Klipschorns: The best speakers on planet!!

[D-MAN]

That is an excellent point.

Considering human nature, even if we had the extraodinary already in our homes, we would soon (or eventually) regard it as ordinary or even less...

I'm going to really go out on a limb and PSYCHO-BLATHER further: there is a hidden value/meaning in a Klipschorn, beyond simply its cost that others may not appreciate.

The personality type attracted to Klipschorns seem to be different than the typical big-buck-spending owners of other high-dollar speakers IMO. The Klipsch owners tend to appreciate the technical and historical achievement involved in the Khorn. They are more interested at a technical level and are "involved" in the ownership of the speaker (I don't know exactly what that means but it's true!). They talk about their respective speakers and tweak and share info about them with others. The other-speaker owners just own expensive speakers like they own expensive cars. Comparitively, I would say that the megabuck speaker owners make no real connection with their respective choices. It's the value that one places on the thing, not simply what it cost. It's how one RELATES to the object, not the object itself...

Klipschorn owners seem to relate to their speakers differently than others. I beleive that as a whole "WE" get a sense of satisfaction from Khorns because of who we are and what it represents and seems to embody. And that's a good thing.

Am I full of it or WHAT?!!

DM

[ben.]

D-MAN,

You make an excellent point yourself vis-a-vis our connection to certain possesions. I could have much more expensive and impressive-looking speakers in my living room, but I would not feel the same way about them. A grin is hard to hold back when discussing (explaining/justifying) my Khorns to visitors and family members. I get a kick out of pointing out that they've been in continuous production since the late 40's. Of course, I also get a kick out of the fact that I paid 10% of the current retail price! I must admit, though, that in my social circle, $7000 is an unimaginable amount of money to spend on an entire rig, let alone speakers themselves!

[arj]

What I am amazed at every time is the apparent loyalty of Klipsch owners to their speakers and their brand especially the K-Horn. Only other brands which seems to evoke such passion appear to be the old BBC concept speakers from Rogers/Spendor .

It is very Nice to have pride in ownership

As far as Value for Money speakers go..Klipschorns must be there up among the very best!. But what must make is Special is this pride and legendary status/History that comes with it. I can understand the Exact feeling as I am a (PROUD!) owner od a Sugden A21a...a legendary 25Wclass A amp still handmade in england whose design has changed very little in the past 25 years... I mean even If I do upgrade..i would never sell this !

The liking of a "Signature" sound of a speaker is a very personal subject...and with K horns you either Love it ...but there are also those who hate it with fervour...perhaps the typical klipsch sound which we love, they do not...but that does not make them a lesser audiophile.

the amazing part of this hobby is the very diversity..imagine even the exact same setup in different rooms ca sound different....

Cost no Object Speakers...which cater to a very different cost segment also exist which sound very good...better or not are for ones own ears to judge ..and people who own them and love them are not any less audiophiles

BTW regarding a commment above which mentioned about Audiophiles not knowing buch about Internals of speakers etc etc...well there is a whole world of very Discerning Audiophiles into DI and the diversity among the speaker They own are also quite wide..

Big post...am tired

[sheltie dave]

Those proud owners of Khorns first heard them as a kid or as a budding stereophile in callow youth. It is generally a twenty to thirty year long love affair that has finally been realized..which is why Klipsch is now totally missing the boat on the next two generations of budding Khorn lovers

[Daddy Dee]

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On 3/16/2004 12:34:12 PM sunnysal wrote:

I have settled on klipschorns and a PP DHT amp because I like how they sound.

tony

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Tony,

What PP DHT amp are you speaking of?

[michael hurd]

Back Burner: If you read some of the audiofool reviews, you'd soon realize that most of the people that own and take pride in such expensive equipment, own it simply as a status sybol, or bragging rights. They could not begin to explain how a piece of equipment works, nor how it interacts with other equipment and the room. They subscribe to magic " focusing " rocks and " room lenses ". All the while listening in a room that is proportioned totally wrong, IE: square. They take pride in spending thousands on silver speaker wire, and zero, zip, nada on room treatment. To those people, I say if it makes you happy, then fine, but don't preach to me. I listened to a speaker / component system that retailed for almost $ 25,000 cdn. Did it sound good? Sure. Did it sound $22,000 beter than what I own? Nope.

