skrapid3

Thanks Amy, they truly look beautiful indeed. 2 questions though... * What about the center speaker - any shots available? * I would almost literally die for a Klipsch THX Ultra2 upgrade (something above my current KL-650) "based" on the 3-way Palladium design. And rest assured - I WILL keep asking and suggesting this for a very long time to come [6] Any comments from the tech guys about this possibility?[]

Well, I have been a proud and satisfied owner of a Klipsch THX Ultra2 7.2 system (7x KL650) ever since it was introduced in 2004 (I got the very first set that was ever sold in Austria...). Last year I got bored and was beginning to think about an upgrade - looking for the "next best thing". As I'm not into the Klipsch Heritage stuff (I know, I know - blasphemy...say no more) the Klipsch Premier(e) line catched my eye - probably one of the most beautiful speaker I have ever seen. One sad day Amy confirmed that this project has been cancelled. So I was looking at some other brands for my upcoming upgrade - doing alot of auditioning (KEF Reference, JBL Synthesis/K2, Teufel,...) and was finally about to make a decision. What happens? - Klipsch is back with the new Palladium P-39F. Not quite as striking as the previous Premiere design but that may change when I actually see it in person. A couple of questions: Hopefully the designer/product manager cares to chime in. - Will a black piano gloss finish be available for the P-39F? - How would you describe the sonic signature of the upcoming Palladium? Please compare it to THX Ultra2 (KL650), Reference RF-5/7 and the new RF-82/83 - all of which I have first hand experience with. - Regarding the last sentence in the press release: " For a complete home theater experience, six other globally-inspired high-end models, which use the same technology and design principles as the P-39F, will be introduced at CES 2008 in Las Vegas." Please give us some hints about those 6 upcoming Palladium based designs - I expect a somewhat "smaller" Floorstanding Speaker, a center, a surround di/bi-pole and probably a bookshelf. Perhaps a subwoofer with a new design. - MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: Are there any plans for a THX Ultra2 successor? It has been quite a while since 2004... Is it correct that the "THX Ultra2" lead designer has left Klipsch? Is this making development difficult? To be perfectly honest - and with all due respect - I am not quite sure I would take the Palladium P-39F over other options in this price segment - we are talking brands like KEF, Wilson, Revel here... It will be a hard sell in this highly competitive market segment - I wish Klipsch all the success they deserve. What I am really looking forward to is that some of the Palladium technology (drivers, extended high-frequency response, new high-temperature neodymium magnets, 3-way design,...) will make it into an improved THX U2 successor. Am I just day dreaming here or is there something to look forward to for all your high end home theater/custom installs enthusiasts, who are not quite as excited about the THX U2 performance now as we were back in 2004? Thank you very much!

La Scala is limited to 15-17 khz usable (+/- 3 db) upper frequency. 20 khz usually is -20db...

I think when "god" would have stayed with his first (draft) design for an egg just because it was somewhat "right" and worked it wouldn`t have become so popular... -> its called evolution. But I take it that you were not serious about your "argument". I think ANYONE can see that the Klipschorn (designed for large cinemas when we just had tubes with a few watts output) and La Scala (designed for Winthrop Rockefeller's election campaigns if I recall it right) in particular are not "right" for the market as it is. They never were intended to. They are as much of a niche product as anything out there. What puzzles me is that Klipsch has a whole lot of mainstream products - and then there is that heritage niche. But there is nothing in between. And performance wise I just cannot accept that 60 (!!!) years of technological progress, experience and development work have passed and many/most of us still consider Klipschorn and La Scala Klipsch's finest.

OK, I get your points. I know that Heritage is STILL great. But you guys will admit that there are "some" reasons to not put a "wooden box" like that into your HT or living room for that matter - no offense. And it is not all great about them either - eg. the rather limited frequency response shows in comparison with modern driver designs - again no offense. It is funny that you guys mentioned JBL. Now we are talking. JBL is doing EXACTLY what I would like to see from Klipsch. They are taking their "old" design principles and combine it with the most recent, most advanced technology on the market - building a real statement speaker every 5-10 years. One that is reminiscent of their heritage/tradition but shows that they actually learned and improved over the last 60 years. Take their most recent consumer statement product - K2 S9800SE. No comment needed. I know you cannot earn alot of money with a product retailing for around $ 20k a pair. But isn't that the quintessence of a statement product - it is not about making money but showing what you can accomplish as a company - giving your company identity. Continiously showing what great things your company WAS able to accomplish some 50 years ago is probably not the best statement to make...

