Thinking about vintage Klipsch speakers...would love advice.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by JJerm80, Dec 21, 2016.

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  1. JJerm80

    JJerm80 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Sadly, there are gone. The hunt continues!
     
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Klipschorns if you can find two corners and the room, Cornwalls if you don't have the room or corners. Heresies if space challenged.
     
    SandAndGlass and Dennis0675 like this.
  3. Jim G.

    Jim G. Geezer with a nice stereo!

    I bought Heresey s in the 1980, had them for several years, and then traded to a guy with La Scalas whose fiancé said, "get rid of those". I gave him some money and my Hereseys, I sanded and filled those boxes in the garage. Fixed all the chips and scratches. stained them cherry. and my wife said, "Those are Beautiful!" Used them for Vases and schulpture stands. In smallish house. They sat in the corners of the dining room and shot into the living room. Wonderful sound. We used to throw Xmas parties that were legendary. Those La Scalas would fill the whole house with around a hundred people stuffed in.

    When listened to at low volumes , Klipschs let the electronics run at their best sounding. With just 10 watts, you can have incredible sound.
     
  4. JJerm80

    JJerm80 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Just an update on the search...still looking! Thank you all for the advice, debate, etc. Had a chance at some Heresy I's, but passed, as I worry about the lack of bass. Mainly keeping my eyes open locally for Cornwalls. That said, should I be looking in a different direction? I'm pairing with a fully restored Marantz 2245. I thought Klipsch due to the high sensitivity...but maybe there is a better direction?
     
  5. Wngnt90

    Wngnt90 Forum Resident

    They have the same tweeter, but not the same midrange horn. The mid horn in the Cornwall has a 1" throat....the mids in the LaScala and Khorn have 2" throats.
     
    Gregory Earl likes this.
  6. SteevG

    SteevG Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, Illinois

    I'm in Chicago (burbs) so I don't know how close these are... Shwing !

    klipsch forte 2 speakers »
     
    JJerm80 likes this.
  7. Daedalus

    Daedalus I haven't heard it all.....

    Have you ever heard LaScalas? Big bold lively-yes! Overly bright harsh-no. At least that is not what I hear. Actually I pretty much hear everything the recording has to offer with the right amp. Want live Dead to wake up the neighbors' neighbors? Just the ticket. Well are they brash, in your face-guilty.
     
    Gregory Earl likes this.
  8. smctigue

    smctigue Forum Resident

    Now yes but this hasn't always been the case.
     
  9. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    :righton:

    Including modern Klipschs. Modern floorstanders are very sensitive (although not as much as the classic mmodels) and will make your 45wpc sing without the brightness assocoated with older models. You will spend a lot less money buying modern new than older used.
     
    JJerm80 likes this.
  10. Stereosound

    Stereosound Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
     
  11. Stereosound

    Stereosound Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
  12. ChuckyBuck

    ChuckyBuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albuquerque, NM
    If anyone lives near Albuquerque I have some fully upgraded Forte IIs in excellent shape I need to sell.
     
  13. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    OP,

    Have you heard any of the Klipsch heritage speakers yet? I was very unimpressed with my father's Cornwalls. Don't set your sights too narrow. There's many brands that make high sensitivity speakers. Not trying to bash Klipsch, but my $400 Epos Epic stand mounts had better bass than the Cornwalls, by a large margin. I can uderatand why some like the midrange colorations. They do sound "vintage."
     
  14. Wngnt90

    Wngnt90 Forum Resident

    When were they the same?
     
    Gregory Earl likes this.
  15. smctigue

    smctigue Forum Resident

    According to Khorn & Cornwall timelines they were the same up until 1981.
     
  16. Ntotrar

    Ntotrar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tri-Cities TN
    I want a pair of Cornwalls. But I can wait till after I move to a new home in another state.
     
  17. Gregory Earl

    Gregory Earl Senior Member

    Location:
    Kantucki
    Wngnt90 likes this.
  18. JamesD1957

    JamesD1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cypress, Texas
    A "second" for this post. I have the Klipsch RP-280-f towers and use them for 2 channel listening. They are not harsh in anyway, they have (in my opinion) great bass extension for music, and don't take a lot of amp power to sound great. Home theater would probably require a sub for all those explosions. If you're into that kind of thing.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  19. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    Can't wait to hear a pair.

    A good pair of Cornwalls can't be beat in the under 1000 dollar price range. Personally I haven't heard a pair of speakers I'd take over them at 2k outside of maybe a nice pair of Altec Valencias or 604s and I've heard too many speakers.

    New speakers for all the hype about new technology really are mostly stinkers in that price range. Kef LS50s are nice but come with their own colorations a bit metallic and hot sounding in the upper mids but manage to sound much bigger than they are. The Tannoy Revolution sound nice and are the first speakers with metallic drivers that I've heard that I really liked. My only problem is with the xtf6 is you can hear the port working with bass heavy rock, it's almost like a horn loaded design the way the cabinet integrates with the plinth, and the 8xtf, which doesn't have that problem would overload my room and most medium sized rooms say anything smaller than 16x22. They really do an amazing job on bass output for a pair of 8 inch drivers again I think that cabinet design had a lot to do with it. Tekton and Zu speakers are neat but they pretty much use guitar or pro drivers and are built like DIY speakers that ignore conventional design with a few neat ideas and no where near their stated efficiency. The ones I've heard sound OK but I'd take a nice pair of Cornwalls over them anyday as I have room and can place them against the wall.

    Stand mount speakers just sound small but if your looking for a pair try the Devore 3xl, I've seen a few used pairs pop up for 3200 with their stands. Best stand mounts I've ever heard and the only ones I'd own. They really are ridiculously good.

    Speakers are so room dependent though it's hard to give people advice. What sounds great in my room might suck in yours. So your mileage may very and all that. Personally I think modern speakers start making sense right about the 3 grand price range. If your room is big enough the Tannoy xtf8s. If it's not the Devore 3xl is really nice. Then of course you have Audio Note AN-E speakers. You might be able to find a nice used pair for 3 grand. They sound great. Also can look for the floor standing Devores used. If you have enough room and can put them at least 3 feet off the back and side walls, at a minimum, you could try some Vandersteen 2ce, some people really like them. I've heard them sound nice, but only with moderate to high power tube gear.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2017
  20. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Only true if you have the dough to spare:laugh:
     
  21. rl1856

    rl1856 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SC
    Heresy or Cornwall. I would look for a clean pair of Heresy speakers, then restore them. I would upgrade the crossover, damp the horns, and seal the cabinet boxes using rope caulk in all seam. You will loose a few db of efficiency (but they will remain very efficient) but gain more clarity in the midrange and treble. They will loose some of the "horn" coloration, and treble aggressiveness. All changes are easy to accomplish and undo if you are not satisfied.
     
  22. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    True, but if you live where they're readily available, you can get a nice pair of Cornwalls or Altec or JBL speakers for less than say 1200 bucks.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  23. LeeVing

    LeeVing Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Salem, Oregon
    My 2245 and Heresy's make a very nice combo. I did have to raise them off the floor and get them to ear height to get a better sound.

    Also...I did get the Crites crossover upgrade.
     
  24. Ken Clark

    Ken Clark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago Suburbs
    A pair of Heresy's is on Audiogon for a low price, one owner speakers local pickup only in PA. No affiliation with the seller. I would have bought these immediately for my office if he'd ship them.
     
  25. smctigue

    smctigue Forum Resident

    I don't think anyone has said they had.
     
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