George Roland

I have only heard Quad 2905s and my own, recently-acquired, ESL-63s, so I can only speak about them. My ESL 63s sound very detailed, cohesive and liquid with very high timbre resolution and no listener fatigue. I have found them to be among the least colored speakers I have ever heard. They do not go very deep in the bass though the bass that is there is detailed. They will not play at ear bleeding levels, but for voice, classical and acoustic music at reasonable volume levels, they are wonderful. If you were inquiring about the original ESL, now also called the ESL-57, I cannot help you. I'd love to hear a pair of these myself! Try posting a note on the Planar Speaker Asylum and see if anyone in your area has a pair you could listen to. If you're ever in N.W. PA, you can come hear mine. Enjoy your music! George

This Web site: http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_dept_.htm has in-depth information on Thorens tables. You should check it out. I have the TD 125 Mk I and Mk II, and they are fine tables, but are rather different from the TD 124. I believe the TD 124 has a much heavier platter, is driven by an idler wheel whereas the TD 125 is belt driven, has an electronic speed control. Both are good, solidly built tables. I have never heard a direct comparison between them sonically. Perhaps someone on this forum who has can inform us about that? George

Carl, I never fooled around with changing the crossovers. I used Bob's crossovers. George

Hi Carl, Right you are! I had to try a pair of Altec drivers with my K-horns and paired a set of Altec 290-16 drivers with 311/60 horns. The openness and clarity of this combination was the best sound overall I ever heard with my K-horns. I guess one can tweak endlessly, but if I were going to stay with the K-55V driver, I'd recommend Trachorns. If you are interested in these large-diameter Altec drivers, they are really smooth and detailed. In my experience better than anything attached to a K55V. Enjoy your music!

After the 511Bs were sold, I bought Al's Trachorns and made a small wooden bracket (whose design I stole from Al but adapted to a smaller size, again so I could play around with positioning and aiming. I used Bob's tweeters and crossovers, and the K-horns never sounded better. The Trachorn was the best sound I was able to get with the K-55V driver. Enjoy your music! George

I had 511Bs on my K-horns for quite awhile and then Al's Trachorns both using the stock K-55V driver. I never tried to mount the 511Bs inside the K-horn top hat because I wanted to be able to move them left or right to better aim the sound in the room. Built some quick stands for them. They sounded better than the Klipsch squawker horn for certain. George

When I had my K-horns, I tried Bob's tweeters and a pair of JBL "Baby Cheeks". I much preferred the smoothness of Bob's tweeters. I also used his crossovers, and the improvement they made was not subtle. One thing I really liked about the tweeters was that you could simply unscrew the horn from the driver, and that allows you to flush-mount the horn in a recess routed into the baffle. I compared this to the tweeter mounted behind the baffle, and the tweeters sound better flush mounted on the front. Enjoy your music! George

You could try Vinyl Nirvana. That guy knows turntables, and while the site focuses on AR tables, the restorer owns, respects and works on Thorens tables too. Cheers, George

Interesting thread! I agree with Cut-throat that listening before you buy speakers is a good idea. However, I am sure I am not the only audiophile who bought a pair of speakers I HAD listened to and became disenchanted with them over time. Listening, sometimes extensive listening, doesn't always equate with long term satisfaction. It just increases the odds. After all, your room, your electronics and your taste all have to fit correctly and auditions seldom reproduce those conditions. Lately I have been buying speakers, used, that I have not heard. In the last several years, I have bought (and sold) Magnepan MG 1.6QRs and a pair of Klipschorns. My most recent acquisition, a pair of Thiel CS 3.6s are still under consideration. In each case, I was able to listen to my music in my space with my electronics over as long a period of time as I wanted. Of course, having a living room that looks like a audio dealer's showroom doesn't exactly make the wife jump for joy, especially when I had the Maggies, my PSB Stratus Golds and the K-horns in there all at once! I just turned 60. The kids are educated and out on their own. I am able to afford to do this, I enjoy it and I can generally recoup most of the cost of the speakers I'm trying out in resale. If you come to the States, I'm sure someone here who has Jubs would host an audition. If it is cheaper to order the Jubs and have them delivered, and you have the income to do it, why not? If you like K-horns, like the Klipsch sound, and have read and conversed with the folks here who know both systems well, you're not going into it completely blind. Good luck with your decision. George

Hi Frank, Thanks for the kind words! I built it myself. The sides are poplar (two 2/3 inch pieces glued together). The horizontal strips on top and bottom of the Trachorns are also poplar. The baffle for the tweeter is 3/4 inch birch plywood routed for the tweeter and the little brackets that hold the tweeter in position are just pine. I'll try to put here a view of the rear that should make it clear. I pretty much stole the design from looking at the bracket on Al's Web site, but I modified it to be less wide so I could rotate it at different angles atop my K-horn bass bins. Fun stuff to play with for sure.

