bhendrix Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Kevin Harmon and I found the biggest Klipsch rig in Henderson, Texas in the factory of Opti-Case, owned by our new friend, David Phipps, a.k.a. Opti-Dave. Dave was the proud owner of 6 full stacks of KP-600's!! Imagine a stack of Klipsch pro speakers reaching over 76 feet in the air. Yes, 76 feet. Dave has a business manufacturing some of the best road cases I've seen for retail music stores, entertainers, schools and universities, national athletic teams, military installations, etc. A list of some of his clients can be found here: http://www.opti-case.net/main4.html. Opti-Case makes, among other things, ingenious audio road cases that include pocket doors and shock-mounted rail systems. No more lost case covers!! Kevin and I learned of Dave's incredible collection of KP-600's and called Dave to see if he would be willing to part with them. Our call was met with a gracious willingness to release them into our care, but only after ensuring that Kevin and I were willing and able to care for them as PWK would have expected. [] Roger Gordon (twistedcrankcammer) is working near Kevin and asked if he could come with Kevin. Boy, are we glad he did!! Kevin, Roger, and I traveled to Dave's factory just northeast of Henderson, Texas last Wednesday evening. We met Dave at the factory at 7am on Thursday and were introduced to the terrific folks who work with Dave in the "family" of employees. Dave and his folks had already begun the process of testing drivers and cleaning and polishing cabinets in anticipation of our arrival. 5 out of 12 stacks were cleaned and polished and many of the drivers were already tested. The remaining task before us was to finish testing drivers and reassemble that cabinets. No small task. The fact that Dave had already disassembled the drivers from the cabinets turned out to be quite a blessing. Kevin, Roger and I could "go to school" with Dave as he directed the reassembly process. We spent from 7am until about 1pm finishing the testing and reassembly. Then Dave rolled out his rack of Crown amps and began hooking up the first stack. First we heard the top cab playing, then the dual 15" horn-loaded LF cab and then the dual 18" subwoofer cab kicked in. After a little fine-tuning on the EC-600 electronic crossover that had not seen an electron in years, Dave had the first full stack singing full-tilt-boogie. HOLY SMOKES!!!!! Work at the factory ground to a halt as everyone came to hear the "experience". The KP-600 is incredible!! Roy and the rest of the design team really outdid themselves with these. I have truely never heard a pro speaker that sounded so "hi-fi", both at soft levels and at realistic steam locomotive / NASCAR / F-15 flyby levels. As a system, the KP-600 blows away the MCM1900 system that I used for PA with many years ago. Dave them demonstrated a pro speaker set up that he is manufacturing for touring with a dual 18" sub cab and two full range boxes using 12" woofers that sounded quite good, as well. Our trip was memorable, not only for the new Klipsch speakers entrusted to our care, but for the new friends we met in the "Opti-family". Kevin and I each left Henderson with a KP-600 system. The system in my care will be used at church for our new emerging church service and at church camp for the retreats as well as traveling to downtown Wichita where we hope to provide a gospel message to kids who might otherwise be hanging around the tatoo parlors. I will let Kevin share his plans with you. If you've done your math correctly, you are right, there are still four KP-600 systems in Dave's care at Opti-Case available to add to your Klipsch collection. You will have to test a few drivers and dust off a few cabinets, but you won't find a better group of people to do it with than the folks at Opti-Case. A few of the cabinets (fiberglass) have small cracks in them, but these are easily repaired. A few drivers will have to be repaired or replaced, but they are all still available. I learned a lot from Dave and really appreciate his genuine caring and gracious hospitality. Great folks like this are rare. Many, many thanks to Dave and the "Opti-Family"!!!![][Y] Pictured below from left to right: self (left), my new friend, Dave Phipps, aka Opti-Dave (center), and my dear friend Kevin Harmon (right) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 For those unfamiliar with the KP-600, I have attached a pdf literature piece. KP 600.