So do mine. In my storage area are a pair of Wharfedale W60's (which are sitting on top of a pair of Wharfedale W90's).
Totally happy with my Klipsch medium range speakers unless some Klipsch owner trips over a banana peel and needs help with unloading his heritage anniversary, I'll be right here to help my fellow-man.
No, that was my office at the motel back in 2014 when I received the La Scalas and replaced my front mains with them. After 6-months, I decided that they were not ideal to be my front mains, either as stereo or HT speakers. They are large and very heavy. The new ones are MDF and heavier than these older plywood models were. But, mine had additional Baltic Birch plywood cabinets built around the original cabinets, so these are extra heavy. As I didn't really have any place to put them, I moved them toward the front of the office, behind the teal sofa. It's just that back then, the office was much less cluttered and looks really clean and open!
My favorite Klipsch speakers are the ones that arrived at my house on Friday. Two large boxes on a shipping pallet, wrapped in cellophane and looking large. Dropped-shipped from Hope, Arkansas. "Klipsch Cornwall" written on the sides of the boxes. Incredible struggle to carry them up the stairs and into the man cave. These beauties are gorgeous and sound fantastic, right out of the box. It's been a glorious weekend!
Congrats! Post some pics if you can. They will change A LOT in the first hundred hours. The midrange needs to open up and the woofers need to loosen. It was a dramatic improvement on my Fortes straight out of the box.
A friend of mine got a new pair of Cornwalls about 2 months ago. He is enjoying the heck out of them.
Even my 1979 Heresy 1 opened up some after a week or so of playing. Seems they'd been sitting for awhile. Now they need crossovers recapped.
Not always. Listen to your speakers. If they sound right, then your crossovers are probably fine. You might upgrade your crossovers for improved sound quality. You can do that anytime. Crossovers are not subjected to high voltages and high heat in speakers, the way they are in amplifiers. Electrolytic capacitors go bad first. The should not be used in speaker crossovers (but sometimes they are). Regular non-polorized crossovers the are not subject to extreme heat and voltage, will last many years or even decades, if no leakages.
Nah there's a problem that will be fixed with new caps. I swapped crossovers and the problem followed the crossover to the other speaker. Drivers all test well. No big deal they're 44 years old.
Certainly, if the caps require replacing, then replace them. I remain under the belief that people often replace crossover caps unnecessarily. This because they always read about replacing them on the Internet. I think people should use due diligence when replacing any component. Randomly replacing components in vintage gear can result in the alternation of the original sound signature.
The guy I have performing the work is actually approved by Klipsch. I am keenly aware of what it takes to maintain the sound I bought them for. Not a fan of modifying things as I do that for a living and buy things for what they are not what I can make them. I have other hobbies for that kind of thing.
The probability is that the components in "vintage" gear have already drifted so far from spec over the years that they don't sound anything like they did when they were new anyway.
Agreed. I'd bet that at least half of cap replacement endeavors end up where the user isn't satisfied... some buy expensive / boutique caps because of "ratings" on the net, then find out it's not about how much the cap costs, but whether it's a good match. Which can take trial and error, another thing folks get caught in then, which is good for business if you sell exotic capacitors!
Hard to say what they sounded like when new? I have vintage amps and speakers from the 60's that are all original and still sound good. A lot also depends on how they were stored. Were they thrown in a shed or stored on a closet shelf? Listen, evaluate, then decide.
I have 2 pair of KG4's with an interested buyer of one pair. I've looked at prices and they seem all over the place....$400 to 800 seems like a range. Mine are in nice condition with one having the cone pushed in on the passive radiator on back being the only flaw and I don't think that's a big deal,I've heard you can use a low powered vac to re-dome. Any thoughts on prices these days?
These are now 25-year-old speakers. I would guess $400-$500. Do you have the original shipping carton? The problem with older speakers is the lack of an original box. Shipping speakers like these is likely to be as much as the speakers are worth.
Yeah, I was thinking $500-ish would be a fair deal. My buyer is local and I know him so I don't have to worry about boxes.
It's really hard to say. The last versions I have listened to were II. Now they are up to IV and V. So much of what a speaker does do is dependent on the amplification. The best most realistic bass with authority comes from the K-Horn's, nothing else comes even close. For clarity, it would be the La Scala's. The La Scala's are the most super efficient, allowing them to be run with very low power amps. The Forte's are the best to pound out rock music and the best for running with higher power solid state amps. Probably the best compact size vs. for a hefty horn speaker. Don't consider it a real Heritage type speaker, being introduced in the 80's. Best for the dollar. Solid bass. Best all around Klipsch would be the Cornwall's. Most evenly balanced, large, but still compact enough for most homes. Thinner profile. Best for all types of music. Good for tube amps and works decently with SS. Heresy's are the best horn speakers for smaller rooms. They are one of the only speakers for smaller rooms! They are workable on smaller budgets. I tend to judge horn speakers different than most do. Having owned A7's since I was sixteen, horn speakers are the norm for me, more so than for most other people. I also tend to lean toward the forward live sound experience, probably again more so than most others. I like pro-sound gear because it can do do much more of everything well. I am also used to living with large speakers, again the norm for me. My number one goal is to be able to replicate different commercial environments in my home. Can I replicate a rock concert, yes. Can I replicate a movie theater, yes. Can I replicate a Broadway musical, yes. Can I replicate an intimate Jazz club, yes. Can I replicate vocals and acoustic instruments, yes. Can I replicate a symphony orchestra, no! Can I replicate a symphony orchestra from a movie soundtrack, yes. Klipsch, to me, are like home versions of Altec's. I can not go out today and buy Altec's, any more than you can. So, for off the shelf affordable horns, it's Klipsch. If we take the word "affordable" out if the equation, more options open up. But... These are very costly options, $25k and up! Still, each Klipsch speaker has its drawbacks. La Scala's are now stupid expensive, as are K-Horns. I doubt if either would be a serious consideration for me new, due to price. The smaller Cornwall's and Forte's have Tractrix horns, which I am not particularly fond of. They do work better for smaller cabinets and most home applications due to their size advantage. Still, they are limited in scope when compared to large horns. Going back to Paul Klipsch, he always had the right idea on cabinet construction. But, he did cheap out on horns and importantly, their drivers. I have yet to hear a Klipsch horn or driver that could measure up to a commercial Altec. Even their new theater stuff. Bass cabinets are excellent. Horns today can handle far more power and are much louder. They however, are not better sounding... Unfortunately, I can not speak of newer Klipsch models from lack of personal experience. Too many modern home towers to keep up with! I like the RF-7 Series II for home theater, pretty serious speakers. Klipsch makes decent subs and center channel home speakers. Overall, Klipsch speakers are very dynamic, though sometimes a bit fatiguing.
