Got my 1977 Horns ( excellent condition from Ebay) today and want help for best sound

[weldpro99]

I listened to Kenny G and awesome.I listen to Billy Idle,George Straight,Wilson Pickett and base is lacking. I have a Bob Carver TFM5,HK Citation 11 ( ancient but works as it should,HK CD player. Room dimensions are 12.5 X 21.5 with carpet flooring.

1-Would a Peavy EQ with base boost help me?

2-Is there a great deal of diff in the latest cross overs and speakers? How much are they and how do i obtain them?

3-My dad has an early 70s sony receiver is that worth a shot to maybe look for the amplifier sensetivity thing horns seem to have? ( I read that its not my hypothisis)

4-Any ideas on tube stuff and where to get it? Is it worth it? I understand they give off a more warm tone.......

Thanks gentelmen. This forum has great info and obviously people providing it! Klipsch is the best! I have KLF 30's,SF2's for rear,font and rearSC1's and 10" powered Klipsch sub for my surround

[PrestonTom]

Congratulations on the K-Horns. I know that you will enjoy them.

It is tempting to start fooling around with amps and stuff at this point. However, I would suggest that you simply listen to them for several weeks before you start throwing money toward new electronics.

If you are having problems with the bass, I would first make sure that the cabinets are snug into the corners. Pipe foam might help (search the threads). They are in the corners aren't they?

Good Luck,

-Tom

[weldpro99]

Thanks Tom for the input. yes they are in the corners and have a seal around the back fin board that seals tight to the wall.Is that the only sealing point necessary?

I have a friend who is quite the audiophile and he is going to bring overt his EQ /with bass boost.give it a try?

[TheEvan]

Two things:

Klipschorn bass can sound lean for several reasons. It lacks the distortion common on direct radiator drivers. Because of horn loading, the bass won't slam you directly in the chest. It's there, in spades. It's so clean it may sound lean. Also, walk around the room. Usually there are spots where deep bass doesn't show up and other spots where it's a bit out of control.

[weldpro99]

Thank you for the reply.

How important is negative and positive phasing and actual connection quality with the Horns?

Also do you think I can give my ear what it wants by an EQ with a bass boost? I really apreciate the feed back and had no idea the sience behind this speaker but will chase this to the end when i have the sound I am comfortable with and I feel satasfied with it. It may well cost more cash in Klipsch up grades ,Differentr amp,EQ with bass boost,etc etc etc......$$$$$$$ thanks again but I will find the correct combo.Dont get me wrong I have some stuff ie Kenny G that sounds awesome!!!

[Groomlakearea51]

Phasing is very important. Leave the phasing as is. Otherwise you will immediately get missing highs or mids. Connection quality is important. Use a good quality 12/14 gauge copper wire, make sure terminals are clean (actually unscrew all of them, clean the "spades") and reinstall. You also may wish to check the bass bin seal. Unscrew the the panel, and remove it. Disconnect the woofer leads from the panel. While you are at it, take a multimeter and test the the woofers. They should read 3.7 - 4.0 ohms. If they do not, then that will explain the "lean" bass. 77 K'horn woofers usually last forever, but I have had a couple pairs (78's and 79's) that eventually just wore out. Assuming that the woofers are ok. Use a phillips head screwdriver and reach in and make sure the woofer screws are tight. If they are not tight.... also lean bass... Clean off the gasket on the woofer panel, and any residue on the bin. Use speaker gasket tape (good quality reasonable from partsexpress) along the outer edges of the panel. Reinstall, taking care not to forget to re-attach the woofer leads correctly (as in phase....). Cross torque the screws to ensure the panel sits "flat". Then make sure the beast is in the corner properly, connect the speaker leads, etc. If the capacitors in the crossovers (which should be AA's) are still the original shiny aluminum "oil cans", then you can bet they are dried out. That too will also cause issues with the sound, as in making thinghs sound brittle, or "tinny". The caps are easy to replace, just contact Bob Crites (BEC on the Forum), and he can either point you in the right direction, provide caps for a DIY, or redo the crossovers for you.

Hope that is of some assistance.

[Dennie]

Here is the Link to Bob Crites Site-------------> CLICK HERE

Dennie

[PrestonTom]

That is good advice about checking the seal/gasket on the bass bin. When you get a chance, do a search for the "Heyser review" of the Klipsch horn. As pointed out above, he was also surprised by the lean bass that a horn loaded system provides and also came to conclusion that he had become accustomed to distorted bass-reproduction using other cabinets.

Personally, I would not mess with EQing for the bass. The improvement may be limited and several things could go wrong.

[wuzzzer]

Because of the extremely high sensitivity of Klipschorns adding anything unnecessary in the signal path will usually introduce unwanted noise. Outboard EQs are notorious for that. Refreshing the crossover network components and making sure all the wire contacts are clean would be a better place to start.

[weldpro99]

Thank you

[garyrc]

If your K-horns are pushed all the way into the corners (a must!), the next thing to try is to move your chairs around quite a bit untill you get good bass. Some people start out walking the room to get a tentative good place, but you ears will be too high when standing for the final placement of chair(s)

Somewhere online there is one room calculator that lets you predict exactly where in the room your modes will have nulls, peaks, etc... I think there is only one calculator, among all calculators, that does this.

[weldpro99]

Thank you so much. I have decided to slow down and listen for a while. A firend is bring some of his EQ and other equipment over to plug and try. We also may run a couple powered subs to get the punch i am looking for . They do sound awesom on most recordings but if its bad.......you'll know it!!!

[Dennie]

Thank you so much. I have decided to slow down and listen for a while. A firend is bring some of his EQ and other equipment over to plug and try. We also may run a couple powered subs to get the punch i am looking for . They do sound awesom on most recordings but if its bad.......you'll know it!!!

It would be interesting if he has an EQ with a Real Time Analyzer built in. Then you could see if your getting the bass or not. I have an Audio Control C101 III and I was fascinated to see what was really being produced with my La Scalas.

Let us know how it goes,

Dennie

[rjsilva]

Thank you so much. I have decided to slow down and listen for a while.

I think that slowing down and listening for a while is the best advice. Don't even try out the EQ or subs for at least a week or two.

The human component is just as important! You're looking for a particular sound (more bass), trying to get it from the khorns. But, our brains almost always need time to hear new things. We don't "hear" everything just because the sound is entering our ears. You may come to prefer the leaner bass of the khorns as more natural, but if you're trying to correct the "missing" bass you may never hear what they have to offer. At least give yourself more serious listening time, with simply the khorns. (Of course it is worthwhile to check to ensure they are functioning properly.)

[psg]

Room dimensions are 12.5 X 21.5 with carpet flooring.

Got them on the long wall?

[weldpro99]

Yes thank you I do

[weldpro99]

Thank you much.That is sound advice and I have done just that. I have found most recordingshave ample bass but some do not and would just like to explore the option.Thanks again for the great tip

[weldpro99]

Yes and again more great info and advice,thank you.I belive he did mention the equipment does have some sort of analyizer.He was the sound tech for the University of Illinois until retiring 2 years ago and has quite a stereo of big Peavy stuff he can take out side and use for bands at his personal parties and he is quite knowledgable and I will pass on his findings and what and how he/we got there!