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Thoughts on KP-301’s


Jvitti1970

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If you get a chance to buy a pair of KP-301s for less than a pair of Cornwalls you owe it to yourself, and everyone you care about, to seal the deal.

 

I have had Cornwalls with the B crossover, Cornwalls with the B-3 crossover, Cornwall 2s, Chorus 2s and lastly KP-301s.

 

To my ears the KP-301s push all the right buttons.
 

The K-48 woofer in the ported cabinet does not “spec” as low as any of the others, but it responds favourably to EQ and tone controls. To me the bass is just right, low and tight.

 

 

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I just have simple tone controls on the Onkyo AV receiver I am using. It should be noted that watts matter too... nothing spec’d under 100 watts/channel earns a spot in my rack.

 

Onkyo has always had a proprietary version of a “loudness” button by any other name. It varies from model to model but in all cases it excels at what it does. The downstairs unit calls it “selective tone” and the one in use upstairs calls it “OR-EQ”.

 

If you are wondering why Onkyo, it’s just that these are the ONLY receivers/amps that have not died on me over the years. They have won the war of attrition and have become my default go-to’s in-between the other flavours of the day.

 

With the bass control between 3 o’clock to maximum and the “loudness” button engaged the bottom end fills in nicely but not overdriven.

 

Most any other speakers become muddy and male vocals become overly accentuated but KP-301s keep the fat off and stay strong.

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Think I had KP-301's but not really sure :(  But, I would take any PRO speakers over the regular series ... they just sound better/fuller/more refined/etc.

 

For some more info, see 

 Oops ... that is "your" post from 2 years ago. Guess you did not buy them back then :D 

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Really good speakers especially the first ones with cloth grilles. I found the KP301 II to be harsh but the first two versions were good. With a simple recap you will have very good speakers capable of high fidelity and much more output than Chorus speakers. Front ported and will work anywhere. One of the few sets I really regret selling was a cloth grille 301 from the late 80's.

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15 hours ago, Jvitti1970 said:

@Geoff what type of EQ would you suggest?

you really don't need any EQ - although they plentiful on ebay for next to nothing , any decent amp or preamp with tones controls will do just fine , but you must also feed power into these speakers , and the more the better -kp 301 are meant  to be played loud which brings out their qualities , whereas at lower volumes , they won't shine as much ,

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just re-found the KAC and re-aquainting myself. 

have a pair of original kp301's (black, corners, and black grille cloth) bought new.

They have served well as mid-sized reinforcement speakers. Some years back, when moving them, one was dropped straight down about 2' on concrete and shifted the woofer magnet, locking the VC.

. Someone online (here perhaps...?) mentioned that they had a pair of LaScala woofers and I could have them (yes... that's right.. shipped and all... I am forever indebted...).
Got them, installed them and the system sounded awful... thin in the extreme. The original woofs were 4ohm, the LS woofs were 8.

My answer, considering what I had available, was to bi-amp them. crossovers make re balancing woof/hi easy. Once balanced with the original x-over point they were better than original.

They took a years-long rest and are now in a living room that they do surprisingly well in... about 18" off the floor, no mid-bass room hump and remarkable low-end extension. It took me weeks of minutely zoning-in both a preferred Xover point (ended up lower than spec around 900) and the LR/R Hi/Lo balances but I haven;t fiddled with them in months now and just listen.
My only tweak would be to drop the mid horn by 3dB or so but that's still the original mid/hi xover so untouched.
An EMOTIVA preamp, CARVIN 1204 amp (200W x 4).

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On 6/20/2020 at 11:55 AM, geoff. said:

If you are wondering why Onkyo, it’s just that these are the ONLY receivers/amps that have not died on me over the years. They have won the war of attrition and have become my default go-to’s in-between the other flavours of the day.

My Onkyo TX-SR705 AVR has been in constant use for 12.5 years.  Completely trouble free since put in service.

 

Bill

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On 6/20/2020 at 1:33 PM, RandyH 000 said:

you really don't need any EQ - although they plentiful on ebay for next to nothing , any decent amp or preamp with tones controls will do just fine , but you must also feed power into these speakers , and the more the better -kp 301 are meant  to be played loud which brings out their qualities , whereas at lower volumes , they won't shine as much ,

   That has not been my experience with 301's. Like other good pro gear they are great at any volume and they also do loud quite well and far higher if you wish. I do still turn things up on occasion but find myself listening at 80db and under more and more

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