Tekton or Klipsch

Even now with the Kef’s i rarely go past 9 o’clock position. Sometimes maybe 10 when I’m listening to vinyl.

That’s definitely a problem, if you want to continue to use the Brio-r with one of the high sensitivity speakers that have been discussed. Stereophile measured the sensitivity of the LS50 as being 84.5 db at 1 meter for an input of 2.83 volts (the spec being 85 db). Roughly speaking the choices that have been discussed are about 14 db more sensitive than that.

Although this photo shows the front panel of a passive preamp I believe the dial markings for the volume control are reasonably representative of the characteristics of rotary volume controls that are typically used in active preamps and integrated amps, in terms of db of attenuation vs. position. As you can see the 9 o’clock position corresponds to about 37 db, so with speakers that are 14 db more sensitive the listening volume you presently hear at the 9 o’clock position would be produced at a setting of about 51 db, not far from the bottom of the range. And as you can see, near the bottom of the range adjustment resolution becomes much coarser than at higher settings (6 db per marking increment vs. 2 db at higher settings); channel imbalances may occur, depending on the particular control; and as Auxinput pointed out earlier the amp may simply not sound as good.

Assuming your sources don’t provide a volume or output level control the one solution that occurs to me if you were to use the Brio-r with one of these high sensitivity speakers would be to insert a pair of Rothwell attenuators into each of the pairs of input jacks of the Brio that you are using. Probably the 20 db version of the attenuator for the digital source(s), and the 15 db version for vinyl.

BTW, generally speaking I would recommend against in-line attenuators made by manufacturers other than Rothwell, as some of them have input impedances that are too low to be suitable for use with many source components. That will rarely if ever be a problem with the Rothwells.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

I have owned Heresy IIIs, Forte IIIs, and La Scala IIs... I still own the Heresy IIIs and LS IIs - upgraded from the Fortes. The HIIIs and LS IIs serve 2 different purposes, with a world of difference between the 2.

Originally owning the HIIIs, I upgraded to the Forte IIIs and did not experience enough of a WOW factor between the 2 to be really happy (they lasted about a week). Keep in mind I was using a sub with the HIIIs, which narrows the difference between the 2 considerably.

However, the HIIIs were also just much more "FUN" to listen to than the Forte IIIs. The FIIIs came across as a more traditional and somewhat boring speaker compared to the HIIIs. What I was looking for in the upgrade was a larger sound and smoother midrange, and the Forte IIIs didn't provide enough value to performance to really meet that need.

I'm currently listening to my Heresy IIIs, sans sub, with an old vintage Luxman component system (valve pre & SS amp) and they are delivering every bit of lively, dynamic, fun sound 3 years later as they did when I first fell in love with the Klipsch Heritage sound. 

I think you're going to be happier overall (and save some money) going with the Heresy IIIs. It sounds like you've already been bitten by the bug. 

By the way, I also owned a pair of KEF LS50W for about 1 week here in my office - they were turned around pretty quickly which is how I got my current pair of Heresy IIIs (having traded in the original HIIIs I owned against the Forte IIIs, then regretting it and having to pay another $3K for the La Scala IIs - which I don't regret at all).

I found the LS50Ws to be very tame and sterile sounding and quite a bit of a let-down after living in Klipsch Heritage land for the past few years.

sound quality differences between Heresy and Cornwalls?

Since at least in theory every component in the string influences the sound... what might the Rothwells do?


The Schitt Sys might be a viable option to moderate the 40 dB if gain as another option.