Is my room too small for Klipschorns?

[lynnm]

Hopefully this will be a little more reasonable:

[Parrot]

Lynn is correct. The window problem is exaggerated. If you want any more evidence, look at the lead illustration from a 1951 article by Paul W. Klipsch himself:

[Parrot]

And Klipsch literature from 1955:

[jt1stcav]

Ignore the nay-sayers...go for the big Klipschorns! Doesn't matter if they're old or new; if you got the desire (and the cash), then these beasties belong in your music room, regardless of size. Regret it you will if you never take this opportunity. Like your new locomotive avatar (C&O, Pennsy RR, or NY Central?), you like big devices with power...the Klipschorns are for you. Like the powerful music you listen to, the Klipschorns are for you. What more can I say, the Klipschorns are for you!

Dean, the Klipschorns are calling out for you, do you hear their call? Plant 'em in your room, with or without false corners...just enjoy their song. You'll thank yourself in the morning, and be forever greatful that PWK had his vision (and a pair of good ears)!

[NOSValves]

Poor old Dean his head has to be spinning like the girl in exorcist by now !! information and opinion over load<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[Deang]

You ain't kidding, especially after almost fours hours on the High Efficiency Forum at AA reading all of slams on the K-400 and 5/8" neck. I'm half convinced again the only thing I'll hear right is the sound of frying bacon.

You know, horns really do suck. Someone help me remember -- why in the hell do we listen to these things?

I really used to believe the K-400 deserved to be dumped into the garbage, but after going to Paul's and hearing them -- I can't figure out what the fuss is all about. People must be either using dirty amps, or pushing them to ridiculous SPL's. I thought they sounded fantastic at 105db peaks, and I won't need near the power we were using at Paul's to get them that loud.

I also learned there are high compression drivers (JBL), and low compression drivers (CLS) -- and that low compression drivers actually sound better. Still need a good 2" in the throat to take full advantage of them though.

[jbsl]

My new pair of La Scalas I'm waiting on Klipsch to build were $3500 with the grills and tax, No grills -$100. I thought about a used pair but I work a lot and do not have time to fix them up.

Dean it has been 25 to 30 years since I heard a pair of Khorns and only once. My best friend used LS playing at parties. I know the sound of LS and THAT IS WHAT I WANT. My room is 15x15 and may not be the best room in the world for LS but I won't be in this house forever. IF YOU WANT THE KHORNS GO FOR IT! If you have kids when they go to college maybe one of there rooms could be your new audio room. Sooner or later you will find a larger room for them. Do what you want I am!

James

[Soundthought]

I stand corrected, Dean.

Khorns are the size of but only 2 RF7s.

Not 3.

I must have been thinking of my Paradigm Monitor 9s.

I'll bet I could put all 4 of them in front of one Khorn without blocking the wall throat.

[Randy Bey]

FWIW, I bought my khorns new.

Twenty six years later I still think that was the best money I spent on this hobby.

PS,

Screw those who talk about throat sizes and frying bacon. Listening to my khorns I only think about "makin' bacon".

[Guest Mark Kauffman]

Dean: Your room is quite workable for Klipschorns. The first thing I would do is just try them in the same corners as your 7's, without false corners. If you don't like the results go to the long wall with false corners which will allow you to customize the toe in and the spacing. My experience with Klipschorns is 17 foot apart or so is about max before you need to stick a La Scala or Belle in between them in mono. Relax! You'll be fine. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

MarkK

[Q-Man]

I told you before that even the mighty Klipschorn has weaknesses, it might have been in emails or here I don't remember. For the money you can't beat it's sound anywhere. Did you go home from Paul's house smelling of bacon grease? I doubt it.

No one could convince me that the Klipschorns arn't an accurate reproducer of sound. They simply never ceace to amaze you when you listen to them. The speaker stands out from the rest because of it's bass horn, it's a good foundation to build upon. I had to experiment with different drivers, horns, and networks to find out that there are more accurate top ends for this speaker. If you would like a pair of modified or custom built Klipschorns they will cost you about the price of a new pair from Klipsch. If that is the way that you want to go we can talk. But, I'm not sure that you would appreciate a more accurate reproducer untill you lived with a standard pair for a while. Eather that, or you should A/B them yourself.

[Colin]

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On 12/13/2003 9:32:02 PM DeanG wrote:

My question now is this: is it worth it, or will the beasts just be too big to really appreciate. I'm especially worried about what the bass will do. The width of the room is 12 feet, and the wall behind my chair is about 20 feet back where the staircase is.

My brain says I should do LaScalas, but that's not where my heart is.

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Whose says LaScala take up less room? Unfortunately, they have a big footprint, especially if you place them three to four feet from the side walls to create a wide and deep soundstage. They are also relatively low, for such a big speaker, and you may want to angle their front edge an inch upwards to face the horn directly towards your ear.

Classic Klipsch corner Khorns fit tightly into a corner, taking up much less floor space than you might imagine. I know. Although open at the back, my room is 14 x 17. Khorns are not too large for them. In fact, snuggled into a corner, the big ole horns point directly at a listening spot some 150% away. In other words, the triangular shape of the backs points the mouth of the mid-range horn at a 22.5 degree angle. It forms a 45º triangle about 150% of the distance between the horns. So with my big ole horns on walls 14 wide, the distance between the horns is about 12 (14- 1/2 of the width of the horns.) Therefore, my sweet spot should be about 150% of that, or 18. The reality is that I have the big ole horns toed in slightly, to point at my ears, about 15 from the front wall.

Your room should be plenty big. If you have a choice, the superior accuracy of the lean Khorn bass couples supremely well with the huge presentation of the mid-range horn, making the classic Klipsch corner Khorns the beast of choice for tweaking audiophiles.

[Deang]

I appreciate all of the input and encouragement guys.

Randy, I know you've been down this road before, because I kept running across your posts asking questions about drivers and lenses. I also read most of Dennis' posts (DJK), and man, he speaks a different language!

[D-MAN]

Hi Dean,

This should make everybody cringe but also give some hope:

I've got my corner horns in the small end of the room (a converted single-car garage) spaced 13 feet apart in natural corners. They still spank my "old" KEF model 4s in the same position, so I would say go for it, dude. I have a widescreen TV and cabinet between them too, to make matters worse. That is a condition that you will not have to deal with...

Albiet they won't really be at their best, you will still get the most of the efficiency and clarity that horns have to offer. The bass might display some modal characteristics due to the room reflections but you can apply some judicious room treatments to alleviate most of the resulting problems (however, with false corners you may come out better on the reflections, etc, than I did). I have most of my problems with the higher end of frequencies and I would suspect that you will also to due to the plain drywall-type walls. My horns still seem to get a full orchestra into the room at very low wattage even though they are assuredly "choked" on space, and they sound just about as good as anything that I have ever heard. Happy listening!

DM