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Why? IMHO, the Heritage line of speakers are the best speakers that Klipsch has to offer (ignoring the current halt on production). They make some other very good speakers that offer great value in their price classes, but the Heritage series is on another level. Although the prices people are paying for used Heritage speakers may seem high, they really aren't. Those same speakers cost quite a bit new in today's prices (again, ignoring the pause in production): $6k and up for Khorns, $4k for Belles, $3K for La Scalas. The Cornwall would probably cost close to $3k new if it were available. People are buying these speakers on the used market for quite a bit less than that. Even at prices for new speakers, the Heritage speakers still offer great value when compared to other "High-End" speakers offered by other manufacturers. Buying these speakers used allows someone to acquire some very high performance speakers for really, not a lot of money. They are also built extremely well -- made from real wood, no vinyl coverings. They are made to last and as long as they are not abused (and they can take a lot of abuse!), they can last for decades without needing anything. My Heritage speakers from the '70's still sound great and have needed nothing in terms or maintenance or repairs. Just because they are old, doesn't mean they are "out-of-date". These speakers can compete with anything made today. Buying Klipsch Heritage speakers used is one of the great audio bargains out there. Just ignore the salesman from the "High-end audio salon" who may lift his nose at you, you probably have better sound than he does.

Thanks for the info! After taking a look at the JBL site, I saw that they may not be the best for subwoofers. I'm not really looking to extend the bass of the Khorns. I'm really looking for a sub for home theater use for the dedicated LFE channel. Still, the price is very tempting...

My '78 La Scalas have the Klipsch logo located in the same position. They came that way from the factory. Check the back panel for the serial number. It should be stamped in the wood on the top edge of the back panel. It is right in front of the crossover on my speakers.

Those look pretty impressive and seem to be a GREAT deal! Would you recommend those as subs for Khorns, and if so, how many as a minimum? I'm not as familiar with JBL as I am with Klipsch. I had been thinking about building my own subs using some of those 18" JBL's, but these are already in a cabinet and are a great deal if they will work in my application.

John Albright is correct. If you have solid-state equipment, you should leave all of you equipment ON all the time. The only time you should turn it off is if you are going to be away for a while, for electrical storms, or if you are connecting/disconnecting equipment. This may sound counterintuitive, but your equipment will last longer this way. Many of the very expensive gear are designed this way (i.e., they don't have power switches in front, or maybe only a standby switch with the power switch in the back -- to be turned OFF only on rare occasions).

I think this forum has a qide variety of members, most of them being interested in home theater. I have seen the AA board, and it does seem that more of the members there are more interested in 2-channel and are more DIY-types -- more technical on average. There are some very technical people here though. I too prefer the older heritage designs and wish they would have more of the spotlight on them. I hope the new Khorn Jubilee does make it to production as its design is in the same class as the Heritage speakers. At this point, my first preference would probably be the Moondogs. I would only consider the ASL because of its price. The Tulip was actually the ASL I was thinking about. I wouldn't have a problem with building a kit myself, but I do like going the used route. Buying and selling used equipment on the internet has allowed me to audition quite a few pieces of equipmnet in my own system without suffering financially.

I saw a pair of black Forte II's for sale at Hudson's Audio in Albuquerque. They appeared to be in mint condition. The asking price was $500. 505-296-6978.

Set them up and listen to them. Don't worry about making any modifications to them for quite some time. You may decide you are perfectly happy with the way they sound just the way they are. As for amplifier recommendations, there are plenty of recommendations on this board. The amplifier choice is a very important one -- make no mistake about that. The most common suggestion is to get a SET tube amp. Although I have never been able to audition a Khorn/SET combo, I have heard nothing but good (GREAT)things about it. I myself have been thinking about taking this route as well. The brands that I have considered are Welborne Labs, Wright Sound Company, and Antique Sound Labs. Of course there are others as well. As far as the SS vs. Tube amplifier question goes, you will get votes from both sides. This is a choice you will have to make for yourself. I myself would lean toward tubes. I have only had one tube amp in my system, but it easily bested every other SS amp I have ever owned -- some of them being very highly regarded (and expensive) SS amps. If possible, you will be able to make the wisest choice by being able to audition the amps at home with your Khorns. You've got some great speakers -- take the time to make a wise amp choice.

Sorry to hear about your situation Ray. I have heard that exact same story way too often. In fact, I've even had to tell it myself. Hopefully things will get better soon.

