To all Klipsch Heritage fans

@helomech

I’m not a Klipsch apologist in terms of their unorthodox presentation and design; you either love it or hate it. Having said that, I’m wondering if the pairing Klipsch with modern solid state amps designed for different speaker loads might emphasize the worst characteristics of both the speaker and the amp.

About 5 years ago I ran across a pair of 1977 La Scala, all original, in a craigslist ad. It was a “couple approaching retirement age and wife pressuring to get rid of them” situation so I got them for a song. Set up a secondary bedroom system with them for fun.

All I had amp-wise were a pair of massively overpowered Emotiva Differential Reference monoblocks (650W@8 Ohms, 1000W@4) and another pair of Nelson Pass designed Amp Camp Amps (15W@8).

• With the Emotivas, the old La Scalas sounded awful, like the camp PA horns on the show M*A*S*H.
• With the lower power but ‘sweeter’ sounding ACA amps, still solid state, they sounded much better.

Then I picked up a pair of 1950s Quad II amps lovingly refurbished by an actual Zen-practitioner electrical engineer in Colorado. Also 15W@8, but all tube, gorgeous KT66 push-pull Class-A sound. What a difference! Like, I just plopped down on my bed and listened. Couldn’t stop for hours. It was just the most transparent, effortless, zero-fatigue, realistic sound.

Like Nelson Pass is so famously quoted, “It’s the first Watt that matters. All the other Watts that come later don’t mean a thing if the first one isn’t perfect.” I think that’s especially true with high sensitivity horn speakers. They reveal very small differences in amp topology like gain staging and feedback issues that less sensitive speakers mask.

Anyway, I wonder if your negative experience with modern Klipsch could be chalked up to that. They’ll pry these old Quad II amps from my cold, dead hands!

@engineears 

No, amplifier pairing is not remotely the issue. I probably tried at least a dozen amps of all manner of topologies (A/AB, PPtube, D, SETs, separates, integrateds) on my Heresy 3s. Certainly some sounded better than others but none removed the speakers’ inherent weaknesses. I heard the AL6 LaScalas on both some expensive VAC separates and some Rotel Michi. They sounded pretty bad in both scenarios. Even in many YT recordings of these models their faults are glaring.

Anyway, there are wholly better options for less money is my main point, especially if willing to go DIY. 

As mentioned earleir,  big horns need a active crossover/processor, dsp. It is impossible to design such horn speakers without one. A concentric driver design, tannoys and such can get away without active crossovers/dsp, but, a horn just can’t get there without it for a high fidelity application. I just got my hands on a Accuphase DF65. It is also the dac in the horn chain, i.e., no adc, i come into it digital --> triamp.... Omg... the resolution, detail, clarity, separation...it beat out all the magicos and the cadillac boressens and whatever i heard. 

Such is the possibility with high efficiency horns if executed correctly. On the same note, i use horns designed by TAD. But, Klipsch has some potential. You’d have to add a lot more cabinet bracing to address their lazy cabinet, no-rez, etc. and go into it active with peq. 

The big horn, flea watt tube because the horn was soo sensitive , passive crossover archaic crap comes from a time when these guys just didn’t know any better....Or what a severely gimped horn could do was still good enough, beat out some other crappy speaker designs out there. The pros have always known about this, but, for hifi, it may cost a little more for something like an accuphase processor.

@helomech  wrote

No, amplifier pairing is not remotely the issue. I probably tried at least a dozen amps of all manner of topologies (A/AB, PPtube, D, SETs, separates, integrateds) on my Heresy 3s. Certainly some sounded better than others but none removed the speakers’ inherent weaknesses. I heard the AL6 LaScalas on both some expensive VAC separates and some Rotel Michi. They sounded pretty bad in both scenarios. Even in many YT recordings of these models their faults are glaring.

Anyway, there are wholly better options for less money is my main point, especially if willing to go DIY. 

@helomech might I ask what speakers you listen to in your main rig? I have likely heard them, or another model from the manufacturer. I grew up around live, unamplified music. When you are near a trumpet player, there is a forwardness/sharpness/dynamic that is present. Nothing in home audio can compare (recordings are an immediate bottleneck with this). Also, keep in mind, the differences with each of our hearing/brain breakdown. I have certain "expectations" of a system. My Lascalas meet my wants, needs and desires. I have been modding for many years and I disagree with needing to bi-amp / tri-amp Lascalas / Khorns. BTW the LS is a horn loaded speaker, so no loose foam / material in use.

Sure, you disagree, a.k.a know more about horn designs than the klipsch principal engineer Roy Delgado, ElectroVoices' Mike o neill, the tad guys, the Meyer Sound guys, etc...you know more than all of them, wow

. I have been modding for many years and I disagree with needing to bi-amp / tri-amp Lascalas / Khorns