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KHorns and a room, new chapter.


heavyP

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just when i was totally at peace and simply enjoying my La Scala, arises the opportunity to get 1981 Khorns and here's that damn bug again:

what if the KH sound better ;-) as generally admitted here -  than the LS?

BUT most important, what if it sounds WORSE - in my environment...

 

i'v been there before. i used to have Altec 19. I tried to make them play right and got frustrated for 2 years before i realized that fighting the basic laws of acoustics/volume/space and house structure is meaningless. no amp, cables, power plugs or snake oils can beat that.

then, after some time, the la Scala found their way and cured my audiopath issues effortlessly.

So today i visited a friend who has gorgeous sixties KH and a room pretty similar to mine in terms of volume - xcept he has THAT longer wall to place the speakers 12 feet apart - but less space for best Lp.

of course i enjoyed the bass and impact of the KH, it's a thrill but this well-known impression of "way too much bass and resonance" immediately started nagging at me.

my friend listens too loud for me, i kept lowering volume to match my taste and it sounded great. bass and impact was still there and maybe more articulate than at higher peak.

so it's a tough decision. get them and play the odds of a real good surprise or rely on intuition and experience.

heres a pic of my room and corners where the KH need to stand. sofa is about10 feet away from this wall and there's bigger space/room behind - but i cant push these side walls away.

feel free to comment and advice.

 

scala3.jpg

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I found the la scale difficult to tame in my listening environment over my great Cornwall, but I finally prevailed. Right from the get go I could tell it was going to be worth the effort because of the wonderful LF section of the la scala, which was way less bloated.

 

KH is not going to sound worse than a la scala.

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Hi derrick ;-)  the lower/louder bass makes it a very different experience. it's very welcome on some stuff and kinda noisy or disturbing on other tracks - but there's this global sensation that it's "always there" and can be addictive, for the best or worse.

introducing a sub to match the LS would be the elephant in the room i'm afraid.

i'd say the room is about 8 meters large, ceiling up to 2,50m, double living-room reaches 15 meters long. listening position is in between, with 2 sofas back to back, one facing the system, another facing armchairs, screen-windows, garden, etc...

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from what i read here, it needs to match the bass wavelength of the LS, hence quite a piece of furniture

Jason, your risers would look and sound fine here too ;-)

 

Edited by heavyP
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15 minutes ago, Schu said:

KH is not going to sound worse than a la scala.

 

if there's too much bass and resonance because they're too close and the room not big enough,  it will. maybe not worse - but not their best, whereas the LS sound so natural and easy

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5 minutes ago, heavyP said:

from what i read here, it needs to match the bass wavelength of the LS, hence quite a piece of furniture

Jason, your risers would look and sound fine here too ;-)

 

 

You could replace that table the equipment is on with one.

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1 hour ago, heavyP said:

 

if there's too much bass and resonance because they're too close and the room not big enough,  it will. maybe not worse - but not their best, whereas the LS sound so natural and easy

That doesn't even make sense  

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2 hours ago, Schu said:
4 hours ago, heavyP said:

if there's too much bass and resonance because they're too close and the room not big enough,  it will. maybe not worse - but not their best, whereas the LS sound so natural and easy

That doesn't even make sense  

 

Well, maybe.  Some amps can emphasize one frequency range over another.  I'm not saying that's the case, I'm just bringing it up as a possibility.

 

Depending on the source (ie, movies Dolby Digital sound) my 1978 Khorns have strong enough bass I could genuinely go without having a sub.  They can rattle the windows as-is especially at higher SPL.

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4 hours ago, muel said:

 

 

4 hours ago, muel said:

I'm betting your room has some peaks and nulls on the low end.

Hi muel.  I'm not sure you're replying to my post (directly above yours), but of course my room has some peaks and nulls on the low end.  I meant that the bass never was "excessive," IMO.  "Excessive bass" was something the OP, heavyP, was worried about.  Some other speakers are more "bass heavy,: and many are not as clear.  At the Main Listening Position, the bass sounds tight, pure, effortless and very dynamic.  Room proportions, room treatments and Audyssey further improve it.  

 

9 hours ago, heavyP said:

 

scala3.jpg

Hi heavyP.  I once had only 6 feet between my Klipschorns, in a very small room, and they were fine, except there was only one small sweet spot for one person only.  The imaging sucked for all other listeners, although it was tonally pretty good.  They sound much better in my current room of over 4,000 cu. ft.!

 

Is there a way to remove the table between the speakers (no matter what kind you get)?  The art work can stay.   Can you build your equipment into a closet or something, or put it at the rear of the room? 

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10 hours ago, Schu said:

That doesn't even make sense  

 

well, you're totally entitled to think that from your own experience. then we probably have different perception of music and frequencies  ;-)

from what i heard yesterday at my friend's, i'm totally aware of the potential of the KH here at home vs. the possible issues due to room structure.

what i liked and gives me hope is that even at lower sound level, the KH convey the whole spectrum with full bass weight and dynamics. but i know there will be an upper limit, as there is with any speaker in any given room.

browsing the forum i've seen systems and similar room/placement that seem to make their owners very happy.  some people enjoy cranking music at almost live volume level and achieve to find tonal balance or acceptable compromise in it, whereas others would run out of the room and cringe.

what matters most is the level of pleasure we can reach and the KH seems to have incredible potential.

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