Music Luva

Especially in design and listening audience. The Epics are better suited for tubes and a large deep room. I prefer the KLFs for intensity, stage centering and overall efficiency suited for solid state gear. I prefer hard rock, heavy metal, alternative and classic rock. Along with dual duty for home theater listening. Based on my personal experience and listening tastes, the KLFs are like being front row to a rock concert. While the Epics are like being in the center of a theater at an Opera.

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I'll be the first to admit, there was nothing economical about my approach. I did a complete refresh (woofers, tweeters and crossovers). If you do it, you'll never get your money back if you sell. In fact, the next guy would get one heck of a pair of KG's for half of what you paid if you do. First off, I was bored, . My love for music and movies hasn't faded in over 25 years. I've gotten busy for periods of time and have to reintroduce myself to my passion. But every time I fire up my theater, I'm reminded why I love it so much. And wonder why I let things distract me. I wanted to try the Crites upgrades out. For me, I want to keep my KGs and KLFs forever. And I realize parts wear out. At some point, any pair you own or buy will need refreshing. I'm not the type to recone speakers. I simply don't have the patience or work space. And I really didn't want to venture too far from the stock look. I considered Parts Express for the woofers, but I felt if I went that route, I wouldn't feel like I had Klipsch speakers afterwards. The woofers I found on eBay are almost identical in appearance and offer better sound reproduction. I will say this, the Crites crossovers and tweets are the most noticeable change you can make. The tweets are spectacular. No, I'm serious, they are phenomenal compared to OEM IF you enjoy subtleties in your highs and mids. And the crossovers have a quality about them that almost makes you want to look at them all day. With the KG 5.5's he supplies replacement wiring. The whole kit is absolute quality top to bottom. Compared to OEM, you feel like you bought a small bookshelf speaker to put inside your floorstanding speaker. I can't say enough. You might want to go that route first. Use Crites tweets and crossovers. Then, in time, address the woofers as they need replacing. Replacing the woofs is a 15 minute project that doesn't require anything but a screwdriver. If you do the tweets and crossovers last, you'll have to breakdown the entire cabinet. Considering the center speaker is the most important part of your staging and the tweets and crossovers would be the most important components in the equation, I would recommend using OEM woofs until later. You'll appreciate the staging from Crites gear. I'd like to see pics when you're done. Good luck!

I'd like to finish by saying the Crites family make quality products and provide great and friendly service. I was thrilled to find their titanium tweeter upgrades. I was amazed to see the quality crossovers they produce. And I've always been appreciative of their fast and friendly service. If you're thinking of taking the Crites plunge, you won't be disappointed.

Input Connectors

Installed

Crites crossover

Crites crossover vs. Klipsch OEM crossover

I got the crossovers in and couldn't wait. So, I installed them over the weekend. During installation, I discovered I had blown one of the titanium tweeters. Well, technically, a blown stock crossover led to the destruction. Bob helped me diagnose the problem and responded promptly to my emails. Once we found the problem, I ordered another pair of tweets and they came in today. I've been listening to the completely refreshed towers for a few hours. I am not completely done. My first attempt to re-secure the foam to the cabinet failed. Over time, the glue had dried and the foam was freely moving about in the cabinets. I'm going back this weekend with Gorilla Glue. After replacing every component in the KG 5.5's with upgrades, I am very pleased with the outcome. Aesthetically, the upgrades are practically seamless except for the beauty rings on the new woofers. Musically, the towers seem to be less strained in sound. The titanium tweeters have completely warmed up the stage. The woofers are deeper and fuller. And the crossovers have added depth to the bottom end and a richness to the top. They are not as "in your face" as the KLF-10's, but they have nice balance at all volumes and are a very warm sounding all around performer. I definitely am pleased with the results. Here are some pics of the crossovers...

Well, here I am 3 months later. Last weekend I finally moved the KG 5.5's as the mains to my P-965 and A-965. I demoted the CF-3's to the living room. On my separates, I can definitely notice the new drivers are started to break in nicely. I'm listening to Dave Matthews right now. The Crites tweeters are definitely a nice upgrade. I can hear subtleties previously I could not in anything I audition. The stock KG 5.5 tweets tended to shrill at higher volumes compared to my KLF-10s. Now, I don't notice it as I've listened to AC/DC, Counting Crows, Alice in Chains and others. I always thought the stock K-85-K tweets seemed very metallic in sound. The Crites titanium tweets seem to almost breathe with the music. It's almost like the tweeter doesn't get in the way of the music. They are more subtle, soft and elegant. It's a nice tweak to some great towers. In comparison, the KLF-10's seem to scream music. Which is great for rockin' out and staging for metal and hard rock. I like the Crites tweets, a lot. To my ears, they definitely shine in clarity, separation and warmth. I can sense that with tube preamp and amp, these tweets would almost make any room feel like a recording studio on softer songs. They really do highlight the absence of sound. Quiet passages are very noticeable between and during tracks. They are a definite and must have upgrade to any KG 5.5s. The woofers I found seem to be great upgrades to the stock K-1023-K woofs. In a previous review, I felt the K-1023-K's seem to let bass roll off at higher volumes. They didn't try to wrangle the notes and hold on to them. They produce them loosely and let them go quickly. Unlike the KLF-10's which simply bare down, white knuckle and beat bass into submission. The KLF-10's have always impressed me with their ability to ground and pound bass. The upgraded woofs are very punchy. They are a bit deeper and more controlled compared to the K-1023-K's. While they don't grip bass like the KLF-10's, they are very true to the notes and sound very taut. At higher volumes they perform similarly to the K-1023-K's as they allow bass to roll off. But not as loosely. Again, very tight and punchy. On a last note, I've also been watching a few movies with the 5.5's as the mains on my separates. I'm using my KLF-C7 as the center with my KLF-10's as the rears. I have noticed vocals to be better staged, but the woofers seem to leave a gap in the front. For my taste, they blend a little too much with the KLF-C7's 8in woofers. The KLF-10's are all around champs and dominate the front stage in an excellent fashion. They blend seamlessly with the KLF-C7 on vocals but strand front and center on all bass passages. They definitely create an awesome movie experience. While the upgraded KG 5.5's seem to leave you expecting a little more in action sequences. I noticed this with the stock KG 5.5's. So I don't think it's a knock on the upgrades. I think the KLF's are simply much better all around speakers. No disappointments at all on my upgraded KG 5.5's. They got better in music and movies. But the improvement is more noticeable in music. It's just hard to listen to them and not know what the KLF-10's bring to the table. Next up: The Crites KG 5.5 crossover. I am ordering the Crites KG 5.5 crossover and plan to do the install sometime around early July. I'm looking forward to it.

KV-4 Side

KV-4 Front with Grill

KV-4 Rear

KV-4 Front without Grill

Product Label (faded)