Falcar

I love the sound of Klipsch horns, but it sure seems like it a lot of audiophiles consider horns primitive and harsh. The old phonographs use horns and even the new ones do. I just feel like horns provide a crispness that cones cannot duplicate in the mids and highs. But of course, I like cones for the lower bass frequencies. When and why did the speaker industry (other than Klipsch and maybe a few others) steer away from horns in favor of cones? Or has it always been just a few speaker manufacturers that integrated horns into their home audio speakers? Thoughts?

I've heard good things about McIntosh. Thanks for the response.

Nah, I think bi-wiring doesn't make anything sound better and just complicates things for no reason. IMO, it's totally pointless.

That's interesting because I also am running two Cornwall IIIs, one Heresy III in my home theater in my living room. And I'm also running two Paradigm X15 subs with an Anthem AVM 60 pre-amp and Monolith 5 amp. I run them in "all channels" mode right now, but I haven't set up my Anthem ARC room correction yet. I still absolutely love the way everything sounds!! The funny thing is that it seems like music sounds even better when I have all channels on compared to just 2-channel stereo. Maybe it's just because I am used to listening to music like that now, but it still sounds amazing!!

La Scala was once considered a pro speaker. That’s fine. Doesn’t matter cause it’s considered a audiophile home audio speaker now. But I certainly won’t be using a pro Class D amp. No Crown Audio stuff for me. I don’t know what’s the deal with the pro audio agenda on this forum, but whatever, everyone has an opinion, and you are not changing mine. I’m as hard-headed as they come.

I’m not going to get into a childish argument. But I will say it’s well known that speaker manufacturers are known for making speakers smaller and lighter when they come out with new versions to save on costs of materials and shipping. I’m not saying Klipsch will do this with the Cornwall, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The bottom line is profit and if a speaker manufacturer can save on materials and shipping and create an equal sounding speaker, they will often do that. For example, the original Cornwall had real wood cabinets whereas the Cornwall III has MDF cabinets. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Cornwall IV is smaller and/or lighter than the Cornwall III. I’m not so quick to believe newer models are better. And from the website ad I saw, it looks like the Cornwall IV will be the same price in stores as the current Cornwall III. But we won’t know for certain until it’s released. For the record, I love Klipsch speakers and none of this is a knock on Klipsch. I’m just stating reality.

Okay, whatever you say. You are obviously just trying to be a contrarian for the sake of it. And of course I’m sure some audiophiles will pretend to hear a difference even if there isn’t a noticeable one. But in blind tests, good luck. And even if there is a noticeable difference (very unlikely), who’s to say whether it will be better or worse? I’ve often heard of people preferring older Heritage models more than modern ones. It’s all subjective. It’s not like we are comparing a Heritage speaker to an entry level Klipsch sold at Best Buy. The Cornwall III and IV are literally two of the same speakers with very minor differences and the sound will no doubt reflect very tiny differences (if any at all).

What I meant was that in a blind test I bet it would be extremely difficult to tell apart a Cornwall III and a Cornwall IV. Nothing wrong with evolving the Cornwall though. Innovation and/or evolution of electronics is a good thing. However, I wouldn’t expect a noticeable difference in sound. That’s just kind of how it goes with new versions of the same model of speakers.

I bet the Cornwall IV will sound no different than the Cornwall III, even though the Cornwall IV supposedly will cost more. If I was in the market for Cornwalls, I would try to get Cornwall IIIs while they are still available. That is, unless the Cornwall IVs end up actually costing the same as the current Cornwall IIIs (because you can never believe prices on unreleased speakers until they actually hit the market), then either Cornwall IIIs or Cornwall IVs are fine. Luckily, I already have my Cornwall IIIs

I haven’t purchased La Scala IIs yet. I’m just trying to get a general idea of a good pre-amp and amp if I decide to purchase the La Scalas in the future. It will probably be for 2-channel music only, but with two subwoofers as well.

Please recommend a good solid state pre-amp and amp for two La Scala IIs. Something that allows two subwoofers. No pro audio recommendations please. Thank you.

I have Cornwalls, a Heresy, and two subs. I think putting pro audio stuff into a home is silly for various reasons, hence my snarky remarks. No one is going to talk me into putting pro audio stuff into my house because it's illogical and totally unnecessary and brings up other problems too. It's simply not meant for home use.

I'm sure this speaker is inferior too because it's an audiophile home speaker and not a pro speaker, and probably doesn't require 1200 watts to power it. That's how it works around here, right guys?? Train horns rock!!!!

