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Klipschland tour -what did everybody learn?


Colin

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Colin, the factory and Museum are not large. They do not have the facilities to accommodate a large crowd. Our group of 12 was probably a comfortable size for them. You can see from the photos that the Klipsch museum is very small. The factory is much larger but still not large enough to accommodate a large group. It does not appear commercial at all. It looks more like a family owned business.

I did learn that the Klipsch folks bend over backwards to be helpful and supportive to their customers. I think what they did for us is a very positive example. This company will always have my loyalty. I do not think you will find any other company in the world like it.

I will be putting some names with the photos this weekend. Some of the local people from the Chamber of Commerce I do not remember their names. There was also a couple that accompanied us that were personal friends of the Klipsch's. Maybe some of the others can help me because I do not remember all the names other than the KFC folks.

Bill J.

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Colin - It was so much less than you would expect from a successful company: less commercial, less stuffy, less corporate, less boring, less full of _ _ _ _! This was the most personal experience you could imagine having with a company.

While the facilities were not huge, they were modern and efficient. They build a large number of speakers there every month. Yet each and every one is tested in a sound chamber before shipping.

They have a very cool anechoic (sp?) chamber, and the door is patented!!

And I saw a bunch of Legends on the assembly line, so don't believe any dealers that tell you they've been discontinued. Heck, I even saw KLF-C7s!

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I strongly echo the observations of Bill and Doug - this is a modern company with family-run roots and philosophies. I also have to address the quality control issue that some have beat to death in another thread...

THERE IS NO QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEM! Sorry to yell, but I've never encountered such pride in a product. Like Doug pointed out, each and every Klipsch speaker is inspected and tested (actually played and compared to a standard) before it's boxed and shipped. Have there been some issues with a few product lines? Sure. But, (and this is the big but) they've readily acknowledged those problems and gone overboard to fix them.

I'd rather deal with a company that says "yeah, we had a batch with a defective glue joint - if you've got one, please call our customer service number and speak to a real live person who'll make it right" than one that doesn't even acknowledge there's a problem or provide an actual customer service department. Will any company have QC issues? Yup... but how many big companies do you know of that still provide live tech support with people you can ask for by name? Some, but far too few these days.

By way of example, let me tell this little story. I (being cheap) bought a pair of RS-3 speakers from my local dealer for $99. They were demo speakers that they had installed in their showroom theater, but to fit them into the covered column they had to trim the ends of one speaker cabinet. The speakers work perfectly, but the end is missing from one cabinet's lip. While at Klipsch, I saw a table with four RS-3 cabinets on it. From the screw holes in the face, it was clear that drivers had been installed in these and removed. When I asked about them, I found out that these cabinets didn't pass their quality inspection and were being destroyed. Since I'd already picked up and looked at these cabinets, and not seen anything, I had to ask... what was the problem? I was pointed to a small piece of masking tape on each cabinet - next to each piece of tape was the most minute little ding or nick. In none of those cases was the nick even through the finish! They were just surface specks that I'd have never even noticed - and I'm anal as hell! To their credit, Klipsch wouldn't even talk about selling or giving me one of those cabinets for my RS-3. They just didn't want anything less than first quality going out of their shop. That right there says a lot to me. It also explains why there's no "Klipsch Outlet Store"... darn!!

Ross

BTW - I did order a new cabinet for my RS-3.

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  • 1 month later...

All I wanted to say is that the guys are right! This was a very kind and helpful group of people. You can really tell it is a family run business. Oh and Willjam, the couple that went with us was Nancy and Darrell. They are good friends of Valerie and Paul and they are fantastic folks! If you get a chance to go, GO! You won't be sorry.

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

The token female for the Klipsch Fan Club Tour 2001

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The factory is good sized, but not huge. The warehouse is stacked to the rafters with new product, even the Heritage Series. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. QA/QC is turned up very high; miniscule dimples I couldn't see cause cabinets to be destroyed. The people at the factory were very friendly, helpful and eager to help me with a pair of grilles I bought. The people there are excellent hosts, but make no mistake, their passion is fine horn speakers and they take that very seriously.

John

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I had a wonderful time.

But the warm glowing remarks above are not "scientific." We do not have a control group.

Is there any other loudspeaker manufacturer who would do this for fans? I suspect not.

With that observation, it is more "scientific."

Gil

Gil

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