klipschorns, they kick ass for sure


hello folks.   for those out there that think the big klipschorn's are not good enough to be a high end quality speaker, guess what??   your wrong!!   I have been in audio for over 40 years. I have heard many speaker systems over the years. I have very good speakers now in my home. I have good equipment running them.  I picked up a pair of k-horns last week.  1986 model year.  replaced the crossovers with crites xovers.  one tweeter blown.  replaced both with ct120 tweeters from crites. hooked them up to my parasound  3500 amp ( yes, way overkill  )  but I wasent in the mood to move it.  speakers placed where they are supposed to be in the corners of the room.  well let me tell you all it took was 2 minutes to decide these things are the bomb.  I dident hear any of the stuff I been reading about over the last 30 years how these speakers are harsh, no good bass and everything else everybody says about them.  as far as im concerned they are clean, clear, crisp, and loud. did I say loud.  volume starts a 7 o'clock,  at 9 o'clock  your ears start to bleed.  I guess the 350 watts into a speaker that only needs 20 will do that.  and all the stuff I hear about  ss amps these speakers don't like.  only 30 watt tube amps will do or you will hear all kinds of noise.  well, all I can say is bull crap to that.  what I here is a speaker sounding better then just about anything else I ever heard.  I played rock,jazz,classical,  all passed with flying color's. all I can say is you guys out there that think they suck. have your ears cleaned out and go listen again.  yes, the 350 watt power house is going to go before I blow everything up. 
tomtab
thank you bill.  you said it better then me!!!      you hear stuff for so long and when put to the test its like what are they talking about.  i heard a pair in 1980 and liked what i heard then.  over the years things tend to change.  well after all that time listening to this pair did not change my mind. they sound great.  and because of the 90 pound weight of the parasound amp, im not changing it out anytime soon. just have to be careful with the volume knob, thats all
I have owned many Klipsch Loudspeakers thd K horn has so much potential.
The critest  xovers are a good starting point. parts are not evrn close to reference Xovers I have uses Munrorf s lot besides ultra expensive Deulund
A great little know hand made cap reasonably pticed from $$ Vacuum tube amp Co Rike of Germany Are very detailed superb in dynamics  Path audio resistors.
Why Klipsch has not finished the Khorn is a big ? Titanium midsand tweeter
Like in thd Heresy. 18audio of Italy make Incredible compression drivers.
Hand tuned wood Throats for the compression driveris another minimal  $ upgrade
Electra voice, or Emmenace  make great 15 inch drivers even a  dual woofer design I have seen. Putting black hole isolation treatmrnt for the cabinet truly removes any ringing of the cahinet. The beauty is you can do one thing at a time I have seen  $20 k just in upgrade. 
Go into a build. VoltI knows cabinet build but not much regarding driver s.
Way over priced should be 1/2 of what he asked  uou dhould gsve s all Duelund Xiver for thst price.
Best of luck the room being  part of the folded horn adds to thd fun.
We used to use a recording of thunder with a 6 watts tube amp  with the lights out the dynamics were Exceptional !!


Having worked in the high end audio industry for over 20 years, I can say that Klipschorns are some of the best and worst speakers that I ever heard. As willland said, it's all about using the right equipment with them.


Back in the late 1970's early 1980's I worked at dealers which sold Klipsch speakers, I actually met Paul at an audio show in DC on year, very interesting guy!

I sold a lot of this generation of Klipsch speakers, not so many Klipschorns (people needed rooms where they could install them in the corners), but loads of Corwall's and Heresy's.  I would characterize a lot of my customers as being discriminating listeners, many of them took their time and compared the speakers to other fine manufacturers of the day.  I can't remember a single pair coming back for service, surprising, as they are "killer" rock and roll speakers.

Enjoy your Klipschorns!  All that matters is that they put a smile on your face!
 Curb your enthusiasm,..yes khorns sounded good back in the day...having said that last time I checked they are worth $3500-4500 basically on the used market assuming original and in nice shape and there are tons of speakers on the used market that smoke them in all areas IMO