[Shives]

Captain Bill!! Your going to sell me your TU-8600!? What a stand up man! A gentleman and a scholar! Lol. You have the setup I want! Awesome! I’ve really wanted to hear the rp600’s on a tube amp, or least ram through a tube pre, to a decent Amp. I mean my Denon is not bad.. But it’s home AVR compared to tube.. You win!

Again, dying to hear that 8600 on the 600’s awesome!! 

I am looking at the Node and the node vault. I like that idea for the internal storage and internal CD. Then a dac seeing I hear it could benefit from using one. 

I see you’ve got the 2i. Can you hook up a USB cd rom to it? I have an oppo 103D I could hook to it, but I’m hoping to sell the oppo to fund this or other projects. I’m currently trying to figure out a good setup to stream my music I have, as well new items. As soon as I feel comfy about the node, I see 8 for sale! It makes me second guess! So, how feel you?

[CaptainBill]

Thanks!

If you want a streaming preamp, the Node2i is really good for the money.  Would skip the one with the built in amp.  I added a $135 Shunyata venom digital power cord and I think it enhanced the sound a bit.

The Node2i has a combo toslink/3.5mm jack input where you can use either analogue or optical digital.  I have not tried the USB port.  I think it’s only for USB sticks or external drives, no clue if your CD player will work.  It does Tidal masters extremely well and I don’t think a dac under $1k would make it sound any better.  If you get an external dac, now you have another piece of equipment for volume control which gets clumsy.  I did buy the remote for it which is handy. Most of the time I use the volume control in the Bluesound app on iOS products.

For some reason, Tidal masters songs are typically louder than Tidal cd quality songs which can get annoying with playlists.  That’s my only complaint.  I think it’s Tidal and not the Node.

It has variable crossover frequency sub out.  I have been playing with it but most of the time the music sounds better without subs to me.  The RP600M’s have room gain bass in my small office.

The 8600 has the VCAP CuTF caps.  I thought they were getting close to broken in but the sound was different today after leaving it off for 2 days.  Those capacitors are crazy, changing every week or so from congested to ultra clear to treble exaggeration then back.  I read in a few places that teflon caps take a few hundred hours to burn in.

[mkrawcz]

The 8600 has the VCAP CuTF caps.  I thought they were getting close to broken in but the sound was different today after leaving it off for 2 days.  Those capacitors are crazy, changing every week or so from congested to ultra clear to treble exaggeration then back.  I read in a few places that teflon caps take a few hundred hours to burn in.

I have a 8600 with VCAP cutf caps and it basically took a couple weeks of near nonstop play to get there with those caps. But its worth it. They are simply the best capacitor in the world IMO.

[CaptainBill]

Drifting off topic….what tubes are you using with the 8600?

[mkrawcz]

Drifting off topic….what tubes are you using with the 8600?

Genalex 300b, Genalex 12au7, JAN GE 12AX7WA. I will have Elrog 300bs someday when I decide I want to pay for them.

[Jon L]

The 8600 has the VCAP CuTF caps.  I thought they were getting close to broken in but the sound was different today

I nominate Vcap CuTF AND Takatsuki 300B tube as components that take the Longest to "break in" in my recent memory 
Takatsuki 300B tube sounded almost broken to me on my Elekit 8600R amp until tons of hours later 

[viper414]

Hi Folks,

Thanks to everyone's contribution on this thread. It really helped, definitely as I confused on some parts in Danny's videos during the crossover assembly.

I just did the upgrade a week ago  and your comments, Danny and New Record Day videos definitely helped in the decision to get it.

