LyleS

Hi I used to have a klipsch original 15” thx sub. (KT-SW 15) I have been very happy with my Svs 20-39 pci cylinder sub. I love klipsch speakers but in my personal experience SVS subwoofer are extremely and consistently well reviewed and as long as you take time to properly set crossover and levels pair very well with klipsch. Given the cost to ship to Italy I would take a bigger model Svs if in doubt. Easily turned down if too much bass. Rather than push a smallish unit too hard.

Bear with me little context is needed: I bought my klipsch KT-LCR based set of speakers 20 years ago. I have had and sold 2 pair of La Scala. used heritage make a great rainy day fund. I have had and passed to family two pair of heresy 1. After my divorce I moved to a smaller place with a 13 by 15 ft living room open to kitchen on one side. The la scala overwhelmed the space physically and sonically. I tried to love the heresy 1 in this room but while great for movie just not what I wanted for music. I just purchased a beautiful set of used klipsch RF5 in black. Spent hours last night loving them using Tidal to play a variety of tracks and artists. The little discussed KT-LCR will be center and surrounds. For 5.1 I used an Svs 20-39 pci sub now. I tried to like some maple klipsch rb3 II as main music speakers but the rf5 are just a whole big step up in stereo enjoyment. I listened in pure direct mode without the sub engaged. My marantz sr7009 is paired with Acurus a125x5 amp. I know now this is a bit of a story. But I just wanted to remind those who are quick to suggest their favourite heritage as the answer to all upgrade questions that each room and associated equipment may be best served by one of the great products in the reference or other lines. You won’t know till you try. So I sold the KT-DS surrounds to one of my kids friends years ago. I am now wondering what to use for atmos rear and front height effect to try out the atmos capability of the Marantz??

Hi, I"ve currently got the following speakers in the main HT: Klipsch KP-301 mains, Klipsch KP 250 center front, center back. Klipsch AW 800's as surrounds. IN the living room I'm using my three THX kt-lcr's in front and some generic surrounds. I found a deal on a great pair of Heresy II's. Should pick them up next week. So.... I can improve the living room system by using the Heresy speakers as mains, or I can improve the HT by putting the Heresy's as center front and back and putting the KP 250's into surrounds. The AW's can move upstairs to the living room. Should be fun trying the various combo's to see what works... Excited about having a fully heritage HT. I built some new stands for the THX-LCR's and they continue to impress me after having them in service for over 12 years. I may try the Heresy in my living room just to see how they compare to the THX speakers. I tend to listen to more music in the living room, and only watch movies, sports in the theater. For what it's worth I've been very very happy with the Klipsch Commercial 250's(heresy equivalent) and 301's (chorus), if you get a chance to buy these models used, highly recommended.

[][Y][][H][] I picked up a different set of Klipsch on Monday. I was previously running the Klipsch Home Cinema THX setup from the mid 90's. I'm now using two Klipsch KP-301 as my main speakers, I have a Klipsch KP-250 as center front and center back, and I re-used the KT-DS thx surrounds from my old setup. The Klipsch THX sub has been replaced with an Electrovoice TL-3512. I'm not sure how old the set is, but they are the models with textured black finish, and no handles or corner protectors on them. I hooked them up to my existing equipment: Parasound Halo C2 Pre-Pro, Denon POA-2800, Acurus A125x5, and Panasonic bluray. All video is routed to either Epson home cinema 700 or 42" lcd LG tv. I've had a couple days now to enjoy and dial them in. I previously had a pair of Klipsch La Scala's (Don't ask, yep I regret selling them.. [:'(][:$] ) The KP-301(Commercial Chorus with ports instead of PR) are probably for music, a better overall speaker in my room. They have a smooth and effortless midrange and treble, and they just do bass better than the la scala's at normal listening levels. The whole setup was put to the test with the new Star Trek BluRay last nite. It was amazing to have lifelike theater volume levels with an effortless display of headroom. They could have done more, but I kept the volume about -15 on my pre-amp. The EV subwoofer is an 18 " driver in a pretty stout enclosure. It is such tight bass. My previous Klipsch KT-SW would be plenty loud, but it's passive radiator design tended to distort pretty easily when pushed low, and it was never that taunt for music. The new sub hits hard at the higher bass frequencies, I may need to follow the manual and plug the port on the enclosure to lower it's tuned frequency from 30 hz down to 25 to explore the lowest stuff in movies. I'm still experimenting with crossover setup, but overall I'm thrilled with the upgrade. I loved the THX setup , but after using them for 12 years, I was ready for a change, and this one turned out to be a great one. The movement to 3way designs for the front and center channels makes for a much better bass presentation for music. I'm now thinking of putting the front 3 speakers on risers to raise their mid horns to ear level when seated, or do most of you guys set the speaker so that the tweeter at ear level ? The room is 24 by 40 ft with 11 ft ceilings, and I am now oriented across one end of the room. (~15 ft wide with one side open to the rest of the room, and 24 ft from front speakers to the back ones.) If you can find a set of either of these Klipsch Pro speakers in home guise, highly recommended. (My 4 speakers and the big EV sub cost $1000.00 used) Lyle.

