Me Loves Khorns Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Also: from your pictures, you have a huge room (LUCKY). You could even set up for a 7.1 set up with Khorns in front, Heresy's on back and side duty, and then Belle, Cornerhorn, etc in the center. Your room is about the size of some old movie theaters I've been in ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 that is what i am sure will eventually happen. I already have the Anthem AVM20 7.1 preamp and Anthem MCA50 and MCA20 (5 channel and 2 channel respectively) Put the Khorns in the front, Belles in the rear, Heresys as surrounds and get a Belle for the Center. I wouldn't even have to adjust the height of my screen, a Belle would fit under it nicely. The Anthem amps are nice amps, 180watts into 8 ohms per channel with awesome specs and very musical, but tomorrow when I bring the Khorns home will be the big test, see how they sound A/B Anthem vs McIntosh. I have enough Mac amps to do 7.1 If I do that I will have to find a home for all my Paradigm Studio Reference. Lots of plans for things to try. But noting can be done until the Khorns get here, I know tomorrow is close but darn the wait is killing me. I worked out some creative shipping with 3 different affiliated shipping companies that just so happened to have "empty" trucks going between Texas and Arizona, so well I kinda partially filled them up. They have been in transit for 11 days now. I hope this storm we are having passes tonight, it has been pretty nasty all day long The room is 30' X 30' and the screen (rolled up in the picture) is 110" diagonal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Yes, PWK did advocate the use of the Heresy as a center speaker intially. Same with the Cornwall. But he changed his mind. Selected quotes from Paul W. Klipsch, Dope From Hope, Vol. 15, No. 6, June 1976: More and more people are calling and writing us about a three speaker array. We recommend our BELLE KLIPSCH or LA SCALA as a center speaker between our KLIPSCHORN, LA SCALA or BELLE KLIPSCH as flanking speakers. We do not like to use our HERESY or CORNWALL speakers between totally horn-loaded speakers. . . . . . Our HERESY exhibits lower distortion than any other speaker of its size and price. But it is still not an all-horn system. Having a direct-radiator bass unit, its distortion in the bass range is inevitably higher than that of our horn systems, and the cruel fact remains that the speaker system with the highest distortion determines the distortion level of the entire stereo array. Thus, we recommend an all-horn system, like our BELLE KLIPSCH or LA SCALA for use as a center speaker between flanking all-horn speakers. . . . . . The center speaker reproduces center stage events, and the soloist, if there is one. It should be at least as good and clean as the flanking speakers. KEEP IT CLEAN! I agree that a horn loaded center would be best. However, for many folks there might be money, space, WAF constraints. I am using a Cornwall as a center and it is not a bad compromise. Remember that the gain on the center is lower than the the L & R speakers - several dB lower. Even without the center channel , the singer and the soloist will still be imaged in the middle; however, the percept is not as "convincing". Yes, there will be greater distortion with the Cornwall at the lower frequencies, but again this is somewhat "dialed down" The reason I bring this up is that I don't want folks to shy away from trying a center channel because they don't have the money for an ideal center speaker (or amp). You can always upgrade later, although finding a single La Scala or Belle is difficult Good luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Our experiment with a center channel fill changed how we listen to music (edit: and for sure movies!) -- very much for the better. I agree it would be a good idea to listen to the Klipschorns (congrats on that, by the way!) alone first in order to establish a baseline for comparison. The Klipschorns can image very well, but an extra center channel was something of a missing link for us. As was said above, it doesn't take much gain to arrive at a subtle blend with the main speakers; too much, and it can begin to draw attention to itself. We tried a Heresy, Lowther horn, and finally a La Scala. All of them sounded good, but the LS was the best, IMO. We weren't able to keep the La Scala, and are making do with a much smaller Synergy center channel. It does pretty well overall, but is obviously not able to keep pace with the k-horns as well as did the La Scala. We thought of dual Heresies, since I corresponded with some who loved the sound despite the common arguments against that arrangement, but agreed the home decor aspect would suffer too much. For music listening, the Synergy does okay, since less is required of it than for movie-watching. Have fun! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 Just want to say THANKS! to everyone who has posted their experiences and well wishes! I am sure I will be posting as I try different things. I called the shipper, the truck is supposed to arrive at 10 am, so I will be leaving about 7am with trailer, packing blankets, tarps, ropes and straps for my 320 mile journey I'll post some pix tomorrow night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobRiff Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I have been considering a Heritage speaker for my center, with Khorns in the front and LS's in the back. I currently have a big tv right where the center is, with a dedicated center, good Klipsch speaker, but not a Heritage. Has anyone ever used a Heresy directly on top of a rear projection tv? It would not be magnetically shielded. Does this give a true prob or not? Has anyone ever "suspended" a Heresy on the wall with decent cosmetic and audio effects? Paul Paul, I recently replaced the KV-1 I had been using as a center channel with a Heresy. I initially had the Heresy sitting directly on top of the TV using an Omnimount stand from Circuit City. However, it didn't really look too good, and having a 40 pound speaker setting directly on the plastic frame of the set didn't seem like a good idea. I built an 18"x24" wall shelf out of a piece of birch, and mounted it on the wall (using two wooden brackets). I'm very happy with the improvement in the sound, and my wife is reasonably happy with the way it looks. Since my TV is an LCD rear projector, magnetic fields are not an issue. