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Chorus II's Vs. KLF-30's


JKARAS1

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I currently own a set of Chorus II's and have been thinking about swapping them for KLF-30's. The reason is for possibly a better bass response. The KLF's have 2 powered 12" woofer speakers while the Chorus's have a single powered 15" woofer with a passive 15" radiator, it seems like the bass may be tighter on the KLF's. Don't get me wrong I love my Chorus II's, but have heard a set of KLF-30's at a party a while back and was impressed by their bass sound and room filling capability. Anybody do a comparison between these two? Would love to hear any and all responses pertaining to this subject, and before I go out and get them.

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I've owned both and no doubt, the KLF30 have much more slam than the Chorus II. If you are looking for a speaker you can just absolutely crank...KLF30 will definitely provide that and then some.

Welcome to the forums

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I would take the Chorus II's over the KLF's any day of the week. The KLF's mid sounds a little harsh to me and you don't have to worry as much about cabinet construction with the Chorus. I also like the bass better with the Chorus. I would agree that the bass is little tighter with the KLF's, but it sounds thinner and doesn't hit with as much authority. The KLF's are great all around speakers, just not equal to a Chorus IMO.

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I would agree that the bass is little tighter with the KLF's, but it sounds thinner and doesn't hit with as much authority.

I did not find that at all with my comparison. As far as hard hitting authority type of bass, IMO, the Chorus II does not compare...but it was never designed for that either. Smoother midrange, yes, I can see that. "Slam" (which is what the OP is asking for), the KLF will do that all day long. YMMV.

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Keep the Chorus II's.

Experiment with moving the speakers to and from your back wall or corners to adjust your bass.

Update your crossovers if they are still factory units.

Add a proper sub if you are still not satisfied, KLF 30's would be a downgrade in my opinion.

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I would take the Chorus II's over the KLF's any day of the week. The KLF's mid sounds a little harsh to me and you don't have to worry as much about cabinet construction with the Chorus. I also like the bass better with the Chorus. I would agree that the bass is little tighter with the KLF's, but it sounds thinner and doesn't hit with as much authority. The KLF's are great all around speakers, just not equal to a Chorus IMO.

two twelve inch woofers will push the equivalent of close to 1.5 times a fifteen inch woofer. The Chorus and the KLF both use the same mid driver. The horn on the KLF is a very wide band horn but it is very thin walled. The KLF mid horn responds well to some structural reinforcement and damping as it can be made to vibrate when the woofers play loud. The KLF do play lower than either Chorus do. The real baffle of the Chorus is nor braced in any way and can vibrate enough to actually slap the mid driver. The KLF cabinet panels are smaller and will vibrate at higher frequencies that those of the Chorus.

Since the OP has a pair of Chorus ll and is looking for some additional I would like to offer a suggestion that might just provide the added bass and cost a few dollars at most. All that needs to be done is to glue 2.5 ounces of steel washers (two large ones) on to the centre of the passive. If you don't like it simply remove the washers. I came up with this mod originally on a pair of Quartet then on a pair of Forte ll. A small amount of five minute epoxy works well to bond the washers together and to fix the combined washers to the passive. Four or five small dots works very well and makes them easy to remove if desired. Best regards Moray James.

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I would take the Chorus II's over the KLF's any day of the week. The KLF's mid sounds a little harsh to me and you don't have to worry as much about cabinet construction with the Chorus. I also like the bass better with the Chorus. I would agree that the bass is little tighter with the KLF's, but it sounds thinner and doesn't hit with as much authority. The KLF's are great all around speakers, just not equal to a Chorus IMO.

two twelve inch woofers will push the equivalent of close to 1.5 times a fifteen inch woofer. The Chorus and the KLF both use the same mid driver. The horn on the KLF is a very wide band horn but it is very thin walled. The KLF mid horn responds well to some structural reinforcement and damping as it can be made to vibrate when the woofers play loud. The KLF do play lower than either Chorus do. The real baffle of the Chorus is nor braced in any way and can vibrate enough to actually slap the mid driver. The KLF cabinet panels are smaller and will vibrate at higher frequencies that those of the Chorus.

Since the OP has a pair of Chorus ll and is looking for some additional I would like to offer a suggestion that might just provide the added bass and cost a few dollars at most. All that needs to be done is to glue 2.5 ounces of steel washers (two large ones) on to the centre of the passive. If you don't like it simply remove the washers. I came up with this mod originally on a pair of Quartet then on a pair of Forte ll. A small amount of five minute epoxy works well to bond the washers together and to fix the combined washers to the passive. Four or five small dots works very well and makes them easy to remove if desired. Best regards Moray James.

