tube amp sound more engaging

I have owned my beloved Khorns for around 10 yrs,quite frankly Paul Klipsch was a bona fide genius,what his speakers do no other speaker does,he has always maintained that the world needs a great sounding 5 watt amp...hence the SETs...I use both solid state and a variety of tube amps including a pair of 3 watt SETs and they all perform quite well...i tend to like the tubes better. I also have other (dynamic) speakers which I also enjoy,but man those Khorns....I have owne quite a few systems and speakers in my day...things may come and go but my Khorns aint going anywhere....ever !

My big problem with most"hi end systems" is that many expensive speakers are very hard to drive, need a gizzillion watts to drive them and the end result is a sense of strain....with the khorns it is a sense of ease and a large full open sound.

It is interesting, that with all the hi tech of the 21st century,people flock to tubes and Khorns...who Knew ???....Paul Klipsch did....like I said a bonafide genius....all the way.

Superhonestben..."Gizzillion" watt amps are cheap. Good high efficiency speakers (like Khorns) are expensive.

How about current vintage SETs with efficient, modern, very accurate, hi-tech loudspeakers?

Excellent question, Metralla, one that obviously leads to a matter of personal preference. I've listened to at least fifty systems, some costing as much as $100K, and both SS and tube. And our 7W SET amp sends music through our Klipsch La Scala's with an immediacy and humanity that I have yet to find elsewhere. And I assure you, it's not for a lack of looking.

Even when paired with our Silverline Sonata II speakers, the amp still sounds wonderful. But to my ear, those efficient, modern, very accurate, hi-tech loudspeakers seem to 'massage' the music, to blend it to a level of pleasantry and refinement that sounds perfect to my audiophile's brain, but one that remains distant from my musician's gut.

There are so many fine components out there. A couple of weeks ago, the Eggleston Works Andra II's knocked my socks off. And the Avantgarde's I heard were amazing. But no matter what else I've heard--and I am regularly listening to other systems--I always find myself saying in regards to the speakers, "Those sound incredible." With the Klipsch, however, I don't hear the 'those'. The speakers disappear, and I just hear the music as it fills the room with the emotion and humanity of the players.

My wife and I agree that the 'next step' for us is a pair of K-horns. Oh, but first the proper room in which to welcome those babies.

Have a wonderful New Year's,

Howard

Eldartford,

Relative to the cost of many toys found in this audio playground, $2500 or so for a pair of used K-horns (or ANY speakers, for that matter) strikes me as downright cheap.

I would think that very, very low powered SS amps could sound great with horns...something in the 25 watt range if used with a volume control with a slow ramp-up.

Dave