jhawk92 Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 Ok, so after some false starts and a lot of linseed oil, I finally got the new K-horns wired up. After working on them for over a week, I couldn't wait to get them in the corners, so I just tried them out in the open. Oh boy, do they sound good. And now they look as good as they sound. I replaced the seal around the dog house door with new window weatherstripping (thanks for the idea Edster and Jim Cornell). Then started working the linseed oil magic. After two coats, the walnut veneer really was coming to life. I put a third coat on them on Saturday and then finished terminating the 14ga wire from HD. Yes, I know it may not be the best, but for now, I just wanted to get them hooked up so I could listen. They are hooked up to the "B" terminals on my Denon POA-5200 with the AVR-4800 providing the controls. Which works out pretty good since I can use all the same source material and just A/B the Chorus vs. the Khorn. I put on some of the tunes I have been using for auditioning other board member's gear and just sat back and smiled. Styx, Boston, Eagles, Depeche Mode never sounded so good. Even my wife was smiling, though she did ask, "So do you have to get speakers that big for such good midrange clarity." Um, yes dear, you do. I did show her pics of a Belle and LaScala, and she seemed ok with the K-horns. Even though the Forte IIs sound good, and the Chorus IIs sound better, the K-horns are even more detailed. Could it really be that the Alnico magnets and cast metal horns have that much advantange over the Chorus II? I mean, that is a great speaker, but the K-horn "one-ups" it. Or is it just the magic of Mr. Paul coming through? I know the SS is not the best gear right now, but I don't have the room or money to put into a set of tubes. That will come eventually. I just want to listen to these for a while and then see what might need to be done. I would have gotten them into the corners on Sunday, but I spent the morning oiling down my HT speakers. Then, that afternoon, I got a first-hand experience in spontaneous combustion. I had piled the oily rags on the tile fireplace and since one rag was very saturated, it started to work it's magic. After a few hours, it got pretty smelly and then we realized the rags were the problem; started to turn brown, so that was a bad sign. Got them outside before the fire started, but was quite an experience. Fortunately no harm done, but learned a good lesson that day. But everything is oiled down and looking good, so I don't need to tempt fate for another 4-6 months. Once I get them in the corners, I'll do some serious listening and take a few pics. I did take some "before" and "after" for my linseed work, which I'll try to post soon. Right now, my wife has the camera and working on our cruise pictures. I also took some of the x-over to post for the crew. So, all in all, another happy K-horn owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 Yes, rags soaked in linseed oil are potentially dangerous. There are warnings all over the can. You gotta be careful with this stuff, innocuous as it seems! Congrats on the speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I once had a commercial building and rented a little space to a furniture restorer. I was visiting him one morning and he asked me to hand him a rag that he had been oiling a piece with the evening before. I reached into the can and let out a yelp ! My fingers were scorched ! Les said Holy Schheett! ( He is Hungarian) ! Those rags were at the point of igniting and we ran them outside the door and dumped them on the ground. They did not ignite but there were wisps of smoke from the pile. He had been using a finish of his own formulation which included BOL, Mineral spirits and various lotions and potions and pigments. He seemed almost annoyed because as he said - Dott doesn't usually happen unless dem gawdammit rags have been sitting for at least a week! Dear old fellow seemed to feel like he had been jerked around by Mother Nature ! At that point I suggested that he bring in a proper rag bin - FORTHWITH ! - or find shop space elsewhere ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted June 6, 2003 Author Share Posted June 6, 2003 Yepper, I know the feeling. About a week after my incident, I was over on the Audio Asylum and was reading about another fellow who had the same experience I did. It'll be one of those things I look back on and smile about how stoopid I was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I think in the old days there were more people using linseed oil and the danger of spontanious combustion was better known. Part of the problem with A, B comparisons of speakers is that the loudest very often sound better. Give the relative sensitivity of the models, the K-Horn can be expected to sound best. On the other hand, your conclusion is in line with observations (by ear!) of others, including myself. The full three way horn system has a purity which a mixed system does not quite achieve. When PWK said a Heresy is 2/3rd of a Klipshorn at 1/3rd the price (or whatever) he may have been being overly literal. As you might know, Dr. Bruce Edgar is the current guru of horns. I attended one of his demos about a year ago, in Indiana. He opined that in a three-way direct radiator system, there are predictable distortion products from all the drivers and the ear/brain system takes them into consideration in view of their uniformity. So the combination can sound quite good. In a three-way horn system, there are no distortion products, and it sounds very superior. The mixed system with a direct radiator bass can sound a bit more compromised than expected. (He probably used other words, but this is my experience too.) His theory is that the distortion from the bass radiator, and none from the horns, sends the ear/brain a confusing pattern. It was quite shocking, and rewarding, to hear the man report the same conclusions I had reached. The above may explain why LS and Belle owners find them superior to a lot of other system, even if there is not the bottom end of the K-Horn. This is no real criticism of the mixed Klipsch systems. I listen to a pair of Forte II at the office, in the background, five days a week. I sometimes crank them up on weekends. They are excellent in that small room, in corners. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeJampton Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 jhawk92, Like you, when I first got my Klipschorns I couldn't wait to try them out.I had them running out of the corners for several days. Even so, they sounded better than anything I had heard before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeJampton Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 jhawk92, Like you, when I first got my Klipschorns I couldn't wait to try them out.I had them running out of the corners for several days. Even so, they sounded better than anything I had heard before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeJampton Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Jeez, A double post. I seem to have caught Dave Mallett disease. Is it something peculiar to the Dallas area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted June 7, 2003 Author Share Posted June 7, 2003 Gil- So now I can be an "old fuddy-duddy" and pass knowledge on down to my kids. Cool! You are correct, though, on my A/B comparison between Chorus II and K-horn. If I were doing it correctly, I'd lower the output of the amp 3dB when I drive the Khorns, but I really don't want to mess with it, since all the settings are correct for my HT or 2-ch listening with the Chorus IIs. But even with the 3dB difference, they sound really good. And I can't criticize the mixed system/direct radiator, as I have had over 15yrs of experience with them and I'd have a hard time selling either pair. Even running with a Pro Logic AVR 6-8 yrs ago, my house was the designated "movie night" location with the Forte II mains. Spike- Yep, the Klipschorn sounds grand even if it isn't in a corner. And lots of people are getting that sweet taste here as of late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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