fletcherkane Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Found an Academy on Ebay, but it needs some repair. Techies out there--does this look like something to take a chance on and fix or should it be avoided? Here is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14992&item=5738849599&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW Check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletcherkane Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Sorry, forgive this newbie for a double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 are you kidding- one woofer and a banana plug. Prob about $100 in parts. The Academy regularly sells for $600 on ebay in good condition. The oak cabinet is highly sought after, so if that's in good shape, you're probably okay paying, I dunno 2 or 3 bills, doing the repairs yourself, and still having a deal. Good luck Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 So who plans on bidding on this? I think it is funny that there are now bids, or at least not many. Folks that do not frequent here are probably NOT going to bid, if they were they would have already. Folks here I think know to wait until the last minute and them jump. How many of us are like cats waiting in the tall grass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I have been keeping an eye on this since the day is showed up. I purchased a black Academy, though I sorely need an Oak one, and it arrived yesterday. My original plan was to swap out my black components into this cabinet. Unfortunately my black one arrived yesterday and the corner was damaged in shipping So now I REALLY need to get that cabinet. Hopefully my good Karma of not bidding on fellow forum member Lipinski when he was seriously in want of one will be repaid here. WFIW, I think the early suggestion of 300 is quite high, if the seller has damaged the driver and broken the binding post - my feeling is that you discount all the components and tell yourself that you are just buying a decent cabinet. If it turns out that the rest of components are working...then all the better. Guess that is the beauty of an auction, everybody has their price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I have been looking for one of these for a while now but I will not bid against a forum member, and there are 2 interested members ahead of me. Bid away, I hope you steel it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Well rkeel97 just sent this price sky rocketing. This broken Academy will end up going for over 400 Bucks. Just curious though. To the previous poster. Will a KLF-C7 cabinet work. Maybe we could go in together on the Academy and but wind up with what we want. I have a KLF - C7 but is is the lighter color. I cannot believe this thing will probably sell for 400 or more. Why did ebay start posting the bids? Not that it really matters, but I think if I was a seller and I saw ONE person really interested I might be tempted to get someone to bump him higher. Of course I guess if you are sitting at an auction you see who is bidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Wow, guess I could not be more wrong in my assessment that 300 was way high. I just looked at it and it is already over that. mandi, not sure if you were posting to me, but if so what are you suggesting? I looked at the KLF-C7 specs and it is close in size but not quite a match. All I want is the Academy cabinet...no parts at all. If you are interested in the guts of the speaker I will for sure go in on it with you...or anybody else that wants to for that matter. On a side note I have 3 black Academys one with a mangled corner that I am trying to get UPS to make good on and an OO academy that I have had since day one new in box. It is looking like I will ultimately only need 3 of my 4 Academys, 2 will be used as sides on my 7.1 set up due to space problems with Heresys in the Rear. The 3rd will be used in my standard TV area concealed by a custom built cabinet. My problem is that the 2 used in the 7.1 set up really need to be OO, to match my Chorus/Forte/Heresy. So being that I have an extra to play with but need to end up with two OO and the 3rd I really don't care about I am open to suggestions. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sire Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 What is amazing about this is I paid $355 plus shipping back in August for a black academy. I guess no one was watching ebay that day. I would like to find an OO Academy to match my Fortes but I would not pay a premium price for one that needs work. One of the Academys I have the previous owner painted gloss black. The speaker was an oak clear finish. I am thinking it would be cheaper to have someone strip the paint off and refinish it. Has anyone tried this before? I wonder if it was an intentional run up the price on this auction. Makes you go hmmmmmmmm. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Guys, an Academy cabinet is a weekend to build and veneer. Veneer only is half a day. Any cabinet shop can build one for you, especially if you already have one to copy. That has GOT to be simpler than trying to score one on eBay, cheaper to boot, and you don't have to hitch your wagon to UPS's or FedEx's (in)ability to avoid being a bunch of apes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I was wondering about the price run up too. Guess that is the skeptic in my coming out. I am actually quite amazed that people always post about things they plan to bid on. I would surely like to play poker with these people as they keep their cards really close to the vest, dont they ;-) The evil part of my mind tells me that if I am trying to unload my XYZ brand of anything I would take a look around in forums and news groups to get a decent idea of price range. Next I would keep tabs on those spots and look for message traffic. If there is a lot of interest, I would be tempted to get a new ebay account or get some friend with an account to do some shill bidding. Against the ebay rules I betbut hard to enforce I would think. It is a nice thing forum members do to tip the others to hot itemsbut come on, if you are thinking of bidding on something what is to be gained by saying your really really have to have it. If the seller runs across such messages I think it would take the average Joe a lot of self discipline to not bid it up some. Maybe this is an unlikely scenario, but why take any chances with your hard earned money. Looks like I violated my own principal in my earlier post stating that: So now I REALLY need to get that cabinet What I meant was A cabinet, not THAT specific one. I was quite certain it would go for more then the 125 or so I was willing to pay for a wooden box. I was in fact shocked to see it at 300+, though. With the price that even broken ones are commanding maybe I will rethink my space needs, forget all about Academys and go with Choruss all around for less money and part out rather then sell in tact my various Academys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lipinski Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 