Been 12 yrs, now I'm back to Klipsch

[Rowan611]

Hi all, first post here. Today I was finally able to grab a pair of KLF 10s; I've wanted to own a pair of these wonderful speakers since '99. I also want the KLF 20s, but they'll have to wait.

I got them for $275, which I think is a steal. I've owned NHT speakers for 12 years, and while I like them, I've always missed my original Klipsch HT. I'm using an Academy center, and eventually I'll move my Heresys down to use as rears (my dad bought these brand new in 85 either before or shortly after we moved to Germany. So I've been listening to Klipsch speakers since I was 7; I'm currently 36). For now I'm using my NHT ST4s as rears - not a great solution, but it'll do for now. The reason I can't simply switch the ST4s with the Heresys is I have a 2 year old. I don't want him pushing on the ST4s and possibly tipping them - they're really not all that sturdy.

As for my initial thoughts on the KLF10s - WOW. It's been a long time since I've listened to them, but I love them. I'd say they are 2 to 3 times louder than the ST4s, maybe louder; but they're also a hell of a lot more efficient. I've got to order a center channel stand and stands for the Heresys; planning on having them built by the guys at GWiz. I'm an Army brat - so I'm all about supporting Veterans and I also like supporting small businesses.

The Academy seems to blend well with the 10s; would the C7 be all that better? Ideally I want 20s up front and 10s in the rears, but I might just look for another pair of 10s. Assuming the Heresys don't blend well.

Been looking at some of the HT pics on here. Lots of amazing setups.

[mustang guy]

Welcome to the forum!

You have a nice setup. Too bad you aren't utilizing those Heresy's. They are excellent speakers. Can't have one falling on the 2 year old, though!

The C-7 would be a better timbre match for the KLF-10's, but the Academy is an excellent speaker as well. I think the C-7 and the Academy are bringing about the same money, so it shouldn't cost to much to swap them out if you decide to. I'm not sure what I would do, frankly.

Have you got any pictures of your setup? We'd like to see...

[Rowan611]

Welcome to the forum!

You have a nice setup. Too bad you aren't utilizing those Heresy's. They are excellent speakers. Can't have one falling on the 2 year old, though!

The C-7 would be a better timbre match for the KLF-10's, but the Academy is an excellent speaker as well. I think the C-7 and the Academy are bringing about the same money, so it shouldn't cost to much to swap them out if you decide to. I'm not sure what I would do, frankly.

Have you got any pictures of your setup? We'd like to see...

Thanks!

The Heresys are currently being used in our den where our tv is. Because they're short and wide he can't push them over; however, the NHTs he can. We plan on getting a sound bar for the den, then I can move these down stairs into the HT.

There's a local guy selling his whole Klipsch HT on CL - he has a C7 and only wants $175 for it. But, my wife has already said no more audio purchases. Besides the 10s, I've bought a Panasonic 55VT60, Oppo 103, Adcom GFA 555 and I'm trading for another SVS 20-39CS to add to my current 20-39CS plus (the Adcom will drive both of them)

Here are some crappy pics I took last night to show my dad.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Rowan611

[Rowan611]

Rears. Still need more movie posters for the front. Looks really bland - lol

[Youthman]

Welcome to the forums and welcome back to Klipsch. The KLF series are great speakers. I once owned the KLF-30's and they have great highs and some major slam with dual 12" drivers. As mentioned, if you do decide to sell the Academy, you would end up making money to move to the C7. I believe I sold my Academy's a year or two ago for $375 each. Not sure what they are selling for currently.

[Shodrewken]

As others have said welcome back to the Klipsch family. You have some fine pieces of equipment. I owned the KLF-10s and they certainly rocked my living room! Great overall sound and amazing bass. The C7 will definitely be a better match for your 10's of you have the chance to pick one up.

[mustang guy]

Rears. Still need more movie posters for the front. Looks really bland - lol

Is that an SVS I see in the back corner?

That Academy is Cherry. I assumed it was black like about every other one out there. You should get good money for it. You can get your C-7 and make a few bucks. You might put a for sale in our Garage Sale Section before you go the Ebay route though. It might move quicker.

