popbumper Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 Yeah, I'm sure this has been "done to death", but it's my turn to ask. I am considering a pair of KHorns for $1600. Here's my particulars: 1) I have Forte fronts, Forte surround, Academy center. All have my upgraded networks. I gotta admit, I LOVE the sound of my setup, and am asking myself WHY I would want to do KHorns. 2) My room is 20' x 20'. Yes, I have corners for them. 3) These have the "AA" networks in them, I am told. QUESTIONS: a) Never having head KHorns, AM I going to be "blown away"? I can hardly imagine something can get even better than what I have. Call me "inexperienced". Would they even be "useable" as sold, or would I NEED to upgrade the crossovers to really "pump them up". OK, never mind, I know THAT answer. c) What center would one use with KHorn fronts? What surrounds? (NOTE: please don't answer "more KHorns". That's too obvious and unrealistic. d) Should I shut up and be happy? Look folks, I have a pair of Corns I have never driven, and a pair of Heresy II that are collecting dust. Should I revamp my Corns and go THAT route before considering KHorns? Am I nuts? OK, maybe not the right question - am I RATIONAL? Thanks all for inputs, please help me to make a choice. I love this Klipsch stuff.... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 a)Never having head KHorns, AM I going to be "blown away"? I can hardly imagine something can get even better than what I have. Call me "inexperienced".<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> OK Klipschorns are an amazing speaker. IMO yes they will be noticeably better than the Forte. Would they even be "useable" as sold, or would I NEED to upgrade the crossovers to really "pump them up". OK, never mind, I know THAT answer. You can use them as is no problem but AAs are old crossovers and you would benefit from an upgrade in components (Caps) or even better a move to a newer design like the various ALK offerings. c) What center would one use with KHorn fronts? What surrounds? (NOTE: please don't answer "more KHorns". That's too obvious and unrealistic. Regarding the center/surround issue. In a room your size I believe these are your best options in this order: Center: La Scala Belle Klipsch Cornwall (pick whatever iteration you prefer) Heresy (pick whatever iteration you prefer) Surrounds: Same choice as above for best sound but given you room size probably Heresy would be the easiest to accommodate d) Should I shut up and be happy? Look folks, I have a pair of Corns I have never driven, and a pair of Heresy II that are collecting dust. Should I revamp my Corns and go THAT route before considering KHorns? Am I nuts? OK, maybe not the right question - am I RATIONAL? I always recommend getting a set of Klipschorns if you have the room and are inclined to do so. You have Cornwalls and Heresys so all you need is a center. Go for it. Are you really asking us on this forum if you are rational?!?!?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 ---------------- On 7/15/2005 11:34:58 PM J.4knee wrote: Are you really asking us on this forum if you are rational? ---------------- LMAO If you've got Heresys and Cornwalls and can acquire Khorns for $1600 (a very good price), you'd be irrational not to. They are a fun speaker system. Woo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Chris, As one who owns all of the speakers on your list, except the Academy, I can assure you that you will find the K-Horns a vast improvement over the Forte's. It's not that the Forte's are bad. They are great. The K-Horn's are uber great!! Buy the K's and try them with the Cornwall's in the rear and a Heresy center. Then put the Heresy's in the rear with a Cornwall center. See which you prefer. If you don't like the K's, I will buy them from you for what you paid. There you go . . . a no-risk deal!! Since you no doubt will fall in love with the K's, I will be the first to offer to buy your Forte's. I need a Forte system for my daughter. It's time to upgrade from her KG's to Fortes. Keep me posted . . . Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 ---------------- On 7/15/2005 9:51:09 PM popbumper wrote: Yeah, I'm sure this has been "done to death", but it's my turn to ask. I am considering a pair of KHorns for $1600. Here's my particulars: 1) I have Forte fronts, Forte surround, Academy center. All have my upgraded networks. I gotta admit, I LOVE the sound of my setup, and am asking myself WHY I would want to do KHorns. 