mungkiman Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 "Maybe because PWK chose permanent magnets as the more thrifty "solution?"" Original Klipschorn used a field coil driver. If you read the article about it one of the measurements he made was with the field coil shut off. Wasn't this back when Stephens Trusonic was in play? We run what we can afford, that is what brought us here. if anyone gets a chance to audition field coil driven speakers, you will be the better for it. All audio shows worth their salt have a few pairs going. Am I wrong to assume that cost is a function of rarity? Might there be a resurgence, or is this technology too reliant on tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 can’t recall what i paid for my heresy 1 pair back in 1984 -- was it $400 for the pair of $400 each? way cheaper either way and they’re still alive and doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouachita Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 They would have been $400/each back in '84. So today a pair of H3 is $2,000 and C3 is $4,400. Now the C3 uses the same parts except for a slightly larger woofer and a bigger box. Thanks to Bob Crites - we know what the parts cost, so building a C3 costs $2,400 more than a Heresy for basically a bigger box? That must be one valuable box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Think plywood plus parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) If my little brain recalls what I paid new: 1990 Quartets $400. 1990 Chorus IIs $800. 1969 Z-28 $2,700. 1979 Z-28 $7,200. Not that I bought one but a 2015 Z-28 is $75,000 Edited December 3, 2015 by USNRET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Never ceases to amaze me how the thread subjects get hijacked within a very short period of time. No idea what field coil design has to do with the prices of Heritage speakers.... You know what amazes me? How come everytime I play a Youtube vid of a speaker through my speakers, my speakers sound better than the Youtube vid when I play the original vid? Why is that? Edited December 3, 2015 by wvu80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 "Maybe because PWK chose permanent magnets as the more thrifty "solution?"" Original Klipschorn used a field coil driver. If you read the article about it one of the measurements he made was with the field coil shut off. Wasn't this back when Stephens Trusonic was in play? We run what we can afford, that is what brought us here. if anyone gets a chance to audition field coil driven speakers, you will be the better for it. All audio shows worth their salt have a few pairs going. Am I wrong to assume that cost is a function of rarity? Might there be a resurgence, or is this technology too reliant on tubes? These have been around for awile, rarity? not in high end audio. Back in the day there were no SS amps, likely because transistors had NOT been invented yet. This is a copy/paste from one of my charitys. An electrodynamic loudspeaker or field coil loudspeaker is a dynamic loudspeaker in which the field is produced by an electromagnet rather than by a permanent magnet.[dubious – discuss] An electrodynamic loudspeaker therefore has two coils: The voice coil common to all dynamic loudspeakers, positioned in the air gap between the pole pieces, the motion of which moves the loudspeaker cone. A fixed field coil which together with its magnetic core replaces the permanent magnet of other dynamic loudspeakers. The first electrodynamic loudspeakers were produced in the 1930s, to address the problem that strong permanent magnets of the time were extremely heavy. A compromise was therefore necessary between loudspeaker efficiency, which required the strongest possible magnet, and weight. The use of a strong but relatively light electromagnet solved this problem. While now uncommon, electrodynamic loudspeakers were once common in top quality mantel radios and similar domestic audio applications, particularly in the post-war period of World War II. In these appliances the field coil of the loudspeaker was also used as the main or only filter choke in the high tension power supply to the valve anodes. Advances in permanent magnet technology rendered the traditional electrodynamic loudspeaker obsolete. The type survives in some high-end hi-fi applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Never ceases to amaze me how the thread subjects get hijacked within a very short period of time. No idea what field coil design has to do with the prices of Heritage speakers.... Relevent, Klipsch raises prices yet again, Klipsch are the top of the line as far as i am concrened, FOR a common speaker. Now with the advent of rising prices, Me Being an McM owner, if i were to pay retail current klipsch prices, there are better choices for that kind of money, I do not buck up to the "field coil campfire" in light of Neodymium magnet technology. It's just backwards nostalgia, just like overpriced, beat up stuff from Western Electric fetching crazy prices for paper cone driver..........PUHLEASE. It's technology, folks, not a quasi-religious experience. If you are hearing good sound from a speaker compared to Klipsch Pro stuff, it has to do with other factors besides the damn field coil (yes I have heard them and it's marketing BS) In the interest of "been there done that" with MCM's about 8 years ago, I have yet to find anything better the Danley Synergy horns and Tapped Horns at any PRICE. Klipsch Pro sound quality in a smaller package. As to the price of Heritage Speakers, WAKE UP AMERICA. It's a reflection of two things: 1) The devaluation of the dollar, coupled with 2) the watering down of middle class salaries not keeping up with inflation and beat down by foreign labor competition. Basically everything except computers and digital technology costs the same as 1960 prices in terms of how many months you have to work to purchase whatever it is you are talking about. Khorns are the perfect example of this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 The likely reason that Klipsch raised the price on their Heritage line is because careful market research/surveys told them that they could. Why would any competent company leave money sitting on the table when they can grab more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 As I recall my decorator K horns and Cornwall in 1965 were somewhere around $1100.00 and I thought that was a lot of money. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Klipsch has always sought to protect its image in the marketplace as a high or higher end manufacturer. When I was a relatively young guy (I'm an old guy now) a family friend had a number of discussions with PWK about potential discounts on Heritage speakers. The bottom line was that Klipsch would discontinue its relationship with any dealer caught discounting its speakers. I suspect this sort of thinking is one factor among many in the company's decision to raise prices yet again. As for me, with one exception (KLF-30's), all my Klipsch purchases have been in the gently used market and that won't change anytime soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Not sure the exact year, '77 or '78, my factory ordered LaScallas were around $1700/pr. New Klipsch prices seem no more out of line, percentage wise, than new autos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouachita Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Klipschorn prices now far exceed Jubilee prices ( i think ). OK maybe I get the Klipschorn - there's probably not a lot of demand any more and that must be one difficult cabinet to build. Considering Bob Crites can build a set of Cornscalas for half the price of the C3s using higher quality wood/components - I do believe the Heritage prices are bordering on price gouging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 At least now i get to look at my LaScalas and think, "Hey I have $8000 worth of speakers that I paid a grand for." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 What is the point of all this speculation. ..? No one here has any idea what it cost Klipsch to keep their doors open. It's so easy to guess and speculate what it cost to run a business but until you try to keep a business profitable while also providing descent wages, insurance and other benefits we all want it's very easy to be critical of others because you don't have all the facts..!!!! At the last employees appreciation lunch in Hope in early 2015 some of us had a chance to share time with Roy and he was talking about how he was doing everything in is ability to see Klipsch and Hope manufacturing growing in jobs and manufacturing in the US...!!! If you can beat Klipsch performance/quality for the price of it's newly manufactured products with competting new products from similar manufacturers then good luck to you. Comparing Klipsch to Bob's business is apples to oranges and if Bob is like most small business owners I know he will tell you it's a reall struggle to keep a business running in this day and time. My 2 cents, miketn 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Never ceases to amaze me how the thread subjects get hijacked within a very short period of time. No idea what field coil design has to do with the prices of Heritage speakers.... You know what amazes me? How come everytime I play a Youtube vid of a speaker through my speakers, my speakers sound better than the Youtube vid when I play the original vid? Why is that? Mine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkytype Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 On January 21, 1976, I sent a check in the amount of $2,041.00 to Klipsch for my Rosewood Klipschorns and single Belle. The pricing is odd in that a July 1973 price sheet shows a single walnut Klipschorn listed for $990--$53.00 dollars more than my single rosewood Klipschorn! Back then, Klipsch as well as most every equipment manufacturer offered a dealer's salespersons "accommodation pricing" on their gear, hence the "Less accommodation discount for personal use of Lee Clinton". I don't think the Klipsch discount was 50% which was common for electronics manufacturers. The rosewood was Honduran, not Brazilian as Brazil had implemented an embargo on exporting rosewood wood logs. Before the embargo Klipsch did build gorgeous Brazilian rosewood loudspeakers on special order. The attached price sheet is from July of 1973. A pair of style B walnut Klipschorns sold for $1980.00. At today's dollar inflation rate, those would cost $10,606.00. The new Klipschorn pricing is about 13% higher than the cost adjusted for 1973 dollars. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I do believe the Heritage prices are bordering on price gouging. I totally disagree with this. The Klipsch dogs know the we(buying public) can get used Heritage(I, II, III) for a fraction of what they cost new today. Raising prices is not a way to generate more sales by the average Joe but the "exclusiveness" of a new fine piece of American craftmanship commands a premium price. They know we can get 95% of the performance and visual quality for less than 50% of the cost of new today. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouachita Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 Willland - with all due respect - that makes absolutely no sense. Klipsch is in the business of selling speakers - not supporting the used market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Willland - with all due respect - that makes absolutely no sense. Klipsch is in the business of selling speakers - not supporting the used market. Ouachita, with all due respect....he didn't say that. You might want to read it again. He said that they are aware of the used market, not supporting the used market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.