Klipschorn speakers will definitely shake a room or two. They can play very loudly due to their efficiency. If your son wants that loudness in the room, will the rest of the home accept this loudness? Is the room specially built and treated to keep the noise inside without disrupting the rest of the household?
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He should just be sure to have two corners that will allow the listening chair to be centered and far enough back.
Yes, these at high volumes might do structural damage to his home.
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They don't do super deep bass, but they will play very loud without effort. I added a pair of 15" direct radiator subwoofers to a pair of K-horns years ago. my die-hard horn-loaded-only friend was impressed with the extension. I think I crossed the subs somewhere around 40 Hz and they would play down close to 20 Hz. Those subs could seriously shake the house with a couple hundred watts each. The K-horn didn't need nearly as much power to keep up with them. If I was willing to shatter my eardrums I'm sure the K-horns could have left the subs in the dust. |
Excellent speakers - but you may wish to Google their dimensions before giving your blessing. :o) |
+1 asctim
They get crazy loud, but bass shaking not so much. I ran mine with a Velodyne 15" sub and that did the trick. |
I'm running corner horns with 2 watts and Soft Serve by Soul Coughing will punch you in chest and vibrate furniture.
You realize premature deafness is a possibility with the sound pressure levels these can produce with very little wattage?
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It's a LOUD choice.. I've actually herd a few older Horn loaded units that were WAY cool. Then there are the "JUST LOUD" ones too..
They have a cult following too. It's not cult like IT'S A CULT. :-)
They were a PA right? Watch the watts for sure.. They are made for valves...Takes a bit of the edge off that sharp horn signature too..
Regards |
I’m running corner horns with 2 watts and Soft Serve by Soul Coughing will punch you in chest and vibrate furniture. Same thing here. Turned out it was pneumonia. |
Personally, I'd do LaScalas so you have more options on placement. |
I’d personally not want to hear those very loud unless the source room and equipment were all totally dialed in. Horns can get ear piercing fast. More wiggle room to go loud and enjoy the sound with mellower speakers. Just my opinion. Keep us posted. |
my son has a mcintosh mc7300! he just likes his music loud. if the recording does'nt have bass, can he just adjust the bass on his pre-amp?? |
Hope you're aware Klipschorn can run on as little as a couple watts, 300w of 7300 is complete overkill. I'd never like Klipschorns with high powered solid state amp, but then I'm sensitive to things like timbre, tonality. I run my highly modded Klipschorns with SET and push pull tube amps, much more sympathetic partnering imo.
I don't consider Klipshcorns to be head banger speaker, really need subs for that kind of bass. Yes, they'll get plenty loud, but might run you right out of room, in stock form they can get shouty at loud volumes. They also need proper corner placement with extreme care in getting speakers to seal with wall for maximum bass output, they also want a larger room for optimum sound quality. While I love my Klipshcorns, I'd not recommend these for what I presume you're looking for.
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I sold Klipschorn for a couple of years. That treble from the horn was sword sharp,the imaging gawdawful from the extreme lack of time coherence between drivers. Just not for me, though I imagine the distortion characteristics of lower-order harmonic distortion rich SET’s probably match up well. I can think of many other speakers with much deeper and better bass response.
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Heard a lot of people’s Klipschorns, in a lot of different rooms, even in 4 corners and even stacked, and been impressed maybe twice. It’s one of those speakers that posers buy for the name and don’t dial them in well. Shouty and piercing more times than not IMO. |
I owned them for years and really enjoyed them with all genres of music. They can be played very loud, but that's not their finest virtue. If you have the space and a good system preceding them, there will be beautiful music. Maybe not the most accurate, but beautiful. |
The Klipschorn hasn't been a speaker of so much talk for 60 years for no reason. There's something interesting, some say magical, there. It's an iconic audio piece and looks beautiful in the right room.
If he wants loud chest thumping sound with no perceivable limit, then yes go for it. They do great in the kickdrum frequency area. If he wants bone rattling bass then add a sub.. However, when I crack mine up with bassy tracks like "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" I swear they go deeper than they're given credit for. Wow.
Either way, they're meant for jazzy acoustic music which is where their flavor meets the mood IMO.
