Bookshelf Speaker from 1993?

[enthusiast93]

Howdy all,

Speakers were the last thing I upgraded on my component stereo system back in the early 90s.

I was living in San Francisco and purchased a new pair of Klipsch bookshelf speakers at a high end shop downtown.

They were woodgrain cabinets, oak I think. They had a port on the back above the wire terminals. The salesman mentioned something about the tweeter being made of metal, or had a metal core for really crisp highs, or something like that. The big selling point was testing them against a pair of big floor speakers that cost 4 times as much. He said to stand back a bit and tell him if I could discern the difference between the little Klipsch speakers and the big floor speakers. I could not tell the difference and both sounded great, so I took the Klipsch speakers home. A couple years later I was moving and needed money to finance the move, so I sold the Klipsch speakers among other things. Within a few years all the stereo equipment got boxed up and put in storage as the digital age and iTunes played through the computer. However, now 30 years later I want to get the band back together. The only thing missing is the Klipsch bookshelf speakers. I was considering a pair of new ones, but thought if I could find a good pair of those ones I had in the 90s that would be sweet.

So I am here to ask what model these could have been so I can start searching for them?

Thanks so much to anyone who can help identify the model!

[billybob]

Welcome! Going for a cup of joe. Maybe someone here can help... 🔊

[billybob]

Looking at the discontinued items under Klipsch.com is  the go-to.☕ 

 

https://www.klipsch.com/discontinued-products-klipsch

[enthusiast93]

On 6/25/2024 at 6:29 AM, billybob said:

Looking at the discontinued items under Klipsch.com is  the go-to.☕ 

 

https://www.klipsch.com/discontinued-products-klipsch

thanks for your suggestion.

unfortunately i cannot find any information about years of production on that page. also, i do not have a model number.
so, while i might be able to sift through the discontinued bookshelf speakers to find something that kinda looks like my old speakers, it's still more of a needle in a haystack scenario without any production timeline.

[The History Kid]

1 hour ago, enthusiast93 said:

thanks for your suggestion.

unfortunately i cannot find any information about years of production on that page. also, i do not have a model number.
so, while i might be able to sift through the discontinued bookshelf speakers to find something that kinda looks like my old speakers, it's still more of a needle in a haystack scenario without any production timeline.

 

Each page has their model year listed in them.  I suggest you look at the KG series speakers 1-4.

[enthusiast93]

2 hours ago, The History Kid said:

 

Each page has their model year listed in them.  I suggest you look at the KG series speakers 1-4.

ah! thanks. actually the first few bookshelf speakers listed there that i looked at did not have any production dates.

however, the KG1 did say the dates and they were available in the early nineties. they look familiar, but my fuzzy recollection is that they had a square or rectangular tweeter port. maybe not though, it was a long time ago. this just may be it, mystery solved!

thanks again!!!

[enthusiast93]

after looking closely at examples available on auction sites, i have determined it was the KG1.2 model. the KG1 did not have the port on the back. the KG1.5 wasn't available until 1994. i am certain i purchased them in 1993, so the KG1.2 makes the most sense since it was available 92-94, and it looks the most like what i remember.

thanks History Kid for pointing me in that direction!

 

i am seeing prices that are as much or more than a new pair of klipsch bookshelf speakers model R-41M.

so the new question is this...

is it worth it to spend $150-$250 on a vintage pair of KG1.2 speakers, or just go with the new models?

do the new ones sound like way better?

i was planning on adding a small subwoofer as well to give it that extra boom boom.

any thoughts?

[M_Klipsches]

21 minutes ago, enthusiast93 said:

 

i am seeing prices that are as much or more than a new pair of klipsch bookshelf speakers model R-41M.

so the new question is this...

is it worth it to spend $150-$250 on a vintage pair of KG1.2 speakers, or just go with the new models?

do the new ones sound like way better?

i was planning on adding a small subwoofer as well to give it that extra boom boom.

any thoughts?

If the inspiration is nostalgia, then I say go with the vintage pair. Then again, there are some good deals on RP600Ms; they are probably “better” than the old KG1.2s.

[The History Kid]

2 hours ago, enthusiast93 said:

any thoughts?

 

As mentioned above, if you want them for nostalgia, yes.  If you want something from that vintage, I would recommend the 2.5's or 2's.  If you want something more modern but still will sound great, RP-160M's come up on sale still often from some vendors, and 600M's are a pretty good bet too.  

[enthusiast93]

thanks all!

yes, nostalgia is a key factor. if newer speakers weren't going to sound significantly better, then why not i guess?
to that end, i found a beautiful pair of KG1.2 online and couldn't pass them up.

i think these ones cost more than the ones i got 30 years ago.

it's like the dude's rug, those speakers were the final upgrade to my system and really tied it all together.

it's a big project to unpack it all and figure out where to put it.

now that i will have the speakers, i am giving myself until the end of the year to get it setup.

[billybob1]

On 6/30/2024 at 5:54 PM, enthusiast93 said:

thanks for your suggestion.

unfortunately i cannot find any information about years of production on that page. also, i do not have a model number.
so, while i might be able to sift through the discontinued bookshelf speakers to find something that kinda looks like my old speakers, it's still more of a needle in a haystack scenario without any production timeline.

Sorry about that...at least you had a good time, lol...

[TasDom]

I refer to this site for info on discontinued items....

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20120125102930/http://www.klipsch.com/Discontinued-Bookshelf-Speakers?&n=0&va=t

[The History Kid]

21 hours ago, enthusiast93 said:

yes, nostalgia is a key factor. if newer speakers weren't going to sound significantly better, then why not i guess?
[...]

now that i will have the speakers, i am giving myself until the end of the year to get it setup.

 

They are significantly better, at least the ones that we are suggesting.  However, again...nostalgia is something you really can't quantify.  The KG 1.2 are not at all bad speakers, just dated and generally regarded as the lower end of the pole.  That means absolutely nothing in the face of what your personal sentimental and/or emotional value assigns them.  I have a pair of RF-3 II's that I will never part with because they have sentimental value.  There have been numerous new models over the years, but they can't replace the emotional value of the set I have.  Nothing wrong there.

 

As for the setup.  They do not need much in the way of power.  If you want to recreate the vintage feel of the 90s, finding a good 2-channel receiver or integrated amp for them from around the same time should not be super difficult to do.  Early 90s, I prefer Yamaha's, Sony ES, and Pioneer myself.

[enthusiast93]

On 7/2/2024 at 9:19 PM, The History Kid said:

 

They are significantly better, at least the ones that we are suggesting.  However, again...nostalgia is something you really can't quantify.  The KG 1.2 are not at all bad speakers, just dated and generally regarded as the lower end of the pole.  That means absolutely nothing in the face of what your personal sentimental and/or emotional value assigns them.  I have a pair of RF-3 II's that I will never part with because they have sentimental value.  There have been numerous new models over the years, but they can't replace the emotional value of the set I have.  Nothing wrong there.

 

As for the setup.  They do not need much in the way of power.  If you want to recreate the vintage feel of the 90s, finding a good 2-channel receiver or integrated amp for them from around the same time should not be super difficult to do.  Early 90s, I prefer Yamaha's, Sony ES, and Pioneer myself.

thanks!