What was your first exposure to Klipsch???

[jheis]

One of my law school classmates around 79-80 had a pair of Cornwalls that knocked me out. He ended up selling them because his girlfriend thought they were "nothing but bass." I didn't know they were for sale, but didn't have any money at the time anyway.

In '83 I found my own pair of '81 Cornwall demo's at the Good Guys in South San Francisco and bought them for $782.63 (including tax and 50' of speaker wire) - still have the receipt & still have the Cornwalls.

Round about '96 I answered an ad for some Klipsch speakers & the seller brought round a pair of KG2's. Turns out the guy had sold them to someone else, but one of the speakers had a bad driver so he took them back. Figuring I'd have to replace a driver, I offered him $50 - sold. The guy also brought along a B&K ST-140 amp in case I might be interested and, sucker that I am, I bought the B&K as well for $150. Took a look inside the speakers and the "bad driver" turned out to be a loose spade connector. The KG2's are still going strong in my garage system and the ST-140 was my introduction to B&K amps (I now have seven & the original ST-140 is still sounds sweet).

Since then I've scored two pair of Heresys off ebay, another pair off craigslist, and a local pair of La Scalas from craigslist.

Also rescued a pair of beat up KG4.5s from Goodwill in SF for $50. One of the tweeter voice coils was "blown," but BEC came to the rescue & I replaced both tweeter diaphragms - so I'm into them for $98. Perfect for the patio as soon as things warm up a bit.

Think I'm done for awhile.

James

[RFP]

For me, it was in the very early 60's... Linda and I had been married for only a short time and one Saturday, we were looking for something cheap to do. So we drove over to Dallas to Hillcrest Hi-Fi ("The" hi-fi shop in the area at the time). We were going to dig through their LPs and buy something to play on our Fisher something-or-other receiver, Lenco turntable and University speaker. While there, one of the salespeople played a Don Shirley LP through a Klipschorn... 'twas simply magical (and it wasn't even in stereo!), but there wasn't that much money in the whole wide world (and, we were just listening to one!). Right then I knew that someday..........

Rob

[marems]

My first experence was when I was 20, I was into Car audio then. My good friend I worked with invited me over to hear his kick *** stereo everyone at work talked about. He had an all adcom system running a pair of Epic CF-2's. I was totaly blown away! It was then when the Klipsch Bug bit me.

[RichardP]

1977 or 1978 in Audio Systems in Nashville, near the Exit/In. I was in the next room looking at stuff I could afford. They were playing "The Fall of the House of Usher", from "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" on Klipschorns powered by SAE gear and a Thorens turntable. I thought the thunder was real and even went outside to check. It wasn't and I HAD to go see what could do THAT! Next up was "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmerelda; the bass drum moved the denim of my bell-bottoms! I WILL never forget it!

The store you mention must be the same place I first heard Klipsch. It was in the West End section, right? I was on a brief visit to Nashville in 1976, and while just killing time, wandered into the audio store. Near the front were two Khorns. I even recall what was playing: the "Romantic Warrior" lp by Return to Forever (Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, et al). I noticed how full the low frequencies were, compared to my own small Advent speakers. I ended up living in Nashville from '83-'86, but I don't think that store was still there.

[picky]

I must come clean and admit that my first exposure to Klipsch was not a good one. In fact, I hated them! Chalk it up to stupid pride and ignorance, I guess.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I had run some very large, portable commercial systems for years for live shows, which were all comprised of horns: both long and short throw. During that same period of time (late 1970's - late 1980's), for listening at home, I preferred dome tweeters and mid-ranges. I had convinced myself that horns could only produce raw volume, with little detail at much-lower, residential levels. I believed that in the home: Horns were Harsh! At home, during that time, I had a pair of A/D/S L-810s which I loved, but I wanted something larger (I still have them).