Ironsave, you definately would enjoy the THX setup as surrounds with your heresys. Contact the poster, maybe in the christmas spirit he'll hold them with a reasonable deposit till payday at the end of the month. Still haven't answered my question about value for my set. Based on the ad in chicago it seems like the whole set is only worth about $600.00 (adding 150 for my KT-sw sub) ??? For that value, I think I'll pass them down to my son who's getting his own appartment after the new year. There is no way to match that level of quality with anything else available for 600.00.

Well I do have a wife, but my current setup is black, and doesn't match the room trim which is a brown walnut. The speaker stands for the current setup have been known to be bumped into by the dogs. I received an email from the seller that says that the KP speakers are finished in a basic black right now, and they must have been the indoor variant as they have no carry handles or wheels on them. So the wife factor is manageable, I'd be moving to reasonable sized floor standing speakers from the KT series, which are pretty big as bookshelves go: see this link for a picture and the sizes: http://www.finest1.com/klipsch/thx.html especially if I sweeten the deal by offering to re-finish the speakers in a Walnut stain to match the hardwood floor and trim in the room. I just found this setup on craigslist, and for the $450 dollars he is asking, I REALLY REALLY recommend this setup to be auditioned by anyone in the area. http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/2109874630.html

Hi, I've been the Happy owner of a set of 1996 vintage Klipsch THX Home Cinema speakers. I have the KT-SW sub, 3 KT-LCR's and two KT-DS surrounds. I've come across an interesting setup for sale locally: 2 KP-301 and 2 KP-250 speakers with an Electrovoice TL3512 subwoofer. I also am looking at a 1970's vintage set of cornwalls. I have a large HT/Family room: 24' by 40 ' with 11 ft ceilings. Currently I'm more than happy with the sound of my current setup, but I'm thinking that if I get the KP's and the Cornwalls I could do a really nice 6.1 setup. 2 Cornwalls as mains, one of the KP-301 as center (Chorus Pro), one of the KP-301 as rear center, and use the KP 250 (Heresy Pro) as side/back surrounds. These speakers were used for about 10 years at a local park to provide a 17 min. video intro for visitors, and thus have never been abused, trucked around to gigs, or driven that loudly. According to the guy at the park, they had a grant last year and just went ahead and replaced the sound system with a new one as part of a reno even tho there were no issues with the existing speakers. So.. thoughts?? from the group?? Are the KP's and the Cornwalls an upgrade from what I currently run? My listening is primarily movies, and concert dvd's, not much for 2 channel audio. Electronics: Parasound Halo C2 pre/pro, Denon POA 2800 2 ch amp, and Acurus A125 x 5 channel amp. I'd probably use one of the channels from the Denon (200 w into 8 ohm) to power the sub for now pending getting a discrete sub amp. To finance the deal I'm trying to figure out a fair price for my existing THX home theater setup. They are a pretty rare setup, not many have and use them, and thus they aren't as well known as the other heritage lines (la scala's, cornwalls, chorus, or heresy's). Thoughts on used value? I think the set was pretty pricey new: ~3500.00 US because of the cost of the THX certification? My other option is to sell only the KT-SW and KT-DS surrounds and forgo the cornwalls and keep the KT-LCR to do a single center between the KP 301's and to use 2 KTLCR for side surrounds with the KP 250's being paired as rear surrounds for 7.1. So is the resale value significantly less for a partial THX set? sub and 2 surrounds ? In order to get the KP units into the house, I plan to pull off the handles and re-veneer them with perhaps 1/4 or 3/8 plywood and finish them with a walnut stain to match the trim in the room. I think I can do the same for the big EV sub, but haven't yet seen it in person. Does anyone have a comparable setup using heritage? Cornwall/chorus mains with heresy surrounds and a huge 18" sub for bass? How do you like it? Thanks in advance for your responses.