[Ctiger2]

Amen D-MAN.

Klipsch brings tears of joy to my eyes!

God Bless PWK!

[jdm56]

I think y'all are closing in on the essence: Klipschorns have a real heritage (it's more than just a name for a speaker line!). I think most of us are attracted to not only the sound of the speaker, but the history of it as well. The fact that it has been made, relatively unchanged, for 50+ years, and that (we all hope) it will continue to be made indefinitely, is at the core of the klipschorn "mystique" that we have all bought into big-time. Something that lasts, soldiering on in a throwaway age. An audio John Deere or Harley-Davidson, maybe.

Whether the klipschorn is, objectively speaking, the "best speaker in the world" would of course be hard to prove. And quite beside the point. It is though, without a doubt, comparable to the best at anywhere close to it's price. And in areas that are most important to many of us here, (dynamics, low distortion, clarity and slam) it is without equal in anything less than 3-4 times the price.

mho,oc

[timbley]

I had the good fortune to listen to top end Wilson, Theil, and Apogee speakers at a dealer in Washington, hooked up to giant Krell amps and all the good stuff in a specially built listening room. I liked them and could appreciate the excellence of their sound, but as you say, they were entirely out of my price range, so I sort of glazed over.

Later, at the same dealer, there were some great sounding speakers hooked up to an Onkyo reciever in the mid-fi room. Those speakers got me very excited because they were in THAT room and I figured they couldn't be too expensive. They sounded fabulous right off a cheap receiver! I was ready to buy on the spot.

It turned out, they were Wilson Watt-Puppies, and at the time, they were 10 grand! I felt I had been cruelly tricked. But it verified for me that it's not my imagination being deceived by a label or high price tag when I hear good sound.

For years, the Watt-Puppy sat in my mind as something to be ultimately owned, perhaps a pre-owned pair. They were expensive, but could sound good with cheap front end gear. It was the pinnacle of potentially affordable speakerhood to me - until I heard the Klipschorn.

Before that fateful day, I knew nothing about horn speakers except that they used them in old PA systems. I had no positive expectations what-so-ever when my friend invited me over to hear them. I thought they'd be honky, bright and harsh, and since he used to set up sound for concerts, he was probably half deaf and didn't notice. I came over just to humor him.

The first thing he showed me was his Luxman stereo system he was using as source. Not confidence inspiring at all. I was prepared to wince and cringe just like I do at typically loud live performances where the volume and distortion are overwhelming. But then we sat down and listened to some Joni Mitchell, and I was pleasantly blown away. I just couldn't believe how clear and dynamic the sound was. I've never enjoyed listening more. The Khorns actually were kind of bright in his rather small listening space. But I loved the sound nonetheless because it didn't grate my eardrums, even at volumes loud enough to make conversation pretty much impossible. The dynamics and clarity in my opinion are so good that it just seems pointless to spend more. For me the Klipschorn reaches a level that's good enough to keep me from coveting anything else.

[jmslaw]

James:

I think you hit the nail on the head:It isn't just the incredible sound of these speakers; it is also the nostalgia, pride of ownership, knowledge that these speakers last forever, etc. Being a Klipschorn owner trancends mere sonic parameters. One joins a venerable fraternity.

[sunnysal]

Dee,

I had Jean Francois Lessard (better known as Jeff or "painful reality" around here) build me a 2A3 PP amplifier last year, I posted pics, etc. during the process.

It is the finest sounding amp I have had in my system and I have compared it subsequently to MANY amps that friends have kindly brought over for shoot-outs and it has won hands down in my home system each and every time.

I did not post about those shoot-outs because I was afraid that people might think I was trying to help sell something.