So in the end you are saying that all we can expect from Klipsch in the future are some new $ 2000.- "Reference" speaker generations/iterations and some special/Jubilee/anniversary Heritage editions. Are there no intentions to come up with a new real statement product?

As current Klipsch THX2 Ultra owner I was absolutely SHOCKED when I experienced a La Scala system last week. This "ancient" design managed to blow away my THX2 Ultra - in fact they pretty much embarrassed it IMHO. Why is it that after all those years the best Klipsch speakers there are are still the Klipschorn and La Scala. Anything developed since then can not touch it IMHO. Is there any chance we will get Klipschorn/La Scala level of performance (dynamic, detailed sound) from the upcoming Premiere products? Is that in fact one of the design goals of this series (beside the fancy looks) - this question goes to Klipsch´s tech staff? Klipschorn performance combined with a modern concept and design. Or can/must we expect Klipschorn/La Scala remaining the best performing Klipsch product for another 50 years...

"Dying or Dead" Maybe we should here some official word about it...AMY, PLEASE help me out !

After finding myself looking at the very same pictures of Klipsch's Premiere line (hint: found them on the homepage of the german distributor) for weeks now I thought to myself we should discuss that exciting product here again. I was looking forward to get some news about the Premier line from CES but was utterly disappointed. I understand that CES was used to launch the new Reference lineup. BUT those new speakers are more of an evolutionary step and will IMHO hardly motivate anybody with an high-end Klipsch setup to rush out and buy them. I'm a (proud) owner of the complete THX2 Ultra setup, which I'm very satisfied with in general. BUT since I saw those pictures of the Premiere line (as it looked by the end of 2005, it is still work in progress I suppose) I was simply awestruck. Most amazing and most beautifull pair of speakers I have ever seen - and I have seen quite a few... I even prefer (the looks of) them over JBL K2 S9800's - and that's quite a statement. I take it that the Premiere line is still "work in progress" (as it was for the last couple of years...). Nevertheless I have some questions: - Was there any hint of them at this years CES?!? - Is at least the design (shown at the german distributor's homepage, sample unit dated August 2005) FINAL? As I said before: Most awesome looking (horn) speaker ever IMHO! PLEASE do not change a thing!!! - "Stupid" question but any hint about the expected timeframe for the launch would be VERY much appreciated. (CEDIA 2006 would be a great opportunity to launch something like that ;-) ... - Targeted price range? - Is any (all) information from the "official" press release from last year still valid? - ARE THEY COMING for sure, or is even that uncertain at the moment? - Anyone here ever got in touch with one of those babys? I'm desperate to get any info/hint/speculation there is?!? THANK YOU in advance!

After finding myself looking at the very same pictures of Klipsch's Premiere line (hint: found them on the homepage of the german distributor) for weeks now I thought to myself we should discuss that exciting product here again. I was looking forward to get some news about the Premier line from CES but was utterly disappointed. I understand that CES was used to launch the new Reference lineup. BUT those new speakers are more of an evolutionary step and will IMHO hardly motivate anybody with an high-end Klipsch setup to rush out and buy them. I'm a (proud) owner of the complete THX2 Ultra setup, which I'm very satisfied with in general. BUT since I saw those pictures of the Premiere line (as it looked by the end of 2005, it is still work in progress I suppose) I was simply awestruck. Most amazing and most beautifull pair of speakers I have ever seen - and I have seen quite a few... I even prefer (the looks of) them over JBL K2 S9800's - and that's quite a statement. I take it that the Premiere line is still "work in progress" (as it was for the last couple of years...). Nevertheless I have some questions: - Was there any hint of them at this years CES?!? - Is at least the design (shown at the german distributor's homepage, sample unit dated August 2005) FINAL? As I said before: Most awesome looking (horn) speaker ever IMHO! PLEASE do not change a thing!!! - "Stupid" question but any hint about the expected timeframe for the launch would be VERY much appreciated. (CEDIA 2006 would be a great opportunity to launch something like that ;-) ... - Targeted price range? - Is any (all) information from the "official" press release from last year still valid? - ARE THEY COMING for sure, or is even that uncertain at the moment? - Anyone here ever got in touch with one of those babys? I'm desperate to get any info/hint/speculation there is?!? THANK YOU in advance!