Hi, I haven't heard the academy, but I have had the original Klipsch THX set of speakers for a few years now. The KT-LCR is currently performing center, and surround duties with my La Scala mains. It is a great speaker, the only gotcha is that unlike most center channel speakers, this one is designed to be positioned vertically, rather than horizontally. makes for some fun when trying to place it with a TV set. Since I switched to a front projector, I have the center speaker vertical when I watch concert DVD's and it is great. I'd give it a try, heaven knows if you do get five academy's together, you can have a great weekend on EBAY if you decide to part with them. Lyle.

1983 Klipsch La Scala's Raw Birch. $125.00 US (~200.00 Cdn) private sale off the office for sale board... Take these away they are too big for my little house ... Klipsch THX Home Cinema Full Set (3 KT-LCR, 2 KT-DS, 1 KT-SW) in black oak. New in box with full warranty: $1300.00 US (~1900.00 Cdn), I think these retailed for over $4K US when they were on the market. Lyle.

Hi, just a quick suggestion... I've been very happy with my Denon POA-2800 Amp. Dual Mono Design, rated at 200 W into 8 ohm. It is biased class A for the first 15 -20 W?? Nice Clean, quiet, dynamic sound when paired with my La Scala's. Ebay should find one in the < $400 US price point, although they don't show up very often. I found mine at a local pawn shop. Good Luck

Hi, Sorry to hear about your experience. I've had a 61" toshiba HD ready set since 1999. What I learned when I shopped around for my set was as follows: 1. Out of the box a quality 36" direct view TV looks better than most RPTV's. Two things happen with the tube sets. First they aren't big enough to show some of the fine errors that we see so clearly on the big screen sets. Second they don't have the resolution to do HDTV justice. 2. Projection TV's are set in "Torch" mode from the factory to give them the brightest picture on the showroom floor. Usually this is acompanied by an overly blue (cool) colour temp setting. Unfortunately this is often accompanied by a video switch box that sends a crappy dvd or tv signal to the tv's. The only way to tell what a RPTV is capable of is by seeing a set that has been ISF calibrated. You may want to post on AVSForum and see if someone in your city with a calibrated RPTV would let you come by for a look. 3. I have had guests over to see my TV after it was calibrated and they realized that I have a 61" picture that holds it's own with the 36 Sony Wega's of the world for DVD's. The image quality and resolution, colour are the same, but I get a much larger picture. With HDTV my picture is superior to a direct view set(7"CRT's can show more picture information than even the best direct view sets). With regular broadcast TV from a satellite dish, It's kinda a wash, cause Garbage In (low quality compressed signals) equals garbage out (Visible artifacts on the screen. The final thing to check out is that very few stores will hook up dvd or LD with component video cables (Best Picture quality). If they use composite connections (simple yellow cable) and further if they use a splitter box to feed a whole series of sets, you get crappy picture. My best advice is to determine a size you want to buy, a price point you feel fits your budget, and then to do some homework on the net as to what brands seem to receive the best feedback from reviewers, and knowledgeable owners who have taken the time to calibrate the sets properly and to feed them with good quality signals. In simplest terms, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Panasonic all seem to have sets now that respond well to calibration. Finally if buying a widescreen set and planning to watch a fair bit of regular TV, pay attention to the quality of the "Stretch" modes on the sets, some manufacturers seem to have done a better job of making traditional 4:3 material viewable on the widescreen sets with a minimum of visible distortion of the image. I agree with the others that the best place for tons of info is www.avsforum.com, or sites with a heavy video influence such as www.hometheaterspot.com Lyle. PS. Yep I agree it bites to have to spend an additional 300 to 500 to calibrate a set professionally, but in my opinion it was worth it in spades.

