F$%KING Snipers!!

[gullahisland]

Thanks for being a sport McDeath. Well...We were awfully close with our max bids, so I guess you were meant to have this particular pair. I almost put $2,250 as my max, but since it was so hard to determine the condition on these, I was hesitant to even go as high as I did.

Looks like the seller underpromised and overdelivered. Good deal!

Wanna' trade 'em for a pair of Martin Logan CLS IIz's????

[mcdeath1]

hehe

[Cal Blacksmith]

I'm sorry you lost the auction. I must confess, I am a confermed sniper. I used to bid early with my max ammount but I would loose to the snipers. It would tick me off. I have since spent thousands of dollars with sniping. Just wait until the last 10 seconds or so to bid the max ammount. I sometimes will get the timing down with the refresh button and work out the timing with the clock. Being on dialup is the pits and is unrelyable for this type of bidding but it can be done. (dsl isn't available where I live)

Something else to do is to check closed auctions and contact the sellers after bidding is over for items that didn't sell. This is how I picked up my Forte 1s for $450/pair. Not a SCREAMING deal but fair just the same. Good luck with your new lead on the horns!

[Clipped and Shorn]

Nothing worse than that feeling when you are outbid on a snipe.....asking yourself why didn't I bid as high as I truly wanted to go...? Another technique, not always a possibility, is to attempt an offline bid, some sellers will go for it. You had the homecourt advantage because you could pick the things up, saving the seller the packing, and allowing you to offer more.....

there is always, it seems, another bus coming in the eBay route....

good luck.

I also hate when I space out an forget to bid and then see that the item was virtually stolen......also a bad feeling.......

snipers regret.....

C&S

[Tom Mobley]

gullahisland,

just as a matter of general ebay strategy, you might want to think over the idea of posting bids that are even numbers. How would you feel if you lost out on a pair of Khorns because you bid $2500.00 and the other guy bid $2500.01? That's a loser, I've been there.

What I do now is take what I feel is a more realistic approach: I figure that if I want something bad enough to bid on it, I'm willing to go another 5% over what I set as my maximum. Then I just select some random number between my original max and the max + 5% and bid it. In this case I would bid something like 2678.77. That way I won't hammered by some guy bidding 2500.01 or something similar. I always go with at least one minimum bid increment plus some change. I've won auctions because I realized that the final price was going to go over the line to the next larger bid increment, so I bid based on that increment instead of the lower one that was currently in effect.

And, I always use auctionsniper. I put in my max, set it to bid three seconds before the end and don't look again unless something changes. Every time you access the particular auction it increments the hit counter and indicates somebody is interested. That might encourage somebody to bid higher, which is not something I want to encourage.

Tom

[tubelover]

This is some excellent advice Mobley

[gullahisland]

Excellent, indeed.

Thanks Tom!

[mark1101]

One important fact pointed out is the "one bid increment". The bid increment changes as the prices go up. Ebay has the increment list info buried somwhere on the site. I always keep a printed sheet in my drawer and refer to it to make sure I am aware of the correct bid increments based on the bid level I am going to enter. Then I go some odd amount between bid increments to gain that odd number advantage as mentioned above here.

[gullahisland]

Well,

I just received a photo of one of the two pair of K-horns that I have a lead on. Looks like this one is a bust - unless I'm up to the task of veneering them.

The seller wasn't sure what finish they were, but knows that they're 1971 models. When I asked for the serial numbers (so that I could determine the finish), he offered to send me a photo.

Well. It looks like they're Birch with a walnut stain. Not totally ugly, but not nearly as beautiful as oiled walnut.

Here's a photo. I hope none of you super-snoopers figure out how to contact my seller and scoop them out from under me based on this photo!!

Seriously, though. How much would you pay (offer) for these? He suggested $1,500. I'm thinking $1,250. What do you think??

(picture will follow this post)

[gullahisland]

here's the photo

[gullahisland]

another photo

[gullahisland]

hopefully not a repeat.

[gullahisland]

Oh...

I guess he was able to find the serial numbers. Looks to me like they're 1977.

Serial #10R935

Type KC BR

[fini]

Dan,

Same year as mine! They look pretty good, actually. Believe me, it wouldn't take too much to re-veneer them. That way, you could have the finish you want (like cherry?). Heck, you could find out how much Jordan would charge (if he's got the time). He certainly would make them into stunning jewels (and convert them to type B's, too)! Are they close enough to pick up? This could be what you're waiting for!!

[gullahisland]

They're about 7 hours away. Not too far, but far enough for it to be a consideration.

I was kinda' thinkin' along the same lines as you. At least they're "livingroomable" for awhile and I can eventually make them better than new. I'm a generation X'er and I like instant gratification. But the reality here is that there is lots of "potential" in these. I just need to invest the time and effort into making them special.

The only thing that I don't like about the Birch models is that they don't have the little "riser" on the top horn section. Is there any way to add that "lip"?

So what do you guys think in the way of price? What's an appropriate offer?

[3dzapper]

1977 KC-BR is what my K-horns were when I bought them new. They are now beautiful black walnut.

the thing about the spacer in the b model that concerns me is the fact that even in the C model the sound stage is above my head when seated. With the B the squaker and tweeter would be almost three inches higher still. That is what has always kept me from adding a top board and spacer to mine.

$1500 seems fair for those speakers especially since they have all the desirable drivers (except the solder terminal K55v) and the AA network. Just minor tweaks and those horns will put you in heaven!

Rick

[Rdmarsiii]

Well, Im gonna try this sniping thing. Hopefully Ill win the laptop. Wish me luck!!!

[gullahisland]

Hey, 3dzapper - I'm still pretty new to this whole vintage Klipsch thing, but which years have the "desirable" drivers and what is it that makes them so?

Also, regarding the Black Walnut on your K-horns...Did YOU veneer them yourself, or did you have it done? Any tips or suggestions if you had it to do over again?

Thanks!

[sheltie dave]

Gullah, that works out to either $50 or $100 per hour for your trouble. Buy a case of beer, and Fini or Jordan would make these into ravishing beauties that are cosmetically perfect for costs plus a reasonable hourly. You could even do it yourself if you want oak or walnut. I did six rooms of mitered oak baseboard cuts, so I know you can veneer some Khorns.

If you can work him on the price, so much the better. This Khorn market is totally situational, and driven by looks. Just don't be drinking at a bar where ugly Khorn girls hang out

[gullahisland]

Also...

3dzapper - Do you have any pictures of your K-horns that you could post? I'd be very interested in seeing them.

Good point, too, regarding the height of the soundstage. I hadn't even considered that. I suppose if you sit very far away from them, it's less of an issue, but I'd probably be seated about 8-10' away.

My (Ed's) Belles are kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum. They're so low that my ears are usually several inches above the tweeter.