Erik Mandaville Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Marie and I have been completely amazed, astonished, whatever word works best to express utter surprise and astonishment. The Klipschorns, connected to the Horus amps constructed this summer, are significantly different from the La Scalas whose shoes they (the K-horns) are finding far too small. I will try to write more about this soon! Erik ...and to think I was worried about the hole-in-the-middle that a 20 foot separation might create. Simply not a factor. The sound is 'larger than life' as Leok so accurately described it. Incredible...wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Great to hear!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for both you and Marie. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Erik TOLD YA SO !! It sounds like those dear old horns have a happy home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Erik, My own reaction exactly. They're a lot more different than I expected. Since the squawker and tweeter are very similar I have to conclude it's the bass horn that responsible. This also means there's a lot more music under 400Hz than I would have expected. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Awesome eric! Khorns are definately different sounding than all other speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Sounds good Erik. That's the way to go. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Eric, I have said this before but I'll say it again. You now have perhaps one of the best speakers ever made. EVERY change you make upstream will be reproduced by the khorns. Be prepared to re-think your DVD player and the unstated TT setup as source. Get a friend to bring over a nice CD player; you will be surprized. Tune up that TT (or whatever it takes, usually not much) to make it sound better than a CD player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Erik, Glad to read the Khorns are in place and pleasing your ears. I've got mine dialed into the narrow dimensions of my room, but may rethink how to incorporate them into the longer dimensions. With 20 foot ceilings, it would require one hell of a false corner and furniture shuffling! Enjoy the music. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Erik, When you get time...................Pictures...............please Glad your overwhelmed with the wonderful sound............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench_peddler Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Thank you very much! I was just about to announce how happy I WAS with my Lascala's and you had to go and mess with my head. And there is a pair of Horns that just came up on Ebay, and I am only about 2.5 hours away from them. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 wrench_peddler, might as well gas up the truck. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Sgre, Tom will take a ride with you. Just as soon as he gets tired of listening to his Khorns. Pictures Erik, pictures. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 you know, I feel I ought to say this. My LS are really nice with new K-33 from Klipsch, ALK crossovers, etc. I have an extra 222C amp I agreed to sell to somewbody here on the board, I needed to clean it up, check voltages, replace a resistor, minor tune-up stuff. I've got it hooked up to the LS and they sound great, just as good as they ever did. I'm beginning to wonder if half of the difference between the LS and KHorns is the higher location of the mid and tweeter. I dunno, there's a difference, but it's hard to put into words exactly what that difference is. It's sort like a difference in presence, just the overall effect. I guess I don't know how to say what I want to say here, but the Ls are not to be made light of. They are not some kind of second class deal. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 If you like them this much I will have to agree with Randy. A new digital source or DAC is a must. Then look out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 congrats erik! welcome to the "great sound" club! tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 ---------------- On 11/22/2003 9:18:42 PM Tom Mobley wrote: you know, I feel I ought to say this. My LS are really nice with new K-33 from Klipsch, ALK crossovers, etc. I have an extra 222C amp I agreed to sell to somewbody here on the board, I needed to clean it up, check voltages, replace a resistor, minor tune-up stuff. I've got it hooked up to the LS and they sound great, just as good as they ever did. I'm beginning to wonder if half of the difference between the LS and KHorns is the higher location of the mid and tweeter. I dunno, there's a difference, but it's hard to put into words exactly what that difference is. It's sort like a difference in presence, just the overall effect. I guess I don't know how to say what I want to say here, but the Ls are not to be made light of. They are not some kind of second class deal. Tom ---------------- Tom, I'm glad you've mentioned some very good points about the differences you perceive between the LaScalas and Khorns. It has taken some time for me to gather my impressions and I think now is as good a time as any to chime in. The first thing I noticed is the similarity in the characteristics of the sound of the Heritage line. I've owned Cornwalls, still own Hereseys, Belles, and Khorns. First, as someone pointed out to me, there is a much larger bell(mouth) on the mid