Mobile: I'm not sure where all the "old" members are, or if they are still around. This forum has been around for quite some time -- I'm not even sure when it started. I have been signed on for over two years, and was lurking for even longer than that. With so many new members joining this forum every day, sometimes a topic is brought up again that had just recetnly been beaten to death. I know that sometimes I get tired of responding to the same topics over and over again, so I don't always reply. If fact, I don't even read every post. As far as leaving equipment on all the time, that is something that I have been doing for the past couple of years (at least with my SS stuff). I have only had tubes for about the past year, and I don't feel comfortable leaving them on when I'm not home. I've seen how red hot a tube can get when it burns out and am afraid of the fire hazard. I wish I knew about leaving SS gear on all the time though, my old HK amps would probably still be working fine. Those things had gone through a ton of power cycles in their lifetime and started showing signs of problems after about ten years or so. As far as SET's go, that is something that I have been thinking about for the past year or so. That is a direct result of the Klipsch forum. I've thought about several brands and had probably narrowed it down to either Wright or Welborne (leaning more towards Welborne). Although the ASL Tulip is one that also looks good. It could be that those "old" members are too busy listening to music to pay much attention to this forum anymore...

Q-Man: Sounds like you may end up working on this before I do! You'll have to let me know how it goes if you do end up refinishing all your speakers. The La Scalas seem like they may be the toughest to do in the bass bin area. I have some as well and have been guesstimating that it could be difficult in that area.

Without actually hearing the speakers, it sounds to me that John may describing what the problem is. If your friend's La Scalas have the same problem, then there is a good chance that nothing is wrong with the speakers and you are just hearing cabinet resonances which are prevalent with La Scalas. The resonances should only happen during low notes and at somewhat loud volumes. You won't likely notice the resonances at lower volumes. Bracing the cabinet can help reduce these resonances.

Q-Man: Wow!! Thanks for your generosity! Your offer is the Klipsch Forum at its best -- members going out of their way to help other members. I will be sending you my address. Thanks!! I have talked to you about my plans before. I have several speakers that I want to refinish because they all have different finishes. I really was hoping to refinish them in a dark cherry/mahogany type of color, but I figured the only way I can get them to look alike is to finish them in black. I really didn't want them to look like they were just painted black, I really want them to look nice. I figured if I can get that glossy piano black finish then I would be pretty happy. I have not started this project yet and probably won't for a while as I have had a bit of a detour to my original plans. I will try to practice on some scrap before actually trying it out on some Heresies. Then I will move on to the larger and more challenging speakers. Right now, I am just in the research and information gathering stage so I can determine the best way to tackle the job (or even determine if it's doable by an amateur).

quote: Originally posted by mobile homeless: ...Which brings me to a very important point that I havent seen mentioned in this place. Leaving the equipment on... kh Mobile: This topic, and many others, have and do get discussed in this forum. These discussions just happened before you got here. Just a friendly reminder that there are now over 8000 members on this board, and you can't really stereotype us into one bunch. Some people here do think wire makes a difference while others don't. Some prefer SS, others prefer tubes. There are people here who are running SET amps. Some members use AVR receivers in multi-channel systems while others use separates in two-channel only. There are some who have thousands and thousands of dollars invested in their systems and there are those who only have Pro-Medias. We all have different tastes, viewpoints, preferences, budgets, and priorities. The one common thing we share is that we are all Klipsch fans. I am happy to learn that you are now part of this club. BTW: I have enjoyed reading your contributions to this forum. Keep up the good work!

I might be interested in the horn trade.

Q-Man: Thanks for the help!! I know you're a pro at this sort of thing, so I'm glad to get some of your expert advice!

I will likely take the advice of practicing on pieces of scrap before actually trying it on a speaker. If it turns out well then I will do the speakers and will have photos to post.

This may very well be what is needed to help save the Heritage line. No dealers have them on display, and those that can't listen to them are not likely to buy them. If Heritage doesn't sell, they have no reason to keep them in production. I don't mind helping out others and helping to save the Heritage line at the same time.

There are plenty of Heritage speakers in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. I've got La Scalas and wouldn't mind letting you listen to them.

I don't have any updates yet. I haven't even started working on this project. I'm still in the information gathering stage. It's gonna be a while. If I do trying this out, I will post photos if it comes out successful.

The odds of you replacing a defective woofer with another defective woofer are extremely low. That's why I said you should look for other problems. In general, woofers are pretty durable so they would have to be abused to get damaged. It doesn't sound like that has happened (at least not with the new one that you replaced). For starters, can you connect your speakers to another stereo system to see if you still get that problem? It's hard to say what the problem could be without more info. Try to do some detective work.

If you've already had to replace two woofers, I don't think the problem is with the speakers. Look elsewhere for possible problems.

I've got the VT-50 and love it. It's the only tube amp I have ever owned. I like it better than all the other amps I have had, which have included Rowland, Threshold, Classe, HK, and Adcom.

The price seems resonable. http://www.audioshopper.com/cgi-bin/classifieds.asp?action=showad&id=59381

How much current does your amp require? That should be somewhere in your manual. If you don't know that answer, you probably know what the size of fuse is supposed to be on the power cable. That should tell you the minimum current you need to supply.