Are Klipsch speakers really that bright?

I dunno if bright is what I'd use to describe them but my khorns are my least listened to speakers simply because listener fatigue sets in quickly no matter what electronics I'm using with them. They are beautiful looking pieces of furniture though and that's why I just can't seem to part with them

 

I follow a Klipsch fan page that was starred and moderated by an online heritage dealer. From the pictures he posts, he moves a ton of inventory, has a massive where house and is working on being the top sales leader in the nation. He sells a ton of Heritage and the Jubilee professionals (for home use) that are the size of a refrigerator. He has repeatedly said that he has yet to sell a pair of khorns.

a lot of this likely has to do with how he carries on about the jubilees being better than khorns and I think they might be $1,000 less expensive. But to your point about being bright, that’s his opinion as well and generally the reason people decide to move them on.

 

A few years ago I sold some equipment to someone who had a pair and he let me listen to a bunch of lps (actually I stayed for a few beers too long and my wife wondered if I was kidnapped). Anyway, seems to me that they would be a pretty bad option for most people (the guy gave up the biggest room in the house to them) but with the old records he played they sounded totally amazing, really mind blowingly satisfying for what they were. The downside is he had to have whole other system for everything else in his cd/record collection, lol! But he was dedicated for sure!

 

A few weeks ago I listened to a few pairs of speakers in the $6,000-$7000 range (including the Cornwall IVs)... still prefer my Cornwalls. The Cornwall IVs were nice, but not enough to justify me spending that much on a new set of speakers when my Cornwalls sound perfectly fine. Also, one of my reference records for my Cornwalls is Booka Shade- Movements (minimal house), sounds incredible.

 

Mine seemed like they were made to be played with lower-watt tube amps. No harshness or ear fatigue.

 

I've owned 4 pr of Khorns over the years and a dozen or so of other Klipsch speakers, including several prs of Cornwalls, Heresys and the Epic series. I've also heard dozens of my fellow audiobuds' setups, mostly using the Heritage line and I've been amazed with how good... and bad these speakers can sound. IMO, Klipsch speaks being described as sounding 'bright' along with 'noisy', 'boomy', etc is more a symptom of bad system matching and room 'fit' than an inherent characteristic of Klipsch Heritage speakers. I also think this can apply to almost any high-efficiency or 'sensitive' speaker with the possible exception of Tannoy which I've never been disappointed with what I've heard but then, I'm almost certainly biased in that regard.

I'd even disagree with those that state all horn speakers are 'forward' as I've heard some designs that certainly have that characteristic (Klipsch being one) but some very well-implemented designs in the proper setting that don't. There are also those that point to horns' colorizations as a detriment but all speakers are 'colored' in some way and in general, a horn's lower distortion, faster transients and 'livelier' presentation is the primary draw for many enthusiasts.

IMO, the biggest tradeoff with high-efficient/sensitive speakers like Klipsch is that you simply can't throw them into any system and expect good results (if you did manage to do just that - congratulations and know that you're the exception and your experience is very rare indeed!). These speaks are much less forgiving than their less efficient, 'boxed' brethren and require more careful and deliberate upstream matching to sound their best. To some folks, that's too much time and effort - especially when there is a plethora of easier, more available alternatives to achieve their audio bliss.

My first encounter with Klipsch was while visiting a friend's house in my early teens. His father had a pr of Khorns set up with a McIntosh 2100 amp and a MX-110 pre. We listened to records all afternoon and well into the evening and I was absolutely smitten. This was the first audiophile system I had heard and it made me realize how good music can sound. I was set upon the audiophile journey and have never looked back. 10 years later, I found a pr of Khorns, a MX-110 pre and a pr of MC30 mono blocks at a 2nd-hand shop and after weeks of negotiations, finally worked the shopkeep down to a price I could afford. The setup wasn't ideal (in my bedroom) but it kept me and my friends entertained throughout my college years, not to mention tubes and horns were an oddity even then and initiated fun experiences and conversations among curious minds. Sadly, the Khorns wouldn't fit in my Honda so they stayed behind along with the MC30s when I graduated.

Another 10 years and several audio adventures passed before I had another opportunity to pick up Khorns and this time, I had the means and the time to work the setup. I tried a dozen or so SS & tube amps (300w/ch, 100w, 30w, 20w, 10w, 8w, 3w, 1.5w, .5w) and at least as many preamps (all tube). After nearly 10 years of mixing and matching, I settled on 45SET monos on top and Gainclone amps powering the bass bins. I bypassed the Khorn's xovers and use a Marchand XM26 active xover. Aside from optimizing the staging, imaging and tonality, I was fixated on eliminating noise. Many systems I'd heard, both tube and SS, had some degree of hiss and/or hum emanating through sensitive speakers. Some required putting an ear into the horns while others could easily be heard from the sitting position which I found intrusive and intolerable. I quickly moved through a lot of gear that, even after being adjusted and tweaked, couldn't be quieted. Still not done, I braced and reinforced the bass bin cabinets, added false corners (to assist w/placement), upgraded the woofers and eventually replaced the top hats (midhorn/tweeter) with Oris horns and AER full-range drivers. I still occasionally try out new digital amps on the bins or a preamp and phono pre so there's always room for improvement but I am quite happy with the results thus far.

