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upgrade to belles/Klipschorn?


edwinr

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Edwin,

A new Klipschorn will include a gasket for the tailboard, and that will ensure a good seal in the corner provided that your walls are reasonably true.

10Watts is probably not going to get you where you want to go. You have a large room, for one thing. Klipsch recommends a minimum of 20W (per channel). I'd go with 30W or 60W. That way you can hit most peaks easily with headroom to spare and you won't have the strained sound of an amp asked to do more than it was designed to do. It's not a matter of how loud you want it to get, it's a matter of the quality you want it to have when it gets loud.

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The Klipschorn is truly the "King of Horn Speakers", IMO. It goes lower for its size and has a smaller footprint than any other front-loaded horn design. Actually, the design has remained the same for over 50 years BECAUSE it cannot be made any smaller, it's as good as it gets engineering-wise. It really is the gold standard for horn speakers.

All of the other horn speakers, even those offered by Klipsch simply do not go as low. The actual horn cutoff of the Khorn is 40 Hz, and it rolls off in the lower 30's.

The actual length of the Khorn folded horn is approximately 65 inches or so, measuring center-of-channel to the "mouth" at the sides of the enclosure (at the side grill cloth frames). The length of the horn in the La Scala and Belle is well under 30 inches, and the lower Fc is about 60 Hz, rolling off in the lower 50's, even when using the exact same drivers as the Khorn.

If it were up to me, take the corner horns; why compromise?

DM2.gif

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I agree fully. Over the years I have powered Klipschorns with everything from low power SET amps to high power SS and find that a certain minimum is necessary to provide realistic dynamics. At present I'm using a SS 60 wpc "high bias class A" type amplifier and find it the best yet as it provides smooth mid and high frequency reproduction with a solid and dynamic bottom end.

As far as the corner "sealing" goes a reasonably tight fit will do. Because of the different dimensions of rooms a "tight" corner fit might leave one or both speakers not optimally facing the listening position. The speakers may have to be "aimed" to give a desired "listening position coverage". I use a laser pointer to have the left tweeter pointed to just outside the right shoulder area of two seat 'Sweet Spot" and the the right tweeter aimed at the outside of the left shoulder of the two seat area. This I find gives a good "soundstage" and only requires a small movement of the speaker in either a right or left direction. Don't be afraid to experiment a little as the room is one of the most important components of your sound system and, every room is different.

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Thanks for the feedback. I found a review of the Audio Note Oto SE, while the manufacturer claims 10 watts, in actuality it tested out to around 4.5 watts before distortion set in. It would be nice in a smaller room, but I think my room is too big. I'm going to audition the Audio Research VSi55.

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----------------

On 6/17/2004 7:15:14 PM edwinr wrote:

while the manufacturer claims 10 watts, in actuality it tested out to around 4.5 watts before distortion set in.

----------------

Good thing you checked. Also, no speaker is 100% efficient, or even close.

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On 6/18/2004 7:26:43 AM paulparrot wrote:

Good thing you checked. Also, no speaker is 100% efficient, or even close.

----------------

So very true, while you may be able to get a certain measurable SPL level from a speaker system with a defined input, you may not get the quality of sound that you desire. For example maybe you can drive a speaker to a given SPL with let's say an inexpensive 50 wpc receiver it will probably sound thin and lifeless when compared to driving the same speaker with an high current capable 50 wpc amplifier that has far more reserve to draw upon. Sensitivity ratings are only part of the story.

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There's an interesting review of the Klipschorn Speaker by Constantine Soo in the Stereo Times dated 3 August 2001. I downloaded it from the internet from 'Ecoustics.com'. Soo obviously was unable to achieve ideal placement but the review is a very good one. I am probably going over old ground for you guys as you are probably familiar with the review.

Edwin.

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I own LaScala's and have listened to Khorns for extended periods of time. This is a no brainer. If you have the scratch, corners, and the WAF, buy the Khorns. I won't be totally happy audio wise until I own a pair myself. It's just a matter of time.

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I agree fully. Over the years I have powered Klipschorns with everything from low power SET amps to high power SS and find that a certain minimum is necessary to provide realistic dynamics. At present I'm using a SS 60 wpc "high bias class A" type amplifier and find it the best yet as it provides smooth mid and high frequency reproduction with a solid and dynamic bottom end.

As far as the corner "sealing" goes a reasonably tight fit will do. Because of the different dimensions of rooms a "tight" corner fit might leave one or both speakers not optimally facing the listening position. The speakers may have to be "aimed" to give a desired "listening position coverage". I use a laser pointer to have the left tweeter pointed to just outside the right shoulder area of two seat 'Sweet Spot" and the the right tweeter aimed at the outside of the left shoulder of the two seat area. This I find gives a good "soundstage" and only requires a small movement of the speaker in either a right or left direction. Don't be afraid to experiment a little as the room is one of the most important components of your sound system and, every room is different.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This KHORN dude seems to be a very well learned Klipscher.

I look forward to more posts from Him/Her.

I assume him.

++++++++++++++++

Pirana,

Your wife must be a saint.

You have taken her to the edge on audio component accumulation.

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On 6/20/2004 9:45:10 PM Audio Flynn wrote:

++++++++++++++++

Pirana,

Your wife must be a saint.

You have taken her to the edge on audio component accumulation.----------------

Yes Audio, she is amazingly tolerant of what I do bless her soul. Her shopping trips to Nordstrom on the weekends can get a bit expensive too ya know?

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