What first experience with Klipsch speakers got you hooked? And what happened?

[paul32579]

Coytee got me on this with a reminder of Dark Side of the Moon. I was in my dorm room and my buddy says he needs help bringing in some speakers. We get these La Scalas in and rig 'em up. Out comes The English Beat and on goes Rough Rider. Good God. He says, "These are really good speakers. Get some if you can find them." Well, I have two stripes, maybe when I make master sergeant, I guess.

Idiot me, I get some used Bose 901s, trade them in for new ones directly from Bose when the foam surrounds blow out, and for twenty-four years I had these damned 901s that always want a separate tweeter that I never get around to shopping for. About 12 years into that purgatory, I saw some Khorns in the music shop. I'm a new second lieutenant and I think the salesman can tell. I said, "How many thousand? Oh! No, thanks, I drive a 396 Corvette every day and that's worse than keeping two mistresses. I'll get back to you..."

Now it's 2008. Oh, here's some Klipschorns on craigslist! Why not? Wife and I drive out to a McMansion farm. Speakers in garage hooked up to an Adcom amp. I want a test drive, and I said, do you have, um, "Time" by Pink Floyd? He did! Up goes the garage door and off goes an atomic alarm clock and door chimes from my Aunt Helen's house played by someone who says, "We are Legion." Then our belly buttons are vibrating to the that first chord. The seller is grinning and I mouth "Turn it up." His wife is inside, probably praying that this will be the last time for this business. He obliges and the whole song is whirling around inside the garage and we move out to the driveway and out there - *click* - done. Sold for asking price. Never have looked back.

Except on the 901s. Dispatched via craiglist.

How about you?

Paul

[oldmako]

I was a just a young buck. Stupid, strong and full of piss and vinegar. She was a cheerleader. Her caboose was shaped like a pair of ripe coconuts and just as hard. She taunted me with her ample bounty and mouthed that I was "young, dumb and full of come". I wasn't quite sure what she meant but I yearned desperately to find out. She was my about age, but wise beyond her years and tight little figure. She was as wild and reckless as a cheap tart on a coked up Vegas weekend, and just as indiscriminate. Her lips were full and wet, while her mouth coarse and direct. We were drinking some, groping some, and laughing a lot. We were all alone at my brothers place listening to Barry White. He had a set of LaScalas which he had mounted on casters being pushed by an old Phase Linear. They were loud and throbbing. I saw them and thought of mounting her......

OOOPS.....

Ahhhh the SPEAKERS!! So sorry. Well.......ahem.....ah......lets see.... I think I was 15. A pair of Hereseys in an audio shop while I was looking for a "cassette deck" (google - "Smithsonian...vintage electronics....tape deck") They were the first really nice speakers I had ever heard. All I knew was Advent and JBL etc. They were $630 for the pair which just seemd out of reach at the time since I was making $1.75/hour washing dishes. I ended up with a pair of used Bozaks for 100 bucks. Had I known then that they'd still sound great 30 years later I might have worked overtime.

She left me for the quarterback. My starter wife ended up with the Bozaks.

Finally got a pair of CF-3's and some Forte's this past last year, Three if you count the computer speaks. Four if you count the pair I got my dad for Christmas. My brother got a MINT pair of KG4s for 100 bucks, and a pair of RB35s. He's going to pick up a pair of Chorus II's this weekend. Twas a very good year!

She now weighs 218 and drives a rusted out '94 Dodge Caravan. She's on welfare, is covered with tats and lives in a trailer down by the river. She's been on Springer three times, once for each kid. As far as the bozaks.....I dunno.

[fini]

Two posts, and I'm spent.

[BuyOtherSoundEquipment]

Wow, that's some interesting soft-core klipsch porn there, gents. I'm afraid my introsucktion - er...introduction... was not nearly so romantic. I simply heard the Quintet III w/ sub10 set up at Best Buy.

I was so very impressed.

Little did I know just how far the rabbit hole went...

