Klipschorn-Klipsch-The Loft NYC


I am no audiophile expert - but i do care immeasurably for music and strive to present it in its most natural form within my dancespace. I am considering purchasing a pair of Khorns for use in a 10m square room - concrete floor and walls - the space is a dance space and high volume is essential...clarity taking precedence over bass extension.

I would be very grateful to anyone who could confirm that these are the same model Klipsch that David Mancuso & Alex Rosner used at the legendary 'Loft' in NYC during the 70s/80s.

I would also be very grateful to anyone willing to give me advice in terms of amplification: I am considering restoring a couple of giant Manley Monoblocs (i need to purchase the valves)

many thanks - Dominic (London)
trippin
Is this a dance studio, a dance club? Are you gonna serve drinks? K-horns will sound awful in a large, hard surfaced room unless you get (as you stated) tube amps and the room gets full of people. Bodies make excellent sound absorbers and diffusers.
I was just reading an exerpt from Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979 by Tim Lawrence. Mancusco used both Klipshorns and La Scalas in his club. You can regularly find La Scalas for 500 - 600 dollars on ebay, sans shipping. The bass is not as deep as the K-horn, but for modern music, you will have to augment the bass anyway. Finding an appropriately fast, high output subwoofer will be challenging. If money is not an issue, Avante-Garde makes a horn subwoofer. They do look cool, so I guess you could justify the expense becuase of the wow factor. They could be prohibitively large for your venue. While on Avante-Garde, their main horn speakers are highly regarded in audiophile circles. Keeping them safe and yet visible so the MOMA design can be admired could be problematic. Shahanian Acoustics made a large horn subwoofer called the Contra-bombarde whose form factor is friendlier, but I have only ever seen one for sale. There is a pro grade servo driven sub made by ServoDrive inc. They have two models, a compact bass reflex (ContrBass) that goes down to 18hz, and a horn model (ServorDrive BassTech 7) that goes down to 28hz. Given the small space the bass reflex model probably fits your need, though it is not as efficient as the K-horns. You may even be able to arrange getting one to audition in your space. VMPS makes "The Larger Subwoofer" that has similar specs to the ContraBass, and is under $1K, though may not be as bulletproof.