signal2noise Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 A question for any who would like to help me out.... I recently upgraded my electronics to single end triodes, dehavillands, and decided to have a pair of heresys (I'm the guy with the 86ish Signature series) and have been overjoyed with the way these speakers perform with these electronics... years ago I owned a set of heresys (slant base) but was guided away in search of "audiophile" nirvana... now I understand what all the fuss is about Klipsch, in dynamics, emotion and reality of sound... with me stepping down from my soapbox, I have a room that would not work with corner speakers, and with that in mind, help me through the morass of options out there...fortes, cornwalls, belle,the reference series etc.... I am looking for a pair to give me deeper bass, higher sensitivity, and obviously, wonderful sound... etc... I do not have the ability to audition the majority of options, so do deluge me with your opinions.... thanks so much Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Chuck----Cornwalls baby, Cornwalls. Next to the Khorns the best overall tonal balance of the speakers ole PWK designed. Better dynamics, higher efficiency and more robust bass than Hereseys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Chuck, I second the Cornwall suggestion by Tom. The K-horn is King but if you don't have the corners (or the space) the Cornwalls will fit the bill nicely. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Chuck You do have other options than the Cornwall. The Forte. Basicaly a Heresy with more Bass. The Chorus. I have owned both the Cornwall and Chorus and I prefered the Chorus. Has a very live Heritage sound and a extremely nice overall flat responce. If you want to go full horn but not Khorns, you can go LaScalla or Belle. They have the highs and mids of the Khorn, but the low end roll off is higher. Welcome to the forum and all your options. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Yes, there are may opinions out there. None the less, I believe most of us share general observations. The problem is that we've never gotten all these designs in the same room to have a real shoot off. Also, sizes and prices vary generally according to performance. (Original Generation) It seems you like deep bass. That pretty much leaves out LaScalas and Belles (horn loaded bass). They are grand otherwise and don't need a corner. But deep bass they don't have, at least in most rooms. What they have is excellent. I say that so I don't get dumped on. In some ways this is what you've found with the Heresy. So, basically you're looking for a big Klipsch system with a direct radiator. Cornwalls are the classic and have for decades gotten good reviews. (Next Generation 1, which my terminology) Klipsch came out with several follow up designs which have the same virtues as the Cornwalls. As J-M points out, Forte and Chorus are certainly in the same league. The Quartet is from the same family, but smaller I have a pair of them but believe they are not quite up to my Forte II in bass. Then again, the Quartets in my set up are not deep in a corner, like the Forte II's. All of these family have horn loaded tweeters. I believe they work very well. One breakthrough in these follow up designs was the development of the tractrix midrange. This is used in the Forte II, the Chorus II and the Quartets. There was an article in Audio magazine by Klipsch engineers regarding this. Essentially, reading between the lines, they were just looking for a more compact midrange horn. The results were a surpize and cause an adoption of the design in all following speakers. It seems to me this is indeed something special. (Next Generation 2) In addition to the Chorus, Forte, Quartet, is the KLF series. I've not heard them but they also have their fans. The KLF 10 does not have a tweeter and is a smaller design which may not have the bass you desire. The -20 and -30 have a tweeter and probably better bass in view of size. These all have a tractrix midrange. Given the similarities to Next Gen 1, it is difficult to believe the KLF series have any significant shortcomings. (Next Generation 3) Later, the production shifted to the Reference and Synergy. I have not experience with these. They are getting further away from the original Heritage. People like them. I have some reservations in that the single treble horn doesn't get to the lower frequencies as did the the Chorus, Forte, Quartet, and the KLF's. Basically, I don't think you can go far wrong if you realize that bigger, generally, means better bass. Regards, Gil (Edited once. re KLF) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Chuck, How long have you had the deHavillands? Where did you get 'em? Just curious: they're made here in Sonoma County (CA). Listened to a pair at Soundscape (also in SoCo), but they're down on horns, so I couldn't tell how they sounded. If you're close by, I'd part with a second pair of Cornwalls for what I've got in them (850). fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I take exception to the observation that the LaScala does not have deep bass. Though it doesnt. I have serious auditioned both, in the same room, with the same electronics. But it does have a flat, almost lean sounding bass, more comparable to the Khorn than the Cornwall. This bass is more like live acoustic bass than amplified boomy stuff. Any loudspeaker that rolls off near 40z is going to need a actively powered subwoofer to flatten out the last octave of music. The efficient and high output big old horns will need powerful ones to compliment them. The Cornwall I lived with had a bounce at 100Hz that gave it a nice mid-bass punch comparable to bass reflex boxes, but with incredible efficiency. Because you have such a wonderful amplifier, I encourage you to buy the biggest and best Heritage loudspeaker that you can squeeze in and afford. Bigger is better with big old horns. Heritage horns are cheap because of their size. The used Khorns are a bargain in audio. If any used loudspeaker is worth a few thousand, it has got to be this one. Having said that, Belles are cheap to the market because they look unfinished and industrial. Chorus are almost as good and quite underrated. They are often a good deal because people are looking for the classic heritage loudspeakers. The Chorus Is that Mike Lindsay brought to my house sound more like my Cornwalls Is than not. Still, having said that, I would pay the premium for the LaScalas or Belles or Khorn, just because the larger mid-range horn improves the mid-range so much more. It is more open and clear. Separation is better and the aw honky coloration commonly criticized with horns is not noticeable. Once, you have them, you will not be giving any of the big old horns up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
signal2noise Posted January 29, 2003 Author Share Posted January 29, 2003 hey fini, I picked up the deHavillands at Quest for Sound on the internet (audiogon dealer) and they were a shock as to how well they make music.... I had tried 300b p/p but they paled against these amps... using 6sn7gtb tung sols and 845 tubes I have deep bass, dynamics soundstage and clarity, all with 35 watts on top of it... I also use their verve preamp although I will probably have it modded to the ultraverve for their State of the Art. The amps have a beautiful anodized gold triangle cage you can purchase to surround the 845 and I get loads of oohs and ahhhs.... they handle everything well from peter gabriel to shubert symphonies with equal aplomb. I had been using the heresies in my home recording studio as mini pa's... had been using Sonus Grand Home Pianos with the 845's but they were too rich and syrupy for these amps... no jump factor... on a whim I tried the heresies and almost went into shock... I didn't realize just how the electronics effect these speakers... they have a major JUMP factor which I love, it breathes life into the performance...as for the cornwalls, I live in scenic Detroit lol, so it would tough unless you have the boxes to ship... my question on the non folded bass horns, do they keep up with the rest in speed? Let me know how difficult it would be to ship them, and I would be interested in them... and that means selling these heresy signatures... Question for the masses, are the LaScalas rather utilitarian looking? I've seen a few for sale but they look like they wouldn't work with my furniture... fini, I can definitely use cornwalls or choruses either in the studio or the living room and I'm even thinking now or changing my home theater to Klipsches... am I still an audiophile??? lol btw the dehavilland I've had for probably 3 months.... Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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