Here's my experience of it, the upgrade was not hard but definitely tedious+ required a little bit of thinking as it's my first time doing this(learned the basics of speaker crossover network and signal path along the way). You do feel satisfied after completing the full upgrade and hearing both speakers play perfectly. Now in terms of sound, I have the Klipsch RP-160M (yes I did check the crossover network and checked with Danny if it could be done to the RP-160M and he replied yes, as many others have done so). Had the RP-160M for nearly 3 years now and enjoyed it until I got the Magnepan LRS , Atohm GT1 and other speakers to play with. Then the V-curve of the Klipsch became extremely apparent in the original design, the highs/lows were too extended but not controlled enough with a lacking midbass. It does however play very loud for a bookshelf, filling up a large room easily without a sub and party level SPLs subs are added. But, since I stopped enjoying the Klipsch for Music in favour of the LRS kept it for movies only. I thought the $210 upgrade should be worth it if tames the highs, provides a better midbass punch and tighter bass. I didn't need an extended low end as I always planned of using subs for the sub 50hz notes. This is exactly what the modifications did for me and would be happy to recommend it if the above is what you are looking for. The frequency response curve showed by Danny fully explains what to expect with the stock vs GR research upgrade kit. So, don't think just because Speaker B appears brighter/louder/more detailed in New record Days comparison video, that Speaker A will sound muffled in real life. It is the complete opposite, the brighter sound of Stock Speaker B can be fatiguing if you have other more neutral speakers to compare it with, then you will enjoy the more balanced sound from the upgraded one. Also putting your ears next to the bass port when playing bass heavy songs, the No Rez effect on cabinet resonance can definitely be heard(from boxy sound to a much tighter bass, you may lose some low-end kick, in favour of more controlled/tighter mid-bass and bass). I would not recommend buying a new Klipsch + the upgrade, get another speaker that is already more balanced from GR Research or other brands. Do it if like me, you have enjoyed the Klipsch speakers for years, like the looks and overall power of the klipsch but keeps on wanting more, instead of selling it for cheap to buy a $1000+ speaker, just get the upgrade, it's well worth it.

[CaptainBill]

Bravo!  Nice job on the upgrade. 

Have you played around with speaker position?  I’m listening to mine about 8 feet away from my seating position.  I don’t have stands but conveniently placed them on top of tower speakers at a height of 43” to the bottom of the RP-600m box.  They are on angled foam monitor pads with the tweeters facing about a foot over my ears.  So maybe 5 degrees below axis.  It’s kind of like a studio console near field setup.

[Shives]

Great work Viper!! Yes, it’s funny that Klipsch just re-ran the RP-160 as the RP-600M, but in different trim. Both networks are the same, identical, far as I see. And you did the tube connections on the top row, good stuff! Hindsight, that’s all I wished I would have done differently.

They look great! Enjoy!!

[viper414]

Bravo!  Nice job on the upgrade. 

Have you played around with speaker position?  I’m listening to mine about 8 feet away from my seating position.  I don’t have stands but conveniently placed them on top of tower speakers at a height of 43” to the bottom of the RP-600m box.  They are on angled foam monitor pads with the tweeters facing about a foot over my ears.  So maybe 5 degrees below axis.  It’s kind of like a studio console near field setup.

Thank you

Well i'm a bit limited in placement for the klipsch as priority went to the Magnepan LRS and the others speakers followed, I did try the MG12QR on the inside and Klipsch on the outside but the one pictured above is the best. I used PS Audio's Audiophile guide along with the test tracks to determine the best position. This guide+ test tracks that came with it really helped for optimal speaker placement. Of course everything here is temporary. Once my new house is ready, will move everything into their dedicated spots

[viper414]

Great work Viper!! Yes, it’s funny that Klipsch just re-ran the RP-160 as the RP-600M, but in different trim. Both networks are the same, identical, far as I see. And you did the tube connections on the top row, good stuff! Hindsight, that’s all I wished I would have done differently.

They look great! Enjoy!!