2) My room is 20' x 20'. Yes, I have corners for them. 3) These have the "AA" networks in them, I am told. QUESTIONS: a) Never having head KHorns, AM I going to be "blown away"? I can hardly imagine something can get even better than what I have. Call me "inexperienced". Would they even be "useable" as sold, or would I NEED to upgrade the crossovers to really "pump them up". OK, never mind, I know THAT answer. c) What center would one use with KHorn fronts? What surrounds? (NOTE: please don't answer "more KHorns". That's too obvious and unrealistic. d) Should I shut up and be happy? Look folks, I have a pair of Corns I have never driven, and a pair of Heresy II that are collecting dust. Should I revamp my Corns and go THAT route before considering KHorns? Am I nuts? OK, maybe not the right question - am I RATIONAL? Thanks all for inputs, please help me to make a choice. I love this Klipsch stuff.... Chris ---------------- Firstly: If you can get a pair of Khorns for $1600, you'd be an idiot not to jump on them. The first time I heard Khorns, and this was a practically brand new model, it was in a listening comparison between them, the Belles, and the Heresies. The Heresies were kinda yuck to me, the Belles were nice, but when they switched to the K's, a smile was literally slapped across my face. It's the closest thing to an orgasm I've ever had when listening to speakers. No lie, it's that much of a difference, dude... Secondly, in a 20x20 room, your most ideal surround configuration would be 4 Khorns (front L/R, rear L/R) and a Belle or LaScala center for 5.1. 6.1, add a Belle or LaScala for the surround back. 7.1, add two Belles or LaScalas for the surround back. Finally, your Corns and Heresies would perform well in a surround configuration, but you'll definitely hear the timbre discrepancy across the front using a Heresy as a center channel. Get ye some Belles post haste if you take this route... (edit) Noticing the initial breakdown - I'd use the Fortes for surround back duty, the Corns for rears duty, and continue using the Academy center with a pair of Khorns up front. The Academy, according to all I've heard, would be the closest timbre match to the Khorns amongst the options available... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 "1) I have Forte fronts, Forte surround, Academy center. All have my upgraded networks. I gotta admit, I LOVE the sound of my setup, and am asking myself WHY I would want to do KHorns." --------------------- Since you LOVE the way your setup sounds, you could leave it like it is and get the K-horns for a two channel setup, assuming you have another room of sufficient size (That's what I did when I finally got K-horns. I liked my 3-Cornwall/2-Heresy HT setup too much to change it). If you decide to work the K-horns into a surround setup, I strongly suggest using one of your Cornwalls for the center, and Heresys in the rear. That is how my brother's system is setup and it is very, very good. The timbre match is excellent. If you love your system now, you will really love a system with big Heritage accoss the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Chris, Go For It! You have all the other speakers you need to work with the Khorn's your updated Academy would hold it's own pretty well with the Khorn's I know I have one between mine, in addition to my La Scala of course. You could always use a Forte' or Cornwall at center. For $1600 I would certainly go for it. The Klipschorn will bring everything to another level for you I am certain of it. I noticed a significant difference going from Belle Klipsch mains to Khorn's. Prior to that I owned Forte's that I purchased new for over 12 years I have not looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted July 16, 2005 Author Share Posted July 16, 2005 Well, I visited the seller and listened to the KHorns as I had hoped. Here is my overall impression: 1) These things are HUGE, no doubt. Never having seen any before, I was quite stunned at the size. They were however beautiful, cane was in very good shape, finish was good if not great (these were stained). 2) Sound - MY GOD these things will FILL a room with sound. I could not believe the openness and spatiality. There was also a reasonable amount of bass, nothing special, but certainly adequate. 3) Sound quality - well, these have the AA crossover, the K55 mid horn and K77 tweeter. I took a good look at the crossovers and one of the autoformers actually looks like it had some burned windings. Voices sounded very good; highs were adequate; the owner kept really turning up the volume, and while I was impressed with the sheer volume, I can honestly say that I thought the overall mix was somewhat harsh - the highs and mids just seemed "strained" or "distorted" to an appreciable degree. I suppose that with a good crossover the sound would "clean up" a great deal, I just don't know. Where from here? I just don't know. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Buy em and get ALK'S or at a minimum have the xovers rebuilt. The bass is not a punchy bass but it is very musical and extremely accurate. You can caulk the mids to tame them some. Pesronally I think the xover fix will smoothout your issue with the "harsh" sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardhead Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 ---------------- On 7/16/2005 12:32:55 PM popbumper wrote: I thought the overall mix was somewhat harsh - the highs and mids just seemed "strained" or "distorted" to an appreciable degree. I suppose that with a good crossover the sound would "clean up" a great deal, I just don't know. Where from here? I just don't know. Good electronics can also take apparent harshness and distortion out of the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Buy them. After you get them home shoot me an email and I'll send you a schematic for a network that will blow your socks off. You can build them with Solens for now, and when the cash layout improves ... well, you know the routine. There's no bandpass on the squawker, and its run full out until it runs out of gas. The acoustic roll off isn't all that smooth, and the transition to the tweeter is a bit sloppy. Also, since the drivers are non-coincident, things are a bit rough on either side of the crossover point. Adding a bandpass cleans things up considerably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 "Buy the K's and try them with the Cornwall's in the rear and a Heresy center. Then put the Heresy's in the rear with a Cornwall center." Pop, if you know what's good for your ears, you will take this advice. Dean is also on the right track - repairing the networks will improve them a great deal. Even BEC's basic rebuild is a great way to go if you want that done on a "bang for the buck" basis (plus two basic networks at once). Then of course, Dean and Al can tour you through the high quality options..... The bass response may also improve with a properly sealed corner installation - and that installation will cause them to "shrink" a bit in size: KHorns aren't nearly as imposing when installed in corners (were they installed as such when you saw these?). In any case, they are worth making room for. As to "harshness", that may well be a product of the gear the seller had them hooked up to, plus the old networks. If your current Klipsch collection doesn't sound too harsh with your current electronics, you will probably be OK with the KHorns. If yer happy as a clam with the Forte setup and want to start fiddling with 2 channel, that's one more excuse to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Audible stole my post, that was to be my exact suggestion. Possibly work toward a Cornwall vertical center- you'd have furniture quality, WAF, good timbre match and it would absolutely ROCK. As bonus, your other system could be sold or used for a second system as is, no playing mix or match. Best of both worlds. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Do you need Khorns? The question should be who doesn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I had Corns, have LS and Khorns. The Khorns never fail to impress me with how much soomther and more accurate and realistic they are than the LS - big difference hardly conveyed by the specs. Khorns make music with tubes! I have heard $10K speakers that are almost as good. Avant-garde Duos and Trios are better... at 10 and 30X the price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Just spent some time at Indy's listening to his Khorns with music and HT modes. They are georgeous, seamless sound. I MUST have a pair one day! That is my quest, the search for Khorns. Don't ask me where I'm going to put them, I don't know.... Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 For $1,600.00 you need to buy them even if you don't want them. You then can play with them for a while and get to know the speaker. Everyone should know what the Klipschorn sounds like. Don't pass up the opportunity to experience the Klipschorn sound. It will help you to be able to judge the sound of other speakers. Then go ahead and sell them and make a few bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Q-man good advice. The Khorn is one speaker that holds it value and you should be able to get your money back no problem. The biggest pain about Khorns is delivery and moving them. It seems the more thay are moved you almost can't help dinginng them. Hard to get through doors even seperated. The Bass bin is very akward to carry even with 2 people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 Now kicking myself, I just told the seller "no". It's not the money; I have that. It's an extra set of Corns, an extra set of Heresy II, my room is not ready, my whole Forte/Academy/KG setup will be obsolete due to timbre mismatch, I won't have the cash to do immediate crossover upgrades, etc., etc. Dang!!!! Timing IS everything, and this is NOT the right time. I hate missed opportunities....but it was my choice, right or wrong. Thanks for all the inputs, I'm a bit sad about this. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Where were the Khorns as far as location I might be interested? Thanks, Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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