horn of the Khorn. Second, the bass bin is designed to go lower, and third, the increased height location of the HF horn all contribute to a bigger and taller sound from the Khorns. But I also agree that the audio presentation of the Belles can not be considered as second class citizenship. The same can be said for Cornwalls. Yet, the Khorn, taken as the whole equaling the sum of its parts, does provide a noticeable enough difference to make it the King of the Klipsch line. The Khorn midrange is more detailed, the bass response is lower and more defined. As Mel Brooks has said, "It's good to be the King". Now here's where I don't want all Khorn owners to insert their daggers. If you are presently a Belle, LaScala, or Cornwall owner, be sure to purchase your Khorns wisely based on their cost. With Khorns generally costing twice as much as the other three immediately lower Heritage speakers, my most humble honest opinion is the Khorn is King, just not "twice" the speaker. Carefully weight your cost/benefits ratio before spending. Belles, Cornwalls, and Lascalas are exceptional speaker values. Please make sure to understand that I am not saying Khorns are not worth their price. What I am saying is that if you own a pair of Belles, LaScala's, or Cornwalls, Khorns will sound better, but not by a factor of two or twice the price. I am also saying, purchase prudently to avoid paying twice the price of your current Heritage horns. Would I buy my Khorns again? Hell yes! I appreciate their sound more each day. But, I also paid less for my '93 Khorns than I did my '75 Belles. Go figure. I hope what I've posted here does not ruffle too many feathers. It is not my intent to do so. Just my impressions. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 I agree with the two previous posts. To my ears the timbre of the Khorn and LaScala is very similar indeed. What can be different is the 'size' of the music, but we all know that this is very room dependent. So in a sense one can get quite close to the Khorn sound if one uses a LaScala/sub combo (I have been exposed to such a set often enough), but it is still nice to know one owns the 'King'. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted November 23, 2003 Author Share Posted November 23, 2003 Thanks for all the encouraging words! We listened until very late in the evening, and honestly forgot about eating dinner! I even celebrated with my version of a beer or two (Sparkling apple cider 5% -- I found out last year I have gluten intolerance, so no more beer, wheat, barley, rye, etc.) I agree that the differenece between the La Scalas and the Klipschorns is very difficult to put into words. The two are similar, and yet different; and I think like many have said, it's the size and scale of the music that has changed. And yes, the La Scalas are really outstanding speakers as well! I have to admit that now having heard the bigger horns, I prefer them to the La Scalas. But the scale of the music was not the only thing we noticed. The fact that these new speakers (new/old speakers!)have metal horns may factor into their sound characteristics, as well. Violin, guitar, harpsichord, and harp strings took on a rosined, textural sort of quality that was not nearly so evident before. Marie also said, "They are able to make such a big range of sounds and loud and soft notes sound equally good." And that indeed was the case. The sounds that came to us downstairs while cooking were still very clear and distinct. Paul also mentioned this remarkable trait to me. At about 3:00 this morning, Marie turned to me and said "Those speakers are amazing." This wasn't more than a whisper, and she turned over and went back to sleep! If La Scalas are the available option, though, I would say jump on them! I remember when the guy who bought mine a week ago came to listen to them, I admit I was almost having second thoughts about whether I should really sell them. We played Nora Jones' new CD, and it was just fantastic. The sense of presence and distortion-free dynamics is better to me than some very large ESLs we heard some years ago -- which had amps connected to them that could probably have also been used as welding machines if needed! Even at lower volumes the K-horns had incredible life and detail. This is a characteristic that is important to me, since I really prefer playback to kind of approximate what might be the level of real acoustic instruments. We noticed some very faint echo in the room, but it was of a kind that seemed to lend yet another level of realism and ambience to the sound. ...I have to go and put a couple of coats of tung oil and Kudret's DRD chassis, now. The bottom plates for the amps also arrived yesterday. Paul P. has provided us with some very good information on vintage PP amplifiers, which is something I am interested in learning more about and trying down the road sometime. When the DRDs are finished, we will have 4 different SET amps in the house, and I'll provide some information on all of that soon. I have one pair of restored 6V6 PP integrated amps that match very well with the Lowthers, but would also like to try them with the K-horns. ok....this is getting long! Have a good Sunday, Erik A dream come true! These monsters were even cheaper than the Heresies we wanted so badly after we graduated from college. I'll put a disc in that camera I borrowed when the sun wakes up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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