[Heritage_Head]

looks like a good start of a great ht. Good luck

[Rowan611]

Rears. Still need more movie posters for the front. Looks really bland - lol

Is that an SVS I see in the back corner?

That Academy is Cherry. I assumed it was black like about every other one out there. You should get good money for it. You can get your C-7 and make a few bucks. You might put a for sale in our Garage Sale Section before you go the Ebay route though. It might move quicker.

It is - 20-39cs+ that's being run with an Adcom GFA555; I'm actually adding another 20-39cs into the equation. It's actually Oak Oil, which I'm guessing is still not very common. I might eventually, but I've had since I was a sophomore in college. Actually I bought it as a pr....but one blew when the right channel of my Phase Linear blew. Edited December 6, 2013 by Rowan611

[Rowan611]

looks like a good start of a great ht. Good luck

Thanks! It'll get better when I get the Heresys down here.

[Rowan611]

So I got the Heresys moved down into the HT. But, I have an issue. I ran Audyssey using all 8 positions, these are the results:

Front + 2.0

Center + .5

Rear R - 3.5

Rear L - 4.0

Sub + 3.0

Manually changed the KLFs to small

Crossovers are set as follows: fronts is set at 40hz, center is set at 60hz, rears at 110hz (which seems really high to me) and sub at 80hz. Those seem very weird. The 3808 only let's you change it in increments of 20hz...no idea why - seems really dumb to me.

I have the Heresys on stands and I think that is messing with the crossover point. I'm pretty sure they'll perform better if I take them off the stands; which I plan on trying later today.

To me the levels seem high (and they sound high) for the fronts. Thoughts? It's a regular basement, 4500 cubic ft. Any ideas?

Edited December 12, 2013 by Rowan611

[Youthman]

Do you have an SPL meter to see if the levels all match?

[SuBXeRo]

When I tune, i try and tune by ear. MY process is a long one though. I initially set everything to zero and then tune as i watch media. This process can take weeks sometimes. What i tune to is also personal preference and not that of predetermined software. Level tuning is the easiest of all things. Tuning the EQ band is when things get a lot more hairy and is where audessey and such become a HUGE help.

Almost every movie and/or show i watch, i will adjust the trim levels of the channels depending on what the media is. That is one characteristic of the Emotiva UMC-1 that i absolutely love. When the processor turns off, all of the trims go away and go to what your hard settings are which would be what you leveled everything out to be. Trims are temporary changes.

My last word of advice is, don't care about what the actual level numbers are. That is irrelevant. What matters is what you hear and if what you is what you want. Tune accordingly and listen on!

Edited December 12, 2013 by SuBXeRo

[Rowan611]

Do you have an SPL meter to see if the levels all match?

Yes I do. I can check them.

When I tune, i try and tune by ear. MY process is a long one though. I initially set everything to zero and then tune as i watch media. This process can take weeks sometimes. What i tune to is also personal preference and not that of predetermined software. Level tuning is the easiest of all things. Tuning the EQ band is when things get a lot more hairy and is where audessey and such become a HUGE help.

Almost every movie and/or show i watch, i will adjust the trim levels of the channels depending on what the media is. That is one characteristic of the Emotiva UMC-1 that i absolutely love. When the processor turns off, all of the trims go away and go to what your hard settings are which would be what you leveled everything out to be. Trims are temporary changes.

My last word of advice is, don't care about what the actual level numbers are. That is irrelevant. What matters is what you hear and if what you is what you want. Tune accordingly and listen on!

I try and tune to what I hear also. But I don't want to mess up how Audyssey EQed the room. I am going to retry with the Heresys on the floor. The reason I was concerned about the levels is because when I had the ST4s as fronts they weren't up to +2 and the KLF10s are far more efficient speakers. So that's why it seems weird to me.

Does anyone know how I can replace the speaker binding posts on the Heresys? They are the old screw type and would like to make them more traditional. I'm sure I don't have the right tools....but I'm curious.