I'm not sure what Klipsch's market is like today but 20-30 years ago, Klipsch speakers could be had for cheap, relatively speaking. I found Heresys for $20 at a thrift shop; a few prs of Cornwalls for @$100; LaScalas for $250 and the Khorns I bought ranged from $400-1200 and as long as I'm tooting, I paid $400 for that Khorn/McIntosh set up I had back in college in the 80's. That made for a very reasonable entry point and offered an introduction to horns and high-efficiency speakers. Klipsch was also known as a 'tweaker's playground' and various forums (and before them, newsgroups) had lists of tweaks and ways to improve the sound as well as many knowledgable and encouraging enthusiasts to offer advise and guide the way. Cornwalls, LaScalas and especially Khorns seemed especially built for tweaking and with some materials, a screwdriver and soldering iron, anyone with the will could follow a few easy steps to improve the sound. Because of the speakers' sensitivity, the improvements and upgrades were almost always discernible and often, quite obvious. Paul Klipsch built his speakers to sound good at a reasonable price point and the simplicity of the design enabled, almost dared us to try our hand at making them sound better.

No, Klipsch and their ilk are not the easiest speakers to set up and the path isn't as straightforward as one would hope but with time, effort and plenty of commitment, the reward will be worth the journey...or you could just buy a pr of nice B&Ws, slap a decent +200w amp on them and save yourself the trip.

 

Years later, bought an old set.

 

A great deal depends on the supporting amplification. The right driving electronics and they can sound fantastic.

 

Mine aren't..

 

The amplification I’m using now has unexpectedly brought mine to a whole other level. To say I’m overwhelmed is to put it mildly.

 

Mine aren't.

But sometimes they are and I use a little EQ and they're fine.

 

I remember a trip to Hope to visit the Klipsch Museum about 9-10 years before the date of this letter. In 1975 the guys at Klipsch were aware of the growing tube underground, but were having none of it. They had been sent some triode amps from Japan and were mocking their poor measurements. There was a pile of MJ and Stereo Sound magazines in the corner full of small tube amp projects, and the Klipsch guys acted like it was some kind of silly throw-back.

 

Although I was in my 20's in 1984, my Klipsch Forte I's really blew my ears out a few times. Paul knew what he was talking about.

 

Engineers tend not to believe in anything that can’t be measured and are very dismissive of personal observation that isn’t evidenced based. I’ve recently read a Klipsch engineers post, “thank god I’m no audiophile, those nuts think cables sound different.”

now contrast to someone that builds instruments. I doubt you would have any trouble convincing someone at the Martin factory a D-28 from 1968 sounds different from a new one but I doubt there is a sound measurement that would verify or explain that. I think that’s more where fans of tube equipment land. We are able to describe why we prefer tube equipment but you really can’t prove it through measurements.

PWK was a man of science and built that culture in his company. In that world tubes are only distortion, if that distortion is pleasing it makes no difference.

 

no matter what amplification......klipsch sound GREAT!!!!!

 

I wouldn't call them bright, so much as "forward" or "voicy". Forward being "in your face", seeming like the speakers are much closer and unwilling to disappear, (depending on the model).

KG line is probably the most conventional-sounding, very good without accentuated midrange.


KSB-1.1, 2.1: Hear things you never heard before... until you're sick of them.

100 pound speakers in the corners from the 70s aren't for me.

 

Mine have the treble other speakers I've heard lack (guitars didn't shred, cymbals didn't shimmer). No more cranking my treble control as I did with other speakers (even the Infinities) I love treble.

 

We figured that out!

 

I think Paul would have embraced Hypex Ncore...

 

I had a pair of KG5.5's back in the 90's.

They were not harsh at all. Might have had something to do with their being a 2-way design?


They were nice sounding speakers. My issue with them was not their treble. With two 10" woofers, the low bass overpowered the upper bass / lower midrange. It seemed to go from the woofers directly to the middle where the horn was (which I am sure is what they did). They needed one more driver to bridge the gap from the lower frequencies to the mids.

 

Look a lot like my speakers.

 

Look lovely. Mine exhibit the same issue you describe, sometimes, depending on the guitar tone used. Not a deal-breaker, mind you, but they don't always sound seamless. Can't attribute it to a lack or a dip in the midrange, though, for vocals are strong and natural. Have always favored 2-ways designs though. Mine competed against 4-way JBL floorstanders with dual 8¨ woofers when the dealer ABd them for me, and within minutes into the song, they were a clear winner. Moreoverm the Klipsch were sensibly more expensive and I'd never even heard of the brand. I had to ask WTF that horn was, although I'd seen and heard Celestions with horns before, and loved their sound. The dealer was the owner of a brick and mortar shop, whom I really trusted, or I'd have bought the JBLs blindly, despite they didn't past the knucle test (sounded hollow) and were humongous enough not to fit my current living room. He asked what genres of music I listened to, and said : I think you might like these. The rest is history. The JBLs, TBH, had a more natural swish cymbal sound, but lost in every other dpt.

 

I do also favor 2-way designs. I have three pairs of legacy Altec Lansing A7 theater speakers. I have chosen to only modify one pair and convert them into a 4-way system with the additions of the super-tweeters and a commercial horn loaded sub.

Two way speakers have a unique quality midrange about them, which does make them ideal for vocals and other midrange intensive music.

The stock A7's shine from the low open "E" string of an electric 4-string bass at 41.5 Hz. Up through over 6-kHz.

When Paul Klipsch came out with the Jubilee, he was envisioning it as a 2-way replacement for the aging Klipschorn.



There is something clean looking about a 2-way design. I definitely prefer the stock look of the Altec A7's as a 2-way speaker. Which is why I like the hats I put on top of the JBL "baby-cheeks" super-tweeters.

The 2-way horn designs tend to give you nice clear highs, due to the horns, but without being overly bright.