too.

shawjohn42:

Do I need a different amp for the Heresies?

Heresies don't need any more than Khorns, but if you have a choice, I'd recommend something in the 40 W/channel capability (not that you need anywhere close to that amount of power unless playing something very, very loud and dynamic).  If you find an amplifier with 40 W/channel - that's plenty.

shawjohn42:

Is there a site that will answer these kind of questions?

You're on the right forum.  I don't know of any FAQ on amplifiers for Khorns or Heresies, but you should be able to search the forums using Google for keywords, and adding the following to restrict your search to this forum: "site:klipsch.com"

Make sure that you place the Khorns tightly in corners to form a seal with the corner between the left and right side of the back of the speaker - they will not sound very good if you don't.  Also note that it is a good thing to place use something on the floor if it is bare wood/tile/vinyl to soak up stray midrange energy. 

Also try to keep as much as possible clear between the two speakers that can reflect sound - such as large equipment racks, cabinets, or architectural details like brick masonry.  Placing a little bit of fuzz material (like a thick beach blanket) on top of the speakers - letting it stick out in front of the speaker about an inch if it is rigid enough - this will also help to control ceiling bounce.

Enjoy!

Chris

You have the beginning of a world class surround system. If you add either another Heresy or a Belle Klipsch for a center channel, you will have a surround system that would rival any $20,000 surround system out there.

I would love to see some pictures.

 here is a happy camper. Probably more than you want to spend. Your Dad`s speakers are extreemly high end units and are worthy of fine amplifiers to do them justice.  Used amps by Rotel Adcom Nad and others are inexpensive units which will sound good but are not in the same league as your fathers Khorns but they will sound good and you can decide how far you want to go with his hobby. I think he left you a wonderful gift that you are likely to enjoy for a life time so judge what you spend by that. Best regards Moray James.

 http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/155746.aspx

That's nice to hear.  Send me your email address and I'll send pics.  I can't figure out how to attach them in this forum.

 shawjohn42@gmail.com

John, The K-horns and Heresys are as good as it gets for speakers regardless of how much more you spend. What makes these speakers special is that you don't need a huge amp to drive them, they are remarkably efficient. At 2 Watts the K-Horns will run you out of the room, at 50 Watts out of the house. Most of your listening will be at less than 1 Watt, even if you are hard of hearing. A high quality integrated amplifier that puts out 25-40 Watts is all you need. If you only want stereo, look at the class A amps. Tube or solid state the possibilities are endless. Since you aren't spending the money on watts to drive pig speakers, you can spend it on quality. Especially good characteristics at very low watts. If you want surround sound, get a THX rated amplifier. I have used my La Scalas with 2 Pioneer Elites. I highly recommend the Elites, you can hear them at Best Buy Magnolia. Entry level for a 7.1 Elite is about $650 and with the Klipsch speakers, it will blow your sock off. THX sound and video ratings mean something. To play Blu Rays you need DTS decoding, so you are talking new. My $1700 Elite did sound better than my current $650 Elite. Lawyers are sucking me dry. Killer 5.1 sound; As one of the other posters said, the K Horns are the two front speakers, Heresys in the rear and you have to get one more Heresy for your center channel. Why, because the Heresys are voiced the same as the K Horns. You system will sound better than any theater you've been in. You won't need a sub woofer, the K Horns have 15 inch woofers and the Heresys have powerful 12 inch woofers, you can make the house breath. If they are old enough, it may be time to get the capacitors replaced on the cross over circuits inside the speakers. There is a well known guy on these boards that specialized in updating the boards. If they are 30 years old, its time.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?miscrcvr&1327118180&/Pioneer-Elite-vsx-94txh- This is a good example of a quality receiver for little money. My guess is that the owner is selling to get the latest codecs for blu ray. IMHO this would knock your socks off with your speakers. Audiogon is a good place to shop for units like this.

I believe Paul Klipsch favorite amp was a 2A3 based tube amp Try the Bottleheads, they are very reasonable

Any suggestion on the 2A3 amps, manufacturer and models? How much is reasonable? I looked and there are a lot of them out there. Is 8 watts RMS enough? Thanks

deafbykhorns:

I believe Paul Klipsch favorite amp was a 2A3 based tube amp Try the Bottleheads, they are very reasonable

deafbykhorns:

I believe Paul Klipsch favorite amp was a 2A3 based tube amp

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/storage/4/1456039/PWK%20TubesVsSS.pdf

Thanks, I read the letter from PK. If I read it correctly; He states that abandoned tubes for solid state and that he owned a Crown D-60 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crown-D60-Stereo-Amp-/150690227702?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2315d665f6#ht_2075wt_1388

Found a Marantz model 9 mono triod amp pair on Audiogon. $15K http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1326486298&/Marantz-Model--9-(Original)-tu Found a Crown D-60 on e-bay that replaced according to the PK letter it for $125

Bubo:

Thanks, I read the letter from PK. If I read it correctly; He states that abandoned tubes for solid state and that he owned a Crown D-60

Yes, that's what I read, too.

Nowadays, I believe that many here are looking at Crown D-45 and Crown D-75A amplifiers (twin designs except for the output power transistors), especially with the slew rate upgrade that Mark Deneen (former owner/chief engineer of Juicy Music) did.  Mark is fully retired now, but there are folks still upgrading their amplifiers.

Chris