2. speakers
  3. 123549-14154

klipschorns, they kick ass for sure

hello folks.   for those out there that think the big klipschorn's are not good enough to be a high end quality speaker, guess what??   your wrong!!   I have been in audio for over 40 years. I have heard many speaker systems over the years. I have very good speakers now in my home. I have good equipment running them.  I picked up a pair of k-horns last week.  1986 model year.  replaced the crossovers with crites xovers.  one tweeter blown.  replaced both with ct120 tweeters from crites. hooked them up to my parasound  3500 amp ( yes, way overkill  )  but I wasent in the mood to move it.  speakers placed where they are supposed to be in the corners of the room.  well let me tell you all it took was 2 minutes to decide these things are the bomb.  I dident hear any of the stuff I been reading about over the last 30 years how these speakers are harsh, no good bass and everything else everybody says about them.  as far as im concerned they are clean, clear, crisp, and loud. did I say loud.  volume starts a 7 o'clock,  at 9 o'clock  your ears start to bleed.  I guess the 350 watts into a speaker that only needs 20 will do that.  and all the stuff I hear about  ss amps these speakers don't like.  only 30 watt tube amps will do or you will hear all kinds of noise.  well, all I can say is bull crap to that.  what I here is a speaker sounding better then just about anything else I ever heard.  I played rock,jazz,classical,  all passed with flying color's. all I can say is you guys out there that think they suck. have your ears cleaned out and go listen again.  yes, the 350 watt power house is going to go before I blow everything up. 
tomtab
phusis's avatar
phusis
1,188 posts
 
..and having heard the 15" that goes into khorns,what is it another by product from Electro voice...come on now..

missioncoonery --

Don’t go throw out the baby with the bath water. Please elaborate on your "having heard the 15 inch" in question - I’d wager there are many other things than the bass driver itself you’ve heard, thereby blurring your ability to distinguish its actual imprinting in the proper implementation. The 15" EV unit is a fine driver, and one tailored to a specific use (i.e.: in folded horns). The current "ersatz" cast unit from Crites is said to improve on the original EV ditto, while maintaining the TS data crucial for its intended use. A Vitavox AK151/152 is no doubt a more appealing driver going by looks, magnet type and weight (at a vastly substantial price!), as is the like from GPA with their, say, 515 driver - all of which are meant for bass/lower mids (folded) horn use. But are they essentially better than their cheaper alternative? The Vítavox driver I would gather, yes, but to what degree? All of these drivers do not sport lavish specs with 4" voice coils, insane magnet sizes and 1000+ watts RMS - for a reason. In fact it would be counter productive.

I’d say your all-out riling against Klipsch here loses some sight of itself..
tomtab OP
97 posts
 
to clarify my changing out parts.  the khorns i picked up are 1986 units. one tweeter was blown so i replaced both of them with upgraded tweeters from crites. these were over $200 for the pair so im assuming they are decient tweeters.   the crossovers that came with the speakers are the ak2 type which are considered not as good as other crossovers used in this speaker. plus they are 30 years old. so i went with new ak3 crossovers from crites.  the midranges i changed out with a pair of atlas pd-5vh which are replacements for the k55's.  also the old wire was changed out because of the factory wire being corroded.  i did this not because i heard the speaker before i changed stuff out,  i did it because of the age of the speaker and i had a blown tweeter to start with. also, reading up on the speaker i knew it would benefit from such changes.  so what i hear now is a nice sounding speaker.  its not the best sounding speaker i have but its a nice sounding speaker.  i did not listen to the speaker with the old crossover and one good tweeter in it so i cannot tell you of any differences.   all i can say is my khorns  are upgraded to sound as best they can with what i have done to them and im liking the sound. i took out the parasound 350 watt amp and put in the b&k 202+ i have and the speaker sounds GREAT!!   well, thats about it.  what more can i say.
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 
Cohort replying here.

It is funny how someone else can argue what another one hears/heard.

I actually believe the B&K 202 probably does sound better than the Parasound 3500 with the Khorns. 

With my 30 year old speakers I too would(have) "update" the crossovers to assure I was getting what the original designer intended.  

Oh, expensive drivers does not guarantee better sound 100% of the time.
Enough of the snobbery and let the man enjoy his speakers.

Bill
tomtab OP
97 posts
 
yes bill,    the b&k 202+ mellowed out the whole top end of the speaker like i knew it would.   speaker sounds very smooth and balanced.  i knew i bought the 202+ for a good reason 25 years ago.  
missioncoonery
1,214 posts
 
Henry. You got me good..Do you have anything to contribute to this post outside of your personal attack...I thought not...just because I disagreed with you on buying an oppo player over an esoteric...come on lol....i doubt you even know what components going in an original khorn let alone ever owned them or heard them...Wait why don't you post asking ,see if you can find it in a magazine review or call someone lol
More to discover