Btw, I run them on Mcintosh and PS Audio M700 class D amps.. Both sound supurb and get really loud with zero distortion. It's a party setup for sure.
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300 watts, oh mercy. Get a good insurance policy. That boy is gonna scramble the NEIGHBORS brains..
30 watt for Corners or KHs, heck even La Scala. NO SS at least on the older original Klipsch stuff.
The Mac has one good thing tone control. I don’t know maybe it won’t slice to the bone but SS and the old horns, I’m runnin’ the other way..
Maybe the way a Pass or First Watt is voiced, maybe..
Definite ear plugs AND muffs for me though.... :-)
The BASS thing. Oh he needs 4 new 21" 90 db E subs from Dayton.. 10 cf boxes aught to work. LOL lift the house off the foundation.. A pair of NU12K Behringer aught to do it.. 20,000 watts or so.. You know a little BASS reinforcement.
Regards |
Shrill, searing, pain, shrinking penis, Olaf grating,
never liked them!! |
Thanks Chuck 😀
I used the foam pipe insulation from the hardware store to create the seal on mine. My feeling is the bigger the room the better they sound. They seem to need space to open up but man do they ever fill a room. The other great thing is I didn't spend a lot of time fiddling with speaker placement. |
I always wanted to like Klipsch speakers but could never quite get there. I've heard. Chorus, Forte, Belles and the K Horn, their flagship. I heard rock music through the K-Horn (your interest) back in '83 at a hi-fi shop. Not impressed. Folks here who mate a sub to their Ks know what they're talking about, because Ks standing alone won't produce the sort of bass your son appears to want. |
1+ jallan, any frequency response problems can be managed but there is no way you can get them to image properly. They will do the basic 2 dimension image but that is it. You will never get that sense of space around the instruments like they are standing in your room. Jallan is probably correct. The woofer is five feet behind the rest of the loudspeaker and the midrange 18" behind the tweeter. You have three different group delays. We had them in the store comparing them to Magneplanar 3.6i's and the difference in imaging was night and day. It would be an interesting experiment to tri amp the K horns and manage the delays digitally to see what happens. |
If he's a newb, don't waste his money on a K-horn for head banging music; get a pair of vintage Cerwin Vegas and tell him to rock out! |
+1 @fatdaddy2
A pair of klipschorns will be wasted in this situation. The recommendation of a pair of CVs is spot on, although add a pair of cheap subs for good effect.
I'll bet dollars to donuts the OPs son doesn't have a room that will support khorns. IMHO you need to have them on at least a 17' wall to get the best performance. But when the stars align, you'll be hard pressed to beat them without spending a lot more $$.
Oz
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I had K-horns for a while some time ago.
I sense this thread isn't going to make any difference whether or not he'll purchases them. I assume he's obsessed with owning a pair, and I can understand the lure.
However, your son is on the wrong path for his intended use - these are probably one of the worse speakers for playing loud and retaining any real musical qualities. There are so many other choices he would be much better off with, but he's likely not entertaining other options, which is too bad.
Hopefully, this failure will be a good lesson for him down the road.
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If your son is still living at home with you..throw him out |
Klipschorns can produce wonderful dimensional imaging if set up properly and fed with the right equipment. My other speakers are Merlin VSM-MM, highly modified with Duelund VSF caps in crossover, bam modded with far too many boutique parts to go through here. Even stock, the Merlins are image champs, very much part of Bobby's design intention. My Klipschorns image as well or better than the Merlins, wonderful 3D center image and plenty of depth, Merlins only superior in that they 'disappear' to a greater extent. Mid freq material does 'stick' to the mouth of mid horn to some extent. Keep in mind my Klipshcorns are highly modded, but I do recall even in stock form imaging was not the problem. I've also been through single driver, open baffle speaker ownership, imaging is extremely important to me, Klipschorns can image, total falsehood they can't. Yes, stock Klipschorns do have imaging liabilities in the sense of driver placement, horn mouth, room placement limitations, amazing they image as well as they do. My modded Klipschorns excel in this department.