So, when I went looking for a new pair of stereo speakers for the house in the late 80's, the dealer asked me to listen to a pair of Klipsch horns. I don't know if they were set up properly or if they had poor amplification of what, but I was convinced that I did not care for the way they sounded. I really suspect they were not set up right because I felt there wasn't enough punch to the bass (can you imagine?). He also had me listen to a part of Heresies. I REALLY did not care for those at all. I told him they sound too "honky" because of the horns. .......Gosh, I don't know what I was looking for back then but, what was I thinking? I wound up buying a pair of Polk SDA-2A's and an NAD 2200 power amp. I was actually quite pleased with them.for a while. I still have the 2200.

For years, my experience cast a dark shadow on anything that had a horn for home use. I liked them for PA applications but I told people they were crazy if they wanted them for their house. A friend of mine in the early 90s had a pair of Heresies driven by all Adcom equipment. I hated the sound.

Then came the year 2003 and my wife and I were looking for a suitable system to equip the theater we were planning to build in our basement. We had looked and listened to 12 different systems, none of which had horns. I was all set to buy a B&W 703/704 or 803/804 Series (we hadnt decided on the models yet), 7.1 system except that I said to the salesman that something was still missing on their movie performance. He asked me how I felt about horns. I laughed and told him I felt they pretty much sucked: Too harsh, too bright, too honky! He asked me to humor him just one time and take a listen to some different speaker he had set up. Without knowing the brand or anything, Verna and I sat down expecting to be completely disappointed. We played the same scenes from 'The Matrix' that we had played so many times before on all of the other systems. Immediately, we both noticed an engagement or immersion into the sound that we had never noticed on any of the other systems. Then came the intense music and gunfire and explosions......Verna and I both jerked our heads to face each other at the same instant: "WOW!" came out of both of our mouths simultaneously. With just a few more minutes of listening, we both reached the conclusion that these are what we've been searching for. We asked the salesman to put on a music CD we brought with us. Again: We liked what we heard. Completely amazed at this point, and without even knowing the cost or the brand, we told him that this is what we want, only we wanted to know if they made even larger models. They did!

What we had been listening to we Klipsch Reference Series RF-3's, RC-3, RS-3's and an RSW-10. What we ordered were RF-7's, RC-7, RS-7's RSW-15 and RCW-5's. We felt they out-performed the B&Ws relative to movies and they were at least a couple thousand dollars cheaper. We also saved money because we did not need as large of amplification as the B&Ws would require. It was a win-win situation all the way around! In all fairness to B&W, I preferred them to the RF-3s for the playback of music.

As some of you know, I now also own a pair of Heresy III's and I absolutely love the way they sound, especially when driven by my Eico ST-70 integrated vacuum tube amp. Oh yeah, I've also listened to K-Horns again......all I can say now is WOW! And get this: I think that Cornwalls and LaScala's are now my favorite speakers! So much for my old attitude about how I thought that horns suck! LOL What WAS I thinking? I can say I am definitely sold on horns now!

[Klipsched with Yamahas]

Hi-end Hi-Fi has always been a magnet for me, and so I frequented a shop called "Sound Studio". One day I walk in and hear this amazing sound, and IMMEDIATELY captured my attention. Only these were Heresy's that I heard, and so one thing led to another. Got a set of unfinished Cornwalls for $199 less than the finished product, so I used part of my student loans to obtain them.

Nobody I know here locally owns a set of Heritage, so until last weekend, I've only heard my Cornwall's and those Heresy's. WOW, was I ever missing out.

The sacrifice was well worth it in the long run, and no regrets on the purchase.

[bodcaw boy]

I must come clean and admit that my first exposure to Klipsch was not a good one. In fact, I hated them! Chalk it up to stupid pride and ignorance, I guess.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I had run some very large, portable commercial systems for years for live shows, which were all comprised of horns: both long and short throw. During that same period of time (late 1970's - late 1980's), for listening at home, I preferred dome tweeters and mid-ranges. I had convinced myself that horns could only produce raw volume, with little detail at much-lower, residential levels. I believed that in the home: Horns were Harsh! At home, during that time, I had a pair of A/D/S L-810s which I loved, but I wanted something larger (I still have them).

