The Sound of Klipschorns

[boom3]

Trying to describe how a speaker sounds in words has been a challenge for audio reviewers since Day One. I don't claim to solve that, but after extended listening sessions to a friend's set of Khorns with many discs, I've come up with an analogy.

 

Speaker rhetoric often borrows from photography-"transparency, clarity, imaging" etc. The analogy that came to me is "resolution". I have a Canon 9600 Mk II scanner that has a resolution of 9600 dpi optical. When I first bought it, I experimented with scanning 35 mm film and slides at higher and higher res. I found that 4800 dpi was the highest I could scan a well-preserved 35 mm negative or slide , and anything above that started resolving the grain of the film. 

 

My cross-walk to Klipschorn performance is that they can let me hear into the grain of the music in a way no other speaker can. On a well-recorded organ disc, I can hear the organ "breathing" which may or may not a be a good thing, but again, a unique opportunity. Of course, the organ is the most powerful single instrument, and only a powerful audio system can begin to do it justice.  This ties in with PWK's assertion that speakers with low FM distortion allow the "inner voices" of the music to be heard.

 

I tell non-Klipsch (or those not having had the privilege of the Khorn experience yet) friends that until they hear Khorns, they can't fully appreciate the inevitable gap between music live and recorded music. I had the pleasure of hearing the same organ in person at the Naval Academy chapel and on disc via Klipschorns. Reproduced, It can't be the same experience but it's still the best available.

[garyrc]

16 hours ago, boom3 said:

My cross-walk to Klipschorn performance is that they can let me hear into the grain of the music in a way no other speaker can. On a well-recorded organ disc, I can hear the organ "breathing" which may or may not a be a good thing, but again, a unique opportunity. Of course, the organ is the most powerful single instrument, and only a powerful audio system can begin to do it justice.  This ties in with PWK's assertion that speakers with low FM distortion allow the "inner voices" of the music to be heard.

 

I agree wholeheartedly!  My Khorns reveal more than any other speakers I have heard.  Now, there are a few horn/lens/drivers, using the JBL 375 (2440 Professional)driver above 500/800 Hz, as used in the Paragon, Hartsfield, and these theater monsters used in the original 70mm Todd-AO theaters (5 complete systems behind a huge curved screen) seem startlingly clear:

but I have never heard them sound balanced in a home speaker (in the theater, yes), and in most systems they drop like a rock at about 10K Hz, unless supplemented by a super tweeter (as in the Paragon).  Frequency response of the 375/2440:

 

In most systems (not Paragon) the lens looks like this, a work of art:

 

Even if you add a JBL super tweeter like the 075, the Klipschorn sounds more balanced, distinctly warmer, even if not so startlingly clear. 

 

I was able to compare the Klipschorn, Paragon, Hartsfield (hardly any bass), B& W 801 F, and several others (Khorn & Paragon in the same room, then Khorn & B&W 801 F sharing another room, others not).  Results: Paragon & Hartsfield had the overwhelming clarity of the 375, but otherwise a bit (Paragon) or a lot (Hartsfield) unbalanced, and without the bass impact and balance of the Klipschorn.  The B&W 801 F was nice, with a different kind of detail than the Khorns, but it didn't draw me in like the Khorns did, took a much more powerful amplifier for the same SPL, and seemed more bland.  The Khorns were much better for brass, etc. 

 

Over the years, I have heard many speakers renowned for their detail that have disappointed me in one way or the other.  I haven't been able to find good balance, impact, macro and micro dynamics, detail, clarity and spine tingling, emotion boosting, cortex tingling sound in anything except Klipschorns.

 

Caveats:

 

1) Bad recordings will probably sound bad, unless you can use tone controls or other means to make them good.  Classical and Jazz will probably sound good.  Some Rock and Metal recordings have had the low bass drained out them, so the upper bass and midrange can be turned up.  See Chris A's "The Missing Octave"

 

 

in this forum, as well as "Corner Horn Imaging."

 

2) My Khorns sound even better with either Audyssey Flat or Audyssey Reference (depending on the recording) and between 3 dB and 12 dB bass boost.  That sounds like a lot, but consider the widespread preference for a variety of curves with the bass about 9 dB or 10 dB higher in SPL than the high treble, such as in the famous Harman curve:

[Jimbohotwings]

On 10/23/2022 at 7:50 AM, boom3 said:

Trying to describe how a speaker sounds in words has been a challenge for audio reviewers since Day One. I don't claim to solve that, but after extended listening sessions to a friend's set of Khorns with many discs, I've come up with an analogy.

 

Speaker rhetoric often borrows from photography-"transparency, clarity, imaging" etc. The analogy that came to me is "resolution". I have a Canon 9600 Mk II scanner that has a resolution of 9600 dpi optical. When I first bought it, I experimented with scanning 35 mm film and slides at higher and higher res. I found that 4800 dpi was the highest I could scan a well-preserved 35 mm negative or slide , and anything above that started resolving the grain of the film. 

 

My cross-walk to Klipschorn performance is that they can let me hear into the grain of the music in a way no other speaker can. On a well-recorded organ disc, I can hear the organ "breathing" which may or may not a be a good thing, but again, a unique opportunity. Of course, the organ is the most powerful single instrument, and only a powerful audio system can begin to do it justice.  This ties in with PWK's assertion that speakers with low FM distortion allow the "inner voices" of the music to be heard.

 

I tell non-Klipsch (or those not having had the privilege of the Khorn experience yet) friends that until they hear Khorns, they can't fully appreciate the inevitable gap between music live and recorded music. I had the pleasure of hearing the same organ in person at the Naval Academy chapel and on disc via Klipschorns. Reproduced, It can't be the same experience but it's still the best available.

 

I worked at the Naval Academy for a while, and man, the first time I heard that organ inside that chapel it took my breathe away. Really cool experience

[boom3]

On 12/5/2022 at 8:10 PM, Jimbohotwings said:

 

I worked at the Naval Academy for a while, and man, the first time I heard that organ inside that chapel it took my breathe away. Really cool experience

James Dale was the organist at the time (1989) and I have a CD of his