The Chorus II & KLF 30 do not share the same midrange driver, the Chorus II uses the K- 61 with a phenolic diaphragm & the KLF 30 uses the K-52 with a Polymer diaphragm.

Even with a 3/4" bucking magnet on the back of the the K-61 the driver never vibrates near to slapping the back of the cabinet.

Adding weight to your passives is a risky move if you like your music loud, i tore a passive from the frame once, adding weight to the passive will increase the risk of damage.

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Maybe it was the power source which made the KLFs sound so good. Was there a sub woofer involved? I had Chorus II's and powered them with a 220wpc Kenwood Basic M2A and they could produce live concert audio sound. I would vote Chorus IIs.

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I think it comes down to what your ears like. I have had my 30's and my old Chorus set up in two different listening rooms and enjoyed the Chorus more. I did like the height of the mid and tweeter of the 30's, but I just have never heard a Klipsch Tower that I enjoyed more than the Chorus. The Chorus had bass that would hit you in the chest very close to my old Cornwall II's. I never got that with the KLF's and they just didn't have the smooth mid. It seemed to get raspy too quick. Maybe it was my placement that hindered the 30's. I have a set of the black KLF- 30's in the box, one owner that I will work a swap for a set of Chorus I or II's or a single Belle or LaScala, if anyone is interested. Of course cash involved either way depending on condition of trade.

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I think it comes down to what your ears like. I have had my 30's and my old Chorus set up in two different listening rooms and enjoyed the Chorus more. I did like the height of the mid and tweeter of the 30's, but I just have never heard a Klipsch Tower that I enjoyed more than the Chorus. The Chorus had bass that would hit you in the chest very close to my old Cornwall II's. I never got that with the KLF's and they just didn't have the smooth mid. It seemed to get raspy too quick. Maybe it was my placement that hindered the 30's. I have a set of the black KLF- 30's in the box, one owner that I will work a swap for a set of Chorus I or II's or a single Belle or LaScala, if anyone is interested. Of course cash involved either way depending on condition of trade.

I think the rooms have a lot to do with it. In my home I ran Chorus ll's vs RF-7's for years and was surprised by the bass slam of the Chorus ll. It was not as tight as the RF-7 but it's slam factor was way up there. I had them corner loaded though in a large carpeted room with 425 watts per channel. As for Chorus ll vs KLF 30, it would be a lateral move at best and IMHO a slight downgrade but YMMV.

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Chorus ii no doubt. The 15 is a must have...2 12's dont reach and hold bass from a-z the way the chorus ii provides.

To all their own in what they prefer. when i ran klf30's I had to use a sub. With the chorus ii even on a tube amp no powered sub required...Thats a big plus...

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When I had the Chorus II, they were driven by A Parasound HCA 2205a (220 x 5) amplifier. Plenty sufficient

I have read you knocking the chorus ii youthman and have to suggest the pair you had were faulty somewhere within. I have compared so many chorus ii and klf30's and all times i couldnt believe the perfection in music and movies the chorus ii provide. The klf30 can handle power although nothing close to a good running chorus ii even at low volume. Low volume is another spot the chorus ii shines. So strong and detailed at even 60db's(when networks etc...is all fresh/good)...the klfs are also detailed although the low end was far from what the chorus ii was/is both in proper working condition...

Out of the 2, black in color i would of preferred the klf30 in my room due to its footprint. Without a powered sub the klf30 was a bust. I wanted true 2channel and the chorus ii is my only choice with good crossovers and good drivers...from gospel to rap the chorus ii are amazing...

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I have read you knocking the chorus ii youthman and have to suggest the pair you had were faulty somewhere within.

I'm not sure where you are seeing that I'm knocking the Chorus II. I have yet to own a pair of Klipsch speakers (and I've owned my share) that I did not enjoy.....none. I even tried out a few pair of B&W but eventually came back to what my ears like the best....Klipsch.

I think Vital has a point that room probably has a lot to do with it. When I had the Chorus II in my living room, the Chorus II definitely did not have the "slam" you are referring to. This could be due to the fact that the room is 15' x 25' and the Chorus II were on the long wall in the middle so there are no corners to enhance the bass (corner loading). In the HT, in order to compare two speakers side by side, I had to pull them in front of the false wall so again, the speakers are only getting boundary gain from the side wall since they are now pulled out away from the front wall by about 3'.

So in my HT, the KLF-30 had MUCH more slam than the Chorus II ever did. The midrange was indeed better on the Chorus II. Both had amazing clarity in the highs.

I cannot comment on how the Chorus II sound corner loaded. To the OP, can you post a pic of your front wall so we can see how you have your Chorus II setup? Maybe he has a similar setup to what I did or maybe they are too close or too far from the wall (as Jason mentioned).

Edited by Youthman
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