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KG 5.5 Speaker Placement


Call4randy

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I just picked up a pair of these amazing speakers that came with the Titanium tweeter upgrade.  The crossovers have not been done and it seems some tracks have revealed the possible loose baffle issue but my question is about proper placement.  By my understanding I want the tweeters at ear level.  These tweeters are at about 31" from the floor but my ears, while seated are about 48".  I know you get dispersion from the horns but it seems to me they need to be lifted about 12" or so for optimum placement.  The seller suggested the same.  But I have Klipsch guys telling me Paul Klipsch said tower speakers should be on the floor and speaker stands not needed.  I'm interested to hear the thoughts from the community.

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For a comparison, I have my Heresys on the floor and they are probably around half the height of your 5.5s.  I tried them on stands putting the midrange and tweeter at ear level and there was significantly less bass (which Heresys somewhat lack compared to other Klipsch) and the midrange and treble were a little too in your face.  When I placed them on the floor the sound was much more balanced and the way the drivers interact they present a much taller soundstage than you'd imagine.

If I were you I'd place them directly on the floor, toed in to your listening position.

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15 hours ago, Call4randy said:

  By my understanding I want the tweeters at ear level.  These tweeters are at about 31" from the floor but my ears, while seated are about 48".  But I have Klipsch guys telling me Paul Klipsch said tower speakers should be on the floor and speaker stands not needed.  I'm interested to hear the thoughts from the community.

 

 Congrats on the new speakers, the 5.5's are great I've had a few pairs over the years and they never disappoint. While I never felt the need to do anything with them myself one easy trick is to prop up the front of the speakers to get them angled upwards just enough to get the horn firing at ear level, shouldn't take much. If the speakers came with the little feet you can try removing the rear feet and leaving the front ones in place. 

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best placement is on the floor in or near corners for best bass.  ive read a lot about the "ear level" thing & never found much of a noticeable difference for large tower speakers like this when youre seated 9-10ft back from the speakers.  when seated that far back you can look at the tweeter horn & they are almost at eye/ear level, add to that the angle of t he horn & you are getting 99% of the sound directly at you, moving a few inches to get perfectly level will have minimal benefits for mid/tweet freq in my experience.  but raising them 12" on stands will noticeably reduce the bass. 

 

as for the loose boards,  play some bass heavy music with the volume up loud & you should hear the vibrations on the bass beats, listen on the back side too.  i have been able to push on the back board with my hand & stop or reduce the noise.  ive had 2 pair of kg5.5 with this issue & helped a friend with some KLFs, also had some klipsch subs do it.  easiest fix without removing the boards was to use gorilla glue on the inside seams, that stuff will get into any nooks & crannies & seal up the boards solid,  other glues like liquid nails or other construction adhesives or wood glue will work too but GG will expand & force its ways into any gaps & its cheap & has many other uses.  $5 for a bottle at walmart.  

 

play around with placement positions & determine what sounds best to you in your room.  KGs are great speakers & probably the best value to performance of any vintage klipsch models. 

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Thanks guys for all the answers.  I had a couple guys in the Klipsch FB group questioning the idea of raising them and one of them said I would lose the bass.  Well, raised them up and lo and behold....I lost some bass!  I have put them back on the floor and it magically reappeared!  I have read about and found a step by step procedure on the re-glue.  I think I can handle that.  Thanks for the support.

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4 hours ago, Call4randy said:

I had a couple guys in the Klipsch FB group questioning the idea of raising them and one of them said I would lose the bass.  Well, raised them up and lo and behold....I lost some bass!  I have put them back on the floor and it magically reappeared!  

 Did you try tilting them back? If I'm listening at lower volumes I like the mid horn at ear level speakers toed in facing me when playing loud(er) I point the speakers straight forward I'd say just experiment if you're a casual listener probably won't make much difference.

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