I used one of Bob's tweeters mounted vertically alongside my Trachorns, and they sounded great to me that way. My first attempt was with the tweeters mounted behind the 3/4 inch baffle. There was a noticeable improvement with the second version where the horn was flush mounted in the baffle.

Back in the '70s, I succumbed to Bose's hype, which at that time was, "Bring home a legend", and brought home a pair of 901 IVs. Of course they sounded hugely spacious, scattering sound all over the place, and it was seductive...for a little while. Then I noticed that the sound of one singer sounded like it was billboard sized, bloated like someone singing in a barrel. I sold them and bought a pair of Cornwalls. George

I never have heard the Beyma, but I heard the K-77, the JBL 2404s and Crites CT-125 with BC's crossovers on my K-horns, and I much preferred Bob's tweeter. To me it was the smoothest and best sounding of the three. Of course, the crossovers were done by Bob and matched to his tweeter. Maybe with custom crossovers, made for them, the JBLs would have faired better. Cheers, George

I am interested in hearing from anyone with experience in comparing these two speakers who can comment on their quality. Is one clearly a better speaker? What are the strengths/weaknesses of each? Thanks, George

I have two Thorens TD 125s, a Mark I and a Mark II. Both have SME 3009 II tonearms, cost about $400.00 used and are excellent tables--built like a tank. I have been very satisfied with them. I also had a TD 160 with the stock Thorens arm--very nice table. I think the AR turntable with the Sumiko tonearm is also very good. I use a Shure V15VmxMR cartridge which to my ear is very neutral, tracks very well and is highly detailed. Good luck with your search for vinyl heaven! George

My apologies to you and to any others who were offended by my notice of this auction. I have apparently made an error in Klipsch Forum etiquette of which I was unaware. I have seen so many postings here alerting members to items for sale on e-Bay or Audiogon, that I didn't realize there would be offense taken if I did so myself. Sorry, George

Bob, Thank you very much for the heads up on that. I will modify the e-Bay listing to make that clear. I certainly do not want to cause trouble for any unwary Klipschorn owner. Do you have any objection to my pasting your e-mail into the e-Bay listing? Best, George

I have a one-year old pair of Crites' replacement K-horn netowrks for sale on e-Bay. See http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190144552220. Thanks, George

Yow! My last post got truncated and mangled when I added a photo! I am offering for sale to Forum Members a pair of ALK Trachorns, Crites' CT125 tweeters and K-horn modified (4500 Hz) crossover networks. Details and photos can be seen on the Web at this URL: http://webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/art/TrachornTweeterSite/index.html My email address is: george.roland@allegheny.edu Shoot me an e-mail with questions or offers. Thanks, George

http://webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/art/TrachornTweeterSite/index.html

I'm considering options for the Trachorns. I have them, Bob's CT-125 tweeters and modified crossovers that, with a pair of K-55Vs would make a complete top section for a K-horn. I made a bracket the correct height for insertion into a K-Horn top hat. It's shorter than spec, but could be made the correct size with two table saw cuts to the sides and longer cross pieces. Not a biggie. Add grilles and it's done! I try to shoot some pix tomorrow and post them on the Web. Keep in touch! George

You know, I think they look worse in the photos than they do in person. Once the old finish is stripped, it's really just a matter of some wood filling and sanding--not much more involved for twenty dings as opposed to ten when you're wielding the ol' putty knife. With a little care, someone is going to have a really nice-sounding pair of K-horns to enjoy at a very reasonable price. George

Yeah, that would be awesome. Okay, thanks for the feedback. I put these up on e-Bay with a $700.00 opening bid, no reserve. Let's see what happens! George

If you'd like to see the pictures, here's a Web link: http://webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/art/K_horn_Site/index.html Thanks, George

Sorry, I forgot my signature information, which should be ignored regarding this posting. These K-horns have the stock Klipsch configuration--K55V on K400 horn, K77 tweeter (round magnet) and Klipsch Type AA network. I will probably be selling my ALK Trachorn, Crites CT-125 tweeters and Crites' modded crossovers separately. They are NOT part of this offering. George