Jump to content

First Pictures from the Tour of the Klipsch HQ


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Please don't tell me how good the food and music was at the Jazz Kitchen

/me had to leave at the end of the tour 14.gif

And a big shoutout to Trey, Jill, and all the other Klipsch employees who didn't have to spend a perfectly good Saturday babysitting us but did anyway 2.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a splendid time. I had to skip Saturday night supper at the Jazz Kitchen and drive back to Chicago.

On Friday night Trey had his Cornwalls at a meeting room at the hotel. I came in at the very end. Everyone had been having a good time for a long time.

Saturday morning Klipsch had two tour buses to take us to a UA theater. The UA folks had coffee and bagels for us. There was a tour of projection rooms. Then we watched trailers in a theater with a bigger Klipsch system, and then an other theater with another Klipsch system. Both well done. We all owe thanks to the UA people for their kindness.

Then back to HQ. A box lunch was the first order of business.

You can see the numbers involved. We were split up into groups of 15 for guided tours of the many labs and many demonstration rooms. There was a Klipsch leader for each group and a Klipsch expert at each stop who gave a narrative, demo, and answered questions.

One observation is that each demo included a small system demo, followed by a big system. I was taken by the fact that the smaller system in each case was impressive and would have held the day on its own. Of course the bigger ones were VERY impressive.

It just goes to show that Klipsch is committed to building superior performance at every price point and application. Mr. Fred Klipsch was in an out, and said as much. He said the organization is following PWK's credo (per the above) and credited the many Klipsch engineers for making it happen.

There was some traffic on the BBS in past years to the effect that "Klipsch, Inc." fell away from "the PWK way" and was making sub standard stuff. At least sub PWK standard stuff.

This tour will not dispell that notion entirely (but see below re Heritage) if one is in that mind set. Rather, this is audio in 2004; it is a new day. The consumer is into big HT, mini HT, and everything in between. Same with computers.

There is no hidden agenda at Klipsch, Inc. that I can see. It is overt. The average teen gamerer is offered a fine product at graduated prices and complexity. He hears sound from the same name at the movie theater. When ready for an HT system, there will be the equipment available. It all is superior.

Granted, this is the way General Motors does things. Out of school you want one type of car. Later you trade up.

The Heritage systems were demo'd too. Heresy II, LaScala, and the K-Horn (two weeks old and in mahogany). By any standards, the Heresy were darn good. In keeping with the "modern" stuff, it is amazing just how well the small units perform.

Yes, the K-Horn, in my view, is still the best. Larry C. brought along a very good Planets, CD and Mars was used as a demo.

One of our newer and talkative buddies evidently heard the K-Horns for the first time and said, "Every other speaker just went away." That is what all of us remember on the first hearing. This was the 2004 model; it's been happening since the late 1940s. I thank Fred K. for keeping it in the line up.

Naturally, it was good to meet so many of our BBS people in person. The Klipsch staff were excellent hosts. If you have the chance to attend a similar gathering in the future, please do not miss the opportunity.

Best,

Gil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a great time. Big thanks to the klipsch staff.

Yea the demo of the micro system before the ultra THX system was very impressive. But them you knew what you were missing when they played the THX system. 120db @20hz dual 12in subs. WOW The new system for movies is unbeatable...

But I still can not get over the small system. Speakers that will fit in one hand and still provide that dynamic sound. Klipsch has some great products that will fit anyones wants or needs. It was a very enjoyable time for me.

Thanks

Joel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to Thank Dean, and Trey for the Beautiful set up in the Conference room. Friday evening was an eye opener for me, Being able to see, and hear tube and Corwalls in person!.........what a treat! Saturday -as Gil stated was also superb , and again blown away with Klipsch new products and hearing the Super K- Horns..........

WOW!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also want to thank Trey and all of the other Klipsch representatives for a great day. Talk about customer appreciation.

The little setup before the THX Ultra 2 set was quite impressive. I believe they were a soon to be released RSX-6 setup (retail $950 for a 5.1 setup). They would make a great setup for someone wanting to stay under a grand and use small sized satellites. Of course, they were driven with an Aragon amp and pre-amp that are definitely better electronic than the normal RSX consumer will be using.

Then the THX Ultra 2 setup was demoed. Wow! Awesome!

The Jazz Kitchen was very nice. The food was awesome, especially that pasta. The musicians were great, but the music was ruined by the woman who basically recited poetry over the music. I would have loved to stayed and listened to the Jeff Hamilton trio (played drums on Diana Krall's Live In Paris DVD). That was have been awesome in that intimate setting.

Thanks also for the great Klipsch wall sign. It is already proudly displayed in my home theater.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"On Friday night Trey had his Cornwalls at a meeting room at the hotel. I came in at the very end. Everyone had been having a good time for a long time."

LOL -- Gil, you should have been a Diplomat.

Bill, no need to thank me, I didn't do anything. All of the gear used belonged to Craig and Trey. However, I did reposition the Cornwalls a couple of times, and generally tried very hard not to make an *** out of myself -- this of course was difficult, since Craig tends to bring out the worst in me.9.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...