It is beautifully constructed and a screaming bargain when compared to mass production amps.

I cannot praise his work highly enough, this is my last amp unless I decide to have him build me monoblocks.

Regards, Tony

[3dzapper]

An audio John Deere or Harley-Davidson, maybe."

JD,

You hit a home run with that one! The first impression I ever had of Klipsch was the 1974 article in "Rolling Stone" about Lascalas and PWK. At that moment I knew that I had to have a pair of Lascalas! I couldn't afford them but they were my goal while saving for new speakers. I even went so far as to build myself a pair of the closest thing to Heresys that I could afford. (not even close! but not bad) The wife and I went up to the Music Box to buy a set of Cornwalls or Lascalas until we heard the corner horns. End of story, begining of a legacy.

Rick

[stan krajewski]

I do not own a pair of Klipschorns.

The Khorns follow the laws of physics. The use of the corner was, to say the least, a stroke of genius. And so was the folding. The expansion from throat to mouth is mathematically pre-set. Paul got there first and its perfect. When I look at most other manufacturers, I see compromises all over the place. I myself own Heresys which are one of Paul's own compromises. Physics and mathematics don't lie.

A full range speaker with a rather modest footprint that is tucked away into the corner of a room and can be driven by as little a one watt. Pretty tough act to follow.

A half a century of continuous production and here we are still in awe, still discussing and most important - still listening. No other speaker can even come close.

I know, all I did here is state the obvious. Sorry.

Sounds like I got to get me a pair someday. I will.

[TBrennan]

Stan----To be picky the Altec 604, now made by Great Plains Audio, has been in production since about 1945 and has a cult following that's probably as large as that for KHorns and as fanatical too. It's good speaker, real good.

[Guy Landau]

The Klipschorn is indeed a great speaker. It is one of the best in terms of value for such performance.

Are there better speakers? sure there are but most of the times they cost much more. When I sold my Khorns, I lived with these speakers for a while. Then, The Amatis were sold,and my father kept the JBL Olympus S8R and I brought the Altecs with me to the US.

Both my father and I enjoyed the sound of the Khorns more than the Amatis. But, you have to admit that thay are beautiful and admire their looks.

[sunnysal]

those amati´s sure are pretty guy! I am sure they sound quite nice as well, but they sounded quite different than horn speakers, no? once someone finds they prefer horn speakers there is no going back..imho, tony

[stan krajewski]

TBrennan,

>> Stan----To be picky the Altec 604, now made by Great >> Plains Audio, has been in production since about 1945 >> and has a cult following that's probably as large as >> that for KHorns and as fanatical too. It's good

>> speaker, real good.

Great point, great speaker. And I wish you were right and even more so, I wish they still made them. I called Great Plains Audio and spoke to a gentleman who says he was an engineer at Altec. He also told me that they (Great Plains Audio) is strictly repair and parts with respect to the Altec 604.

When you think about all the garbage (or soon to be) products manufactured today, its really sad that such a great speaker and quality product is not in production any more. The more you think about it the sadder it is.

[Guy Landau]

Great Plains Audio are about to start manufacturing the 604 again, real soon. You can talk to Bill and he'll confirm that.

[BackBurner]

Artto : simply stating you disagree is good enough to get your point across , there is no need to call someone you know nothing about a bag of ____.

Show a tiny bit of class once and awhile and maybe you'll get a little more out of life.

I stated it was ok to disagree with what i said but please leave the insults where they belong.

Thank you : William

[Klipschfoot]

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Both my father and I enjoyed the sound of the Khorns more than the Amatis. But, you have to admit that thay are beautiful and admire their looks.

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which leads me to ask if there is a GREAT sounding small speaker that even comes close to the monolithic and/or behemoth boxes we all enjoy. There almost certaninly is a compromise in the comparison to live sound that can be had from a small speaker. I would prefer to have smaller speakers in the living room, but I can't bring myself to sacrifice the sound for now.