So, when I went looking for a new pair of stereo speakers for the house in the late 80's, the dealer asked me to listen to a pair of Klipsch horns. I don't know if they were set up properly or if they had poor amplification of what, but I was convinced that I did not care for the way they sounded. I really suspect they were not set up right because I felt there wasn't enough punch to the bass (can you imagine?). He also had me listen to a part of Heresies. I REALLY did not care for those at all. I told him they sound too "honky" because of the horns. .......Gosh, I don't know what I was looking for back then but, what was I thinking? I wound up buying a pair of Polk SDA-2A's and an NAD 2200 power amp. I was actually quite pleased with them.for a while. I still have the 2200.

For years, my experience cast a dark shadow on anything that had a horn for home use. I liked them for PA applications but I told people they were crazy if they wanted them for their house. A friend of mine in the early 90s had a pair of Heresies driven by all Adcom equipment. I hated the sound.

Then came the year 2003 and my wife and I were looking for a suitable system to equip the theater we were planning to build in our basement. We had looked and listened to 12 different systems, none of which had horns. I was all set to buy a B&W 703/704 or 803/804 Series (we hadnt decided on the models yet), 7.1 system except that I said to the salesman that something was still missing on their movie performance. He asked me how I felt about horns. I laughed and told him I felt they pretty much sucked: Too harsh, too bright, too honky! He asked me to humor him just one time and take a listen to some different speaker he had set up. Without knowing the brand or anything, Verna and I sat down expecting to be completely disappointed. We played the same scenes from 'The Matrix' that we had played so many times before on all of the other systems. Immediately, we both noticed an engagement or immersion into the sound that we had never noticed on any of the other systems. Then came the intense music and gunfire and explosions......Verna and I both jerked our heads to face each other at the same instant: "WOW!" came out of both of our mouths simultaneously. With just a few more minutes of listening, we both reached the conclusion that these are what we've been searching for. We asked the salesman to put on a music CD we brought with us. Again: We liked what we heard. Completely amazed at this point, and without even knowing the cost or the brand, we told him that this is what we want, only we wanted to know if they made even larger models. They did!

What we had been listening to we Klipsch Reference Series RF-3's, RC-3, RS-3's and an RSW-10. What we ordered were RF-7's, RC-7, RS-7's RSW-15 and RCW-5's. We felt they out-performed the B&Ws relative to movies and they were at least a couple thousand dollars cheaper. We also saved money because we did not need as large of amplification as the B&Ws would require. It was a win-win situation all the way around! In all fairness to B&W, I preferred them to the RF-3s for the playback of music.

As some of you know, I now also own a pair of Heresy III's and I absolutely love the way they sound, especially when driven by my Eico ST-70 integrated vacuum tube amp. Oh yeah, I've also listened to K-Horns again......all I can say now is WOW! And get this: I think that Cornwalls and LaScala's are now my favorite speakers! So much for my old attitude about how I thought that horns suck! LOL What WAS I thinking? I can say I am definitely sold on horns now!

yeah.....you were prideful, ignorant and ugly......wait......you didn't say ugly.....

have a blessed day.

roy delgado

[PrestonTom]

never heard of klipsch till i interviewed.......

have a blessed day,

roy delgado

I assume you had sufficent discretion during the interview to avoid this fact.

[bodcaw boy]

actually i was quite dumber back then (as opposed to just being dumb today), and i did tell them that.....by the end of the interview and after talking to paul, i was convinced that horns were the way to go.

have a blessed day,

roy delgado

[PrestonTom]

actually i was quite dumber back then (as opposed to just being dumb today), and i did tell them that.....by the end of the interview and after talking to paul, i was convinced that horns were the way to go.

have a blessed day,

roy delgado

That is wonderful.

In the last several years in particular I have noticed that job applicants show very, very little candor during the interview. Unfortunately the process for both parties seems to be highly scripted and not very informative.

-Tom

[PrestonTom]

The first time I heard Klipschorns the music was extremely loud. That was the impression I went away with: "these are speakers for playing loud music".