Thank you for your message and most of all thanks a lot for posting pictures and your experience on building yours. It actually made the difference in me building it right. Something wasn't right when I followed Danny's step by step instructions in the video (part 3 i believe). The way he was orienting the wires from the crossover to tube connectors or towards the speakers seems at odd with the schematics he sent. Lol

[Shives]

Thank you for your message and most of all thanks a lot for posting pictures and your experience on building yours. It actually made the difference in me building it right. Something wasn't right when I followed Danny's step by step instructions in the video (part 3 i believe). The way he was orienting the wires from the crossover to tube connectors or towards the speakers seems at odd with the schematics he sent. Lol

I’m just seeing this. But, I wanted to reach out and say thank you! I feel we are all here to learn! But, when I can help someone else out, this is my happy place! I’m glad that the photos and information helped you, and I hope it helps others!

Give your self about 100 hours or so... when I leave I put my radio on low, and let it play to help break things in. Once again, thanks! You’ve made my day! Also, this maybe step one to sealing your audio addiction! Lol watch out.

[GaryPC]

You're thinking of an accelerometer measurement taken on a side panel of the cabinet. That is a very different measurement but also shown as a spectral decay.

I have a scope and am looking for an accelerometer do you have any suggestions please?
Gary

[gicuomo]

I am interested in updating the klipsch rp 6000f. does anyone have information? is there a tread that gives details? thank you, Giovanni

[Hobbsmeerkat]

I am interested in updating the klipsch rp 6000f. does anyone have information? is there a tread that gives details? thank you, Giovanni

Not yet, since the kit only just launched, but it should be a very similar process to the larger RP8000F, which I believe dopes have a few threads on here.

[gicuomo]

Not yet, since the kit only just launched, but it should be a very similar process to the larger RP8000F, which I believe dopes have a few threads on here.

Thanks 

[willief23]

Does this look even close to being right?? this is a quick mock up I did of the crossover build for the RP600m speakers. Yes I used different caps. if im going to upgrade the caps might as well use 2 to 3x better sounding caps. they are alot more money though and also 2 to 3x bigger in size as well.  Its on a 4.75" x 6.25" copper clad board. I also have a 4.5" x 6.25" board. It will be a tight fit either way. I only used the inductors from dannys rp600m upgrade kit. I am not a schematic guy so pretty sure its all f*cked up lol.  the gold circular parts are path audio resistors they are suppose to be the best audio resistors out there. I am going to zip tie and use a special glue made for crossover parts to hold everything down. Especially on that big inductor that will most likely have to stay standing up due to space limitations.  the small silver part is a bypass cap in parallel with the tweeter main cap to give it that extra detail and shine in the highs.  The Costex CS caps work magic with voices so will probably be my tweeter or tweeter and woofer caps on my klipsch 404c center speaker since I watch tons of movies and tv shows with my home theater setup.  I will not be buying any new speakers or updating my theater setup for a long time so figured just go big on the crossover part upgrades.
I recommend adding a 0.01 uf, 0.022uf , 0.1uf or 0.2uf sizes for bypass cap in parallel with the tweeter cap. It will give you the characteristics and benefits of the bypass cap mixed with whatever cap you run it in parallel with.  Audyn True Copper, Audyn True Copper Max, Duelund  JDM Copper, Duelund JPM Silver, Duelund Cast Copper, Duelund Cast Copper Tinned (aka Cu/Sn) and Jupiter Copper Foil Paper Wax are all excellent caps for using as bypass caps. Dont go any bigger than 0.47uf in size for a bypass cap though you want to stay at 10% or less of the value of the cap that you are going to bypass.  for example a 1.5uf cap you dont want to go more than 0.15uf size on the bypass cap.

[corndog71]

You can lay flat the larger inductor and stand the smaller one on end just so long as the coils are perpendicular.

Something like this.

[willief23]

Hi corndog71, thanks for the idea that helps alot that would cut down on half of my space needed.

[Jon L]

Yes I used different caps. if im going to upgrade the caps might as well use 2 to 3x better sounding caps. they are alot more money though

Haha, I approve of this message