So you are saying they make the Cornwalls bigger for no reason other than looks? That makes no sense at all considering the Cornwalls are way more expensive to ship too because of larger size and weight. The Cornwall is a 3-way speaker too which should have better separation than the KI-396 (which is a 2-way speaker) and the Cornwall goes significantly lower than the KI-396 too. But you are ignoring the virtues of the Cornwall and saying the KI-396 is better no matter what. Seems quite bias to me.

To all the people saying the Klipsch pro speakers are better, how about explaining this to me: Why is a Cornwall III significantly bigger and heavier than a KI-396 if the KI-396 sounds better? Is Klipsch making the Cornwall bigger and heavier just for fun while purposely neutering it? To me that makes no sense at all. Some people claim the Forte III sounds better than the Cornwall but when I demoed them both, the Cornwall sounded a lot fuller due to its larger size, so why wouldn't it be the same when comparing a Cornwall to a KI-396?

Yeah I don’t buy it. Pro speakers are meant for a different purpose, not for critical listening. Pro speakers are built to be super loud to fill up theaters and auditoriums. Corners have to be cut in sound quality to provide that loudness in a portable package. My system is already so loud that anything over -40 dB is too loud and -25 dB is ridiculously blasting it. Take a look at a TIDAL LA ASSOLUTA. Sure it’s way more expensive than a Klipschorn but the LA ASSOLUTA is still considered a super high-end audiophile speaker because of sound quality, not because it’s the loudest thing possible. Loudness is not everything. A train horn is plenty loud too, but that doesn’t mean it sounds good.

Thank you. This is probably the most sensible reply in this entire thread instead of trying to convince me to put some ridiculous looking ugly monstrosities in my living room with questionable distortion and dispersion. To be fair, there where some other good non-pro suggestions as well. I appreciate those as well.

Nearly every article online comparing pro audio stuff to audiophile (home audio) stuff says that pro audio stuff has better durability and portability at the expense of sound quality compared to audiophile stuff. So everyone is the world is wrong and only a handful of people here know the true secrets of the universe? Forgive me for finding that VERY hard to believe.

It seems to me that the basic consensus of this forum is that Klipsch Heritage speakers are overpriced garbage and Klipsch pro audio speakers are amazing. Wow, I didn’t except any of this at all. It’s like I stepped into the twilight zone 😮

I've heard the opposite too, that La Scalas sound thin compared to Cornwalls. But I've always heard Klipschorns sound the best. This is all very interesting. I only buy new when it comes to audio equipment. Thanks for the suggestions.

Just like I am not interested in Class D amps, I am not interested in pro audio speakers. I tend to be old school in my thought processes, and if the notion has always been that pro audio is too distorted-sounding for home use, then I am going to stick with that train of thought. People can claim whatever they want online, but there are certain understandings in the audio industry, and one of them is: It is not advised to use pro audio gear at home (other than XLR cables obviously). Anyways, I appreciate the suggestions of Klipschorns and La Scalas. I might demo both at a store someday and see how they compare to my Cornwalls. I have always heard that Cornwalls are quite comparable to La Scalas, but I've also heard Klipschhorns are the ultimate for home use (if you can afford them).

I have the feeling amp quietness is a very subjective thing. For example, my Monoprice Monolith 5 (made by ATI) Class A/B amp is literally 5 monoblocks put in a case and sold as one big amp. It weighs about 80 pounds. It has a completely silent background, no noise of any kind whatsoever. But that's the reason people (like myself) are willing to deal with such a big amp that takes up more room and needs a reinforced shelf to support it. It's THD level is way lower than a Crown 1502 Class D amp for example. I'm sure the Crown 1502 is a relatively quiet amp, but I highly doubt it holds a candle to my Monolith 5. Also, my Monolith 5 has a thump-free start and that's something a Class D amp is very unlikely to have.

Pro audio speakers by design must handle massive amounts of power, amp clipping, feedback and other chaos typical home audio speakers are not exposed to normally. They are designed to handle sound abuse from microphones as well. However, compared to home audio speakers, pro audio speakers are known for having a lot more distortion, issues with dispersion, and issues with clarity. Just like Class D amps (considered pro audio) are known for having a lot more distortion than Class A/B amps (considered home audio). Therefore, I am wary of purchasing pro audio speakers and equipment for home use.

Can you please post the link here to that thread? Thank you.

Why so defensive? BTW, I don't buy used things. It's just a belief of mine. So my question stands: Why would Heritage series even exist then? Is Klipsch Pro Audio like 5 times the cost?