in the right setting, they would be magical
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I had Klipschorns for 25 years or so and absolutely loved them. I built my family room addition to accommodate these, so never had some of the issues others speak about. Drove them with several amps over the years and I would have to say an old refurbished 25 watt Baldwin amp built by Autospec (here on Audiogon) was one of the best sounding amps that went through my system. I never thought they went downstairs in the bass department though. I ran a subwoofer with them. |
I have a pair of 1976 klipschorns with updated volti audio crossovers. These 40+ yr old speakers have no right to do the things they do. I would put them up against modern speakers several times what I paid. And I have owned many (and I do mean MANY) of the more conventional speakers like Wilson audio, von schweikert, magnepan, green mountain audio, piega, etc. just to name a few. The klipschorns involve me in a way that most other speakers can’t. And contrary to conventional wisdom, they can even image very well. The icing on the cake is the dynamics that can be achieved with very low powered tube amps. For the peanuts you would pay for a used pair, they are a no brainer. Of course there is the provision that you have a fairly large listening room with two good corners. Oz |
@2channeljunkie -- If you don’t mind shelling out a bit and maintain true high efficiency, try these with a pair of horn subs: http://simonmearsaudio.com/uccello-horn-loudspeakers.html I use them myself, and they combine vintage approach with modern design as from-ground-up new builds. They’re 105dB’s sensitive, similar here to the Khorns, and would likely be easier to set up not requiring corner placement. As stand-alone you’ll have extension to about 50Hz, but that’s it. The bass that is though is tight, articulated and very responsive. The midrange on up is different compared to the Khorns (and Belle inspiration), and use excellent B&C compression drivers coupled to CNC-cut, stacked plywood Tractrix flare horns. Overall sound is coherent with great immediacy, natural warmth and extreme dynamics. You want to add more extension I’d recommend a pair of horn subs; horns for horns. A pair because you’ll have a smoother respons and all the more headroom (can’t have enough of that, really), and horn subs because you want to give the mains what compliments their nature for the best integration possible. Horn subs aren’t small so you’ll need some space to accommodate them, and I’d advice against going for a low corner below some 20-25Hz (but aim for at least 30-35Hz). Below this frequency the size of the horns will (easily) exceed 20 cubic feet (as 1/4 wavelength variants), and typically you’ll start loosing efficiency as well. Many may feel going for horn subs is close to insanity, but in this case it’s first and foremost about integration and coherency, added to overall envelopment and ease. Think about the dynamic capabilities of a true all-horn speaker system with limited LF, if you’ve experienced it, and then extend that an octave or so to about 20Hz as a horn continuation - that’s where the fun begins as something that’s altogether different, thrillingly at that, than any pair of direct radiating hifi speakers can achieve. What the Khorn aims at, but a step further indeed. |