Are Klipsch speakers really that bright?

500 hours to break in Herseys IV
Klipsch Heresy IV Loudspeaker (each)

 

The “legacy” part means it represents the original designs. There is no tuning for CD’s and Paul Klipsch preferred the sound of SS amps with those designs when SS became available. Any tuning that takes place today is for dialogue in home theater and that’s not what heritage line speakers are doing for the most part.

the thing about Klipsch speakers (all of them) is they share the design principals of low distortion and high efficiency. So at the end of the day what does that get you? It gets you the ability to listen at 110db while keeping the signal clean. Many audiophiles find this to be a disgusting use of stereo equipment. And truly, anything playing at 110db is going to sound very bright. Certainly, you don’t have to do that to enjoy many of their speakers but truth be told, most Klipsch enthusiasts like doing that from time to time.

And most rock concerts are playing at 100 to peaks of 110db. So...if you dig rock concerts and live music, it’s a brand that works well for that. In 1947 Paul was trying to recreate live music using amps that were making less than 10wpc. He may have also had high frequency hearing loss from working with artillery in WWII. It’s hard to argue with results, naming another speaker brand that has been around longer and been more successful it’s easy if at all possible.

so...it’s not that they are tuned for tubes or SS, it’s that if you dig tubes, they are speakers that will get up to at least 90db with 20wpc or less. If you like live concerts and tubes, it’s a fantastic match.

 

I have been living with Cornwalls for several years now and love them. As others have said, amplification is everything. Through my Cary with 30-40 watts they're pretty astounding and always make me smile. I use mine primarily for low volume near field listening - no complaints about imaging or depth-of-soundstage either - if it's on the recording, it's in my room. Older LP's do sound best, to my ears - cd's can be fatiguing after a while, depending on the mastering.

With el34's they are extremely smooth and not overly detailed, sans grills. Switch to kt88's for all the detail I need, with the grills on to reduce mid-shout.

Prior to the Klipsch, I'd had Maggie's for many years - loved those too. But I imagine I will always have horns, now.

 

Guilty. I'm typically not in the room while it's happening, but they do sound great from a room away.

I'd agree with this, having significant high frequency loss in both ears. To others this might translate to bright, to me it's just about right.

 

I drive my Heresy III with a 1966 MC225 and I enjoy them every single day.

 

Klipsch with horn speakers are more mellow sounding on a tube amp. This what Paul Klipsch stated on their Cornwall speakers- use a tube amplifier.

 

Great setup - reminds me of mine. I like the KT88s and the 6550s.

 

Yes. Live Grateful Dead cranked!

 

I see you have unraveled my da Vinci code

 

PWK preferred solid state. Here he says it in his own words and gives the reasons why. I’m not saying I agree with the man, I like tubes and Cornwalls myself but there is no reason why what he is saying here wouldn’t apply to Cornwalls. If you have something where he contradicts this specifically for Cornwall’s, please share.

 

Wow I didn't know in 84 there was a controversy such as this - I was too busy graduating high school listening to Scorps and Iron Maiden and working on cars.

 

Apparently old guys arguing about amps is a time honored tradition.

The man (and company) was very focused on low distortion. Apparently SS has the advantage in however that is measured. His home system was two khorns with one Bell for a center and he had Crown amps. People that have talked about listening to it said he played mostly symphony music that he recorded himself. Again, he was always trying to recreate a live musical performance with his designs.

 

Depends on the speaker. The new Heritage Klipsch speakers are nothing like the old ones. The Forte 3, Cornwall 4 and Heresy 4 are not bright and are pretty amazing considering everything they give you. I own a beautiful pair of Cornwall 1s from the last year they were made and properly set up they are not bright. On some music the midrange coloration can be a bit distracting but still pretty great speakers. Not much experience with the non heritage line.

 

Thought so !

 

I can (partially) confirm. I have the Forte III and can listen to music like TOOL and ISIS with peaks around 87-90dbA without the slightest cringe from brightness. Although I know most would cringe for other reasons

And listening at "normal" levels to not so heavy music like Floyd, Dire Straits or Radiohead with peaks around 75dbA, the speakers really sing. Tons of dynamic swing and life, even when I'm having my morning coffee and listening at 60dbA. I do wish the midrange was a tad bit warmer or more buttery sometimes....but then I listen to Fear Innoculum at concert levels and I forget all about it because I can't stop smiling.

I actually thought they were bright when I first got them home, which bugged me because they sounded great where I auditioned them (I know I know...take them home to audition). But after adding a few treatments (the final piece of the puzzle was if I want to listen LOUD, I needed to cover my TV which is unfortunately between the speakers for now) I could listen as loud as humanly comfortable.

 

Thanks - I have not tried 6550's yet. I live with el34's in the summer and kt88's in the winter. Maybe I need to change things up.

 

"Teenage rockrollers"

 

No need really - they are a nice alternative to KT88s -more reasonably priced. They both sound great.

 

PWK looks like the dude from Five Watt World.

 

Either that or some people are insufferably sensitive and like their music devoid of life (which of course, they're totally entitled to) Their stereos sound af if the speakers were working underwater, or covered in tons of blankets, your choice of analogy.

 

No, that’s not it. Don’t be so sensitive, I’m not talking about your speakers.

 

I know !

 

You could say the same about many modern speakers. I had been using recent Monitor Audio tower speakers for a couple years and thought they were bright and could be excruciating. It's not just Klipsch.

 

Many Klipsch dealers used to demo them with Threshold Class A in 80s. Think SA1 + FET 10 HL.. Klipsch are great speakers at what their best at which is sounding very lively and dynamic at lower listening levels. Jazz n classical shine.