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I dont know, it's been 2 months and this same guy is still posting his crazy rantings atleast 10 times a day, 7 days a week (and thats only what I am able to see as I only log onto craiglist in the mornings). I think this guy is the real deal when it comes to mental instability. Edit. Forgot to add that his name is apparently Ricardo or RIchard. I'm betting money hes a forum member here. I'm also guessing that the target of his ire, 'Martin' is also a member here. If youre reading this, please stop spamming craigslist dude! It sucks for people who are legitimately trying to use craigsist to find vintage gear and have to navigate your endless fake ads on craigslist!

Anyone in the sf bay area who browses for Klipsch stuff on craigslist? What is up with this guy who posts like 10 times a day with messages like this? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/eld/3712892282.html This guy has been posting for months now and every week his posts get progressively crazier. Its like watching one of those lunatic homeless people who dance naked on the street. Im starting to think 'Martin and his buddy' are his imaginary friends! What is the deal and I'm guessing hes probably a forum member here

rick, same situation as larry with the breaker location. I have tested with the speaker cables disconnected so the interference definitely seems to be coming from behind the wall. I actually placed another smaller speaker on top of the klipschorn when I heard the buzz to see if it was recreated with the other speaker but it didnt work. Im guessing the fact that the Khorns are so sensitive plays a role in picking up the interference.

So Ive owned a beautiful pair of 1970's Klipschorns for about a year now, I use them with a tube set up and love the way they sound. I have the speakers tucked into the corners of a bedroom. One of the corners just happens to be where our breaker box is located on the exterior of the house. A few months ago I started noticing a slight buzz and couldnt figure out where it was coming from. This week it started up again and I finally realized that the left Klipshorn, where the breaker box is located seems to be picking up some kind of electrical interference. Its a very noticable buzz that starts slowly, peaks and then goes away after 30 minutes or so. It only seems to happen when the amp is off, so there is nothing powering the speakers (it may happen when im listening to music as well, but I dont notice it). I think it's pretty safe to assume its the break box causing this. The speaker perform flawlessly otherwise. Has anyone else experienced this and does anyone think this can damage the speakers?

I am thinking of buying myself a Peachtree Audio Nova (80wpc) or the Peactree Audio decco65 (65wpc) for a computer system matched with some Klipschorns. Does anyone have any experience matching these amps with vintage Klipsch?

Back in 2005, while I was in school for a project we performed double blind listening comparions between Lossy (ABX l.a.m.e. encoded mp3) and wav files (perfect bit for bit cd rips via eac). I dont remember exactly how many people we tested but it was around 20 people who were all required to listen to both versions of the same 30 second snippet of a song randomly. Each person had about 15 songs to go through and they did this twice. They then were asked if there was any difference and if so, which sounded better. Music was played via laptop to a fairly highend USB Dac that fed a headroom headphone amp and nice set of higher end Sennheiser headphones. People ranged from your average ipod listener, sound engineer students and self proclaimed audiophiles. In the end the results showed that noone could consistently tell the files apart. One thing we did realize by accident while preparing the tests was that any difference in volume levels, however small, we tended to favor the slightly louder version as sounding better. Another thing was the drastic difference in mp3 encoders. At the time, the LAME encoder was (and still is I think) considered the best mp3 encoder, but we tried others and there was definitely quality differences at the same bitrate. Anyhow, I think lossy music files gained a terrible reputation in the early days because most cd rippers were terrible, encoders sucked and your average computer had crappy sound cards.

Please excuse my ignorance on this subject, are you saying you were limited to 54,000 songs? I have had the Sonos system for about 4 months and have been satisfied with the service and easy of music management, but was unaware of the "limit". tk49 Yes, I was limited to 54,000 songs in my music collection. The number is different for everyone though, but it seems to range from 40,000 to 65,000 files and is largely dependent on how you name your files and how they are tagged (includes embedded artwork).

Just wanted to give you the heads up about the Sonos and an issue I had with it before you purchase. Sonos doesnt publically acknowledge this, but there is a limit on the amount of music you can have in your muic library. Its not a set number as its dependent on a combination of file size + file name + tag information. People have reported the limit being anywhere from 40,000 to 65,000 files. I managed to max out at about 54,000 files. The issue is a hardware one, so even an update in the future will not fix this. I eventually switched to the Logitech Squeezebox system and it works so much better than the Sonos and has absolutely no limits on files. I guess if you plan on having a small music collection then this might not be an issue for you.

I was lucky enough to see a Paragon about a year ago at an estate sale. It was in beautiful condition and probably a steal at about $12,000. It sounded wonderful. Very smooth. There were 4 guys just sitting around who seemed hypnotized by it. They just sat there staring and listening while the estate sale shoppers seemed annoyed that these guys were just plopped in the middle of the living room getting in the way.

Ok, so I ended up buying a set of used Type AA crossovers by Bob Crites instead of simply upgrading the caps. It ended up costing me about the same as caps only in the end. Small complaints about the Crites Crossovers. The way the components are laid out on the board, makes it impossible to drill matching holes that will work with the old screw threads that held the old crossovers. I noticed that this issue is consistent with most of the other crossovers Bob Crites sells on his website. Another issue is that the Crites crossovers have the wire terminal shifted a couple of inches to the right, which makes it tough to use a couple of the older wires for the squacker and tweeter which were cut perfectly for the old crossover. I'm not an electronics expert, but I dont see any reason why these boards cant be configured similarly to the original crossovers. First impressions upon listening: The highs and mids are definitely a bit more pronounced with the new crossovers. Not sure how I feel about this yet, but in general the sound of the klipschorns is better than my old Cornwalls (and far better than my Heresys). My second observation so far is that the bass sounds pretty good when the speakers are placed out in the open, sans corner walls. I was surprised by this, because I've heard so much online about how these speakers ABSOLUTELY need a corner. I placed them in corners and while there does seem to be a very slight improvement with the bass (a bit tighter) I'm really not understanding why people go crazy building false corners or sealing the backs for these speakers when they dont have corner walls. If I didnt have corners to place them in, I could definitely see myself enjoying these speakers out in the open just the same.