Agan, I just don't see Klipschorns as head banger speakers, yes they do macro dynamics, but so do lots of speakers. The special thing about Klipschorns are the MICRO DYNAMICS, even in stock form never heard such immediacy, the sense of live performers in room. Add SET and their inherent sense of the same and you get magic. But superior micro dynamics and loudness brought about by extreme efficiency doesn't add up to head banger speaker.
I will modify my original negative comment about them not being head banger speakers, In the sense that I don't see Klipschorns as rocker speakers, in stock form I don't believe they do well with metal, or hard rock, bass not done justice for this type music, too round, lack of control, won't be doing the slam thing. They'll do much better with electronic dance music, bass will be harder hitting, synthesized bass works much better, you can get some slam here. Subs will be needed to reach EDM lower bass frequencies.
Now, my modded Klipshcorns can do any genre of music well, just this weekend listening to Alice Cooper, Love it to death, an album I hadn't listened to in years, never heard it so alive and compelling in my life, brought me back to my young adolescent self! And EDM played on my system would certainly entice a dance party.
The major problem with the Klipschorn in stock form is timbre, tonality, they simply lack the naturalness required for long term listening pleasure, even at a party. I'd expect they would initially blow a party crowd away, but over time fatigue would set in. I'll reiterate mids will begin to shout, mids bothered me in stock form within minutes. Better supply lots of beer and other mind altering substances so listener fatigue doesn't set in! Perhaps your son has heard about the new fad of house concerts using Klipschorns, many double stacked. Around where I live the people giving these concerts are more about various folk genres, perhaps some EDM mixed in. These are generally not head banging concerts, they are house based, moderate volume, even in student housing areas they can only play so loud for so long.
I totally get why many don't like Klipschorns and/or any horn loudspeakers. Improper horn design and materials, driver and driver placement liabilities, crossover component liabilities, room placement liabilities. Add it up, you got problems, redesign and upgrade components you get natural, live performers in room with you. Inherently superior micro dynamic performance is font of magic from horns, add proper timbre and speaker alignment, sympathetic system matching, proper room, proper placement in room, get every i dotted and t crossed, you get sublime!
Bottom line, for me Klipschorns are a speaker with enough inherent goodness to draw you in, but with enough flaws to drive you away. I get the polarized response to the speaker, I guess some can hear past the flaws, others can't. Being an inveterate modder I saw the flaws as fertile ground for improvement and the inherent positive qualities as motivation to fix the flaws.
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+1 for big Cerwin Vega. Those were the loudest I've ever heard. Add a couple subs. But I'm afraid he will have hearing loss as he ages... |
Save a lot of money and get a pair of the new JBL Century 100's. A fraction of the cost of the K-Horns! Capable of rockin' out without driving listeners from the room! |
How big is his room?
Loud isn't going to be the problem, thats the easy part...
But, if the room is too small, and you start going over 100db, something changes...
I have a pair or Cornwalls - heavily modded - which I am super happy with.
My room is approx 11X17??? And if I go over 95db, something changes. Granted, the room is not treated, but, its a forgiving room and I've managed to position the chair/speakers so they work quite well. What I've noticed, is the musicality goes away, and the sound gets muddled and noisy.
Been meaning to look into big speakers/small room/high db's and how the room getting pressurized can be effecting this distortion/noise.
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My buddy upgraded from his lascala’s to the Khorns and he nearly returned them, he was so used to the huge mid bass boost of the lascala’s that the k horns took some getting used to. They don’t sound like they’re putting out any bass but they do pressurize a room and if you play lp’s and like tubes... |
Also danager noted a big advantage: one in each corner and... done. |
It is a very good choice if you buy a klipschhorn made prior to 1965 he will pay more for it but the money spent is well worth the extra time and cost to find one good luck searching but when he does he will be so much more happy.
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Nice company, LOUD speakers (very efficient), but not very accurate.
Sorry, horns belong on the top of poles at high school football stadiums, not in boxes in your house.
Not sure if they are still around, but Cerwin-Vega made some wildly loud speakers for many years. Not very accurate, but certainly better than any horn.
If they are not around any more, ask for some super-efficient speakers at your dealer and I am sure they will have some.
Cheers! |
Try Legacy Series instead of corner horns |
Look into Cornscala, if you’re reasonably handy you can build a pair. I built a pair using the eliptrac midrange horns for a second low watt tube system. They move lots of air and bass has a tactile feel. Nice midrange and detail
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Absolutely, for that one purpose. Oh where are the Mach III's I used to sell one summer.