Fast forward a couple of decades - a friend invited me over to listen to his set up (K-Horns with Luxman etc). The recordings were well-chosen and I was absolutely floored by the dynamics and the clean and solid bass. We then disscussed how these two aspects were directly related to the cabinet's high efficiency.

Several years later I bought my first house.

Two weeks later some used cabinets were for sale (they had some blemishes and were not properly set up in corners). I

I bought the beasts and have been happy ever since....

-Tom

[xdetroitx]

Wow! I guess I can say for sure I am the new kid on the block. My first experience was about 9 months ago. I had a cerwin-vega set-up when I lived in Nevada about 7 years ago. Moved back to Michigan and all I had was a portable. My parents had some sony 100 watt speakers so I picked up a used two-channel receiver at a garage sale. Once I got home I plugged it in and nothing. So, in pure anger I went back for my refund. I put the 10 bucks with another 400 and got an open box deal on a Yamaha receiver at Best Buy and was looking for some decent speakers(I must admit I was thinking Bose). Came across the synergy line and liked it. Researched Klipsch online. Joined the site and was told to check out the reference line. I went to AudioVisual on Woodward and auditioned the reference line. Went to every audio place on Woodward(like 6) and they all bad mouthed Klipsch. But, I couldnt get that horn sound out of my head. Now I am hooked for life. I could only afford the 82s and the matching set up except I went with the rw-12d instead of the rt-10d. Infact I just spent an hour there last week listening to the rt-12d and the rf-83s. They will soon be mine. Poor sales guys hate to see me coming. I violate their merchandise every time I go there....not to mention my wife dislikes my outings there. She has not caught the audio bug yet.

[dtel]

You know what this thread reminds me of ? ................. I think it was a contest Klipsch put on a few years ago asking people to tell a story about when you first heard or owned Klipsch speakers.

There were some very good stories entered in the contest, I can't recall how long ago it was, but it had some very good stories.

Anybody remember any more details, I can just recall some of the stories were great .

[DrWho]

The first pair of Klipsch I ever heard were the KP-3002's...a
portable 2-way PA speaker. I was actually in middle school at the time
and couldn't believe how good everything sounded. Heck, they even
stomped all over the Bose 802's! Funny how I would still call the Bose
better back then.....I dunno what I was thinking.

Fast forward a few years and I'm graduating from high school
trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a living. Looking back on
10 short years of limited mixing experience, I was trying to gauge
where I stood relative to the rest of the music industry. I actually
came to the Klipsch forums only seeking information regarding the
KP-3002's that I loved so much to see how they compared spec-wise. I
never did get those specs, but I realized that there were a bunch of
smart dudes here and I was dying to learn anything audio related so I
stuck around.

Around that same time a friend's dad picked up a pair of
RF-3II's, so I just had to go to his place to give them a listen. Many
might find the music selection a bit odd: a German Techno CD and then
some Bach and Beethoven. For the next few years I adamently defended
the Reference series against the Heritage speakers on the forum
beliving that technology must have progressed over the last 30
years...doh! I'll never forget that listening experience though - it
was euphoric.

Based on everyone's advice, I decided not to pursue
a professional mixing career and went off to college to do physics. The
forum proved to be a valuable resource so I stuck around trying to
figure out this concept of home audio. Sure, I heard music at home and
had the opportunity to visit a lot of other people's crazy systems, but
I was 18 before I actually sat down to do nothing but listen to
my own music. Just for the occasion I bought my first album which was a
4CD Box set of ELO. Shortly thereafter I acquired my first set of
speakers: a pair of Marantz 940, which I pulled outta the trash and
reconed. Still no Klipsch, but I finally gave up on Bose after hearing
that difference...

Feeling confident after repairing a speaker I decided to try
building my own speakers....not just dropping drivers into a cabinet,
but building the drivers too. I come back from Home Depot with all the
parts and decide to try a brand new design. I wire her up and blow up
my dad's Sony reciever....oops - time to upgrade to a Denon! [Y]
(thanks to good advice on the forum). This experiment led to my first
Klipsch purchase, which was a last minute impulse buy where I was
hoping to round out our now surround sound capable system for some
special movie - I forget. I relegated the Bose to surround duty and
purchased a Klipsch Synergy SC-1 for the center channel to go between
the Marantz. We watched 14 hours of movies that Saturday....

