Def Leper

That's like dressing up a pig in lace panties and supermodel lingerie. It will still be a pig. You can slap a Klipsch logo on your chain saw too, but I don't think it will help. Why not just buy some used Klipsch speakers to replace them?

From a web site on bird "records" (biggest, fastest, etc.) A Ruppell’s vulture (gyps rueppellii) collided with a commercial aircraft over Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at an altitude of 37,000 feet in November 1973. The impact damaged one of the aircraft’s engines, but the plane landed safely. The species is rarely seen above 20,000 feet. In 1967, about 30 whooper swans (Cygnus were spotted at an altitude of just over 27,000 feet by an airline pilot over the Western Isles, UK. They were flying from Iceland to Loch Foyle on the Northern Ireland/republic Ireland border. Their altitude was confirmed by air traffic control. When I was in the USAF I was a flightline avionics technician for F-111 and F15 aircraft, and have seen many different types of damage caused in flight. This was certainly one of the most serious, although the worst I saw was a windscreen bird impact that killed the pilot, but the WSO was able to regain control and bring the aircraft back. The biggest danger in this incident was losing parts of the radome or attack radar and causing a flame out in the other engine. (The bird went into one engine and cause a flame out.) The F111 has large, effective stabilators (the horizontal tail surfaces) and a very good flight damper system that likely was most responsible for maintaining aircraft control. Despite some negative early publicity, the F-111 was the most versatile weapon in the USAF inventory. It was very maneuverable at low speeds, could carry large loads (including nukes), had a very effective attack radar system and terrain-following radar system allowing the aircraft to fly at very low altitudes in darkness or weather, and the swing-wings allowed efficient supersonic flight. The North Vietnamese called it "whispering death" because the fan jets were relatively quiet and the TFR allowed the aircraft to fly valleys in the dark to allow precision bombing of NVA targets. Many other countries later also found out the hard way about the F-111's ability to fly long distances and deliver smart weapons precisely on target. I didn't realize that the Aussies were still flying them. Good on ya, mates!

When I purchased my well-used Cornwalls, the first thing I did is pull off the back and check all the driver mounting screws, which were actually on the loose side on the woofers. (other drivers were not too loose but still had some snug space.) That will have some effect on the gasket seals to the cabinet. I also added a thin weatherstrip to the cabinet back to help seal any air leaks the cabinet back. I also had Bob C. rebuild the 20 year old crossovers, which affected the upper midrange and highs more than anything else. Oh, I also rotated the woofers by 180 degrees to help equalize any cone sag and voice coil misalignment due to sitting and gravity, and then rotate them by 90 degrees every year. (I mark the rotation direction on the inside of the cabinet so I keep going the same direction.) Of course, I also check all the wiring and connections inside the cabinet to make sure I was gettting the best contact. Those are some of the internal things you can check and maintain, along with the suggestions on external items like your amplifier. I do notice that the bass response not as tight with my tube amp compared to my solid-state amp, especially at higher volumes, so evaluating your amp is certainly a good suggestion.

Thank you, I will find out about this. It's fascinating to me that a Klipsch official doesn't know this ebay retailer. I understand that Klipsch has gone after many ebay sellers for copyright and trademark infringement (showing a picture on an auction with the Klipsch logo visible) and Klipsch corporate maintains their own ebay store. In other words, Klipsch officials are actively monitoring ebay Klipsch sales. Anyone who looks at Klipsch products on ebay is very familar with the large number of AVB auctions over the past several years, so I can only conclude that Klipsch knows who this dealer is and happily sells to them.

Yes, I do think most Klipsch products are overpriced, and I also think some of the other products you mention are overpriced too. When I purchased my 35-series speakers for my home theater, I shopped carefully and paid less than half the going retail price for these items. At that price, I felt they were a good value. Klipsch is trying to play all of the market segments, rigidly control their trademarks and copyrights, tightly control dealer practices, sell through mass-market big box stores, and even retail directly to consumers, and all the time trying to cultivate the Klipsch name as some kind of transcendental audio bullet. In other words, they are trying to be everything to everyone. When I purchased a 35-series system for my home theater, I looked at and auditioned the components first, then carefully and patiently shopped and was able to buy the equipment for a little less than half the regular price. At that price, I felt I got a very good value. Given the construction of the equipment and the many other products on the market with similar sound quality and lower prices, I would not have bought KIipsch at the inflated retail price. Klipsch itself has become an internet dealer, selling Heritage products directly to consumers and bypassing their retailers as well as selling on ebay. Given that, I'm not sure what basis Klipsch has for trying to regulate internet sales other than to control competition and keep prices artificially high.

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen so many people who want to overpay for something. In general I think Klipsch products are substantially overpriced, and any avenue to get a more reasonable price on these plastic and particle board boxes is good.

I simply haven't been able to find a set that are close enough to home to pick up and at a reasonable price. That will change with patience.

