Speakmeister Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Hi Everyone. I am so happy to be here. Please let me give a brief introduction. I had a pair of raw birch La Scalas in high school but soon turned into an audio snob and only bought exotic stuff touted at the local high end stores. In short, I went to a party at a coworkers house and heard sound coming from his Cornwalls and immediately thought my gosh, what have I been wasting my time doing, this is what sound I am after. Now, that brings me here. I have sold all my gear and want to start with a clean slate. What would be the best starter klipsch to run? I would like to spend $1000.00 or less for speakers and will probably get the tinkering bug. Thanks so much to everyone, I look forward to being in the klipsch community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 14, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 14, 2008 Welcome, and smart move,imo. My vote would be Cornwalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Welcome to the Klipsch forums. The revamped new Heresey III's are really great and you can get those new for abit over $1000. If you after something on the used market patience and diligence pay off. There is a Garage Sale part of the forum. Good luck & have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spongeworthy Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I'm with Dtel on the Cornwalls. I'll add Forte to the list. Best speaker value possible in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 $1000 or less, best bang for the buck= Forte II's. Thanks to me though there is one less pair in Denver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzp Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi Speakmeister, Where abouts in the Rocky Mountains do you write from? I am in Cheyenne Wy 100 miles to the south of Denver. I have got K-horns, Lascalas and Herseys and I love them all! We have a small 6-8 guys from the metro Denver, Cheyenne are that get togather every few months. We are always up for meeting like minded people to share our passion with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfandbark Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Welcome Speakmeister, With a thousand dollar budget for speakers you can buy used Cornwalls, Fortes', certainly vintage Heresys and maybe LaScalas.Each speaker has it's own sound. That's where it gets tough. Some say the Forte II is the best rock speaker. Some say the Cornwall is perfect for Jazz and female vocals. Most say the LaScala has the best midrange of all. And the Heresy takes a back seat to nobody other than it's bigger brothers. A great speaker. Resale value is the best of all if you decide you don't like them. Big sound out of a small package. I have Heresy IIs and Cornwall Is. If forced to give up a pair, I'd keep the Cornwalls if that helps. Haven't heard Fortes', but they compare them to Cornwalls and some prefer them. Keep in mind that these horn loaded speakers are very sensitive to thier source. A low quality receiver or CD player, turntable or whatever will come through and make you wish you hadn't bought them. These speakers make a poor recording sound terrible. Very unforgiving. As it should be. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwhaples Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Welcome to the Forum! I would vote Cornwalls. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I would deliver pizza's for a while and buy used Khorns in the $1500 range. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Speakmeister, Welcome to the forum. I advise getting the best you can get used within your budget. The advice about needing a quality source with efficient horn-loaded speakers is well taken, as is the comment about the resale value of Heresy speakers.Some recent systems I put together were: Harman Kardon 430: $125 on eBay Heresy speakers: $300 on eBay Toshiba DVD/CD player: $60 new online TOTAL $485 And Harman Kardon 730: $195 on eBay La Scalas $500 from a forum member New woofers and capacitors: $250 from forum member Bob Crites Miscellaneous paint, trim, etc. $100 Toshiba DVD/CD player: $60 new online TOTAL $1105. You said, ". . . bought exotic stuff touted at the local high end stores." It helps to keep Klipsch in perspective by asking yourself what the resale value of other “SOTA” products would be today. Very few of yesterday’s “latest and greatest” audio products have held their resale value like Klipsch. Good luck in your quest. You can’t go too far wrong with used Klipsch as there is a ready market that will allow you to change your mind with little risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Thanks for all the input so far, what a great community. Everyone has been great and I feel very welcome. First to Dtel, Seti, Spongeworthy, and Oldtimer. Thanks so much for the ideas, it seems the Forte II and the Cornwall all the most recommended. Are the Cornwall II and Forte in the running as well or are the overshadowed by the Cornwall and Forte II? I will definately consider the Heresy and Heresy III mentioned as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 $1000 or less, best bang for the buck= Forte