Ziggurat

I'm not intent on switching my drivers at all, in fact, I would rather not. Because I do not have a basis for comparison, I have asked Roy (others have offered their opinions) if I am in some way disadvantaged by having the 1132's in my setting. If not, great. What exactly would I stand to gain? No idea. The only thing I can conclusively state is that everyone I have read about prefers TAD drivers to other comers, with comments that hover around 'more smooth and natural'. So there must be something in swapping out. As you point out, the next leap will be into active crossover territory, then to a horn bass bin. I have absolutely no doubt that these moves will be 'endgame' for me. Even if I had to stop right now, I'd say I have a sound that most people would not have experienced, and I'm pretty damn happy. The Altec 19's, by virtue of being classics, deserve to be returned to their glory. Plus I now have a La Scala(ish) speaker that needs a birthday. I hope to focus future energy on these projects rather than the 'A' system.

Woofer reveal..... Vitavox! Yeah baby!

Interesting discussion. I have sent a message through to Roy asking for his comment as to whether or not I should worry about swapping the drivers out. I have a source for Faital HF200 drivers if need be, which Bob Crites and others speak highly of. These would be an additional cost - money that could be spent elsewhere - but if I am seriously behind the 8-ball somehow with the 1132's it might be worth doing. For what it is worth, right at this minute, the 1132's are a huge improvement on the Altec drivers, and are becoming less 'peaky' as break-in continues. I started off by having to dial them back quite a way on the L-Pads, but noticed last night they had mellowed quite a bit, and that I could bring the HF L-Pad back up a few degrees. I had never expected that the 402's would sound so good running as a plug-in replacement for the Altec gear off a stock crossover network. This was only ever intended as a bit of fun, and to be able to have a preliminary listen. As it has turned out however, the sonic signature and presentation of the 402/1132 combo are such that I have experienced a VAST improvement in my listening experience. It amazes me that there is so much synergy happening, with zero input from me (other than L-Pad tweaks). I wonder how much more the active setup with horn bass will bring? Exciting stuff.

I will be running a Xilica DSP when it arrives. Until then, I am using an original Altec N1208 crossover, using the on board L-Pads, dialled back quite heavily to balance bass/hf response. The 1332's are getting better with every hour of listening. I have no basis for comparison, so I have no idea if the K691's I was expecting would be better in some way. The Klipsch rep here in NZ went out of his way to make this happen for me, and ordered what I asked him specifically to order, so I won't be going back to him to trouble him with this issue, which ultimately I am responsible for (as @Dave A says, it might not even be an issue!) I am working through which bass bin to build. Enjoying the corner-placement at present which is swaying me back toward 2x MWM's per side, plus a sub later on. I had a second non-hifi friend around last night who said to me he thought I needed to turn the 'center speaker' down because he couldn't hear the 'big thingees' on the sides. I had to smile - I don't have a centre speaker of course. He was gobsmacked by the phantom centre imaging, just as I am. If someone has a pair of of TAD4002's or K691's they want to send to NZ for me, I will gladly offer a full report on the comparison 🙂

The greatest music video of all time, period.

No, not yet. The unit is due to arrive on a truck over the next couple of days - I will open it up and have a look then.

Scored this beauty last night for next to nothing.... One only, but with a spare Altec 511b lens. Its one mixed up puppy - I wonder how it will sound? Like I needed another project... Anyway, your ridicule is welcome 🤣

So the 1332's have got about 36 hours on them, and the break-in process continues to yield surprises. My young son particularly loves a track called "Wolf Totem" by The Hu (you need to give it a listen!) - he calls it Voldemort's music. Anyway, I cranked it right up last night and the 402's just kept giving - I was amazed how the soundstage grew and grew. Obviously the music was louder, but not unpleasantly so - mostly though it just seemed like we were in a giant room listening to live music. The 402's totally transported us. After 10 minutes of listening at high volumes, I went back to critical listening. The compression drivers had relaxed even further and things were sounding amazing. I made some further adjustments to the L-Pads on the Altec crossovers - lowering the mid and high frequency energy considerably. What I am starting to hear from these is a type of sound that is beyond any reference point I've previously used. Despite the Altec 19 bass bins not really keeping up, the sound is phenomenal. Open, layered, clean, fast, detailed, real, scaled. I've had KHorns and the 19's, plus a number of more traditional speakers, I've worked in the hifi industry and had the opportunity to listen to many supposedly amazing systems, but I've never experienced the likes of what I have lurking in my loungeroom now. A tip of the hat to Altec for their amazing crossover is fair too. I was thinking about the price I paid for the horns - not cheap - but if someone produced (say) a cable or a power conditioner that made the same quantum leap in performance as I've seen over the last few days, for the same money, they would be millionaires over night. These things are AWESOME. Now for some horn bins.... 🙂

Yes, I am sure they will break in - I noticed an improvement over the course of the evening. I had been waiting approximately 8 weeks for them to arrive. I was quite nervous that they would be damaged or lost - quite a large investment in the scheme of things for me - in fact, the most expensive audio kit I have purchased. Such is the faith y'all have instilled in me regarding their performance! I have a Xilica on the way - so that will really kick the journey off. I had spent a lot of time considering passive vs. active for these. In the end, the Xilica gives me the potential to try different cabinet designs - 'future-proofing' if I need to downsize, move houses, whatever. I could do anything from a large horn setup to something like Chris's MEH horns, should the situation/whim dictate. My current favorite design for the LF is the Decware Imperial - which fits nicely in my room (!) and has the added advantage of being compatible (temporarily at least) with the Altec 19 416 drivers.... Ultimately, I am going to let this be a project that changes and develops organically along the way - I want for the gear to steer me. I knew I wanted 402's so that is the start-point. I have a lot to learn about sound, active xo's, room acoustics etc.

