K2 S5800 and K2 S9800SE on sale

[JeffW]

I thought it was interesting that Greg stated that they were considered the best balanced of the Series by the various listening panels.

Well I've got a couple of days on them now, and it's just ridiculous how much I'm enjoying them. I still kick myself for not getting the 1400 Array, but for what these little dudes are, they do it. I'm kinda going off onto a fusion jazz spree lately, and these just do that so well.

And Buck Owens! My dad liked Buck Owens and had a decent selection of Capitol albums featuring Buck. Well, a fellow forumite mentioned an affinity for the leader of the Buckaroos, so I boxed them bad boys up. But not before spinning a couple.

Ah-Haa!

[martin_wu99]

This is where I bought mine. Mine were not B stock and I paid less, for what it's worth.

http://www.msshifi.com/crazy-super-i...fer-black.html

Some real good bargains appear again?

[hwirt]

My K2's have been here 5 days now, after experimenting with placement and the crossover adjustments I believe I found the optimum settings. The high end sounds a bit forward for my tastes and the range of adjustment is limited to - 1.5 db. My listening room has too many hard surfaces so some wall and ceiling treatment is in order, this should tame the high end a bit.

Left the speaker (woofer) dampening set to the "H" position, this allows for the flattest bass response curve. Settings "M" & "L" allow the woofer output to rise about .5 db per increment over a range of 200 to 600 cycles. The bass sounds fine in my room; deep tight and plenty of it. Overall the sound of the speakers exceeded my expectations, in terms of imaging and clarity its just unbelievable. Also I like the fact that the sound is great at low volumes and when the mood requires can play at concert levels without strain.

My McIntosh MC-352 amp drives the speakers effortlessly; even after an hour of high volume playback the heat sinks are barely warm to the touch. The 350 watts per channel is plenty of power for these speakers in my room.

I keep the speakers covered with the cotton socks provided with the original packing when not in use keeping them dust free. Each time the cover is removed it reminds me of the shock of seeing the speakers for the first time, the over the top workmanship and flawless fit and finish.

I've always regretted not getting a pair of L300's back in the day, now if feel vindicated.

[hwirt]

I still kick myself for not getting the 1400 Array, but for what these little dudes are, they do it.

Glad to hear your enjoying the new speakers, I would have been perfectly happy with the Array 1400 myself. But circumstances beyond my control took over.



Maybe it was for the better.

[jerry_rig]

Congratulations on your beautiful new speakers. When you get a chance, you should do yourself a favor and try out a nice tube power amplifier. They are especially well suited to efficient horn systems. You may never go back to SS.

[hwirt]

Congratulations on your beautiful new speakers. When you get a chance, you should do yourself a favor and try out a nice tube power amplifier. They are especially well suited to efficient horn systems. You may never go back to SS.

Thanks for the reply and compliment Jerry, unfortunately my stereo budget is tapped out for while but a friend at work uses a MC240 for his office system, perhaps I could talk him into letting me bring it home for the weekend for a trial. Think it would be a fun experiment, maybe try bi-amping using the solid state for bass and the tubes for top end. Hmmmm.... I'll even shine up the chrome for him..

[Titanium Dome]

That amp's a beauty and reminds me of my many-decades dream of having one of the big Macs as a sign I'd finally made it in hi-fi.

[timc]

Thanks for the reply and compliment Jerry, unfortunately my stereo budget is tapped out for while but a friend at work uses a MC240 for his office system, perhaps I could talk him into letting me bring it home for the weekend for a trial. Think it would be a fun experiment, maybe try bi-amping using the solid state for bass and the tubes for top end. Hmmmm.... I'll even shine up the chrome for him..

I would recomend trying a ARC VT100 MK2/3 for the horn. That sounds very good. I would guess that MC2102 would also be a killer combo.

[hwirt]

I would recomend trying a ARC VT100 MK2/3 for the horn. That sounds very good. I would guess that MC2102 would also be a killer combo.

I see one (MK3) for sale on Audiog__, nice looking amp. Reasonable $$, but like I said tapped out for the time being. Something to think about for future reference.

[JBLAddict]

reposting this from my mispost to the K29900 thread:
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it's been asked a few times in this thread without an answer that I can see

K25800 and the Array 1400 share the 435AL and 045Ti, how much better if at all is the Array 1400, which has heaps and heaps of praise, with very little being said about the 19yr old(?) 5800

at 3.5K each, still seems like a fantastic bargain but folks are only jumping at the 800 and 9800 that was available

[BMWCCA]

K25800 and the Array 1400 share the 435AL and 045Ti, how much better if at all is the Array 1400, which has heaps and heaps of praise, with very little being said about the 19yr old(?) 5800

at 3.5K each, still seems like a fantastic bargain but folks are only jumping at the 800 and 9800 that was available

Then there's a nearly-new Array 1400 pair currently on Audiogon with an asking-price of $5,500 which reminds me I passed on a nearly-new pair two years ago for $3,900.

[JBLAddict]

you are forgetting that these levels are measured @ 1 watt

things get allot more complicated at higher levels and small woofers just cant keep up with big ones in bass response

big woofer keep being linear to the response and small woofers just cant fiscally displace the air needed With out haven thermal and displacement distorion issues

array 800 are very nice speakers i have had them but the K2 5800 are much better performers

valentin, I know you've had/have the 1400, have you heard or owned the 5800 for direct comparison, thank you

[JBLAddict]

Then there's a nearly-new Array 1400 pair currently on Audiogon with an asking-price of $5,500 which reminds me I passed on a nearly-new pair two years ago for $3,900.

thanks for that reminder, I forget that there are still 1400s coming up for sale in the <6K range.

I might be confused about something. There's a PS literature packet that shows the 5800 on a timeline at 1991, and the 9800 in 2003?? and I found an web announcement that both would be for US sale in 2003? Is the 5800 truly 12yrs older than the 9800?

all along I believed the 5800 was a 10K per side speaker from 1991 that is being offered for now for 3.5K per side

[BMWCCA]

all along I believed the 5800 was a 10K per side speaker from 1991 that is being offered for now for 3.5K per side

I think part of the problem is Harman only has one. If you try to put "2" in the cart on the clearance site, it auto-reverts to "1". Not a great buy unless you just love mono.

[HCSGuy]

I think part of the problem is Harman only has one. If you try to put "2" in the cart on the clearance site, it auto-reverts to "1". Not a great buy unless you just love mono.

Maybe I'll put it together with the one Ti10k Harman has on clearance on Ebay to make a pair. If someone boxes me real hard on one side of the head, they might sound pretty close