Yossarian Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 While surfing the net I have recently seen mention of a few DIY project plans involving building a pair of LaScalas or Khorns. Do any posters have any experience or opinions about the merits or drawbacks of starting such a project? I have also heard of quality crossovers being available for purchase or construction. If the wood was professionally cut to reliable dimensions out of high quality 1" birch plywood, assembly and finishing would seem to be fairly managable. Where would a person go about sourching the drivers and horns? Would it be most advisable to try to source Klipsch drivers, or are quality aftermarket drivers available? All things considered, I would think the LaScalas would be a much better bet to attempt. Does anyone have any idea what the cost range of a project may be? More importantly, anyone ever heard a good sounding pair of DIY Klipsch clones? Any that were aful? I'm just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Every time that wheel turns round.... You will find a) khorns are very hard to build, but there are plans available for free on the Internet somewhere. 1" is not what is used, and good quality materials are hard to come by; voids in plywood will make you use your DIY for kindling. c) LaScalas are DIYable; there are others on this board with a great deal of professional experience doing the same, and they may (or not) help a great deal in your quest. Look at the "Updating Older Speakers" column for more. Consider that a good pair of used speakers can be had from $1000 on up. DIY in this theater is for those who really want to do it themselves rather than those who want to save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_BQ Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Part of the main reason why you don't see many DIY Klipschorns is quite simply... the end results are "OK" at best (PERIOD!). I recall visiting a few websites years ago (dead links now) of those who had build their own Klipschorn using the designs from "Speaker Works" or "Speaker Craft" (not 100% sure on the name). One particular person chose not to use actual Klipsch drivers but rather, used EV (which were near identical). Nevertheless, the end result was far from what a Klipschorn should sound like. The choice of drivers is also quite limited ; more limited today than a few years ago as Klipsch no longer has access to supplying SOME of the drivers used in the older Klipschorns/Heritage series. So to go about building a DIY version based on the older Klipschorn design - you really need to source appropriate drivers - let alone the tedious work building the folded bass cabinent. As for modelling a DIY project based on the new 2002 series Klipschorns - I doubt you will find anyone willing to dismantle such speaker ; mine are in transist and intend to keep them original as is. As mentioned before, there really isn't any cost savings to building your own. In fact, I would not be surprise if it would cost you MORE than to buy a good used set elsewhere. Years ago I was on the same track as you - wanting to build my own ; but after some research... it was much better to buy new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robB Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 everytime i think of someone trying to buid a klipschorn themselves,. i beleive its a prescription for insanity! i mean,....1 wrong turn, one wrong calcuation. A neighbor of mine insisted that he could build a pair of Belle's. well... the first one was completed,, and auditioned. I gotta say,... ...and it sounded awful, just terrible raw,.....harsh. no warmth at all.. Not like the one's in the showroom,for sure!!! The second one,..never got started. Guess he saw the hand writing on the wind,... out of frustration..he never finished the set. The wood for that one went towards a kitchen cabinet,.for the dishwasher! . LOl Folded horns are a class upon themselves (for many reasons) I used to know someone that built MCM horns but...they are bigger... even then...they never sounded quite like the "ones from Hope" Guess thats why PWK said,. klipschorns belles, lascalla and heresy would never be offered in kit form they are "systems" but there are DIY plans on the net I don't know of their sucess rate.. but...i do see it as a lesson in frustration. because....you"ll never get .."that sound"... happy hunting,.. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornwaller Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 If you are hell bent on trying to re-invent the wheel, there is someone on this forum that has a set of factory plans.(don't remember who) Then what ever you do...MEASURE TWICE AND CUT ONCE Cornwaller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Save your pennies and buy a used pair on Ebay. You might want to even consider a pair of Cornwalls. I have Cornwalls and K-Horns and they are very close in sound quality. If room is a consern take a look at the KLF-30. Building a set would be hard because you need to buy all the components to the Klipsch sound and the parts are going for a premium. Also, if you buy a stock set you can always re-sell them and not lose any money on your investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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