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@sns , no they don't. You are mistaking venue depth for 3 dimensional imaging. I have spent hours with K horns set up perfectly using early Krell amplification. These speakers as they are, are incapable of relaying the third dimension. This is a common misunderstanding many listeners have because they have never heard a system image correctly. I was an audiophile for almost 20 years before I heard a system that imaged the third dimension and it was not my system. I was flabbergasted. I spent another 10 years trying to get my system to image the same way and to understand what the requirements for proper imaging were. They all center on the speakers and the room. For multiway speakers the crossover, group delays and phasing are major issues. The K horns major fault is that it has three different group delays. The difference at the woofer/midrange crossover which use to be at 500 Hz and is now at 350 Hz is huge. Lowering the crossover may have helped a bit but I would be stunned if it resolved the problem entirely. That crossover is right at middle C. |
Sorry, horns belong on the top of poles at high school football stadiums, not in boxes in your house.
I nominate this for "Lamest Response Of The Year". |
Thanks ozzy62. I wonder how many of the ignorant comments about Khorns here are being made by people who have never even heard a pair. |
Khorns will rock your son, I owned a pair of 93’s for many years, and still have a set of 00 LaScalas, but I recommend a tube setup over solid state, they seem to sound alot warmer with tubes in my opinion. They do need corners, or he can build a false wall designed for Khorns with diagrams on the net(not expensive). I would also recommend he join the Klipsch website and the forums section there has a wealth of information he can utilize, enjoy! |
So , you want Khorns for your son and you want them loud, huh.
Must have been a good year at Baskin Robbins. |
Altec 604Cs with a Velodyne 15" does it for me. In fact, our neighbors three flights downstairs sometimes complain. |
One thing about Klipsch, you either love them or hate them, there is no in between. |
K horn will play loud and if they are not to his liking hold value on resale and if he does like can be the last loudspeaker one needs I know more than a few running K horns till the grave. But I do see many logic fallacies posted above maybe consider those who post such to be moot. |
I would also like to recommend the crite’s speaker (formally known as the cornscala). I absolutely love mine. I run it with a McIntosh mx110z and Bob Latino ST-120. You can save quite a bit of $$$ with these and get a hell of a lot more bass than the k-horns. They’re quite efficient at about 100db per 1 watt. They’ll rock out, but I’m also amazed how well they do during delicate passages as well.
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mijostyn, yeah sure, I've never heard real three dimensional imaging. How would you know, have you been here in my listening room? Also, I did state imaging of STOCK Klipschorn was SURPRISING, taking in account it's design liabilities.
My Klipschorns are most definitely not stock, only the bass cabinet remains stock, they image spectacularly, performers in room illusion. Some of the mods I've done are available to anyone, they can improve the imaging of Klipschorn.
Also, in the realm of someone looking for speakers that will shake the room, when did imaging become important? I didn't bring up that aspect of performance, simply responding to you.
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It is hard for me to imagine listening to a Khorn w/o serious modifications. Some of the inherent problems of this speaker in stock form (older models) just get worse as volume is increased. Some of these mods arent terribly expensive. |
Try Legacy, Heritage or one of the more expensive floor standing ones |
my son doe's not care about accuracy of a speaker! he just want's to hear his music 'loud'!!!!! |
I like russ69’s advice, and you can also get Belle Klipsch’s if you want a better looking speaker.
I sold Klipsch’s when I was in college and I sold more Belle’s and La Scala’s than K-horns because they were much easier to place in a room.
Another consideration is the fact that your son is likely to move multiple times during his career and Belle’s/La Scala’s will be much easier to place in a new room. The best sounding Klipsch system I ever sold was a pair of Belle’s to a wealthy doctor who had a 60’ x 30’ listening room, but no corners. He powered them with an Audio Research power amp and in his room, they were the BEST SOUNDING Klipsch’s I ever head.
And I believe jasonbourne52 makes a good point with his JBL recommendation. Less expensive, somewhat similar sound, and MUCH EASIER to move.
As always, YMMV😎 |
