Belle Klipsch review

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by SKATTERBRANE, Mar 18, 2018.

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  1. dmckean

    dmckean Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    I like Klipsch a lot, but I think the Heritage designs leave a lot to be desired.

    The Forte II, Chorus II, and the KLF-20 were my favorite speakers in the consumer line. The Crites Cornscalas and the KI-396-SMA-IIs that I own today are on a different level entirely.
     
  2. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I was considering a Cornscalla new from Crites, but I would still have to find someone to veneer them. Hmm the KLF-20 looks interesting.
     
  3. rbmitch2

    rbmitch2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson
    I had an audio buddy when I lived in Denver who loved the sound of my Altec Model 19's. He bought a great looking pair of Belle's and neither of us liked 'em very much. He replaced them with Forte's for a while till he went back to Magnepans. We both preferred the Forte. The Belle's are gorgeous but the Altec's are in another league sound wise IMO. We like it here in Tucson, but not much of an audio scene.
     
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  4. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Yeah Tucson is all about cycling and pet rescue. Magnepans are fantastic!
     
  5. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Yeah it is like there are "sympathetic" tones being added obscuring the resolution of my system. I guess Klipsch speakers do not like the high damping factor of large SS amps. It is not SS per se, but the damping factor that plays into it. I really do not think the crossover between mid and tweeter is the crux of the issue, it may be the crossover between bass and mids though. If I had a passive eq with at least one band per octave, better yet one band every 1/3 octave, I would narrow it down quicker.
     
  6. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Since you prefer the Rogers sound, for $5200, you would have been much better off getting some Stirling Broadcast LS3/6s or used Spendor SP1/2s.
     
  7. cadeallaw

    cadeallaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dayton, OH
    ooof
     
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  8. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Or having my Rogers Studio 1A reveenered and a glorious night with an Asian hooker. That's all I can stands, and I can stands no more (so says Popeye). I listed them for sale. I am putting the Rogers back in the main system. F---it. Lesson learned. These speakers HURT ears, mind, body and soul. I sticking with the highfalutin audiophile types from now on!
     
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  9. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Oh yeah. I put the Rogers back in with the Belles as end tables. You know that feeling with after a day of your jeans pinching your balls and you finally get home and change into sweats?
     
    MC Rag, Manimal, Sugar Man and 2 others like this.
  10. dmckean

    dmckean Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
  11. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Lots of crazy talk going on here. To say you like fortes and heresy’s but the Klipsch sound is garbage is a clear contradiction.

    I’ve studied and researched the topic quite a bit. Enough people site Bells as being their favorite heritage speaker that I keep my eyes out for them. No one that I’ve seen that likes them is using a SS amp. It’s a speaker you get when you want to fill a room with sound using a SET or low powered amp.

    A little tough love here, your going to lose a couple grand if you don’t keep them. I’m sure your amp is amazing and you love it but let’s entertain the idea that your amp isn’t a good match. It might explain why your experience is so very different from the extensive reviews you’ve read that made you want to buy them.

    Spend another grand, get a tube amp and find out.
     
  12. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I like Forte and Heresy but the BELLE sound is not good for me. Hardly a contradiction. However, the way I understand it is that people who prefer the low powered SET amps complain of harshness and listener fatigue with SS and make no mention of the problems I am having. I have tried tube power amps before (though not with Klipsch) and they have a wooly sound that also makes instruments grow in size further down the scale and cause a chestiness with vocals in certain ranges too. I am afraid of actually exacerbating the problems. I have a tube preamp I inserted. I would be willing to TRY a tube power amp just to satisfy my curiosity.

    Again, I certainly did not need a SET to like the Heresy or Forte. And with all the info I could glean from the internet, I was expecting the Belles to have a even better nicer midrange. But maybe wooly warmness is what people LIKE about them. They are wooly and warm when it comes to horns after all. With the clean tight bass, I thought they would be even more analytical than the Forte or Heresy.
     
  13. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Heresy’s and forte are the two heritage speakers that people more frequently run with SS amps. I personally think it has something to do with the size of the cabinet, they are the smallest by far.

    And yes, a tube amp with lower efficiency Speaker can sound like a mess. Hence the need for gigantic horn loaded speakers.

    Bells, cornwalls, la scallas and khorns are a huge commitment. I’d guess that many a divorce attorney has been contacted because of those speakers. There is just no reason to bring them into your house if you’re running big power. The size isn’t needed and there are better designs to be had.

    If however you want to run a flea watt amp and have the space, that’s when bells really make good sense.
     
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  14. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Well I will have to investigate a tube power amp. My Threshold S300II is 150 watts but it runs pure class A up to 30 watts. I am sure I never see more than 2-5 watts with the Belles at the volumes I listen to. I did put in my tube preamp and I get a slight improvement on the issues I mention so maybe there is hope.
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  15. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    Why don't you try an El34 amp with the Belles. Class A does not help you with those horns. You need a tube amp with a relatively high output impedance. The EL84 should get you a warmer sound without being quite as unpredictable as a SET.
     
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  16. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I may try this. It is a logical gamble rather than selling the Belles at a loss. Now if only I knew what a EL84 was, I assume it is a design based on the circuit and types of tubes used.

    I am ignorant on tube amps. I just never was intrigued by them. The Moore-Franklin I tried one time just made things sound bloated to me. (I do not remember what speakers I was listening to. It was back in the late 80s).
     
  17. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    If you ever plan to try and sell those speakers, I would quit complaining about how bad they sound on an audio chat site. That is, unless you plan on selling them for a big loss.
     
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  18. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    Ooops, I typed EL34 the first time and EL84 the second time. Yes they are valve types. Actually both could work just fine. I do have a suggestion, a Music Reference RM10. Still sold new, and there are a bunch of them out there used. Here is a link to a new amp.
    Music Reference RM-10 Vacuum Tube Amplifer
     
  19. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I like both brand approaches, but it's hard to go wrong with speakers like the Rogers unless one listens to rock at ear damaging volumes. The midrange makes up for their deficiencies elsewhere.
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  20. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Yeah, but maybe I am describing the very things Belle owners love?
     
  21. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Who cares what other Belle owners love? You made a big, expensive mistake and leave it at that.
     
    PhxJohn likes this.
  22. swvahokie

    swvahokie Forum Resident

    Just the deaf ones. :D Your only chance at making them sound good is a tube amp. Jolida makes decent inexpensive integrated amps. They may work even better than the RM10 for your purpose. The RM10 is a superior amp, but its output impedance may not be high enough to tone down those horns.
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  23. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    You’re not. For the most part people that are spending enough to bring those home are very serious about this hobby and are doing so to get something more than ear bleeding loud.

    Klipsch is certainly a brand that makes products for the “louder is better” crowd but you can get that done with a black box that costs far less than 5k.
     
  24. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I use ALK crossovers in my my Altec Lansing legacy A7's. They will help, but...

    At the end of the day, Belle Klipsch speakers are the same as the La Scala's, they just have a bit different look on the outside.

    Here is what one of the La Scala's look like.

    [​IMG]

    I can say that they do have bass, not low bass, as they don't produce anything meaningful below about 60-Hz. Above that, they can kick like a mule. The sub isn't the issue, I have a large commercial sub and it did not help.

    I agree with your review of the Belle Klipsch (which includes the La Scala's).
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  25. dmckean

    dmckean Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    The Belle uses the inferior K-500 or K-501 horn. The LaScala uses the same K-400 or K-401 horn that the Klipschorn uses.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
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