Rhetor, The wood is Walnut and the orignal finish is very likely a BLO (boiled linseed oil). Watco Danish Oil is one option, so is a natural Teak and Tung oil. All applied with a 0000 steel wool. The safest and easiest option is just use an all natural paste wax like Daddy Van's and apply with 0000 steel wool.

Thank you for the advice everyone. I've decided to change the caps and keep the old binding posts.

Just picked up a pair of Klipschorns built in the late 1970's and I have a couple of questions. Is it really worth updating the crossover and/or the caps? The speakers sound good to me with the stock crossovers, I'm just wondering, realistically, how much of a difference will the update make? Second question: Obviously these come with the old style spade/screw binding posts. What do you guys recommend for updating to a more modern binding post that takes banana plugs? I want something that is non-invasive without having to do much modifying/drilling/cutting. Thanks!

Is $1500 too much for a pair of Walnut Klipschorns (B style, late 1970's) ? Theyre in decent shape with some veneer loss along the edging strips. Thanks!

I've got a pair of 1980 Cornwall I's that I am restoring but the original paper padding inside both cabinets is torn up to the point that it needs replacing. I'm on a budget so I can't afford to buy similar paper (which is expensive) or even acoustic foam. I do however have about 10' x 10' feet of very nice long thread and fluffy carpet left over from a renovation. My question is: If I replaced the torn/damaged paper with the carpet will it be a suitable replacement and minimize any acoustic changes? Will there be any difference at all? I plan on cutting the pieces to exactly match the dimensions of the original paper padding. Thanks!

I wish I had read this earlier as I never took 'before' pictures. Perhaps I'll post some 'after' photos when I get a chance, but I will summarize what I did for anyone else. First step was taping off the black frontside and rearsides of the speaker cabinets (unless you plan on also refinishing/repainting them as well). The black lacquer was still in perfect condition so I didnt plan to sand or repaint them. Using tape and newsaper make sure they are covered thouroughly otherwise, if any Lacquer Thinner gets on to them, it will ruin the paint and finish. After this was done I took some small white rags and began soaking them with Lacquer Thinner. The stuff is VERY strong so I recommend using gloves (the gloves will likely begin to melt after extended use). After the rags are soaked I began using them to thoroughly saturate the old lacquer finish, one side at a time. edit: working with Lacquer Thinner should definitely be done outdoors with good ventilation! I allow the Lacquer Thinner to settle on the surface for about 10-20 seconds (it evaporates quickly) and then began scraping the old layers of lacquer with an old plastic kitchen spatula. If the old lacquer begins to turn into a jelly and comes off pretty easily then its working properly. (if its not, its possible you have some other finish that is NOT lacquer). Dont expect to get ALL the lacquer off initially, so move on and do all the sides getting as much off as you can. After this is done, its time to get some Steel Wool, it should be about medium in coarseness. Dip the steel wool in the Lacquer Thinner and begin rubbing down all the sides (go with the grain) removing any Lacquer than was left within the grain and or scratches. Repeat if necessary. At this point all the old lacquer should be gone and all that should be left is the wood veneer on your Heresy's (or other klipsch speaker). What happens next depends on the condition of the wood, mine did have some deep scratches so I had to level them out first. DON'T use an electric sander as the layer of wood veneer is fairly thin and you risk sanding through it. I used a rubber sand paper holder and sanded by hand starting with 120 sand paper for the rougher areas and working myself up to 320 and then finally 600 grit sand paper. After all the sides are done youre ready to finish them. Some of you might choose to re-lacquer them or even restain them, I decided to simply apply some Minwax Tung Oil finish which is probably the easiest option and in my opinion looks the best. First start by making sure the wood surfaces are clean and that no dust from the sanding remains in the grain. I used an air compressor to clean it out it. I then took a small lint-less white cloth (you can use an old sock) and used this to apply the Minwax Oil Finish making sure to move with the grain. After giving it a nice coat, you let it dry for about 5-10 minutes and then use another clean rag to buff it smooth. After doing this to all the sides, you let it dry for atleast 24 hours before repeating. Its recommended you do this atleast twice, but the more you do it, the richer the final result will be. I ended up coating mine 5 times and lightly buffing with a super fine steel wool inbetween coats. After my final coat, I buffed it out again with some super fine steel wool until I achieved the luster I wanted. At this point I removed the tape and newspaper that was covering the front and rear of the speakers which should've been protected from all the work that was done. The final result was definitely a HUGE improvement over the old 25+ year lacquer finish that was marred with scuffing and scratches. The color is also darker and richer. It took me about a week total to achieve but the serious work (lacquer removal and sanding) took about 2-3 hours to do, the rest was just waiting inbetween coats. I am by no means an expert at restoring furniture or old speakers, but just wanted to pass along what worked for me if anyone was interested.

Thanks everyone for the information! I started using Lacquer Thinner and WOW, this is definitely a very messy (and toxic) process! I went at it with rags initially and then started using steel wool which seemed to work better. That said, its definitely working and the wood veneer looks great underneath. Next up is some light sanding and then some Minwax Tung Oil finish.

I managed to score a set of early 80's Heresy HWL. According to what ive been able to find online, HWL indicates a laquered Walnut finish. I was wondering what you guys recommend for refinishing. They actually arent bad at all, but I prefer an oil finish. Can I sand them down and apply oil? Also where can I order or find a set (or single) Klipsch replacement badge for one of them? Thanks!