[Marvel]

My first introduction to Klipsch wasn't even really Klipsch. I was in a church in Wisc., and ran our sound. I had to do sound for a conference over in Iowa, and one of our members was (still is) DJK's brother. We pick up a pair of the bass sections for LaScalas that he built, with a mid and tweeter on a separate board for the top. I don't remember the amp, but they sure sounded GREAT! Much later, my older son and I are loking on line to find out about the LS or build some... and I stumbled on here.Still too much money, but my son bys me a pair of Heresy IIs off ebay.

I eventually found a used set of LS. Still would like to build the bass bin sections. They work great for PA, since no one can poke a hole in the woofer.

As for the wife, same one the whole time. It was a good thing.

[Coytee]

My first experience wasn't as romantic...

Year: 1978 I was 18 and a buddy & I were at Carlon Audio in Fairfield Ohio. I was new to this store and never seen much of what they had in here (McIntosh, Klipsch...)

We went into their speaker room and I saw these huge speakers in the corner... I couldn't understand how they worked because I didn't see any woofer and EVERYONE knows you have to have a woofer in front facing you....this darn box had a wooden panel.

Jeff (salesman who's name I still remember) cranked them up and we were flabbergasted. At 18 it was pretty much only about the volume but also, not having heard many other higher end speakers, I didn't know much about clarity so I presumed all speakers would be this clear, if not as loud.

Heading off to college in a handful of months, I knew there was no way I'd ever have a pair of Khorns as they were simply not practical for an 18 year old who was going to be moving about some and I had NO plans on leaving them at home while i was gone.

Hmmmmmmm....what's this over here? a smaller speaker, more fully contained? you call it a LaScala huh? Well... lemme hear those.

We sat back and he put something (I think the demo of the day was Supertramp) on and again, we were wowed. now this was interesting because these were less expensive AND I didn't have to have a corner for them....this was intriguging. I could not believe the sound that was coming out of these boxes however, for their huge size, they had absolutely ZERO bass and I was perplexed.

turning around, Jeff was over at his little control panel and his face was about as beet red as it could have been....seems I was his most recent unsuspecting sucker that had no clue what he was up to.

On top of the LaScalas sat a pair of Heresy's and although I CLEARLY pointed to the LaScalas and he knew that, he was playing his little game and frankly, I thought I was hearing the LaScalas while it was in fact, the Heresy's pumping away.

He clicked his control panel over to the LaScalas and now we had bass (to the degree LaScalas have deep bass!)

We were again wowed and little did I know that this was probably his sales hook...which of course worked on me. My friend & I left that place and as I walked past the LaScalas to leave the room, I patted one of them, turning to my friend saying "some day"...

I bought a pair the next year at age 19 and had them with me throughout the rest of college and even to this day where they sit in my basement waiting for the room to be finished. 1979 to 2009.... I guess it's been 30 years of fun.

[JJkizak]

I did not listen to them prior to purchase. Read the Bell Labs report and some later magazine report about "King Klipsch" using the powered center channel with a Cornwall. They were correct in their evaluations.

JJK

[chrisinvermont]

It was the summer of 88 when I was home from college and was out drinking with old high school friends. On the ride home we were stopped at a stop light and got rear ended by a drunk driver. I had a bit of back damage that a couple of months of physical therapy cleared up. A family friend who was a lawyer offered to get me some reparations. By the fall I had a pile of money. First thing was to pay off all books and supplies for the year. Then I prepaid my rent for the rest of the school year. With that all set I still had about $1,500. I decided if I am going to have back problems from the accident I am going to have a stereo to last a long time.

When home on Thanksgiving I went to the local stereo store to check things out. My dad always had Polks so that is what I was used to. I don't even remember what music was used during the demo, but when I heard the Klipsches I was blown away. I had never heard of Klipsch before this. With the limited budget that I had I ended up with the KG-4s, a Denon integrated amp, and a CD player. I didn't even have any CDs yet! Like the OP, one of the first CD I got was the English Beat. Needless to say all of my rooomates were jealous of my new system. That setup cranked through many a party. A couple of roomates were rugby players so you just needed to put a couple of trashbags over the speakers and crank it up! Of course after I bought Klipsch speakers I started seeing the speakers at frat parties and bars. Mostly Khorns and LaScalas.

