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What Is It About Klipsch?


jazzer

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The Heritage Klipsch speakers do not have much depth in the soundstage, if you compare them to British monitors or electrostatics and many other high end/audiophile speakers.  It is the truth....period. 
 
On the other hand, addressing the "bright" complaint. Most pop/rock records are TOO BRIGHT.  And Klipsch speakers reveal that better than most other speakers do. They also reveal crappy electronics, and that make a bright/fatiguing combination.   However, they do not sound too bright on well recorded source material played on appropriate well designed amps.      I suspect the reason Heritage Klipsch speakers do not have that 3-D deep soundstage quality has to do with time alignment between drivers.   Different designers and different listeners have differing priorities. 

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IMHO, the most important question to ask about the extremely expensive speakers and upstream equipment being touted as the best thing since buttered popcorn came along and can only be sold to the richest people today, because they are the only ones who could possibly afford them, is, and always SHOULD be:  "Yeah, and if they are the ULTIMATE,  then (1) how long will it be until the same company comes out with something even LESS affordable and calls THAT the ultimate...and (2) where will the company be 40 years from now?"

 

And the answers are pretty-much invariably:  (1) Not very long, and (2)  Out of business 30-35 years ago!

 

You can only con so many people who have more money than common sense for so long...or as Abe Lincoln said:  You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time!

 

IMHO, I would rather support a company that has proven its value to the audio industry, and its customers since 1946, myself!  AND which ALSO allows for discussions on its OWN CORPORATE WEBSITE FORUM about individual  "improvements"....speaker designs totally unrelated and highly possibly even detrimental to its own profit margins...speakers made by other manufacturers...the list goes on and on!...and who the hell else allows THAT???   You can add in this to the mix...where else online can somebody just ask any kind of audio-related question, to include VIDEO and COMPUTER-related questions and IMMEDIATELY get a number of members welcoming them and doing their best to provide at the very least SOME help???  This forum, as much as it SEEMS to be possibly detrimental the "corporate entity" that allows for it...ALSO provides FUTURE possibilities for marketable modifications to existing products, while at the same time providing usable input for FUTURE new marketable products!! Otherwise, why would they even bother with it to begin with??

 

Honestly folks... who do you REALLY believe was responsible for bringing the CORNWALL back, to begin with?  IT WAS ALL OF YOU!  And just look at what else is now making comebacks...who is responsible for that?  DUH!!!

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On 4/7/2019 at 2:56 PM, Marvel said:

Naw, we had to drive over from Peoria. On other occasions for sure... lsd, mescaline, who knows what else. Amazing I survived it all...

Funny thing about LSD and Psilocybin that surprisingly they have little to no physiological effects for as powerful as the mental effects are!

John  Kuthe...

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11 minutes ago, JohnKuthe said:

Funny thing about LSD and Psilocybin that surprisingly they have little to no physiological effects for as powerful as the mental effects are!

John  Kuthe...

Except for the poor souls who went insane from it and never came back which fortunately is pretty rare. Very scary thing to see.

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6 minutes ago, Dave A said:

Except for the poor souls who went insane from it and never came back which fortunately is pretty rare. Very scary thing to see.

Organic Mescaline is the ONLY psychedelic that actually converts to BRAIN FOOD and leaves absolutely no hangover or after affects...FYI.

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20 hours ago, CECAA850 said:

BOSE seems to be bucking that trend.

Only because they have had the time to reap the rewards of fully-establishing themselves in markets that companies like Klipsch have deemed not worthy of their attention....having Bose-specific areas in them...such as the AAFES systems!...Best Buy...the list goes on and on!  When a company spends more on its advertising than everything else put together...they get all the sales!


Klipsch could have established a HUGE military sales market EASILY, by just doing what I suggested while I was in the desert...but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not only that, but because around half or more of the Soldiers deploying were RESERVISTS and would return back the main street USA...they would have scarfed-up sales with them too!...then all of their friends and neighbors....but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

AND.....the absolute CRAZIEST part of it all was that Klipsch could have written-off the entire thing as a CHARITABLE DEDUCTION!!…..they didn't even BOTHER to look into it!  I had already done-up everything that they needed to make it happen, too!

 

I guess that letting Judy Klipsch hand out freebies to the rich and famous was all the advertising Klipsch needed at the time, though!

 

GO FIGURE!

 

Here is what the deal was in the desert:

1.  My last year and a half "Boots on Ground In-Theater" was at Camp Buehring, Kuwait (except for a few dozen relatively short round-trips "up north" where things often got hairy quickly!).  And my "Big BOSS" wore two hats...he was the Camp Buehring Command Cell Commander AND the Commander of Base Support Battalion-North, Kuwait which included all the other camps other than Camp Arifjan!...and before I left he took on a THIRD hat...Deputy Commander of ASG-Kuwait!  We were ALSO on excellent working terms with his office at Camp Buehring right across from mine! Whenever he needed something done related to the S-1 section he just hollered for me...and by-passed my upper chain...because he knew that I was gonna end up doing it anyway...and he gave me the same latitude on getting things signed by him in a "TIMELY MANNER"!!  Absolutely a GREAT Officer/Leader to work for!

