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Upgrading in Chicagoland - Need Heritage/vintage Klipsch Info/Opinions


meagain

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Hi. Hubby & I went speaker shopping and were incredibly dissapointed in what we heard in the $2-4k price point level. Not only that, after begging the stores to turn off their subwoofers - yipes! No bass. With subwoofers on, we felt they were mushy, and I'm thinking subwoofers aren't the way to go for music? Basically, I was vastly dissapointed & we ended up rushing home to listen to my KG4's again. I bought the KG4s in the 80's, preferring them over a higher priced model (not sure which that was), as the KG4 had the bass I needed. I can find fault with them of course, but heck - they sound pretty darned good and I can't see spending $2k+ for something I like less.

This experience led me to look into vintage Klipsch. While yes, I'd appreciate it if they were tall, sleek, & cool looking - but for good sound, I'll do what I need to do.

Hubby is a musician and listens to far more jazz than I. He's a musician (mostly Sax). We both listen to rock more than anything, but me moreso. If we each had to sacrafice something, while he certainly appreciates good bass - he'd probably steer more towards highs. I'm the bass person and would sacrafice for that.

Basically, I want to put in a Primus CD and be in heaven.

I'm "thinking" (coming from KG4's), perhaps Cornwalls would please me. I'm also looking at LaScala/Belle, & Khorns. The Khorns freek me out a bit with their size and apparently demanding placement issues - Then again, the LaScalla isn't exactly petite. Cornwalls are the smaller of the batch - right? I've also read a few comments that one might want an extra bass for the LaScala? If so, I can't see the point?

If I try to find Cornwalls, I see there are I's and II's. I need to study up on the differences. Does anyone have a preferance? If I do this (probably from Ebay), I want to do it right. I understand the more recent models might not have a metal horn?

Also, if I get Cornwalls, would the KG4's work OK as a 2ndary pair - say in a home theatre setup? Or, what would be a good 2ndary pair?

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Yes the Cornwall I or II would be a good choice, but then again so would the Forte', Forte' II, Chorus I or Chorus II all of them have great highs and solid lows and will blend nicely with the KG4's. If you like the KG4's any of the aforementioned speakers will surely please you from a performance standpoint.

In addition, refreshing the components in those aging KG4 crossover networks will give you some added sparkle to the highs and smooth out and warm up the bass response even more. The investment to do so is minimal and well worth it.

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Yes the Cornwall I or II would be a good choice, but then again so would the Forte', Forte' II, Chorus I or Chorus II all of them have great highs and solid lows and will blend nicely with the KG4's. If you like the KG4's any of the aforementioned speakers will surely please you from a performance standpoint.

I'm looking at the Chorus which seems to share the same tweeter & midrange as the Cornwall II. But has the k-48 woofer compared to Cornwall's K-34 or K-33 (the latter of which seems to be in the LaSala/Khorn/Belle). I've zero clue as to the differences. Can anyone enlighten me? It's frustrating not being able to hear this stuff.

Note: I'm not looking to match anything to my KG4's. I'm looking to replace them & they'll either be delegated to the basement or used as a 2nd pair for HT (though we're not really into that), perhaps temporarily.

Is there any type of hierarchy chart for these? I've no clue where the Forte falls on the list vs. Chorus, etc. But the Cornwalls are better than these - correct - then wouldn't I want to at least go for the Cornwalls over Chorus?

Tiger - Very nice!

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Yes, you would! Go with what you just said. No more inquiries needed. Cornwalls are a great bang for the buck.

I'd get Cornwalls of solid wood, as opposed to mdf (if they ever began making Cornwalls with mdf). Solid wood is far superior IMO. Not for sound, but durability and long-lasting beauty with the ability to re-finish nicks and scrapes.

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meagain

Regards Vintage Klipsch, you should look closely at the Fortes I or II. They will give you

the best deal for your dollar, by far, because they are so efficient! They have great Bass, and generally run in the 450 -500 range,sometimes less.

Whereas the Chorus speakers being great are generally running in the 650-850

range.

Size wise the Fortes are taller than your KG4's. and the Choruses are just a little taller.

CorNwalls are a nice speaker, but much Bigger Width and height wise.........plus being more

"In your Face"........sound wise.........JMHO.

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i dont know what everyone else is telling you on here but this is from personal experience over the last 2 years. i started with cornwall 1, i bought heresys, i moved to la scalas, i then bought belles, i now have K-Horns, and by far (and i do mean far) the K-Horns kick all the rest A$$e$ hands down no comparison, want a speaker you will be happy with at all levels (bass, highs, mids) buy the k-horns.............

this is not to say the others dont have there strong points, they do but as far as the best bang for the buck its k-horns all the way.

placement issues are not as bad as you may have heard i have a fairly small room and only 1 good corner, the horns set about 13 feet apart and i set about 6 feet back from them centered with no space behind me (except the wall of albums i oun) and the image better in the room than any of the others did.........

also all the other speakers require just as much room to get good imageing etc... as they need to be so far away from side walls and so far out away from the wall behind to get the best sound.........

considering all the money i spent on all the others i wish i had gone k-horns first the only good thing is if you opt for trile and error as i did you can usually get your investment back when upgradeing

Joe

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:) It's critically important to me to do this properly. I'm neurotic and anal and when I get new speakers, I'll pretty much sit there for 2 weeks fiddling with position, and analyzing the heck out of every nuance coming into my ears. And hubby is a musician - so add that into the mix and... well... it's serious to us. We've wanted to upgrade for years now but unless you're constantly observing what's coming out, reading, etc. Gosh, it's tough to start this process. We've only hit a few 'stores' but the only thing that came close to us liking were a pair of $8k B&W's. To heck with that! I'd sure love to hear some of these higher end Klipsch compared to them. But we can't. We're willing to spend some money here (not $8k though). :) The size of the LaScala, Belle, & Khorns is more the issue. Fricking size of a Mini Cooper. :o Would I buy them if spotted in a garage sale? Oh yes! But to actively persue & have them shipped in? IDK. Hence my leaning toward the Cornwall (or maybe Belle).