Thanks for the help

[SuBXeRo]

Ill have to find some pictures. I had a pair of heresys that i refinished. I took the screw downs off and then drilled a hole with a hole saw and put in round speaker post cup. Simple and easy.

Keep in mind, if you fudge up the sound, you can always run the calibration program again.

[Rowan611]

Ill have to find some pictures. I had a pair of heresys that i refinished. I took the screw downs off and then drilled a hole with a hole saw and put in round speaker post cup. Simple and easy.

Keep in mind, if you fudge up the sound, you can always run the calibration program again.

I am thinking about staining them, they are unfinished oak. I think I could do that pretty easily. Did you remove the back first? That's what I would do, then re-wire. Be a good project for the spring; it's a little too chilly here now....although I suppose I could do that in the basement.

Yeah, I've ran it 3 times now. I have another SVS 20-39cs headed my way, so I'll just wait till it gets here and re run everything...again.

[SuBXeRo]

When i redid the heresys i actually took off the back and the motorboard. The motorboard is stapled in there so you may or may not actually want to remove it. I removed the rear panel when i drilled the hole to ensure the drivers didnt get dusty. I would probably go over the enclosures with some 250+ grit sandpaper and smooth is out as much as possible. Get a good quality oil based stain and then seal it with oil based poly. I have used water-based for both on stuff and I am sorry, oil based always gives the best finishes. I chose high gloss and it came out great! If you can do spray poly, thats even better because it would come out super even and you can get a lot of coats on it easier. Final sheen is a choice for you to make though

I have two svs subs and I love them. I find putting them right next to my towers on the inside gives me some good even bass

[Scrappydue]

I'd say as long as you make sure the levels are al even I'd leave them how they are after. It's setting the levels so you will be at reference when you are at 0 on the main volume. Emotiva doesn't use a standard volume so I would never care about trim levels. But that's also a reason I will never buy an emotiva processor unless they change to a standard volume.

[Rowan611]

When i redid the heresys i actually took off the back and the motorboard. The motorboard is stapled in there so you may or may not actually want to remove it. I removed the rear panel when i drilled the hole to ensure the drivers didnt get dusty. I would probably go over the enclosures with some 250+ grit sandpaper and smooth is out as much as possible. Get a good quality oil based stain and then seal it with oil based poly. I have used water-based for both on stuff and I am sorry, oil based always gives the best finishes. I chose high gloss and it came out great! If you can do spray poly, thats even better because it would come out super even and you can get a lot of coats on it easier. Final sheen is a choice for you to make though

I have two svs subs and I love them. I find putting them right next to my towers on the inside gives me some good even bass

Cool. Just have to find some nice replacement posts. Parts Express or Monoprice? Yeah, I was planning to sand them down first. Still not sure if I want to stain them or not. I'll try the subs there when I get the second one, but right now it's in the best place for bass in my room.....so it's going to be fun playing with them to see where they sound best.

I'd say as long as you make sure the levels are al even I'd leave them how they are after. It's setting the levels so you will be at reference when you are at 0 on the main volume. Emotiva doesn't use a standard volume so I would never care about trim levels. But that's also a reason I will never buy an emotiva processor unless they change to a standard volume.

Yeah....I wasn't planning on messing with the levels; well maybe the sub. I will try them tonight on the floor vs on stands, I don't know if they'll be harder to hear behind the couch. I plan on having stands built for them, but for now the ones they're on might have to work.

I see you're in KCMO - my wife and I grew up in Leavenworth, KS. Don't know if your familiar with that area. Anyway, we are spending Christmas in KS; I was wondering if you might be willing to audition your Stereo Integrities? I think 2 20-39 won't pressurize my basement like I want, and I think I want to take a shot at a DIY solution. Don't know if I need or want 18's, but I would like to hear yours. I know it's the silly season. Just thought I'd ask.

Thanks for all the help!

[Scrappydue]

I love to demo my gear. You are more than welcome to come by? Shoot me a pm on the dates you'll be up and we will try and figure something out.