JWPATE

Thanks Colin, You have asked for a description of my front end, and I provided that in a previous post. It is still there. The room conditions of the Hartsfield experience were a motel room here at The Home Entertainment Show in Las Vegas. My listening room is roughly 21 feet square, while that motel room was about 20 by 25. The ceilings in both cases were 10 feet, but my ceiling is actually broken by architectural features into three different levels, the lowest level being 10 feet. I am afraid I do not take your meaning, when you point out that a 10ft X10ft bedroom is 100 square feet. That is, of course correct; but so is a 5ft X 20ft bedroom equal to 100 sq feet the acoustical possibilities however would be quite different. I had given the room dimensions because someone asked for them. Surely you are not suggesting that square footage would have been an appropriate response. Or are you? James

No Al, I am not using the AA crossovers........I am using those wonderful ALK crossovers, which you sent last month!! James

Sorry HDBRbuilder, The Hartsfield speakers being built at CLASSIC AUDIO REPRODUCTIONS are, as you probably expect, the later, JBL design and not the originals.

Gentlemen, Please accept my sincere thanks to each of you for helping me with this matter. The outcome of it all in my own mind is that I should leave the Klipsch Khorns alone. I really considered getting into the modifications, particularly that which Al presented. In the end though, I have decided to build the Hartsfield units. Placed the order today for a kit of parts and supplies to include rosewood finish and all T.A.D. drivers. The horns and drivers will be drop shipped soon but it will be six or eight months for the pre-cut wood pieces. So I shall enjoy my old friends, the Khorns for a good while longer. You have all been just great in taking your time out to help another music lover. James

Tell me Al, Could I do that to my own Khorns do you think? They are 1982 vintage. What brand components are we looking at in that photo.........Very interested indeed! Thanks one more time for those crossovers, they are GREAT! James

HDBRbuilder, Thank you so for so much information. Yes, the new Hartsfield units would be way over the top for me, and would only make sense if I also replaced all the other components in the system. Still...they were interesting. BTW, I have an set of plans for the Hartsfield as you describe. James

Thanks Qman for those photos and the information. Just out of interest, wouldn't it have been easier to just obtain a set of Altec voice-of-the-theater units.

Maron, Thanks for that advise. I certainly take an interest in your TAD project. Were you able to fit the drivers inside the Khorns without changing the outward appearance? What did you think of the sound. I expect that you used the TD2002 for mid-range with the fiberglass horn TH2002 and the ET703 for tweeter, is that correct. What did you do for crossover network? I wonder if the ALK network that I already have would suffice. James

Istari, My music room is 21 feet square, with an extension on one side for bay windows.

mungkiman, I will surely keep the mac equipment for a while, as I decide which I prefer. I love them both. James

Yes, those Hartsfield speakers I listened to were the top-of-the-line flagship models. Done in beautiful rosewood, they used the finest components, including all TAD drivers. Magnificent sound!!

Thank you Gentlemen, for all the sound advise. And forgive me for not being more informative as regards the full system. The drivers in my Kornerhorns are all original, so far as I know. The squawkers are stamped K55V and tweeters are K77M. The stock crossover network I replaced last month, with the ALK Engineering unit. I experimented with several settings on the ALK crossovers but have returned to the theoretical correct setting for the K55V driver. Signal input has been from a Linn Troika cartridge on the Linn Ittok arm of a LP12 turntable. I have been using a Creek Audio OBH9SE phono stage for the moving coil cartridge. Recently, I have changed over the phono input to; Micro Benz Ruby 2 cartridge, on the JMW Memorial tone arm with a VPI TNT3 turntable. I have not actually been able to listen to this setup yet, as I am waiting for a drive belt from VPI. I am also about to build up the Bent Audio step-up transformer. This will be a 10X step-up for the Ruby 2 and allow me to input directly into the pre-amp MM phono-stage. The amps and pre-amps are all vintage tube (like me). The pre is McIntosh C22 and the amps are a pair of McIntosh 225s set up for mono operation. I plan to soon replace these with a Marantz 7C pre-amp and a pair of Marantz Model 9 amps. These units are presently in restoration. Other inputs include a Marantz 10B tuner and a Philips 963SA for CD. Mostly it is vinyl though, and the music is mostly classical and jazz. For classical I usually favor smaller groups simply because they sound better on this system. I also love the large philharmonic sounds, but find that they seem less satisfying with this setup, at least so far. Thanks again for your help, and sorry I didnt provide this information in the first instance. James

Gentlemen, I am new to the forum, and did try to find answers by reading previous threads rather than seek information which has been provided many times before. My question is general in nature how long can the original speaker drivers be expected to last in a pair of Kornerhorns? My speakers were bought second-hand in the early 90s, with serial numbers 19X 609 and subsequent. They are probably from about 1985. Today I happened to visit T.H.E. Show, here in Las Vegas, and while there I examined/listened to a pair of reproduction Lansing Hartfield speakers. For a long time I listened, and I didnt want to leave. More mature members may recall the design, as they were produced by J.L. Lansing from 54 till about 64. They are horns, and designed also to fit corner locations, but unlike Klipsh Khorns, they emit the bass out the front and so do not actually need to be in corners. To put it mildly, I was blown away. They were just so good that were the price (30K/pr) more reasonable I would be thinking of changing. Of course, those Hartfields are brand new and were powered with the latest thing, including power conditioners and speaker cable the size of your arm. Still, they were without question, in a very different league than my old Khorns. This has me wondering whether it may be time to upgrade the Klipsch speakers with new drivers, or at least send the tweeter and squawker out for testing. And where can I send them. Or is there an upgrade available in the same sizes, but to higher quality? I would very much appreciate your opinions on the matter. Surely, no speaker can be expected to last forever. Eventually they just dont cut it any longer, but what is a normal expectation for them? The enclosures, of course, are still fine, and to my mind the Kirsch is a better design than that classic Hartsfield it should be capable of producing equal or even better sound. At present though, it is not even in the same ballpark. I already have the ALK crossovers and they did help. But compared to those Hartfield reproductionsNot even close! James