2.  Every single Army Soldier, Marine and everybody else who was heading into Iraq came THRU Camp Beuhring...they HAD to...because the ranges around the camp is where they all had to do their final qualification on small arms prior to going into Iraq...it was a REQUIREMENT!

3.  Camp Buehring had generally been by-passed for USO shows until we finally completed the stage area there in the midst of the PX complex on the camp...it was an all-volunteer crew from around the camp which BUILT it...during "down time"....I was one of the volunteers!  Within two months after I arrived there the stage was DONE!

4.  Once the stage was completed, then all it needed was a regular sound system....and that is when I got on the forum and elsewhere trying to get Klipsch involved!  Because I knew it would be a prime opportunity for MASSIVE sales of Klipsch speakers and such...especially since the force structure in Iraq was being beefed-up at the time...it was called "the surge"!  So with even a pair of La Scalas up on the stage, the troops would take notice of what they heard and what they saw!  With something like a pro MCM system then the performers would just feed the mixer into it!

5.  Here is the stage...NO SPEAKERS!!

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For USO shows there would be an average of 5,000 PLUS troops in front of this stage...EVERY SHOW!  And every show would also have a NEW AND DIFFERENT 5,000 troops in front of it, because they were only there for a few days before going north!  AND THERE WERE A CRAPLOAD OF SHOWS!!!!!  This particular pic was ACTUALLY TAKEN a year and a half after I left...but is better than the pics I took while still there!  The two doors in the rear were to a bank of dressing rooms behind the stage!

 

I will continue this in a following post, showing SOME of the different shows that occurred ON THIS STAGE...with NO in-house SPEAKERS!

 

 

 

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Continuation of previous post:  Here are a few pics just to give an idea of who ended up on the Camp Buehring Stage almost weekly:

 

carrieunderwood_uso12_h_i.jpg.6662b7bd68abaf3138d41b49566f9f18.jpg

Carrie Underwood

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Five-Finger Death Punch

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tech n9ne

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Toby Keith

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Paul Wall

2030071639_JoanJettandKellyPicklerplayfortropsatCampBuehring.jpg.7732b8c0f4b92f46dc598799c57ba55c.jpg1971424590_KellyPicklerhasthetroopsontheirfeetforanhouratCampBuehring.jpg.e1074c84c61e3f9f2db07c86082a64c0.jpg1923912748_JoanJettsingsCherryBombforthetroopsatCampBuehring.jpg.dc23fdf71160ab0473be5e0195678405.jpg

JOAN JETT and KELLY PICKLER...sounds like a strange combo, but they were great together in that show!  Who woulda thunk it??

 

AND GUESS WHERE The Zac Brown Band was instead of at the ACM awards to get their award???  Camp Buehring!!

386272434_zacbrownbandskipsACMawardsforUSOgigatCampBuehring.jpg.cae84cfd868777d6c40c5c26b7eb1485.jpg 

 

Even when no shows were going on, we had the capability to be playing music all day while the PX complex was open...just NO SPEAKERS to do it thru!

 

SEE WHAT I MEAN?????????  TOO EASY!!!!!!!  Man, Did Klipsch miss out on a PRIME ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY or WHAT????  GO FIGURE!!!!  I TRIED!!!!!

 

I even came up with a banner design to hang on the stage for KLIPSCH!

1042871601_usoklipschlogo001.thumb.jpg.ea8bf717a18fdc77e85a6d59497c3267.jpg

 

RIGHT before I left, a couple of small stackable single PA units by BOSE arrived for the stage...which the Army HAD TO PAY FOR...even my Heresy I pair could have eaten their lunch on that stage!  But the speakers were normally locked away until late afternoon...ONLY because they were on the unit's property books!  If the speakers had been DONATED to the USO , they would have permanently mounted!...not locked away!  I had that figured-out, too!

 

ANOTHER KLIPSCH MAJOR MARKETING/SALES OPPORTUNITY MISSED!  It is...what it was!😖

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Marketing failure is the only reason for lack of market penetration. I sold a set of Chorus I's not to long ago and the buyer had the original boxes for them and was the original buyer from Nashvilles Hi-Fi Buys. Here in Music City USA Hi-Fi Buys is the only remaining "high end" audio store. They sold Klipsch at one time but today it is B&W garbage up to $22,000.00 on the floor and so pathetic compared to Klipsch you have to hear it to believe someone wants that kind of money for so-so. Best Buys has the largest local Nashville presence I know of and they have no idea what Klipsch does nor do the sales people care. Of course they also do not have any of the good or better gear there either surprise surprise. Klipsch reminds me of the MCAD software I use for design. Chosen after looking at the Big Name stuff and selected for it's superior modeling capabilities. It is also know as the "Best Software You've Never Heard Of" since there is no serious marketing. Two companies I chose to support because of quality and capabilities and neither give a flip about marketing. Almost like they are afraid of success.

