'80's Khorns. $10,000

[CWOReilly]

27 minutes ago, Dave A said:

As an interesting aside here there is I think a relationship to what the military had on PX's in various countries and what is popular in various countries. I wonder if the base stores carried those brands and not Klipsch at the time. Later on Klipsch made speakers specifically for that market like the Tangents. Talking to the guy over B&C distribution in the USA one day and I asked him why so many driver manufacturers were in Italy. He told me that after WW2 there was a ton of audio gear left by the USA and looking around for things to make and sell and do after the war ended the fledgling audio manufacturing base was born from that gear.

Interesting thought. Makes sense. All the Klipsch I have bought from former servicemen were stationed in Europe. Those in Asia brought home Pioneer and Sansui. BTW. We have spoken by phone years ago and I have purchased SMAHL tweeters from you as well. 

[Islander]

1 hour ago, Dave A said:

The new model is also 1" vs 3/4" for older models. It would have to weigh a lot more.

 

As well, the La Scala II crossover is much more complex than the old AA types, and presumably a bit heavier.  Most of the increase in weight comes from the cabinet.  First, it’s 2-piece, which adds weight, and second, there’s a big difference in weight between 3/4” plywood and 1” MDF.

 

To my mind, MDF is a mixed bag.  It can make for more consistency in manufacturing, since there are no issues with things like voids, plus it’s possible to cut the panels more accurately, with no splintering ever happening.

 

On the other hand, there’s the extra weight, which adds to shipping costs to and from the factory.  As well, it’s a soft material that’s easily damaged and is very vulnerable to the effects of water.

 

To Klipsch’s credit, they put the sound first.  When the LS2 was first being designed, Klipsch made (at least) two pairs of prototypes, one pair made of plywood and one of MDF.  When they compared them, presumably with lots of measurements and listening tests, the MDF speakers were found to sound better. It was only after those tests that the decision was made to go ahead and make the La Scala II out of MDF.  The plywood prototypes were sold at auction several years ago, and one of the Forum members bought them.  I’m sure they sound great, and are less delicate than the MDF production models.

 

I have a pair of original Scalas and a pair of LS2s.  While the original Scalas are great speakers, and easy to move around, due to weighing 50 pounds less and having flat bottoms, the LS2s look much better, and sound better, too, with more and better bass.  I can’t really comment on the HF section, since I bypassed it as soon as I got the speakers home, and added the K510 tweeters.  The work of the crossovers is instead being done by the popular E/V Dx38, so neither of the HF sections are In use.  A few years later, the 510 horns were replaced with the larger 402 horns, and that’s the current setup.

[Dave A]

33 minutes ago, Islander said:

To Klipsch’s credit, they put the sound first.  When the LS2 was first being designed, Klipsch made (at least) two pairs of prototypes, one pair made of plywood and one of MDF.  When they compared them, presumably with lots of measurements and listening tests, the MDF speakers were found to sound better. It was only after those tests that the decision was made to go ahead and make the La Scala II out of MDF.  The plywood prototypes were sold at auction several years ago, and one of the Forum members bought them.  I’m sure they sound great, and are less delicate than the MDF production models.

The last few sets of LS's I had I did one of two things. Either a mid brace to kill sidewall resonance or beat off the sides and replace them with 25MM Baltic Birch plywood. I am betting Klipsch did not use true Baltic Birch for that test and I can assure you that BB behaves differently than the same thickness plywood does. It was a positive big step forward for Klipsch to finally acknowledge the weakness of the LS side walls and fix the problem of resonance induced by them.

 

  "with no splintering ever happening"  Solved completely today in the CNC router world with downcut  tools for the top surface cut and upcut tools for the remainder of the cut including through the bottom.

[OO1]

3 hours ago, Islander said:

 

 

On the other hand, there’s the extra weight, which adds to shipping costs to and from the factory.  As well, it’s a soft material that’s easily damaged and is very vulnerable to the effects of water.

 

 

new Khorns AK6 are 220 lbs each    ----the AK-5 was only 175 lbs ---the 45 lbs increase results from the added wood  as the backs of the cabinets  are now fully  enclosed   --  

 

 

https://d2um2qdswy1tb0.cloudfront.net/product-specsheets/Klipschorn-Spec-Sheet-v04.pdf

 

https://d2um2qdswy1tb0.cloudfront.net/product-specsheets/Klipschorn-2018-Spec-Sheet-v02.pdf