Are Klipsch speakers really that bright?

I will vouch for the Bliss part.

 

Well I am not really sure where to start, anyway you list 4 different speaker brands that you say don't sound like Klipsch. Well I guess not!!! Or any of them horn speakers? That right there would account for most of the difference. It is a well known fact that horn speakers are about as netrual as they come even more so with high end ones. Normally what you put into a horn speaker is mostly what comes out, junk in junk out. that is not colored the fact is that when you just about any source into a non horn speaker you get coloration!!! The only time a non horn speaker sounds really netrual and good is when the source is really good, otherwise you get a so so sounding speaker that for sure colors the sound!!!

Jay

 

Ive never heard that was a well known fact.....interesting. Ive always heard that horns have a particular "sound" that is quite "different" than most direct radiators, and ribbons.

And so you know..Ive actually owned speakers with mid and hi frequency horns. I know what they sound like and why. Ive never listened to what id call truly hi-end horn loaded speakers. Im not dissing your speakers, simply saying most horns have a "unique sound" that many dont care for overall. The ones ive owned had the same qualities, and were still nice speakers, just simply the built in horn sound. Im not for or against it, simply its how they sound.

 

Or horn coloration isn't as noticeable on wind instruments...

 

Steve, what horns do you use for your monitors?

 

It is not a Klipschorn in a smaller box. The Klipschorn has totally different bass (horn loaded) than in the Cornwall (I know you know this).

 

Has anyone here heard the La Scala II or the Cornwall III?

 

I've listeded briefly to the Cornwall III and latest LaScala. The Cornwall seemed to have more bass, but the LaScala more impact. I also listed to the Cornwall against the Heresy and did not care for the Heresy next to the Cornwall; Cornwalls sound SO much bigger, which of course they are. I enjoyed the Cornwalls a lot but could not afford a new pair of III's, so I bought a used pair of II's and upgraded the woofer and crossover with Bob Crites components (total cost still under $1K). I did try his tweeter and did not like the fact that the treble volume dropped significantly against the stock tweeter. I've now had these speakers longer than any other pair I've ever owned, and have not tired of them one bit.

 

I used to think that Klipsch was hopelessly bright until I heard a pair of La Scalas mated with a 2A3 amplifier. It was surprisingly musical. Throw a bunch of SS watts at Klipschs and they'll sound pretty relentless.

 

Hey Steve you like that!!! LOL!!!

Jay

 

Ok I am going to say this one more time!!! HORNS you either like them or you do not!!! In my opinion horns and tubes are a match made in heaven!!! I like horns enough said!!!

Jay

 

There's a reason they keep tube amps alive .

 

Thanks for your comments. Yes, the Cornwalls are a terrific speaker. Highly underrated, imo.

 

Has anyone here demoed the current flagship Palladium P-39s?

 

I heard them at the Klipsch headquarters in Indianapolis a couple years ago and they are very very good. They would win over the anti Klipsch crowd, being a more conventional design, straying away from the Klipsch House sound.

 

I used to feel the same way, but I have heard recent horn designs in the last 10 years that actually sounded pretty good. 90% of the loudspeakers in film sound mixing stages are horn driven, and many of them sound extremely good. Their size makes them impractical for most home users, though.

 

I will easily say that when it comes to listening to speakers, everyone really can hear things differently. For years, I've been enjoying the warm sounds that my Paradigm "Studio 100's v2" have given me. For the buck and my hearing, I believe that I made a very wise investment in them. I truly believe that it's not always how good a speaker is, as opposed to, what amp you're using to to run your speakers. A speaker can change, in sound, dramatically, just by using a different amp and sometimes the change is jaw dropping.

