Klipsch K Horns (the new AK6)

In my initial opinion, the new Klipsch Heritage line seems/feels cheaper than the old stuff.  Things feel more veneery or plasticy than the older stuff and definitely not premier multi-thousand $$$ quality finishes.  If you knock on the sides of the Forte iii, you still get a hollow sound showing there's little to no engineering done on the interior of the box, yet you're paying for it.

Maybe this doesn't really affect the sound, fine, but it doesn't feel like a premium product and I'm a klipsch fanboy.

My Heresy III "Capitol Records" edition (meaningless relative to other Heresy IIIs other than the "special" ebony finish that looks like dark purple) pair are built like little tanks, and if you knock on the sides you get nothing more than a bruised knuckle.

While I can sympathize with many of the aspects (i.e.: flaws) pointed out in the thorough measurement section by John Atkinson on the K-horn AK6’s, below quoted paragraph in particular is instrumental I believe in exposing a bias for non-horns that fails to acknowledge limitations inherent to this speaker principle as well:

I wasn’t too surprised by the Klipschorn’s limited low-frequency extension despite its size. I was reminded of the impact Acoustic Research’s first loudspeaker, with its relatively small sealed enclosure and "acoustic suspension" woofer, made in the mid-1950s. "My measurements showed that my little prototype had better bass and less distortion than anything on the market, yet it was one quarter the size," wrote AR’s founder, Edgar Villchur, adding "I thought, ’This has got to be the future of loudspeakers.’" (footnote 3) It was.

I’m sure Mr. Villchur was invested in promoting an invention of his that catered to a majority of buyers to whom looks and size was a primary concern - including most current audiophiles, it would seem - while at the same time claiming superiority in sound reproduction from his miniature design. In other words, he’d like to have his cake and eat it too - and so Mr. Atkinson in his consent - but you don’t shave off size down to a quarter followed by a massive lowering of sensitivity involving plain physics without compromise - end of story. Giving critique in this case of the K-horn is only fair when it’s worth pointing out, but notably Mr. Villchur in his praise of what became the AR1 "listens" to his measurements only; perhaps it’s worth reading through the last paragraph of Mr. Dudley’s review conclusion:

I found in the Klipschorn AK6 an imperfect loudspeaker that satisfied many of my long-standing longings and a couple I didn’t know I had—for amazing sound way off-axis, and for big, beautiful pieces of old-school audio art in my listening room. The AK6 also seems to offer exceptional value: for the technology, woodworking, and sheer size it offers, $14,998 for a pair of these is a steal. No one with a taste for realistic playback, and especially no one with a taste for low-power amps and high-sensitivity speakers, should miss a chance to hear these.

To reiterate: ".. a steal." Surely there’s something to treasure with these speakers at a calling price of $15k/pair, but you wouldn’t notice it focusing blindly on Mr. Atkinson’s measurements and comments nor the parrot squeaks or the ardent disciples of his in this thread (or simply K-horn/Klipsch Heritage haters). Lastly the K-horns in their latest incarnation aren’t solely representative of horn speakers. It’s called listening, folks, with your ears, and knowing there’s compromise in any venture.

Although retired from the industry, I still visit, now and then, audiophiles in their homes, as the word has spread of my background. A comment made above, that the new Khorns are not for serious music listeners, is hogwash. Some of the " happiest " people I meet ( happy with their systems ), are people with Heritage speakers. When I visit folks with Vandys, Thiels, Maggies, ML, ( and others ), they never seem to be happy with their systems, and they do not know why. Many of these folks have been to my place, and truly loved what they heard. An I to assume, the folks in the Asian markets, are not serious listeners. Go on line, and do some research. Horns, horns and more horns, many of them Heritage. As I have said many times, horns ( Klipsch ) are not for everyone. Same with tubes, ss, and it goes on, and on. Discovering what you like in a reproduction system, is foremost, number one, and building upon that, is second. I made my choice. I am a happy listener, as serious as anyone else, and I never question my speaker choice, as many others, in fact, do. Let us all be a " music family ", get along, and learn from one another, rather than bash each other for what we feel sounds good. I recently purchased the live, double cd set by Steve Winwood, who I am a fan ( it was used by a reviewer recently ), and I cannot imagine my system sounding more satisfying, or engaging, as it currently does. I am not suggesting it cannot be improved upon, as I have been around the block hundreds of times, but, I listen, and listen, and listen some more, never once feeling, what can I do, to make it better, unlike the many folks whose homes I visit, never happy, never content, with what they have. I feel my loudspeakers are a primary reason I an enthralled, daily. 50 years, and still, enthralled. Hope you all have a great day, and, Enjoy ! MrD.

Thanks for the link to that article George. I enjoyed it.
Mrdecibel, I too am happy with what I have - a few different amps and a pair of vintage Klipschorns that have been in the family for 40 years and situated in a room with double brick walls and corners.