 

  Sometimes marketing spots are filled with people who are terrified to do anything or take a gamble because as long as sales don't fall off a cliff their job is safe. If you don't try to spend money marketing  in ways "not traditionally done" by corporate accepted culture you won't be fired. I have seen many good people corrupted by good wages turn into don't rock the boat droids. My personal dealing with marketing departments has always disgusted me. I don't know what Klipsch's problem is in this area but there is one.

 

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16 minutes ago, Dave A said:

Sometimes marketing spots are filled with people who are terrified to do anything or take a gamble because as long as sales don't fall off a cliff their job is safe. If you don't try to spend money marketing  in ways "not traditionally done" by corporate accepted culture you won't be fired. I have seen many good people corrupted by good wages turn into don't rock the boat droids. My personal dealing with marketing departments has always disgusted me. I don't know what Klipsch's problem is in this area but there is one.

I just added in another pic to my last post showing that I even designed a banner to go up on the stage for Klipsch....made it so damned easy for marketing...and...NOTHING!

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20 hours ago, Marvel said:

The biggest problem with LSD is/was the additives that were included in all the street versions. Pure LSD, in the microgram doses was not the problem.

Such as speed (to get you tripping as quickly as possible, thereby often leading to an extremely violent trip! that you could NOT slow down) and on occasion strychnine...(which is why one had to keep reaching inside his/her pants to find out if he/she had chit themselves from all the cramping, but if one was lucky it was just sweat from all the speed involved).  The best stuff was what was called Dutch pyramid....which as a 4-way...meaning 4 folks could share off of one pyramid "dose".....would have you feeling like floating/in a melting environment...in the manner of being like you are sitting in the middle of shallow water not quite waist deep, with gentle waves lapping all around you in a mild rippling effect...distorting what you saw beneath those waves while the walls were melting around you...if anything caused things to speed up too far...you just put on some early Joni Mitchell and it all calmed down to where it should be....people who were freaking out were just led into the "Joni Mitchell room" and sat down on the floor...everything was just fine then!!  One thing you DID NOT want to play for them was something akin to Hawkwind's Doremi Fasol Latido album!...For sure!  Then they would be climbing walls and attempting to leap tall buildings in a single bound!...not cool at all!  Generally 1960's to mid 70's Rolling Stones was just fine though!...as was early Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers band, Atlanta Rhythm Section, well...you get the picture!  Of course, this is just what I heard others saying about it.....

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On 5/1/2019 at 7:03 AM, JohnKuthe said:

I too have NEVER considered myself a member of the General Public. I may not be as good as SOME select other humans, but I am definitely better than MOST!

I am a piece of crap and I still like my Klipsch speakers.

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7 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said:

...distorting what you saw beneath those waves while the walls were melting around you...if anything caused things to speed up too far...you just put on some early Joni Mitchell and it all calmed down to where it should be....people who were freaking out were just led into the "Joni Mitchell room" and sat down on the floor...everything was just fine then!!  One thing you DID NOT want to play for them was something akin to Hawkwind's Doremi Fasol Latido album!...For sure!
...

Or Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music! All 4 sides! 😉

John Kuthe...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I listed to some Klipsch speakers (don't recall the model) about 15 or so years ago and I had the same impression, they were too bright.  As such, I have written the brand off since then.  Looking back, it could have been poor source material, poor cables, or poor equipment that contributed to the sound.  In the last 20 years, I've gone through a bunch of "wife friendly" speakers (PSB, B&W, MartinLogan, etc) looking for the full-bodied sound that I remember hearing from my step-father's JBLs or even the Fisher speakers that I bought 30 years ago. Somewhere I stumbled across an article discussing audio components that are still made in the USA and link-diving lead me to some great reviews discussing the Forte III.  I was just about to bite the bullet on some B&W 702's but I figured I'd give the Forte's a listen first.  OMG, best decision ever.  They are the perfect loudspeaker IMHO.  This is the sound I've been searching for, articulate, full, powerful.  For me, listening to music is an emotional experience.  I want to feel the emotion and passion of the performer.  My wife kept asking why we needed new speakers and I tried to articulate what was missing from the various speakers that we've owned, they've all lacked command of the music and clear delineation of instruments and vocals when things get complex.  When we got the Forte's home and dialed-in, I put on "Fall on Me" by Andrea Bocelli...we sat there, listening in awe.  She understood.

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Congratulations!  Last time I'd heard any Klipsch "home" speakers was roughly 40 years ago and even (especially?) the Khorns just didn't "do it" for me.  My sound space is rather difficult and the little "given-me" JBLs I'd been using had lost any allure, so about 6 months ago I got it in my craw that better-controlled directivity would be beneficial.  I haven't a clue how I came to think a pair of Forte III would be nice to have, but without so much as driving an hour to hear them in a showroom I ordered a pair.  Best decision I've made in a good decade!  Welcome to the club.

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