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If Klipsch can't make the Khorn, we can


Elydaman

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Everyone!

I am a custom furniture maker who owns a 5 year old pair of Khorns. I could make the cabinets in my sleep. If Klipsch does not continue to market and promote the great Knorn, so be it. Al K can build the crossovers, I will do the cabinets, and someone can supply the drivers. WE can continue the line in fine style. I would even prefer to make the mid range horn exposed out of a beautiful wood to the exact specs that we would need. AND, I would bet we could sell them at LESS than Klipsch does now...just to keep the faith going.

Give me an old KHorn cabinet, and the rest is history.

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME!

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great idea. How big is your distribution network? You'll be able to supply demos to the dealers and have them re-arrange their showrooms? They'll need to give up the floorspace the faster-moving lines are occupying. You won't have any trouble getting them to do that, will you?

All these details, whatta PITA. Let's just start sawing wood, these details will all take care of themselves. Won't they?

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Man what I wouln't give to have your;

1. Knowledge and skill

2. Your tools

I Love my La Scalas and I'm really happy they're not painted but the beautiful stained birch.

If I had your skill, knowledge, and tools, I'd make cabnets for all my vintage gear including my Scott 299D, a Scott tuner, (yet to be acquired!) my vintage Phase Linear series two tuner, my Carver C4000 Pre amp. etc. etc. etc.!

I'd love a pair of Totum (LIke) mini towers in a mahagony to match the furniture in my study. (except sensitive enough to be driven with my old tube gear)

What a craft you have! 3.gif

Regards,

Bill Woodward

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

On 3/22/2005 10:23:43 PM Elydaman wrote:

Everyone!

I am a custom furniture maker who owns a 5 year old pair of Khorns. I could make the cabinets in my sleep. If Klipsch does not continue to market and promote the great Knorn, so be it. Al K can build the crossovers, I will do the cabinets, and someone can supply the drivers. WE can continue the line in fine style. I would even prefer to make the mid range horn exposed out of a beautiful wood to the exact specs that we would need. AND, I would bet we could sell them at LESS than Klipsch does now...just to keep the faith going.

Give me an old KHorn cabinet, and the rest is history.

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME!

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

Bravo!

Q. How do you build a Khorn?

A. One board at a time.

I didn't say it was easy, but it is do-able.

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Godd bunch of questions....

1. I would not want to mass market the speaker through retailers. This is for the people who have heard a set of Khorns and want to have a set for their own. In WHATEVER wood and finish they would like.

2. The reason I purchased a set of Khorns 5 years ago is that I did not think a person could build one. But this forum has changed my mind. I did not know that someone could build a cross over network that was actually better than what Klipsch was making.

3. I would love to have a Khorn cabinet to tear down...the most complicated of all work involves curving wood and making the joints. Angles are simple,

4. I feel that the R and D put into the currnet Khorn is lacking seeing as the Heritage line is NOT the cash cow for Klipsch these days. They need to be made for the music the produce, not the dollars they can deliver

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  • Klipsch Employees

First, we have no plans to stop building the Khorn!

We could not and would not allow anyone to build a Khorn and sell it by that name. (just ask Speakerlab)

If you are that good with wood maybe you need to talk to the Eng. dept here and see if you can build the wood horn for the Jubliee. (which is one of the big things that keep that speaker from being built)

Last, the Jubliee LF cabinet is built today...in the pro cenima line. $3k each MSRP (or there abouts) Buy as many as you want.

We will build it raw, (no paint) if that is the way you want it.

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I'm a genial sort and no disrespect to you at all Ely, but I think your approach and comments are off base. From what I understand, Klipsch continues to improve the Khorn, improvements are incremental because perfection is hard to top. Can mods to the crossovers improve, I would suspect so since there are plenty of people here who can attest to it.

I have had the wonderfull experience of listening to two sets of Khorns, and I got to tell you, sublime borderng on perfection is a simplification at best.

Your skills in woodworking and attention to detail would commend you to helping out those folks in Updates and Modifications who enjoy recreating these and other Klipsch models just for the fun of it, and of course, in the hopes that they can invent a better mousetrap. I think you can have a lot of fun over there given your woodworking interest.

Consider this though, I do not forsee Klipsch ever forsaking the Khorn, no matter how few units they may sell in any given year. It is integral to the identity of the company. Klipsch without the Khorn is Boston without the "Green Monster", New York without the Statue of Liberty, Philadelphia without cheesestakes. Even though very few people who have owned Klipsch products have ever even heard of the Klipschorn, and fewer still have ever actually listened to one, without it they are just another manufacturing company, with it they are a legend. It is central to their being, they know it, and I suspect most of their emplyees are very proud to be associated with it.

I applaud your enthusiasm for keeping these beauties alive, but don't worry about it, just start saving for a newer pair, or better yet feel free to make a small contribution to the "Thebes Needs Khorns Fund", a quasi-legal charity and very illegal tax shelter fund. Please contact my atorneys at Dewey, Cheatim and Howe for details.

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$3000 for the Jubilee system. $1550 for the KHJ-LF portion (each).

Build a pair of Klipschorn clones, I'd love to see how much you get out of them. It would then be interesting to see if you thought the time and effort put into them was worth the return.

I think 50 years of R&D is plenty for any speaker. I think others are right, and that if you want to up the ante you have go with different drivers and horns -- but then you lose the classic Klipschorn sonic signature. As far as the network goes, the latest incarnation is about as good as it gets. In fact, the early incarnations are damned good, and in smaller rooms, where 15 watts or less brings live levels -- can actually sound just as good.

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Thebes,

I know what the Khorn means to Klipsch....it is at their very soul. I don't want to build one, tweak one, imitate one...at all. My passion lies in just how much these speakers have meant to me as an audio lover. I can remember the days when any "high end" audio outlet would have a pair of Khorns on the floor.....that is how I fell in love with them and had to wait 20 years to finally afford them.

Now, nada, I think Klipsch can devise some sort of "floor plan" deal with retailers to make the Heritage line more attractive for them to display and sell. That is my only fear, that profits will outweigh the faith in pure sound the Heritage line is known for.

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There isn't anything complicated about this: Dealers simply don't want to give up the floor space for them, or deal with the shipping and delivery hassles. Multichannel and plasma screens are the order of the day -- that is reality. To me, it's a mute point. Heritage is available to those who are willing to pursue it. Consumer dollars dictate what's on the market, and until consumer dollars start creating a demand high enough to warrant aggressive marketing and more dealer interest -- expect things to stay pretty much how they are.
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Everyone already knows that Mr. Shinall manufactures excellent exact Khorn cabinet copies. If you want a set of Khorn cabinets talk to him. He's been doing it for 30+ years. I looked into it and was assured that they are absolutely identical but with improved hardware fasteners.

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