Rudy81 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Today I had the pleasure of auditioning a pair of the new flagship speakers. What an amazing pair of speakers. They had very precise bass, phenomenal imaging and simply blew me away. I wish I had $20,000 to drop on speakers. Klipsch should be proud of these. Of course I could not A-B them with Khorns, but after years of listening to my Khorns, the Palladiums were amazing. If I ever heard a set of speakers I would use to replace my Khorns, these were it. If you get a chance, listen to a set. It will be worth the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutandrun Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I got a pair of P-39F's about 2 months ago and can confirm your "amazing" diagnosis. I am bi-amping them with 4 of the 7 channels on my Adcom GFA 7707 at 200wpc (8 ohm), not that they really need that much power but I have it available. The speakers just blow me away. The midrange is sweet, the bass tight but abundant, and the high end smooth. I use them occasionally for movies, but spend hours with them in 2 channel mode almost every day. My record collection is really getting a workout. The only downside I see is that some of my early CDs sound pretty harsh even when playing through a Musical Fidelity tube CD player--the speakers don't hide a thing. I was going to go with Revels, but my neighbor who is a speaker designer for a high-end studio monitor company talked me in to trying the Palladiums. He knows his stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I got a pair of P-39F's about 2 months ago and can confirm your "amazing" diagnosis. I am bi-amping them with 4 of the 7 channels on my Adcom GFA 7707 at 200wpc (8 ohm), not that they really need that much power but I have it available. The speakers just blow me away. The midrange is sweet, the bass tight but abundant, and the high end smooth. I use them occasionally for movies, but spend hours with them in 2 channel mode almost every day. My record collection is really getting a workout. The only downside I see is that some of my early CDs sound pretty harsh even when playing through a Musical Fidelity tube CD player--the speakers don't hide a thing. I was going to go with Revels, but my neighbor who is a speaker designer for a high-end studio monitor company talked me in to trying the Palladiums. He knows his stuff! Congrats on your P-39F's and welcome to the "madness"! I haven't had a chance to hear them yet, but I haven't heard anything but praise from the lucky few that own them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I got a pair of P-39F's about 2 months ago and can confirm your "amazing" diagnosis. I am bi-amping them with 4 of the 7 channels on my Adcom GFA 7707 at 200wpc (8 ohm), not that they really need that much power but I have it available. The speakers just blow me away. The midrange is sweet, the bass tight but abundant, and the high end smooth. I use them occasionally for movies, but spend hours with them in 2 channel mode almost every day. My record collection is really getting a workout. The only downside I see is that some of my early CDs sound pretty harsh even when playing through a Musical Fidelity tube CD player--the speakers don't hide a thing. I was going to go with Revels, but my neighbor who is a speaker designer for a high-end studio monitor company talked me in to trying the Palladiums. He knows his stuff! Congrats on the Palladiums. Are you using a Musical Fidelity Nuvista CD player? I have an A308 and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Man, you sure came out swinging! Your first post is about you owning a pair of the baddest speakers on the planet! Welcome to the crazy world we refer to as Klipsch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutandrun Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I'm using the Musical Fidelity A5. I don't think they make anything that doesn't sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutandrun Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Thanks for the welcome. I've always appreciated Klipsch speakers. At first they were a challange for me wallet-wise, later it was size-wise (read: wife-wise). I first heard corner horns in the mid seventies and vowed that I would one day own a set. The liveliness of those speakers compared to anything else available at the time was astounding (still pretty much true). I can clearly remember the record used to demo them: Sheffield Lab's "Thelma Houston and the Pressure Cooker", direct to disk. Years later, I have the means to buy them, but they are still a size and placement challenge. Enter the Palladiums. They not only have the distinctive Klipsch dynamics, they also look fantastic and take up about the same floor space as any other speaker, although the are pretty tall. The styling and size easily passed the wife test and the sound will pass any test. I still love corner horns, but I think I can make do with the Palladiums. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I'm sure "making do" with the palladiums is no problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I still love corner horns, but I think I can make do with the Palladiums. Don't feel bad. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I'm using the Musical Fidelity A5. I don't think they make anything that doesn't sound good. I have not heard the Palladiums but if they are as good as the Revel Saloon II's then they are world class. I heard the Saloon II's at CES last January and they were just amazing. Unlike the Wison Watt Puppy 8's which had about $150,000 of VTL equipment in front of them (and they did sound outstanding) the Revels were set up by a chip amp board manufacturer and they were driven by a make shift system (1980's Luxman CD player and chip amps) that was just beautiful sounding. Most everything else sounded pretty harsh. If you like Musical Fidelity I have had great results using their preamp and CD Player with both Bryston and then Classe monoblocks on B&W's. Really nice SS combination. You can probably get by with a 200 wpc amp from either company, which, given the $20,000 price tag of the Palladiums is quite a bargain (meaning not needing $10,000 monoblocks to drive them like other high end brands [8o|]). