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KLF 20 opinions


mcp

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I have been patiently waiting for a used pair of Fortes or RP series speakers to pop up locally and now have a line on a pair of KLF 20's. I have never heard this series, can you let me know if you've had experience with them? Good buy in the $300 - $500 range?

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On 2/27/2020 at 9:33 AM, mcp said:

I have been patiently waiting for a used pair of Fortes or RP series speakers to pop up locally and now have a line on a pair of KLF 20's. I have never heard this series, can you let me know if you've had experience with them? Good buy in the $300 - $500 range?

superb buy. make sure the front and the rear baffles are secure as early manufacture had an adhesive issue with the glue used only on the baffles. If the baffles are loose use that to lower the purchase price and then repair them it is not overly difficult these are very good horns the mid horn is so wide band Klipsch use it it as a tweeter horn in some pro models, the measure of the quality of a horn design is its bandwidth the wider the better the horn design. The woofers are top class, I like them better than the neo drivers in the Epic series CF3/4. Hurry up go check them out.

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6 minutes ago, moray james said:

superb buy. make sure the front and the rear baffles are secure as early manufacture had an adhesive issue with the glue used only on the baffles. If the baffles are loose use that to lower the purchase price and then repair them it is not overly difficult these are very good horns the mid horn is so wide band Klipsch use it it as a tweeter horn, me measure of the quality of a horn design is its bandwidth the wider the better the horn design. The woofers are to class, I like then better than the neo drivers in the Epic series CF3/4. Hurry up go check them out.

Thank you. How far from the wall do these need to be placed? I believe they're rear ported. I don't have a large room (12 x 20), but there is a cathedral ceiling that makes most speakers seem bass shy. Looking for full sound at lower volumes...

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On 2/27/2020 at 9:48 AM, mcp said:

Thank you. How far from the wall do these need to be placed? I believe they're rear ported. I don't have a large room (12 x 20), but there is a cathedral ceiling that makes most speakers seem bass shy. Looking for full sound at lower volumes...

having owned three pair of these I can say that if you use toe in as I do I have placed them so that the inside back edge is touching the base boards (for situations where maximum boundary reinforcement is desired). You cannot set them up coplanar that close though, I like to use an equilateral set up where the centre distance between the speakers is equal to the direct distance from baffle centre to my head. This works very well. If you want not to use toe in then pull them out 4 - 6 inches from the front wall the vents are short so they do not have a long throw with respect to their reflex action. If this results in too much bass then pull them out further to taste.

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1 hour ago, pzannucci said:

If you want room reinforcement of the bass, look at up to a few feet from the wall.  If you can get within a few feet from corners, it will make the speakers act like they are much larger.

the closer the loudspeaker to a boundary the greater the reinforcement. A wall affords one boundary a corner two.

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59 minutes ago, pzannucci said:

yes, basic fundamentals everyone should know.  

 

https://www.prosoundtraining.com/2011/08/29/how-boundaries-affect-loudspeakers/

Starting with speakers as close to the front wall or into the corners where available provides the user with valuable information. This is not to suggest that this is the best possible location for a speaker, each speaker and each room will vary as will each users desired results. Moving the loudspeaker out from the wall or corner in steps will provide insight into where a given speaker will achieve a good balance between available boundary reinforcement to the loudspeaker and the desired results of the user. Once a satisfactory bass response/balance is achieved you can then experiment with toe in to establish the best available compromise for the reproduction of stage and image.

This set up procedure is an excellent way to train your ears to critically listen and it will result in progressively better and better set ups as you repeat the process each time you will dial it in a little better providing both improved focus and improved resolution. As your listening skills improve you will find that you are able to recognize more and more valuable information and enjoyment from your recording and your system. The end goal being to make your loudspeakers seemingly disappear from the room. It is possible with appropriate gear to achieve 3D like sound quality and with some good recordings a surround sound effect can be obtained. One step at a time and impressive and most satisfying results can be achieved with persistence and dedication to the process.

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That's the first thing anyone setting up a speaker system should know and many times even using correction won't help. Proximity to walls or corners can cause many issues with imaging and frequency including bass bloat that can't be filtered easily.

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10 minutes ago, Randyh said:

they have had quite a few problems with internal cabs coming apart at the seams , which require re-clamping gluing the MDF panels whereas no such issues on the Forte -

but properly fixed (many don't need to be re-glued), can match or for many here, better a Forte, particularly for the money.

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I have a pair of KLF 20s , the cabinets come unglued as do the ports, take all the drivers out , take a heat gun to the old glue and reglue them with liquid nails.. They are easy to fix . also replace the tweeter with Crites tweeters and you have a pair of speakers that will last you a life and sound awesome doing so.

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12 hours ago, pzannucci said:

but properly fixed (many don't need to be re-glued), can match or for many here, better a Forte, particularly for the money.

My late production KLF-10's don't have glue issues. They took the melamine off of the internal surfaces and OVER-glued them with a different type of glue.

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On 3/1/2020 at 7:47 PM, PrestonTom said:

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, ...... however at this price you are within the ballpark of getting something much better (heresy, cornwall, forte, KLF30 or chorus). Be patient.

 

Lots of folks don't think they are better and if you can find KLF30s or Chorus in that price, I'll buy 3 🙂.  Remember the 20s are basically the same drivers as the the middle aged (not old aged Heresys and Cornwalls with the k-55/k-77) as the rest of the line with better horns.  Much better than 1's versions of the older vintage speakers. 

 

My opinion but I have owned all but Chorus several times over (currently have 30s and Forte IIs - can you guess which I think sounds better). 

 

Not sure why KLF gets a bad rap other than the problems with the cabinet.

The KLF 20 woofers are also very very good, though don't blow one up because there are none.  I really wish Klipsch would bring them back with some minor tweaks.

 

The IVs versions of these speakers are a different story though.

 

Enjoy the 20s

 

Edit:  There is one caveat, don't think if you want kicking bottom end with KLFs, you can use a flea watt amp.  You need to feed them well.  Lots of current.  The impedance gets fairly low so an inexpensive receiver is not recommended.

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