Oh, that is interesting. Man it is hard to work this stuff out.. I thought I was on the right track with the order I placed. Maybe not. Not to worry. The K402's themselves were what I wanted - I figured I could sort drivers at a later stage. I was thinking of the Faital HF200 or even Radian beryllium offerings maybe... I'm listening to them now. There is no doubt the horn itself is spectacular, but I am noticing a bit of rawness to the driver. Of course nothing is eq'd or set up beyond hooking into he Altec network. On some tracks I've played, they destroy the Altec gear, however there is a 'golden, glowing, lively warmth' to the 19's mid-range that is lacking with the 1332's. No surprises there, the Altecs had years of development - the system I'm running at the moment had 10 minutes! Just finished listening to Leonard Cohen's song "Treaty". I felt like the artist was back from the dead, standing 5 feet in front of me performing live in my lounge..... I hope to build on that!! Awesome. Yep, feels great to know that there is some more Klipsch goodness in Godzone. 🙂 Cheers Richard

Some pics.. I told my work mates I was going to pick up my new tweeters.... Temporary home atop my Altec 19's - running instead of the Altec Driver and 811b horn.... obviously just plugged in and played. Interesting experiment!. Will report back as I make more observations.... These things are fricken huge!

I will, I promise... But not until I get them home...!

Hi all. I went to the trucking depot today and picked up my K402 horns. It has been a long journey for them - coming from China all the way to NZ - and a long wait for me. I ordered the HF versions for my 2-way build (details of which are as-yet undecided). I can't find a date of manufacture on them, but the are fitted with K1132 drivers - suggesting they are old stock. I thought they would be arriving with K691 compression drivers. Not the end of the world, I guess - I will probably track down some Beryllium drivers at some point. How do the 1132's compare to K691's? With thanks.

There would be zero market, methinks.

I like that Claude. Why not, after all. I might knock up a cheap MDF pair. Then if I have to scrap them I won't feel so bad.

Wow, thanks for that Claude - really do appreciate the effort there. Something more to think on

With the MWM decision made, I'm going to need an amp suitable for 2 15" drivers per side. Some of you are running Crown amps, which are accessible to me as new and second hand items. Anyone prepared to offer a 'minimum standard' Crown amp to shoot for? Cheers.

I ran KHorns for several years using a custom 45 SET amp. It was sheer bliss - bettered only by a similar circuit running PX4 valves (best I've heard). I had people crying on the floor listening to their favorite music. As good as the system sounded, I had a larger PP amp for when I wanted to play loud. Even at +/- 105db, the Khorns came to life a bit more with the extra power. My own call would be to have both amps at hand. If after a time you are not listening to the big one at all, then sell it. Enjoy the world of SET. They are superb.

I have the plans thanks 🙂 I bought Klipschorns and Altec 19s without ever having heard them other than on youtube. Call me idiotic, but I can gather a fair amount about a speaker's 'personality' on some of the better vids - enough to say I wasn't surprised by the sound of either speaker system once I hooked them up. (ducking for cover, waiting for the ridicule to arrive) In all reality though, if these are better than Khorns and Altec 19's, in a similar vein, I dont think I can go wrong, eh. But if you wanted to do me a video.... it would help psychologically mollify me lol 🙂

Can you make me a hi - res youtube vid of yours? Close as I will get, I fear 🙂

I've decided I've been over-cooking this whole thing. I'm going to stick to standard MWMs and add a sub if needed. They are going to be an improvement on what I have, of that I am certain. Will probably go for a two singles per side. When I kick this off I will throw up some pics. Thanks for the advice and suggestions.

Since we are on the 942 subject, can you tell me what model woofers they are using? Many thanks. PS: my coffee machine is possibly better than yours, so why not come here instead? 🙂

Thanks for the input there. I am in New Zealand - hows about I drop in for coffee and a listen on Saturday Morning 🙂 (wish i could!)

Thanks.. have begun looking into the Soniphase J2 as a Jube alternative. Will let you know how I go.

As low as possible - hopefully removing the need for a sub - which adds more space. I totally agree regarding the large gear providing something that other gear doesn't - I lived with Khorns in my bedroom for 3 years whilst flatting, no room for anything else except sonic bliss. I don't quite want to go that far this time around. The SWMWs would definitely not work in the larger of my two lounge areas due to to protrusion, limiting placement to the room I have drawn. Yes, it is a real shame I am so far away from y'all.