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Sound Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Although, Dave and I have known each other for quite a while, we've never met face to face. Same with Joey Brogna (Northeast Sound). Through the years I've been on the phone with just about every sound company that used Klipsch speakers on the road. We are currently in our 36th year and have used only Klipsch speakers since the beginning. I was fortunate to have some input on the final configuration of the KP600 and still think it's one of the most dynamic and best sounding rigs out there. Unfortunately, it's not too well known by any of the Production Managers today. I think Dave quit using his quite a few years ago. Joey is still using his on a regular basis. I still am using our 24 box (8 full KP600 stacks) system for festivals and concerts. We also use KP-456s and KSM-15IIs for monitors. Our company will be doing one of the stages at Festival International de Louisiane April 24-26th in Lafayette, LA in a couple of weeks. We used to do their main stage (1993-2000) with the 8 stack system, but I now do a smaller stage with a 4 stack system. I did the main stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (8 4-way MCM stacks along with 8 LSIs) 1982 through 1986 along with main stages at city festivals all across the South. Of all the festivals I've done, Festival International is absolutely the coolest. It's focus is international music from all over the world (common language French), with great food and atmosphere. It's a free festival in downtown Lafayette, we do the Scene Heritage stage. It's the one under the large tent in the pictures. Here's a link to the festival: http://www.festivalinternational.com/site47.php If you want to hear a KP600 system in use and enjoy a great festival - come on down. I'll be sitting at the FOH console, come by and say hello. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I thought Navin R Johnson developed and owned the rights to Opti-Grab . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kharmondds Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I am thrilled to finally own a pair of kp-600's. We had a wonderful trip over to Henderson, TX. to pick up the speakers. I want to thank Roger Gordon for coming along to help with the sorting, putting back together and loading of the 600's. What a blast we had over there. Very memorable trip for Bill, Roger and I. Like Bill was saying in his post earlier, there are plenty more cabinets available, some drivers are good and others will need to be replaced but the botton line is, Klipsch is not making the kp-600 any longer. That's one of the reasons I wanted a system so badly. I'd certainly like to thank Dave Phipps for selling me a pair, the 600's are not too easy to find. Anyway, we just couldn't have had more fun.............wish you guys could have been there with us. Kevin Harmon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kharmondds Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 One more pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Great pic, Kevin. I added the driver complement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Here's a pic with Dave Phipps (left), Roger Gordon (center, rear) and Kevin (right) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Those are in FANTASTIC shape guys, really beautiful. I"m jealous. Here I thought I salvaged something rare and unique and a year later there's systems all over the place. Is that pink fibreglass in the SW bin original though? Mine didn't have it. Let's ask Roy. BTW, Roy has a patent on the horn in the LF bin. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Hey, Michael, Kevin, Roger and I are now experienced in KP-600 rebuilding thanks to our teacher Opti-Dave. You should run down and get a set. Kevin, Rog, and I can come along and help. It really was a lot of fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kharmondds Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Rockstar, I talked with Roy today and he said that klipsch did not put the fiberglass in the sub bins. I will be taking it out. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Awesome. I need a pair of those. Someday maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Bill, That is an increadible find! I really love that system. I can't wait to hear a pair again. I haven't heard any since 1994 if memory serves me correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 Amen, Mark. Opti-Dave is an incredible guy. There are still four complete systems in Henderson. You and Michael C. should buzz down and pick up a couple of sets. Road Trip!!!! [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted April 14, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 14, 2009 Congratulations Bhendrix and Kharmondds, sounds like a rare find, from the way they look that should sound great. If Klipsch ever got back into the commercial stuff the KP 600 would be a great place to start, more compact than the MWM's, and subs in one stack, I would love to hear that combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I guess I'd better get my Bondo out and start working on my beater Kp600 set. There's no point in demonstrating how to refurbish this old stuff any more if you guys are going to go out and buy minty-fresh cabinets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Could I ask how much these go for? A ballpark figure. Are they still any of these left in Texas? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDJohnson Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 BTW, Roy has a patent on the horn in the LF bin. M A very nice designed bass horn Roy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDJohnson Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 WOW! I agree. Wow... That's my kind of speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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