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 You can probably get by with a 200 wpc amp from either company, which, given the $20,000 price tag of the Palladiums is quite a bargain (meaning not needing $10,000 monoblocks to drive them like other high end brands ). So, if the amplifier costs you $5,000, it's like getting $20,000 speaker for $5,000 due to saving $15,000 on amplification. But honey, I saved $15,000 by buying these speakers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 You can probably get by with a 200 wpc amp from either company, which, given the $20,000 price tag of the Palladiums is quite a bargain (meaning not needing $10,000 monoblocks to drive them like other high end brands ). So, if the amplifier costs you $5,000, it's like getting $20,000 speaker for $5,000 due to saving $15,000 on amplification. But honey, I saved $15,000 by buying these speakers... Bingo! Exactly. When I bought my first B&W 800 series (N801's) I really stretched the budget to get them, it was quite a shock to learn that I then had to shell out about 60% of the price of the speakers (on the bottom end) to get amps that could drive them properly, let alone the eventual replacement of the rest of my system because the speakers had so much resolution. The price of the amps is a real concern. Turn it around. "Honey I want these $20,000 speakers, they will sound great and will complete my dream." Two weeks later, "Honey, did I mention that I need 700 wpc monoblocks to drive these, they are an additional $10,000 and will require dedicated circuits added to the house." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 Maybe 'boutique' brand amps might set you back that much, heck for $ 2300 you could have a pair of QSC PLX 3602's that will develop in the neighbourhood of 2800 ish watts each ~ give or take a tad with sagging AC service into a 4 ohm load in mono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutandrun Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I agree that amps do sound different, but I have always prioritized as follows: Speakers Sources Amplification I don't disagree with the old rule of spending half of your 2-channel budget on speakers either. I will probably get around to upgrading my Adcom amp, but I make no apologies for it. It's a multiple mono design, and unlike many other high powered amps, it requires a dedicated 20 amp circuit, so one can actually access the advertised wattage. I hear fewer of its flaws than I would any other link in the reproduction chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 Maybe 'boutique' brand amps might set you back that much, heck for $ 2300 you could have a pair of QSC PLX 3602's that will develop in the neighbourhood of 2800 ish watts each ~ give or take a tad with sagging AC service into a 4 ohm load in mono. If it was all about power then that would be it. But then why bother buying Palladiums or any other speaker of that calibur? I also don't think that someone who buys a pair of $20,000 speakers cares one bit that "for that much you could have bought a..." I thought the same thing when I first bought my old N801's. I had a pair of Bryston 7B ST monoblocks and QSC's most powerful PLX amp as well as their 200 WPC PLX 1202 amp here in my living room. I also tried their RMX monster amp. I could hear the difference in the amps. The midrange of the Bryston was clearer, more natural and just better sounding. I really wanted it to be a toss up so that I could just keep the QSC and save quite a bit of money but the difference was there. I also was very skeptical and thought that it would be a toss up. It wasn't. I have since upgraded to B&W Signature 800 speakers and bought a pair of Classe CAM 350 monoblocks to try out. The Brystons had more microdetail (in recordings that I have listened to for years I could tell the difference) but the Classe bettered the Brystons in vocals and midrange. They are more euphoric (kind of like tubes). That being said, when someone buys a pair of these type of speakers and cannot afford amps right away I always reccomend a QSC or Crown K2 to get by until it is in the cards. The QSC and Crown K1 and K2 are great bargains. I use a QSC PLX 1202 in my office system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjnif Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I don't think ANYONE who has laid down 20K (let alone 10K) for a pair of speakers would even CONSIDER a QSC or Crown!! A pair of speakers like the Palladiums need to be paired w/ an equally fine sounding amp.....like a MAC!! I mean ,come on......!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I don't think ANYONE who has laid down 20K (let alone 10K) for a pair of speakers would even CONSIDER a QSC or Crown!! A pair of speakers like the Palladiums need to be paired w/ an equally fine sounding amp.....like a MAC!! I mean ,come on......!! The QSC PLX sounded very good on my N801's ($11,000). It definately could work for a long time if need be. My point was that "boutique amps" as they were being called to sneer at them, are better, much better than pro amps. Have not heard from you in a while. So how are my old Tigerwood Khorns doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I'd cut and run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laager Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I don't think ANYONE who has laid down 20K (let alone 10K) for a pair of speakers would even CONSIDER a QSC or Crown!! ... I mean ,come on......!! Really? There are enough posts on these forums with people owning Jubilees running Crown amplification. The result: better than Palladium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I don't think ANYONE who has laid down 20K (let alone 10K) for a pair of speakers would even CONSIDER a QSC or Crown!! ... I mean ,come on......!! Really? There are enough posts on these forums with people owning Jubilees running Crown amplification. The result: better than Palladium. 18 replies is all it took. Nice work[Y] http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/106978/1086498.aspx#1086498 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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