Good, Affordable Horns?


I've often thought about adding a pair of horn loaded speakers, like say a pair of Klipsch La Scala, to my collection, but I've not heard enough horn loaded speakers to really know the differences, or what works and what doesn't. What are some good ones for under say $2K? What do these give up say compared to some of the larger and more expensive horn loaded speakers I've seen in AUdiogon user systems? The Jadis Eurythmie are one such pair I've seen that appear out of this world, but also must cost a small fortune.
128x128mapman
pauly,

Read your review.

They sound fabulous. The top/bottom loaded design seems perfect for big soundstage and impact.

Do they work best close or near to the rear wall and out from the corners?
Mapman, I am assuming your question is related to bass augmentation of the rear wall/corners.

My personal experience is that they work best about 5 to 6 feet from the rear wall. They most certainly don’t need a corner or rear wall to augment the bass – I actually used a little poly-fill in the horn to dampen the bass a little. Even now my friends as me where I hide the sub.

I do have a pair of single mouthed KCS BLH speakers based on the Fostex 126E driver (as used in the Ty-Bone) which also seemed to work best about 5 feet from the rear wall, so I am pretty sure that Jeff’s Ty-Bone would not need to be placed in the corners.

I auditioned the Ty-Bone and it was a close call for me to go with the Madisons. The main reasons I went with Madison is that I already had a 126E based speaker and I really needed something a little more efficient.

If your layout does force you to put the speakers close to the rear wall or corners you can easily tune the bass down a little if you feel you need to using poly-fill.

Regards
Paul
Mapman, after reading another post of yours(why not horns), I want to say that the Klipsch Lascala(with my cabinet mods to eliminate any box ringing,as stated by another), is so close to doing so many wonderful things that conveys the true essence of music, that they may be the "as close to perfect" of a horn speaker, particularly at their used prices and reasonable size......again, this is my opinion, having owned a lot of speakers and listening to much much more over the years......thank you....Mrd
Unsound, it is people like you that I feel do unjust to forums. Read my last post on "Why not horns".
Mrdecibel, I tried to respond to your post on the "Why not horns" thread, but the moderators have held it up. Sorry for the confusion. That post was a joke aimed at the title of the thread, not you. I hope you can accept my apologies for unintentionally offending you.
There is a pair of Klipsch Heresy HBR speakers up for sale on Ebay by a seller in the next town from me that I might be able to pick up and try for not much. I would try these in my wifes sunroom where the Dynaudio monitors are pictured currently in my system listing.

Questions:

- How much are a pair in good working order and condition worth?

- If I do it, what kind of sound should I expect in comparison to a pair of good Dynaudio monitors? BTW the Dyns are rear ported and bass heavy in that room. Speakers in that room have to stay close to the wall. The Heresys seem like a reasonable design to try there in that they are reputably not bass heavy.
Old thread, but i have to comment since I bought some KLF 30's a little while back.

Too bad so many people talk bad about klipsch. I have a pair of 2001 model KLF 30's. They have 3 internal braces, and are really solid cabinets(the early models had no braces!!). I did replace the tweeter diaphram to the ti sold by crites and it was a major upgrade. Honestly, I have owned a lot of speakers, but for the money you can get these for is just insane.

The best home theater Ive ever heard, and true full range. They do sound very clean, no harsh sound at all after the ti replacement. They can play near 125db's and I ran a 20hz wav and he speaker drilled it. How many speakers will do all this for well under 1k used? Nothing. In fact I'd take this speaker all the way up until the 3k price point where I would grab used legacy Focus 20/20's. That is a fantastic value!

Again, the ti upgrade for $58 shipped per pair is a absolute must to take these serious as a 2k-3k contender.