Hi, Congrats on your purchase... I think you will really enjoy the THX setup, and yep, you got a great deal... I'm pretty sure the MSRP for that set was over $2500.00 when new. I picked up my set in 1999, for about $1400.00 new from a dealer. Just a couple of random thoughts... 1. Placement... Unlike most current center Channels the KT-LCR was designed to be positioned vertically, not horizontally. I've got mine normally laying down sideways on the RPTV, but will stand it up when listening to a concert on dvd. It does make a difference. To get the best sound stage I try to minimize the vertical difference between the left, center and right channels. So you can either start with the left and right on stands at with tweeters at ear level, and then put the center on a low stand pointing slightly upwards to you, or else if you have the Center on top of an RPTV, you may want to try slightly taller stands and tilt the left and right speakers forward a bit to point to your ear level. Given their design, you want to run all the speakers as small, on the processor and crossover at 80 hz to the subwoofer. The subwoofer has an amazing amount of bass slam * I've measured mine at over 100 DB output) down to about 30 hz, but rolls off pretty steeply below that. The rear surrounds are designed to be placed at either side of the listening position facing forward and back along the side wall. I also had some success in one of my rooms with hanging them from the ceiling on some pole mounts, and actually pointing them forward toward the seating area, and positioning them so that the rear sound bounced off a wall about 3 ft behind the speakers. Final Thoughts... careful level setting of mains vs subwoofer will provide for some amazing movie sound, and surprisingly neutral music listening enjoyment. The KT-LCR seem to work best in my room on stands about 2 ft away from rear and side walls. Hope you enjoy your set... They seem to be one of the more Rare Klipsch setups on this board. Lyle.

Hi, I have the full set of Klipsch THX. In my opinion they are a very under appreciated set of speakers. They have a fabulous midrange, and pretty good treble. Being sealed units they are not going to have much for bass, so plan on crossing them over using the crossover in the SW12. Positioned correctly they image like crazy. I've had my best luck with them placed vertically with the tweeter at or slightly above ear level, and out a foot or more from back and side walls. I'm using La Scala's now for mains, but the THX KT-LCR's are no slouch. Good Luck.

Hi, I've got the THX version of that sub: KT-sw15. It is a great sub as long as you understand it's limitations. When it was designed Pro-logic sound tracks were the norm, and most didn't have any information below 30 hz recorded, so the sub is designed for maximum output from 30 to 100 hz, not down to the 20 hz or lower of some of the newer designs. With movies, only on a few of the toughest soundtracks can I hear a bit of flapping from the woofer that tells me the frequency is too low for it to reproduce. Within it's designed frequency range, it is an SPL champ, I've measured over 105 DB at my listening position (10 ft away from the sub) when setting the bass limiter circuit on my receiver. The 15" driver well well suited to movies, is probably not your best choice for tight bass music reproduction. The age of the design shows here as well. Don't get me wrong, for the price I think you would be hard pressed to find a better quality unit. Mine has been very reliable, and a solid performer. I'm using it in a room that is huge (24 by 40 by 11 ft) and it is able to provide very impressive bass response in the room when placed in an optimal corner position. (about 2 ft from side and back walls) The SW series was about 4 times the cost when new of the ksw series that followed it and by most opinions is significantly better than the Klipsch down firing products. It is interesting to see that the latest and greatest RSW subs have returned to the Passive radiator, forward firing design of the SW series subs. Lyle.

Hi, I've got an KT-SW15 (Similar to the SW-15 II with a fixed 80hz xover) I think that the SW-12 II should be a pretty good compliment to your speakers. A friend of mine had one and it seemed to be a bit tighter/faster in music response than my 15 " sub. I have a set of La Scala's as mains, and the KT-sw15 definately helps to fill out the lower octave that the Scala's are missing. In total sound output my 15" is definately better for movie bass in a larger room than the 12 (SPL king until you get below it's cutoff at 30 Hz). The SW series subs are a big step up in quality from the downfiring cheaper replacements that followed them. The SW series subs are still commanding a fair price as used units, so you should be able to easily sell the sub if you get it and it doesn't really work in your setup. Enjoy.