rplace: the academy that I wound up buying off of ebay is walnut oiled. I understand that is different than Oak Oiled, correct? Because if the same, I'd trade for a black one. No difference to me. My Forte's are black anyway. just a thought. Might not be worth all the shipping and jeopardy, but if one of ya'll really wanted a walnut one, I'll trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Yea, yours would be a little darker then the Oak, but to be perfectly honest with you my Chours are Walnut and my Forte is oak. I have an oak AND walnut set of heresys so I can use either set. I just figured I would never get all my Academys in Walnut to match my Chorus and that down the road I wold have a better chance of trading/getting/selling/buying oak over walnut . In a perfect world I would rather have all Walnut then all oak, but figured that would never happen. I am totally excited that you are open to a trade. I would be willing to send you mine first so you are not with out a speaker for several days and pay your shipping to boot. Let's try and see if we can work this out. PM me or shoot me off a message to rplace@mantistech.com Thanks for the offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Olorin, interesting that you mention that. I dont have a table saw and cutting nice straight lines with my circular saw is not my Forte (Klipsch reference intended). I was wondering how one might go about getting somebody to make a cabinet. What sort of cabinet shop would you suggest? A place that makes kitchen cabinets, perhaps? Would they just take measurements of my current Academy or would they need to dismantle it? I have done some rough counter making with MDF, Laminate and rubber cement. Is putting on a veneer pretty much the same drill? Do wood working shops carry veneers in sheets? I have never tackled speaker construction, but since there are no baffles or ports on an Academy, would it be just a matter of making a wooden box to size, cutting holes to fit the drivers and swapping out the parts? Any magic dust Klipsch puts in the box to get that sweet sound? Thanks for any and all info! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Well, I have to confess that I've never used a cabinet shop to do this kind of thing, but a couple other guys on the Forum have. I'd start by letting my fingers do the walking and asking some questions. I'd expect them to be able to do it from dimensions (taking my Academy apart would be a deal breaker, frankly) and they might even be able to do the veneer too. The nice thing is that they can route out the speaker holes and do the rabbetting as well -- something that will take a DIY'er like me some bits that I don't own yet and some practice. www.certainlywood.com has some great stuff if you wanted to DIY the veneer portion. Search the Forum for the Zebrawood Heresy Project for some really good information on doing the veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletcherkane Posted December 24, 2004 Author Share Posted December 24, 2004 And the Grand total for a Broken Academy--$381.00! Unstinking believable! I love Klipsch as much as the next guy, but is the Academy really THAT GOOD? If that is the price they are pulling at auction I might as well not even try. Insanity! The loony birds are running the insane asylum! Merry CHRISTmas Everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 I think the Academy is good, but not sure it's THAT good . . . the thing is supply and demand, and when you've got the Chorus or Forte already, moving out of those and into something else is time consuming and expensive too. So for a guy with the big towers, $600 for an Academy really is the path of least resistance. Only if you have a lot of space and/or an indulgent spouse do things like Quartet centers or three matched towers across the front or Frankenspeakers start to make any sense at all. Another way to put it in perspective -- what does an RC-7 fetch? Is it really THAT good? Semi-rhetorical, but I think it fits in the larger, system-sized picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Is the Academy really THAT GOOD, the answer is YES! I had previously owned a KG 2.2V center and a KV-4 center and I currently have a La Scala center. I had a chance a few months ago to score an Academy for a decent price so I did. I had been using a KV-4 as additional center support for my La Scala since it is laying on its side. Spec wise the KV-4, KLF-C7 and Academy look similar but that is where the difference ends. The moment I hooked up the Academy there was an immediate perceivable difference for the better. This speaker does dialogue real well, scary even, much better than the KV-4 would I pay $500-$600 after hearing one you bet I would. I use vertical Cornwalls as my rear centers and after hearing the Academy I was tempted to replace them with a pair of Academy's just for the sake of saving some room. Although I came to my senses since the vertical Cornwalls can surely outperform the Academy. So is the Academy GOOD, absolutely! I realize that it is tough to shell out that kind of cash though since that kind of money could buy a pair of Heresy's or Forte's but if the Academy is the speaker that would finish the timbre matching of your system it is easily worth its asking price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Frzninvt, how would you characterize the Academy against a RC7 for dialog? Please disregard any timbre differences with mains for this comparison. How would KLF-C7 or Vert Corn fit into the continum? Pretend that there were NO other speakers, JUST the dialog channel. Which is the hands-down BEST center speaker, ever built, in the Klipsch line. Heck, I'll even thrown a split LaScala cabinet into the mix. The BEST!???.....Space or bucks or screen size are no limitation... survey says.... anybody else, just chime in... Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Never have done a one on one against an RC-7 so I can't comment as to the differences. The RC-7 sounds different than the KV-4 and KLF-C7 and as a stand alone speaker I think that it is outstanding. I would run three of them across the front if I did not have room for the RF-7's. I would rank the best center speaker from Klipsch this way, keep in mind that this is only my opinion. If I could go custom like QMan my obvious center choice would be a Klipschorn! But keep in mind your center is anchored to your mains so your choices for mains will have to factor into the equation. If I was running Cornwall mains my obvious center choice would be a third Cornwall, vertical or horizontal. If I had Belle's, obviously a Belle, the same with the La Scala. For Khorn's I prefer the La Scala because of the matching K-400/401K horn, a split La Scala opens a great many options here. The Belle is much prettier and narrower so also a viable option, then a Cornwall vertical or horizontal. If I could not squeeze any of those in there my next choice would be a Heresy followed by the Academy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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