While I was buying the system my Mom kept asking me why I wanted to spend so much money. At the time I told her that I wanted a stereo that I would never have to replace. We were talking about it last year after 20 years, I had found the original reciept while going through boxes. I asked if she remembered all of those conversations and she did. I then showed her that I still have that original setup in the bedroom. 20 years and everything is still going strong. I added a bunch of other KGs for the HT setup. I am finishing a new home office setup and the original setup is going in there until I can grab some Hereseys or Fortes, a tube amp, and a turntable. Then the KG-4's go back into the bedroom.

After 20 years no regrets. I know that some of the better heritage speakers certainly blow away the KG-4s but I am very happy with the value and sound.

[jtnfoley]

July 2004, marathon cross-country vacation. First stop, Detroit (yes, some people actually go TO Detroit for vacation!) and visiting friends from the business. SS Mc driving 1978 CW, A/Bing vinyl versus CD of "The Imperials" / "Meet The Imperials" among many other things in a friends collection. First intro to Good Scotch (Ardbeg, BAD first Good Scotch.)

Next stop, roadtrip to Chicago with 125lbs of pig in the cooler for a BBQ experience that borders on nerdvana. Three days of drunken debauchery (I discovered there also exists Good Tequila) followed by a drive back to DTW for the next vaca leg, SanFran and wine country with other displaced friends.

Took my buddys' convertible BMW, and his wife, up rt 12 thru Sonoma, doing the wine country tour. It was there that I learned to appreciate Red Zin, and GOOD Starter Good Scotch (Dahlwhinney (sp??)) IIRC.

All in all, the best 11 day span in my life.

[Groomlakearea51]

September 1978... Berlin Audio-Photo Club. JBL-4311's vs Heresy's.... I got the JBL's (they were demo's and $100 cheaper), my buddy got the Heresys (WO's). Few months later he sold them to me so he could buy a car.....

November 1978.... Back to look for another pair of whatevers, and another amp. There on the "sho' room flo' was a pair of black lacquered Klipschorns. Unreal, etc. I asked how much? The tech said $1800 normally for a pair of unfinished birch, black was $1950 or something like that, but that they were special order only.

Two weeks later, back to pick up an amp. They were still there. Talking to the tech was a Colonel and his wife. Wife was raising h*ll about the black. They left. Tech sees me and says, "still want them?" Yup, how much? "Let's make a deal. That Colonel ordered them and his wife threw a fit because they did not match her living room furniture and now I'm stuck with them. I'll take $1500". I did my "Magic Bus" answer - "Too Much".....

December.... back again. They they were. Tech sees me again... Samo, samo, and he says, "Ok, $1200 for the pair, I've got to get them outa' here...." I sez, "Ok.... can I pay part now and the rest after I get my TDY check?" He sez, "Sure, but if you don't pay in full within 90 days....". I sez.... "Don't worry"...

January 1979..... Four trips to get them back to apartment....

Never looked back. Still have them. Recapped, new woofers, and they are now my son's... along with that original pair of Heresy's.

My son, Michael, is probably the youngest owner of a pair of Klipschorns. I'm a proud father.

Life's been good. Klipsch speakers makes it better - every day!!

[Guest " "]

"Unreal, etc. I asked how much? The tech said $1800 normally for a pair of unfinished birch, black was $1950 or something like that,"

In 1986 Black LaScala's were 550 each at the Stutgart PX audio tent sale. My wife considered them small compared to the DIY Khorns in Mahagony ply she had in her living room which were 15% oversized. My brother presently owns those khorns.

[TNRabbit]

RAF Upper Heyford Base Exchange, circa 1982. They had a pair of K-Horns running off a Carver M-400 Cube. I was so astounded I vowed that day I would one day own a Carver amp & Klipsch speakers. Finally got my first pair of Klipsch KLF-10s in 1997 in Incirlik, Turkey. The Carver amp didn't follow until Dec 2006...

