vnzbd Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hello all, a question about detail/quality of guitar recordings and the like. I am currently using a set of Quartets with the cap and ti tweeter upgrades and recently did a head to head against another speaker, the Zu Omen Def. The only difference was the speakers, all listening used the same electronics and discs. The Zu speakers have a much greater detail which is very noticable with guitars like Santana, Mark Knopler, etc. It is also noticible in movie soundtracks with details like breathing and rain. The decay of the guitar string is so much more present with the Zu, The Q's seem to have a blanket on them in comparison. And the Zu does also rock close to the Q's, sounding very clear at higher volumes as well. I am not sure of exactly what freq range the guitar is at, I am guessing lows and mids. Is there any mod to the Klipsch that can bring out more detail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2point1 Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 http://www.dak.com/reviews/tutorial_frequencies.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Is there any mod to the Klipsch that can bring out more detail? Yezzir, but it's a major mod called a "Klipschorn." [] Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Is there any mod to the Klipsch that can bring out more detail? Yezzir, but it's a major mod called a "Klipschorn." Dave ....... Or the portable version, La Scala! Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Those Zu's cost over $3000 so one hopes they would sound a bit better than a $500 speaker. Sure, pound for pound, Klipsch is much more bang for the buck, and routinely kills speakers well outside of its price range, but you're hardly apples to apples here.That said, I feel almost any Klipsch is killer on acoustic guitar, so I'm still a little surprised the Zu would carry the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 The detail and clarity of any of the newer Klipsch speakers can be greatly improved by cutting off the push-on connectors and soldering the wire directly to the speaker terminals. Unless you are experienced in soldering there is some risk associated with this, BEC has thanked me for the extra business in replacement tweeter diaphragms this has brought his way. Pre 1985 Klipsch soldered all driver connections, but this stopped when they went to front-mounted drivers. Soldering the connections in brand new Cornwall II and Forte models made a very noticable change in the sound, it would probably be even more pronounced in older speakers where the connectors were developing oxide films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 Thanks for the input guys. The Khorn is much to much speaker for my small space along with no clean corners. The Q's still sound great, I am just hearing more details in the Zu's that I never heard before. The Zu's were picked up on an ebay auction directly from the company, B-stock so the investment is far away form the 3k number. It was about 3 months ago that I did the cap and ti tweeter mods and the speakers were totally dismantled with the internal connection being checked. The solder suggestion may be tried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 A good 32 band eq. may do the trick and is relatively inexpensive. You can bring out the frequecies that you feel missing. The learning curve will take sometime. Use a set of good headphones to help train your ears. We like tinkering with things anyway, lol.[*-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 ditto what thebes and derrick said. You're comparing one speaker to another with a 6x price differential. What you are probably experiencing is a frequency response difference. A cheap 1/3 octave band graphic equalizer should be able to demonstrate the difference. A more flexible and powerful equalizer/processor like the Behringer DEQ2496 which is not very expensive for all the features it has would certainly show up the differences. And of course like Dave said. If you're going to compare a $500 speaker to a $3100 one, why not compare the $3100 speaker to a $4500 one? One guess which will win [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Thanks for the input guys. The Khorn is much to much speaker for my small space along with no clean corners. No good corners for Khorns? Well, time to look at La Scalas. Down the road, you could upgrade them to JubScalas. La Scalas are not that big once you get used to them. There are even some forum members with Jubilees in fairly small rooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juniper8 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Just a thought, find a pair of older cornwalls, brace the motor board with a very hard piece of wood (make sure they are made out of wood first) and replace the wiring with some very high quality silver internal wire. replace the caps and you will hear great guitar music with the right amps......these mods were discussed on this board many moons ago, if you can find them..... Just remember something, it is all about synergy ,your space, your preferences, and your equipment......... and your ears are your own!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Again gentlemen, thank you for the input. An eq may be fun to try. I had one in an old Kenwood system, been quite a while since I've played with one. I have about 30 more days of experimenting with the Zu's before I must keep or return them. One thing that I also see with them is a smaller sweet spot. Still making adjustments on that. And again, the Quartets do sound awesome also, no bashing here! As far as price goes, in the back of my head I thought the Q's retailed at about $1100 per pair back in the day. At $500 a pair they would have been a steal!Can anyone confirm the exact retail? The Zu's list at $3100, mine came in a 2k, still a chunk of $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 A question on the possible upgrade to the Quartet's midrange. The crossover specs for the Q reads it crossing @650 hz to the mid. After some reading it appears that the guitar can play out to about 1k with other factors(higher octaves being affected up to 4-5k) coming into play. Since the caps have been redone, my next thought would be to possibly change out the mid diaphrams to BC's or the Klipsch ti's What effect in the "extra detail" might I expect? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sthomas12321 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Hard to say, a few say the ti kipsch mids are another level(moorey james). OthersI have read from state they made the speaker too relaxed. Personally, I might like a more relaxed sound if the dynamics are still there. By the end of the year I should have the Klipsch ti mids to try in my klf 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshjp Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 The detail and clarity of any of the newer Klipsch speakers can be greatly improved by cutting off the push-on connectors and soldering the wire directly to the speaker terminals. How would this help the sound quality?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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