AudioFred Messages: 377 Registered: May 2009 Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
After comparing many different types of recordings at different volume levels using both the Krell solid state amp and the Bottlehed Paramour 3.5 watt/ch SET tube amps I've decided to keep the higher order crossover in these speakers. The differences aren't great, but I do hear more treble detail with Pete's crossover, especially listening to clearly recorded jazz recordings. Also, after listening to the high order crossover for a while, when I switch to the first order the sound seems a bit "shouty" in comparison - much like listening to a good quality two way speaker then switching to a single driver Fostex speaker.
The speakers sound noticably better at very high volume levels when driven by the Krell solid state amp. The SET amp doesn't seem to prefer one over the other, and it will play equally loud with either. One downside of the high order crossover is that it becomes cost-prohibitive to upgrade the tweeter series caps because of their high values.