[colterphoto1]

long before I bought my first Cornwalls from the Trader newspaper (speakers that had survived a house fire) I worked for Calliope Sound. The owner there had dual split LaScalas that I was in charge of setting up for rental systems, and the MCM.

I remember the first time he set up the MCM's and hit it with a Nakamichi Dragon cassette player into a stack of Crown PSA2 amps. He put on the Who's 'Who Are You' and I was floored. Haven't been the same since. That was my inspiration for the recent Pilgrimage photo.

[colterphoto1]

our version with Klipsch speakers

[TheEvan]

I'd heard Klipsch before, but my AHA moment came with my then-fiancee's (now wife of 27+ yrs.) roomate's system she inherited from her late parents. I'd just bought Barreco's latest LP and we played it on Jane's system consisting of 50's era black lacquer Khorns, Mc C22, 225 and AR 'table. This was just solo classical guitar, mind you, played at modest levels, not the best recording. The realism and "thereness" simply blew me away. We had the privilege of babysitting Jane's system for a year or so. After she took it back I went out and promptly got my own set.

[soundbound]

My first experience wasn't as romantic...

Year: 1978 I was 18 and a buddy & I were at Carlon Audio in Fairfield Ohio. I was new to this store and never seen much of what they had in here (McIntosh, Klipsch...)

We went into their speaker room and I saw these huge speakers in the corner... I couldn't understand how they worked because I didn't see any woofer and EVERYONE knows you have to have a woofer in front facing you....this darn box had a wooden panel.

Jeff (salesman who's name I still remember) cranked them up and we were flabbergasted. At 18 it was pretty much only about the volume but also, not having heard many other higher end speakers, I didn't know much about clarity so I presumed all speakers would be this clear, if not as loud.

Me too. Small world indeed. What city did you live in then Coytee? 1978 Klipschorns at Carlon Audio with a buddy. The store was just closing and they were locking up, but allowed us to come in and check stuff out. Looking at these large strange speakers, a wonderful salesman ask us to pick out any record in their collection stacked there. He proceeded to play both sides for us at a good volume. l left there hoping I'd own some Klipschorns someday. Refer to my avatar. God bless that salesman and Klipsch.

[EM3]

My story isn't near as good as everyone else's. Let's rewind a few years back to my 10th wedding anny... The wife asks what do you want and I say a home theater with surround sound. So I pick up an Onkyo system. I had been on line reading about speakers, amps etc so after 5 years I decide to upgrade the amp and speakers. I decide to get speakers first since they are an investment. I go out to CC to listen to what they have and like the sound of the Polks well I go to BB and listen to a few more speakers. The wife has to go to Virginia (the town escapes me) about 2 hrs from Beckley WV. to a conference for a day so I tag along. I found a higher end audio video store and talk her into going there. When we are there I listen to several different speakers and I ask to hear the Klipsch RF 83 knowing they are out of my price range. Well that was a mistake I leave nearly in tears because I can't take any home with me. I auditioned the RB's also and I knew I could get them. So I start saving my travel checks, yearly bonus (that ain't all that much) and birthday money. Well 1 year later we go back down for a road trip and we stop and get the RB 61's, RC 10 and RS 42's and then place an order for the SVS sub. It still brings a smile to my face.

Now if I only had a larger room for the RF 83's and a larger wallet.

[Don Richard]

I was a college freshman goofing off one day when my ham radio buddy came over really excited. He said that he knew where some Klipschorns were, that this guy in town had just become a Klipsch dealer, did I want to go there to hear them?. I had been dabbling in audio and was familiar with the Khorn, so I said , "lets go".

The dealer turned out to be a gentleman named Francis Pullen. He was also a ham operator, and his antenna system was mounted on a 60 foot tower that looked like a miniature version of the Eifel Tower. It straddled his driveway so that you had to drive under it to get to the garage. It was said that his transmitter was so powerful that when he was on the air you could hold a light bulb in your hand and it would light up.