I have an Adcom system running with my Cornwall I's--- GFA 5500 amp (200w/ch), GTP 450 preamp/tuner, and GCD 600 CD Player. I also have a Scott tube integrated amp that was purchased from a forum member, which was rebuilt and then retuned again later by Craig of NOSvalves. The Adcom amp is a thumper (turn on/off transients) so I have an Adcom 3-speaker selector switch in the system that allows me to disconnect the speakers from the system when turning it on of off. Cheap and very easy to use. I have no issue other than the transients with the Adcom system. The amp has more than enough power to overdrive the Cornwalls and has a very clean sound. Frankly, I found the Scott tube amp to be underwhelming. While it sounds good at lower volume levels, I found it running out of steam at moderate to high levels and then the bass would become muddy. It also produces hiss as you'd expect with older analog equipment. Not a bad amp, but my total cost was a little over $500 and can't beat or even match my $100 garage sale Adcom power amp and preamp.

Huh? You've got different Cornwalls or Heresy's than I have. The tweeters might be the same but the midrange horn is certainly different, as is the crossover, LF driver and cabinet, of course. They may use the same midrange driver (I'm not going to open them up to look) but you're not going to get the same sound with different horns. Somebody mentioned a tube amp. I do have a Scott integrated amp that Craig rebuilt and has also retuned, and I hear no real differences with the Heresy other than the normal coloration that you get with a tubes. Don't get me wrong, as speakers go, Heresy's are good speakers and a great value-- after all, aren't they by far the biggest sellers of all the Heritage line? They just don't wow me like the rest of the heritage line. (Except the Belle's-- I admit I've never heard a set play.)

I've always considered the Heresy to be the least capable of all Klipsch heritage speakers, and the least "Klipsch" sounding. They can't hold a candle to my Cornwalls in any way, and my Heresy's are relegated to main speakers in my Klipsch RS-series home theater system. They will be replaced with custom "sideways" Cornwalls as soon as I can find the rest of the parts I need. In my fairly long lifetime, I've never heard a loudspeaker that can come close to reproducing the sound of a live musical performance, except when the entire performance is routed through sound reinforcement equipment. In that case, you're not hearing the live performance anyway, you're hearing an amplified facsimile. An acoustical performance is a different story though, and I've never heard any speaker that comes even close. Some are good, some are great, some are fantastic, but none equal the real experience.

If you had to refoam the drivers, they aren't Series II drivers. The Series I and Series II drivers have cloth surrounds and I've never seen the surrounds deteriorate unless they were simply blown up or poked. The walnut trim kit was an optional accessory for the earlier 901's and attached with double-sticky foam tape. The tape can tend to deteriorate so I replaced mine with Velcro. Screwing them down is a definite faux pas and I'd knock $100 off the value of the speakers for that alone. They are also set up in a way that will destroy the what limited sound reproduction quality they possessed in the first place. My set of 901 II's are original, have perfect wood veneer without screws, walnut trim kit and grill cloths, and the original pedestal stands, do I'd have to say they are better looking than yours. Your speaker wires are run more neatly, though. []

Even a row of violinists playing the same notes never really reproduce an identical acoustical signal, we can still tell that more than one violist is playing and if we are close enough, should be able to hear them individual. What I'm talking about is nine drivers all radiating the same signal, and this signal is interacting inside the box as well as interacting outside the box with both direct acoustical waves and those radiated back with a short time delay from the reflecting surface.

Max, why can't we get reviewers like you writing for these audio magazines instead of the relentless stream of techno-babble and fantasy we usually get? Of course, you went to a lot of trouble to simply confirm what I've already said, although I certainly think the way you said it was a lot more fun to read. Your experience with the later model 901's is that same as mine with the earlier model. Why are the 901's the longest-lived loudspeaker line next to Klipsch Heritage? I own Klipsch Heritage, yet bought a pair or 901's and spent twice as much as my venerable Cornwalls cost after their rebuild? I've already said it-- like Klipsch, they are icons of mid-20th Century loudspeaker design. In other words, I bought the appearance, not the performance. My Cornwalls are just the opposite-- They are Stonehenge. Big, hulking ugly boxes that are exceeded in their ugliness only by rear-projection TV sets. The 901's great downfall is that they are harmonic nightmares-- The multiple small speakers in a small box, heavy electronic equalization, and the direct-reflected sound path produces massive amounts of harmonic distortion and spectral reinforcement/cancellation that results in the schizophrenic sound reproduction you mention. 901's as primary speakers tell you all you want to know about the owners-- That they have absolutely no ability to listen critically to their collection of Perry Como and Ink Spots LP's. 901's are simply the upscale replacement for that cheesy RCA console stereo with the red velvet grill cloth and molded plastic colonial trim. That said, will I get rid of my 901's out of a sense of the simple shame of putting them next to a pair of Cornwalls? Not until I go blind and can't see them anymore. By the way, my monolithic Cornwalls have a Philco Predicta TV on one of them and an Edison Home cylinder phonograph on the other one, a couple more icons of design from earlier generations.

So in a few years, all of us bald guys can spend a few thousand dollars and look like Leslie Nielson?

Lord, I can't believe this thread is still going. Folks, the easiest and greatest single improvement you can make in your life is to pull the antenna/cable wire and turn off the TV. I stopped watching commercial TV about fifteen years ago and discovered that not only did I not miss it, I had many, many more hours every week to engage in truly useful activities. The only downside has been that I sound like a mindless programmed zombie as my coworkers do when they discuss these "killing time while waiting for death" entertainments. Yes, there is life after TV, and it is good.