II's. Thanks to me though there is one less pair in Denver. Oldtimer you dog... I have heard this stuff is not easy to find in Denver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi Speakmeister, Where abouts in the Rocky Mountains do you write from? I am in Cheyenne Wy 100 miles to the south of Denver. I have got K-horns, Lascalas and Herseys and I love them all! We have a small 6-8 guys from the metro Denver, Cheyenne are that get togather every few months. We are always up for meeting like minded people to share our passion with! I am in South Metro Denver. Please PM me when a meeting is set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Welcome Speakmeister, With a thousand dollar budget for speakers you can buy used Cornwalls, Fortes', certainly vintage Heresys and maybe LaScalas.Each speaker has it's own sound. That's where it gets tough. Some say the Forte II is the best rock speaker. Some say the Cornwall is perfect for Jazz and female vocals. Most say the LaScala has the best midrange of all. And the Heresy takes a back seat to nobody other than it's bigger brothers. A great speaker. Resale value is the best of all if you decide you don't like them. Big sound out of a small package. I have Heresy IIs and Cornwall Is. If forced to give up a pair, I'd keep the Cornwalls if that helps. Haven't heard Fortes', but they compare them to Cornwalls and some prefer them. Keep in mind that these horn loaded speakers are very sensitive to thier source. A low quality receiver or CD player, turntable or whatever will come through and make you wish you hadn't bought them. These speakers make a poor recording sound terrible. Very unforgiving. As it should be. Hope that helps. Thanks so much for the advice Arfandbark, It looks like when all is said and done I will have $1000.00 to spend on source equipment. What options do I have here for units that will work well with the Klipsch speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 For $1K on source, I'd suggest the AH! Njoe Tjoebs CDP with upsampler option. A nice pre owned unit could be had on Audiogon for under $800 usually. Also Heart CDP for less. Both of these are Dutch Marantz tube conversions. One could have some nice options for less, but in that price range these would be on the short list. BTW, welcome to the forum. Great story on going around the world to come back to Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerTuber Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I’m with Seti, particularly in regard to Garage Sale and patience. Given a bit of time you will probably see in Garage Sale something close to, if not exactly what you are after. You can always ask ... like does anyone have a set of _ _ _ for sale around _ _ _. Sometimes people decide to sell on a whim. If it’s big and heavy wait till it shows up near you so you can pickup. I get a little nervous about Ebay myself for no particular documented reason. That’s likely irrational. Many great things exchange hands right here, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Speakmeister, Welcome to the forum. I advise getting the best you can get used within your budget. The advice about needing a quality source with efficient horn-loaded speakers is well taken, as is the comment about the resale value of Heresy speakers.Some recent systems I put together were: Harman Kardon 430: $125 on eBay Heresy speakers: $300 on eBay Toshiba DVD/CD player: $60 new online TOTAL $485 And Harman Kardon 730: $195 on eBay La Scalas $500 from a forum member New woofers and capacitors: $250 from forum member Bob Crites Miscellaneous paint, trim, etc. $100 Toshiba DVD/CD player: $60 new online TOTAL $1105. You said, ". . . bought exotic stuff touted at the local high end stores." It helps to keep Klipsch in perspective by asking yourself what the resale value of other “SOTA” products would be today. Very few of yesterday’s “latest and greatest” audio products have held their resale value like Klipsch. Good luck in your quest. You can’t go too far wrong with used Klipsch as there is a ready market that will allow you to change your mind with little risk. Those are some great deals, I am not sure if I will have the patience to wait for something that good, but I will try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 My vote for the Cornwalls as well. Also if found in great condition, the larger models of the Epic, Legend and Reference series, and even KG-5.5s! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I wouldn't rule out a set of Chorus IIs, either. Great speaker, imho. I had a pair at the house temporarily, and they were great. I love my LaScalas, but the Choruses were pretty awesome. Would work very well on rock music. You just need to get with some folks that have some of these different models and give a listen. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speakmeister Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Thanks for all the great ideas, please keep them coming. It looks like Cornwalls are still the front runners, but it would be nice to have a couple of backup auctions if no Cornwalls turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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