Fast
forward a few years, I quit school to take up an audio job with
promises for a bright future, but ended up quitting within the year
after learning of shady dealings. I decided that I really needed to get
a degree - if nothing else as something to fall back on. I switched
from Physics to Electrical Engineering to open up the possibility of
designing audio equipment in the future...at least that's the degree
everyone was saying to get. Dying to learn more about audio I found
myself returning to the forum, learning from all the great people that
frequent the forums. Yea, I owned a Klipsch speaker, but a dinky little
center is hardly something to get passionate about. I was just soaking
up all the info and every once in a while I would have the opportunity
to demo people's systems. My most memorable experience was a trip to
Artto's where I got to hear khorns in his crazy dedicated room. It was
a frustrating time because it brought out all the crap in my music,
while his music was the abosolute best reproduction I've ever heard.
After hearing the flaws in my music, it took over 2 months before I
could enjoy it at home again - so much for my "awesome" setup.

Shortly
thereafter I come across pair of Chorus II's in Florida for $150.
Perhaps this was the key to improving my sound at home? My great uncle
lived nearby and was able to snag them for me, but getting them home
was another issue. I think they sat in his garage for a couple months
until along comes Colter who scored a pair of cornwalls in Florida.
Shipping was going to cost me $200 and I was terrified of the speakers
breaking, but I wasn't old enough to rent a car and drive them back
either. Colter was going to fly down and drive his cornwalls back so I
offered to split the cost if he would bring mine back with him. I drove
to Indy to pick the speakers up, and I think we ended up listening to
music for 4 hours??? One of the coolest parts of this Klipsch journey
has been all the new friends - it's hard finding people that share this
same crazy passion...

Anyways, that's been the journey that has led to my Chorus II
mains and really the first time I've heard Klipsch in my own home. I
think that happened in the spring of 2005??? I stopped listening to
other brands after I got me Chorus II's home [Y]

[DizRotus]

xdetroitx said, . . . not to mention my wife dislikes my outings there. She has not caught the audio bug yet.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Its risky but I assume your wife is the pleasant and attractive woman you were with last year at Pickys BBQ; in any case, congratulations.

If you want reinforcements on your audio assaults on Woodward, give me a shout by email or PM. After 24 years, my wife appreciates music, but shes just as happy listening to it in the car or from her Sony boom box as she is listening to real hi-fi.

[xdetroitx]

xdetroitx said, . . . not to mention my wife dislikes my outings there. She has not caught the audio bug yet.

Its risky but I assume your wife is the pleasant and attractive woman you were with last year at Pickys BBQ; in any case, congratulations.

If you want reinforcements on your audio assaults on Woodward, give me a shout by email or PM. After 24 years, my wife appreciates music, but shes just as happy listening to it in the car or from her Sony boom box as she is listening to real hi-fi.

She is the same way. She thinks an alarm clock sounds just as good. Next time I am out I will get a hold of you and we can meet in Birmingham for thai and then hit the stores.

[michael hurd]

Bump.

[Arky]

Fast forward a few years and I'm graduating from high school
trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a living.

Got it figured out yet young jedi?[]

[WMcD]

Thanksgiving weekend 1974. A buddy insisted that I HAD to hear these Klipschorn things at a dealer, in Itaca, NY.

It took about 10 seconds of listening. Everything changed, in those seconds, in my perception of what sound reproduct could be.

Gil

[seti]

Growing up in Arkansas there were heritage Klipsch everywhere. They were klipschorns at friends parents homes and heresy's in most of my friends rooms.I remember Cornwalls being brought outside for a grillouts. My ears are biased to heritage klipsch as that is what I am used to hearing. A friend once got rid of his Heresy speakers and bought that Bose system the one with the square bass thing and the two cubes. I thought they didn't sound as good but he loved them.