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

The Forte III's look very nice but with a street price of $3800 that should be expected. Anyways, with reference to the OP's original question. You might want to look for Chorus II's as well as the other suggestions in this thread. I have a pair and I love them. They were intended to be a slightly smaller version of the Cornwalls. They weigh in at 89 Lbs. so they are still a pretty hefty speaker but you won't likely be moving them much once you have them placed. I have the black finish but if I can ever find a walnut pair.....

 

As always, I am blown away with how helpful everyone is here. Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm keeping my eyes open for Cornwalls, for Fortes and for Chorus II's. Those Heresy's someone suggested look great, but I am just worried about the lack of bass. My budget is no more than 1K, so I think that pretty much limits me to those used models.

 

I haven't seen any recommendations for Cornwalls - so here goes - get some Cornwalls.

 

i'm demoing a pair of 1972 Cornwall IIs:

 

I've come to the conclusion that the Klipsch Heresy series was designed to sound like one large horn. Though it contains a 12" woofer, it being coupled with the mid horn and the horn tweeter, is like listening to a nicely balanced mid frequency to upper frequency reproduction unit. Sort of like the horns in my Altec's.

I absolutely love the sound of them but they really do require a sub woofer to fill in the lower register. Not a lot of sub though. You don't want to drown out the clear sound of the Heresy's.

 

What do you think?

 

So I installed the Crite's crossovers in my Heresy 1's. Yes they are more crisp but they sound even more on the bright side. When I was talking to Bob Crite's on the phone he didn't seem to be a fan of tube equipment. Said he used solid state and Paul Klipsch switched over to solid state too when it became available. I'm still thinking about trying out an old Fisher or Scott receiver.

 

Having had a Fisher 400 for about a year and getting them connected to Cornwalls in the last couple weeks I can tell you it is an ideal combination. If you want to run low powered tube amps, you NEED sensitive speakers. Heresy's sound more crisp and on the bright side because that's what they are. I think the bass comes in more if you you push the volume but at lower levels, the horns sound a bit uneven with the the bass. A SS amp only makes this more pronounced. Certainly it depends on the amp in question but generally tubes are going to take some of the sting out of the horns.

 

I have KG4's hooked up to my Fisher 800B and they sound awesome, match made in heaven.

 

You need something soft,in the wrong system they can be killers on the ears.

 

If I had the room for Cornwalls, I would have them.
As I don´t have it, I went with the Heresys. Love them.

I run them with Naim SS, no shrill, no bright. Just great.

And I piss off the neighbors every-single-day

 

I lived with Heresy speakers in my system for 20 years. I do believe the lack of bass reputation is overblown. With a 30watt amp, You could recreate a Rolling Stones concert, volume wise, in your living room with 80 people packed in dancing and having a great time! And the sound was better than at the concerts, by far. Sure more bass is always better (is it?) Nobody ever said "too bad they don't have more bass."

 

^Cornwalls = Nice thick sound... a little noisy though
Overall: great value. Anyone with a budget in the $1,000-$1,500 range (and doesn't mind 1970s stylings), look no further

 

Like P.A. speakers.

 

I just turn the bass up a bit on my receiver. Love the clear sound, and they rock!!

 

My amp is only 50w, and I have never been able to turn the volume up past half way. I would probably blow my windows out.

 

Mine is 60w and I can´t pass it from 9Pm

 

I have Forte II's and I'm not a fan. I'm afraid to upgrade parts, because many have given feedback along the lines of, after upgrades or replacement parts, the sound is brighter, harsher etc. These speakers have positive attributes as well. But for my tastes, the overly bright sound of the horns makes them hard for me to listen to, especially with a digital source.

 

Clearly, it's a function of what you're listening to and how you've put them into your listening space.

Forte IIs, Choruses, Cornwalls, Heresies, La Scalas, and Belles and even Khorns are all sensitive to placement in-room and acoustic treatments (or especially a lack thereof). These loudspeakers, when plunked into a room with low ceilings, hard floor, and nothing on the walls to absorb near field acoustic energy from the midrange horn mouth (i.e., collapsing polar midrange horns) are going to sound just like some here have described them. However, for a nickel's worth of room placement and room treatment, they come alive.

Corner-Horn Imaging FAQ
"Loudness War" and the Dynamic Range (DR) Database - some observations
The Hidden Fidelity of Classic Albums

If you like diffuse sound that's smooth playing whatever you put on them, then go find a pair of used Bose 901s. They sound equally bad with whatever you put on them and just about as bad wherever you put them in-room without treatment.

Chris

 

I've put roxul panels on both floor and ceiling first reflection points between me and my Cornwalls in addition to the sidewall treatments. I am quite happy with the results.

 

As 36 year owner of Khorns, most of the Heritage line, are not for everyone, but are the epitome of live big sound. Particularly if you are a classic rock, blues fan. I have brought many people to tears with my BlueRay concerts. I recently went to Ottawa to see Joe Bonamassa, at the NAC, a medium sized venue, and came home and played Live at the Beacon Theater on my Khorns. It was better bigger sound at my place. Live concerts are played with large PA systems, the Khorns are a refined PA system. Scale down the series of Klipsch speakers to your Room size, that is why that line exists.

 

And yes I have corner bass traps, and a lot of acoustic elements in my Media Room.

 

Klipsch speakers have brought me to tears many times. Fortunately that phase of intense pain is relieved as soon as I leave the room or turn off the system connected to them. The headaches can be a bit harder to get rid of.

Similarly, when I go to live, amplified concerts or bars with rock bands, I wear ear plugs. No way do I want to be in a small room with a PA speaker when I can't even stand it in a large one.
-Bill

 

It is depends on the ear of the beholder, A big room and well setup pair of Khorns, I have quite a bit of room damping elements, to contain the brightness. But my brain differentiates live concert like sound, which I have become accustomed too, and great stereo sound. Other than classical music a horn loaded speaker makes vocals, Rock, Blues, music sound like live music. But that is why there are so many choices in equipment tastes. That being said there is a Fatigue factor to Khorns over a period of time. I always give my guests the Volume control. I frequent my best bud's house and his $40,000+ B and W 800D set up with Bryston Cubed amp, and a pair of DB1s and 804 rear and it is great sound, and less fatiguing, but at 5 times the price. Still sounds like a stereo. That is great for your business, I see you have a audio shop. We all have our own bias

 

The old, audio shop, therefore he can't be honest argument, eh? Thanks. No, I like what I like and I dislike what I dislike. Same as you. I am not making an argument against you or your taste. I am just expressing my opinion of the "Klipsch sound". I see that you also find the horns fatiguing. I am glad that you are honest about that. I can't get past it, but some others seem to withstand it. If the B&W are set-up right in a stereo system, they can sound excellent. I don't sell those. I do sell a few sets of Klipsch from time to time. Just sold a pair of Hersey not too long ago. The guy probably loves them.

Oh, and even though we may disagree about a piece of gear, welcome to the forum!
-Bill