We drove over, got out of the car, and knocked on the door. A lady opened the door and let us in when we told her why we were there. She led us into the dining area, fixed us a Coke, and said that Francis would be down in a moment. After a few moments, Mr. Pullen came down the stairs.

Francis Pullen was a former RCA engineer who had worked with PWK during WWII. After he retired he devoted his time to his family, ham radio, and stereo. he was in every sense of the word an audiophile. He became a Klipsch dealer because, he said, "there is no better loudspeaker made". After a few minutes of small talk, he led us to the listening room.

The listening room was a large space, about 30 ft. by 25 ft. with 12 ft. ceilings and bookshelves along the back wall. The Khorns were placed against the long wall with the electronics located in a custom-built cabinet on the right hand short wall. He had Marantz tube equipment, two professional grade turntables, and two huge Berlant reel-to-reel tape recorders built into the cabinet. He had us sit on a couch in the middle of the room, then put on a record.

All of a sudden the sound of a full-tilt pipe organ filled the room. The bass was powerful and the treble was so clear that I couldn't believe it. This was unlike any hi-fi I ever heard before, this was REAL. The music was E. Power Biggs playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and the walls were shaking! After that Mr. Pullen put on the London Phase 4 version of the 1812 Overture, which I was unfamiliar with at the time. When the cannons fired I was so startled that I jumped up off the couch. My buddy's eyes were as big as saucers, his jaw dropped open. Mr. Pullen was smiling. After that the path was clear. I had to get a pair of Khorns. That would have to wait until I got out of school and got a full time job three years later.

Owning Khorns has been a life-altering experience. Any place that I moved to had to have a large room with "two good corners". But any time I feel the need to shake the walls, all I need to do is put on E Power Biggs and let 'er rip. And now I'm the one that's smiling.

Francis Pullen and PWK, thank you sirs, and Rest in Peace.

[dtel]

My story sucks after some of these. [:$]

It was not Klipsch speakers that got me hooked it was Altec Lansing, they got me hooked on horns.

I was very young and at an old movie theater in New Orleans and after the show I was walking around in the front by the screen and there were these giant speakers on each side of the screen. They were much taller than me, and had big horns and I was just amazed at the sound and the size of them.

I collected different speakers over the years and was never really happy with the sound of any of them especially the last pair of JBL speakers, they were all bass and not much else. I sold them to a friend who loved them and decided to build something. I had found a book, something about golden ratio in speaker building ? I decided to build something out of the book and found a place in New Orleans that rebuilt speakers for musicians and bands. They had almost anything you could want, I explained what I wanted and even showed him the book. He set me up with everything I needed except for the crossover, and he told me a place you could order them from.

My dad helped me build the cabinets from Oak hardwood plywood, he was the wood worker not me. After installing everything into the cabinets we connected them to my new receiver, a Sansui 8080,. we were both shocked when they started playing, it was unbelievable. I then knew why I didn't like most of the speakers I had tried for years, they never had horns and the ones I built were horn mid and high freq.

I kept them for years not finding anything that sounded better, toward the end some of the drivers had stopped working and I never found anyplace to get them repaired. I started looking at speakers again, Altec seemed to be out of business or I couldn't find anything about home speakers there. I started looking for speakers made with horns when I ran across Klipsch, I had never heard of them. I tried to find where I could listen to some and all I could find was a dealer who only had the Reference line, another dealer only had some Synergy speakers and the Rf-7, after listening and comparing prices I ended up with some Synergy speakers for HT.

I then found this forum and found out about the Heritage speakers, I was never crazy about the Rf's and when I finally seen the Heritage line I was shocked. There it was almost an exact match, to within 1 inch in size of the speakers i had built and with both horn drivers, a perfect match to the ones I had built and it was the Cornwall .

It was the horn sound I was looking for all those years, I didn't even know what all the other speakers were missing, they just didn't sound right to me.

[Coytee]

Me too. Small world indeed. What city did you live in then Coytee?

Born/raised in Hamilton, then off to Miami U.