I just lined up some threads comparing Chorus vs. Cornwall. That particular thread seemed to imply the Chorus II had overall better bass & the Cornwall had more of a in your face midrange? Then I read something about fatigue with the Cornwall. I was surprised at this. I'm sure as I read on, I'll read the exact opposite and get even more confused. I must say the taller, narrower size of the Chorus II is more appealing, but that shouldn't drive my choice.

Chicago Pete - Thank you for the kind offer. I may very well take you up on that. I'd love to hear both of them, especially the Khorns. It sure would be interesting to hear the differences between those 2. But I'm sort of afraid cuz I might love the Khorn? I'd rather not. What a monster! LOL

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I agree. I started with the K-HORNS. You will eventually work your way up to them, it always happens.

Anyway, those beautil K Horns inTigerwood are sitting here in Las Vegas - $2500 and I will supply new Type A Crossover from Mr. Crites. Price does nto include the false corners or Marble and Brass ALK's. Of course, I can include those and you will still be within the range that you are looking in.

Chris

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i dont know what everyone else is telling you on here but this is from personal experience over the last 2 years. i started with cornwall 1, i bought heresys, i moved to la scalas, i then bought belles, i now have K-Horns, and by far (and i do mean far) the K-Horns kick all the rest A$$e$ hands down no comparison, want a speaker you will be happy with at all levels (bass, highs, mids) buy the k-horns.............

They do it all huh? Gosh - can anyone fault these things? I've not read of any. They must have some flaws?

OK - An example... Today I listened to 2 totally different types of music:

David Sylvian - 'Secrets of the Behive' (beautiful beautiful album - highly recommended)

Tool - misc stuff

Having speakers that can do justice to both would be a good goal.

placement issues are not as bad as you may have heard i have a fairly small room and only 1 good corner, the horns set about 13 feet apart and i set about 6 feet back from them centered with no space behind me (except the wall of albums i oun) and the image better in the room than any of the others did.........

also all the other speakers require just as much room to get good imageing etc... as they need to be so far away from side walls and so far out away from the wall behind to get the best sound.........

considering all the money i spent on all the others i wish i had gone k-horns first the only good thing is if you opt for trile and error as i did you can usually get your investment back when upgradeing

Joe

Wow - 13' apart & 6' back? That's nearly identical to my current room (but with space behind). And it's OK? When I entertained the thought of khorns, I worried about this. We plan to remodel someday and plan on a much larger space. Actually, perhaps I need to consider that future space more in my purchase.

So come on - Are the khorns "everything"? Surely there must be something wrong with them.

(Tiger - I'll show hubby. They do look pristine, but I must say it would be much more attractive if you lived locally & they were in walnut or such :) )

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Meagain, I would suggest to you that the Khorn will be the LEAST obtrusive of any of the Heritage line, in spite of it's being so massive.

Trust me when I say that if ANYONE in the world would freak out if she knew just how behemouth a Klipschorn is, it would be my wife.

When I brought mine home, I KNEW that I'd better get my hiney working until they were tucked into a corner. If she came home & saw their massiveness out in the middle of the floor, I'd been booted out for sure.

I would suggest to you that the Khorn will take up LESS usable floorspace in your room, than just about ANY other Heritage speaker.

I can speak with experience on the LaScala as I've owned a pair of them for 25 years.

Look at your setting... do you in fact have decent corners? Are said corners occupied with corner cabinet or other things that MUST stay there? if you do (have the corners), not only will the Khorns tuck in and hide better than most, they will (IMHO) sound better than most, so you have the best of both worlds.

It still amazes me that something so big can be so small.

[:D]

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Coytee - My current room is appalling. Near impossible to setup right khorn or no khorn. It's a small family room that's open. Even if we moved the whole shebang into the living room, it would be rough for the khorns. Actually worse. But the future remodel would be designed for sound/theatre so I could probably either get by or just hold off on the concept of khorns till the remodel. But I see your point. The Khorns are butt up to the walls? Touching? Or do they need to be out a bit? And what of the Cornwall? What is the proper placement for them? Oh my. I sure wish they made a more petite version. I'll take some measurements. Anyone know how MUCH of a wall they need? Say one side is a good long wall, but the other side is 'iffy'. Is there a minimum requirement? Like, can 4' of wall be OK?

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Jeff

Yes, you would! Go with what you just said. No more inquiries needed. Cornwalls are a great bang for the buck.

I'd get Cornwalls of solid wood, as opposed to mdf (if they ever began making Cornwalls with mdf). Solid wood is far superior IMO. Not for sound, but durability and long-lasting beauty with the ability to re-finish nicks and scrapes.

I'm noticing from the specs, the Cornwall II are MDF but also different tweeter, midrange, and woofer. The non-II having the same woofer as the khorn & LaScala? Different sensitivity. I'm not smart enough to know the differences, but will search on that also.

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Go for the Klipschorns. You can buy a fantastic pair used for $2500, or new for just three or four times that. And although your current room isn't the best, since you're planning on a bigger room eventually anyway, there's no point in going through the trouble of buying something else now and having to resell them later.

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