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Why I Own a Pair of Klipschorns


BMWM5

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Throughout my life I've had the opportunity to sit 10 rows back in the center of Symphony Hall in Boston listening to the Boston Pops. I've watched the US Army Band (Pershings Own) and US Marine Band dead center in a concert hall. Nothing can compare to a 50 yard line seat at a Drum Corps International FInal Competition. The thrill of watching a 120 piece brass choir and 30 piece percussion ensemble in perfect unison is beyond comprehension. That's what a pair of Klipschorns can reproduce in a living room. No other speaker can come close to creating that unique sound. If you want to experience it You Tube Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard or Madison Scouts.

You'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

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I ushered at the Hollywood Bowl from 68-71 and can make the same Khorn attribution. I would add this. Many good speakers sound excellent when you sit in the sweet spot. But leave the room and they're gone. They sound like you're in the lobby of a theater hearing the loud movie through the walls. Khorns do not do that. They do continue to sound like you're at the concert just not in front of the music. And the better the overall system the more perfect they sound. Never once have I not had company not be amazed and impressed.

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Many good speakers sound excellent when you sit in the sweet spot. But leave the room and they're gone. They sound like you're in the lobby of a theater hearing the loud movie through the walls. Khorns do not do that. They do continue to sound like you're at the concert just not in front of the music.

TRVTH

The first time this was brought to my attention was during a hornhead fest at my home about 10 years ago. I was playing my Stewart Wayne Foster piano recording and one of the guys wandered out of the room and down the hall. I thought "Well, that went well..." and wondered what the deal was. A bit later, I asked him what he was doing. He said "The true test of speakers and recordings is not entirely how real they sound in the room, but whether it sounds like the real thing from outside the room. In this case, what I hear is a piano playing in a nearby room."

I experienced this and heard enough others mention it over the years to pronounce it "TRVTH" and suggest others consider it if they've not done so.

Dave

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He said "The true test of speakers and recordings is not entirely how real they sound in the room, but whether it sounds like the real thing from outside the room. In this case, what I hear is a piano playing in a nearby room."

I experienced this and heard enough others mention it over the years to pronounce it "TRVTH" and suggest others consider it if they've not done so.

I've heard the same with my LaScalas and my Heresy IIs. My late wife even commented on the HIIs after I got them. She was in the kitchen while some music was on and said they sounded the same, even in the other room.

Bruce

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He said "The true test of speakers and recordings is not entirely how real they sound in the room, but whether it sounds like the real thing from outside the room. In this case, what I hear is a piano playing in a nearby room."

I experienced this and heard enough others mention it over the years to pronounce it "TRVTH" and suggest others consider it if they've not done so.

I've heard the same with my LaScalas and my Heresy IIs. My late wife even commented on the HIIs after I got them. She was in the kitchen while some music was on and said they sounded the same, even in the other room.

Bruce

Bruce, the LS for sure.....when I had them placed in my primary listening room, you could walk upstairs or go into any other room and still be able to hear detail and clarity.

Awesome speakers.

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A good system can make it easier to suspend disbelief, but would never fool even a five-year-old in a 'is it live or is it Memorex' test.

Sorry.

This is true, however, the positive attributes of the Klipschorn and other Heritage brethren is as close as is available to the real thing for the $$$. And once I tweaked all upstream gear - tubes-caps-room, the performance from my Heritage is the most concert like experience I have had.....well, since my last concert[H]

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This discussion reminds me of the efforts Accoustic Research made (my second favorite speaker line) in the early 60's to promote the famous AR 3.

For nearly ten years after its introduction, the AR-3 was widely regarded as the most accurate loudspeaker available at any cost, and was used in countless professional installations, recording studios, and concert halls. Many well-known professional musicians used AR-3 loudspeakers because of their excellent sound reproduction.

In the early 1960s, AR conducted a series of over 75 live vs. recorded demonstrations throughout the U.S. in which the sound of a live string quartet was alternated with echo-free recorded music played through a pair of AR-3s. In this “ultimate” subjective test of audio quality, the listeners were largely unable to detect the switch from live to recorded, a strong testament to Acoustic Research's audio quality.
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This discussion reminds me of the efforts Accoustic Research made (my second favorite speaker line) in the early 60's to promote the famous AR 3.

Can't recall a reference or the precise year, but the same test was performed with the same results with an Edison acoustic machine in the early 20th century.

Dave

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A good system can make it easier to suspend disbelief, but would never fool even a five-year-old in a 'is it live or is it Memorex' test.

Sorry.

Sadly true, but if you were to put a Klipsch speaker amp system on each musicians live performance you would be there. Alot is lost in the recording and trying to play it back all at once through a single system.

Just guessing?

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I was playing my Stewart Wayne Foster piano recording and one of the guys wandered out of the room and down the hall. I thought "Well, that went well..." and wondered what the deal was. A bit later, I asked him what he was doing. He said "The true test of speakers and recordings is not entirely how real they sound in the room, but whether it sounds like the real thing from outside the room. In this case, what I hear is a piano playing in a nearby room."

That's true, we sit on the porch sometimes at night and can hear the music playing inside and experience just what your talking about. It's like when you walk outside of a club with live music playing inside, you can still hear the how it sounds but with a different prospective.

Sometimes when woodworking and I have music playing and with certain tools I use over the ear headphone style noise protection, the music sounds different, it's easier to hear if there is an overall balance with bass and highs or anything that is really standing out. I guess because it kind of numbs down the whole sound which makes problems stand out more. ?

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