Klipsch and horn speakers?

I looked over the designs at the horn shoppe late last year. Can't say I heard them but I tried to send an email to them and didn't get anything back at the time. On the other hand I called the Pi Speaker guy and talked with him for about 45 minutes. He's also in his forum every day so he doesn't hide. He didn't try to push right toward the more expensive models which was nice.

If you've considered lowthers and are willing to build your own cabinet you might want to consider a "voigt pipe" design. Here's a link to a web page with a DIYer's review:

http://www.users.qwest.net/~nocturne/VOIGT.html

Here's another interesting link about cabinets for full range drivers:

http://melhuish.org/audio/index.htm


Also Bottlehead has a high efficiency speaker kit, the Straight 8, over on their web page.

http://www.bottlehead.com/straight 8/straight_8.htm

 

dwmann,
do you have any further comments on the Heresys?

Thanks, Drew.
Those Voigt pipes are tall!

 

The early Klipsh designs by Paul Klipsh all had the same basic tonal quality. The larger speakers just had more of it. Klipsh started with the horns and worked his way down in size, but tried to preserve the tonality of the horns. If you like the Klipsh sound you'll probably like the Heresys. They're a good place to start. I suggest, however, that you give them a GOOD listen before you buy them. None of the Paul Klipsh designs sound like (what I think of) as modern speakers. They present detail in a different way. You may not like them. Some people think they lack detail and some people think they are too colored. It's a different KIND of sound. But they have a beautiful TONE, which is what makes their proponents so fanatic. I've heard speakers with more detail and more punch. But I've never heard speakers with the same quality of tone. To me they're like listening to a DCC gold vs. one of the new reissues. Some of the reissues actually sound better on first listen. Until it becomes apparent that the SH magic just isn't there. If what you care about is TONE, you'll probably like the Heresys. ESPECIALLY for the size.

Keep in mind that the Klipsh sound can be as addictive as DCCs. One you get used to it it is hard to appreciate anything else on a long term basis. You may find yourself structuring your life and living quarters around having room for the pair of K-horns you found you just HAD to have.

By the way, I haven't heard the Heresy IIs, but I undestand the tone was slightly different, and some say not as good as the originals.

 

My 5.1 setup:

Khorns for front left and right, LaScala's for my rears, SW-15 for the sub, and the KLF-C7 for the center.

The sound is great at any listening level that is driven by a puny 30 watt/ch. Sony ES A/V receiver.

I would not listen to anything else!!

BTW, with audio this big...a NEC video projector and a 7' screen was the only way to match the audio!! Can't wait to dive into multi-channel SACD!!Pass the popcorn!!

 

pjrashid,

How does the KLF-C7 interface with the K-horns? Congrats on the LaScalla rears - I don't have room for them so I'm using KG 5.5s. La Scallas they ain't.

 

Thanks...the KLF-C7 interface quite well. I wanted to match the center channel with as close in efficiency as the Khorns and LaScala at 104db, 1 watt, 1 meter. The C7s are 99db efficient...so pretty close. I bought the C7 last and it is the best center channel (at the time) made by Klipsch. I bought the Khorns first and decided to match them for 5.1 surround sound, rather than just using them for 2 channel and buying a matching 5.1 setup. I'm glad I decided to match the Khorns. Sorry to hear about the lack of space...I was fortunate to design the dimensions for my home theater room in the basement specifically for the speakers...everything else was secondary.

I equalize all the speakers with taking SPL measurements using the Video Essentials disc ,and the A/V receiver allows me to adjust each speaker individually. It turns out that the C7s only have to have about a 5-6 db increase...a little more than the difference in efficiency because I think the system sounds a little better with the center channel bumped up a bit. It really depends on the movie..some have pretty lousy voice tracks.

The SW-15 sub manages to keep up with everything else. I have the controls at mid-level, (sound level, phase, x-over freq.) so I have a lot of room to play with it.

There isn't a bad speaker made by Klipsch...congrats on your choice in speakers!!!

 

I had until a couple of years ago a pair of La Scalas in my living room.

Great midrange and bass. Would take anything at any volume. Lacking in air.

Most annoying thing with them was that they imaged in the rear for between the speakers sounds and right at the speaker for in-speaker sounds. Very distracting.

 

What electronics were you driving them with at the time?

 

It almost sounds like one or both were hooked up out of phase. (we need a shrug icon Gort Bros.)

 

Hello Khorn.

I use a Nakamichi PA-7.

Pleeze!!!!

While I once listened to half a 45 rpm Apassionatta in 33 rpm before realizing something was wrong, I'd never do such a thing as wiring my speakers out of phase.