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 I am reviving this thread, living with my new Khorns a mere 11 days, I want to add a center channel. Previous posts suggest a minimum of a Cornwall. Not knowing anything about a Cornwall, am I correct that it uses a K33, K55 and K77? Which model horn does it use? and can anyone supply me with cabinet dimensions and or cabinet plans? From the few pictures I have seen the cabinet does not look complicated. Also what model crossover do they use. Thanks! Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 I am reviving this thread, living with my new Khorns a mere 11 days, I want to add a center channel. Previous posts suggest a minimum of a Cornwall. Not knowing anything about a Cornwall, am I correct that it uses a K33, K55 and K77? Which model horn does it use? and can anyone supply me with cabinet dimensions and or cabinet plans? From the few pictures I have seen the cabinet does not look complicated. Also what model crossover do they use. Thanks! Jack Jack, With all due respect, I would wait longer than 11 days. Unless you have had horn loaded cabinets before, you may need more time to get used to the sound. I am a big believer in an additive center channel, but why not take your time. -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 Tom, I understand what you are saying, I will admit to logging close to if not over 100 hours of listening in the last 11 or is it 12 days now. My biggest push if you will is to determine how the horns will work in my 7.1 setup. As it is right now I have the theater system (all Paradigm Studio Reference and Anthem Pre-Pro) and 1.5 audio systems (meaning shared sources and preamp (McIntosh C39) with 2 discrete power amps / speaker configs) for music. If the horns will work for the theater as I think they will, i can then figure out what to do with my current theater system, which sounds good but definately giving it a good workout. I have the Belles ready to go in the rear, heresy's for the surrounds, Khorns for the front but what I am lacking is the center. I have used phantom center for DD (doesn't work for DTS) in the past and well it isn't the same. The Khorns sound great as they are for music, if the center isn't needed for music it will still be needed for HT. I need to see how the Khorns sound with the Anthem electronics compared to my Mac stuff and I do have enough Mac to use Mac amps for the 7 channels if it comes to that. So I am kinda in limbo without a center for further testing, if that makes any sense Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaspr Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Jack I am certainly no expert here but what I would suggest is that you use one of your Belles in the center just to hear what it would sound like with the K-horns. No need for rear channels to get an idea of how things might sound. By the way, congrats on the K-horns... would love to hear your impressions after your first ten days with them. Garth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted September 5, 2006 Moderators Share Posted September 5, 2006 Jack I am certainly no expert here but what I would suggest is that you use one of your Belles in the center just to hear what it would sound like with the K-horns. No need for rear channels to get an idea of how things might sound. By the way, congrats on the K-horns... would love to hear your impressions after your first ten days with them. Garth That's a good idea if it's not to much trouble moving everything around. I'm no expert either ! But their is many things in this hobby that make a difference , sometimes it's not a big difference. But having a center channel that matches or is very close is a huge improvement. I would have never believed it would have made this much of a difference . The truth is the only reason I will keep the 6 Forte's instead of building around the Cornwall lll's is because I don't have room for a equal center. Your setup is unbelievable, to me it always sounds better in a large room. Bet it sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 Garth, In a nutshell I am very impressed but I have built a little love/hate relationship, not with the Khorns but with the quality of some recordings. With the Paradigms and even the Belles (and my maggies before this) poor recordings sounded bad but tolerable. With the Khorns poor recordings are unbearable. I have played around a bit adding a little Ionovac, adding a little sub but mainly just getting to know what to expect. Fortunately I am in the position that volume level is not an issue so I have been able to listen softly and loudly Dtel, Yes I agree totally. That is what makes my paradigm system so sweet. I have complete timber and driver match on all 7 speakers, same line and same version. The problem with it is I am usually running it at relatively high power to fill the room. The Khorns definately have the ability to fill the room and with a horns dynamic abilities I can only imagine it would be incredible. I realize that the cornwall is not a horn load but with the same drivers, well does that kinda make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Garth, In a nutshell I am very impressed but I have built a little love/hate relationship, not with the Khorns but with the quality of some recordings. With the Paradigms and even the Belles (and my maggies before this) poor recordings sounded bad but tolerable. With the Khorns poor recordings are unbearable. I have played around a bit adding a little Ionovac, adding a little sub but mainly just getting to know what to expect. Fortunately I am in the position that volume level is not an issue so I have been able to listen softly and loudly Sony over mastered CDs just make me nuts. Billy Joel most recent box set of "one offs" is nice music but so many fo the songs lack dynamic range. Cymbals are so compressed engineers should have been cussed out. His first box set is much better. Most Sony software suffers from this. Gee! My origonal vinyl pressing of Quadrphenis has more dynamic range than 90 % of the CDs of the past 10 years on major labels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Flynn is that "Quadrophenia" ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Flynn is that "Quadrophenia" ?? Nothing more fun than Freudian slip with typing / spelling... yes QUADROPHENIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 thought I missed something there..and you're right about the dynamic range..seems this has been discussed before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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