Last year, about this time, I started to get a want for something more "vintage sounding", for a second playback set-up and I already had that Scott 299b, which I knew was a keeper and thus the hunt for the right speaker began. I went to a semi-local vintage store, who had everything from Dalquest's, Altec's, AR's, KLM's, Klipsch and on and on and on. One of the speakers that I auditioned was the Klipsch "Chorus 1's" and I immediately took a liking to their sound. They were certainly different sounding than my warm Paradigm's, but there was something that I heard, that I never have before, in many of the recordings that I loved. That day, I didn't buy them, but instead, I came back to this forum to get some feelings about these speakers. Well, needless to say, just as this thread and it's many varied feelings about Klipsch in general, I never got a definitive answer on the "Chorus 1's". In fact, until THE MAN himself, Bob Crites told me that he has a pair of them and that he loves them, was I ever given any real credibility to them. Most on this forum kept saying, go for the Forte's or the Cornwall's instead, but I'd really love to know just how many of you Klipsch fans, have ever really heard the "Chorus 1's", because I believe that you'd have a change of heart, if you heard them, driven by a Scott 299b?

So now, I've got Klipsch "Chorus 1's" hooked up to a Scott 299b and they really sound sublime together. Both the amp and the speakers are, like me, growing older and they need some T.L.C. updates, so this past week I contacted Craig at NOS VALVES and he is going to give my Scott 299b his "absolute" going over. I had the nicest long conversation with Craig and he said that he was a huge fan of the Scott 299b and is pleased that I'm sending it out to him to update it. I also contacted Bob Crites, whom, I also had a nice chat with and he is sending me his own new crossovers for the speakers and he recommended that I also buy his new diaphrams, for the tweeters. It's nice to know that these two gentlemen are both so highly regarded, when it comes to updating these pieces. I'm very, very excited, to hear the end results!

 

Hi Chris,
Well that's awesome my friend!! I too own a Scott 299 matched with a pair of Forte' II's/upgraded xovers and love that vintage sound. The Scott just has that tonal quality that I can't get away from, BTW Craig did his deluxe rebuild on my 299 6 years ago and it still going strong.

Jay

 

Jay, great to hear about your own SCOTT 299b! I believe that those of us that are aware of that amp and the KLIPSCH speaker connection, really have some great sounds, playing in our homes. I had a few friends over the other day and I swear that their jaws were on the floor, after I played them a few tracks on that set-up. Now, if I could only get my wife on board with those two tree trunks in our front room, then all would be good. Honestly, she is also very excited about my having these updated, but she really does hate the size of them and I can't really blame her.

 

I've owned both of these speakers and loved them both - the Scala's having the better midrange but I've never heard the older versions so can't compare. This is going back about 3 years. Back then, Klipsch Heritage speakers were ridiculously priced in Australia so a friend who really loved the sound would never have paid the asking price so I suggested why not a DIY pair of Bob Crites Cornscalas which would be very affordable, about a quarter of the price actually.

We went ahead and built them and the end result was mightily impressive - better sounding than the Klipsch in my view so I sold them and built myself a pair as well which I still have. I'm about to further upgrade them, adding a wooden midrange horn, the Elliptrac 400 from Fastlane Audio. My amp is a Wyred 4 Sound STi-1000 which is great with these speakers. In the future I plan on adding a 2A3 or 300B tube amp alongside the W4S to cater to different listening moods as well as offering great system versatility. I think I'm
gonna stay with this setup long term!

 

Does anyone own, or has heard the Klipsch Reference Premier floorstanders (RP-280F, RP-260F, RP-250F)?

 

Klipsch Heritage are only as good as the sources you have connected to them, the music you play, how they are positioned. And they reveal all the above good and bad. I listen to every kind of music on my Chorus. And they are superb sounding. But they're paired with suitable gear. And placed well. Klipschorns need to be placed in corners only. If you can not do that, get Cornwalls (named as you can place them in corners or near walls)

 

Most have an audible bump in the upper mids. Not so much "Bright" as shrill. The best sound I heard from any pair of Klipsch speakers was 20 feet up and 50 feet away. A perfect speaker for a supermarket sized room.