klipschorns & cornwalls/ alk crossovers

hello jax2, i took your last advice & concentrated on the xovers,i couldnt see any thing wrong then i remembered that i had a old hammered pair of cornwall cabinets in the basement with the xovers still intact,i swapped the xovers & there was a HUGE improvement in all areas espically the mids,i run my system in quad with the cornwalls & khorns all powered by mac ss amps & i couldnt figure out why the khorns sounded so much better in the a b test,now i know,i think that the crossovers in most cornwalls may be part of why they get a bad rap from alot of others due to factory placement of the xovers i think they may take a beating from the music,i also built a little shelf in the cabs & installed the xovers on a isolation mat to keep them flat,i toiled with this for a long time & thank god its fixed now i can pull the rest of my hair out thinkin about other stuff,thanks again.

mike.

Ok as someone who's sold Klipsch over the years, owned the entry level stuff I've tinkered with, and heard some of the older Khorn stuff, I have some quesions/comments...
...first, what's the deal with "improved crossovers" for Klipsch speakers? I've heard a few posts over the years commenting on Klipsch "crossover upgrades", and what an improvment that makes. But I'm not certain on models/applications, etc. Can anyone comment?
Also, where do you get these "mod's?"
My experience with the Klipsch speakers has been one of frustration more than anything. I mean I love the pressence and sensitivity/dynamics a horn can offer. But I just have thought that most Klipsch speakers where a bit warm, plain, or sometimes harsh sounding with the older speakers. Yes, they need tubes, indeed. Infact, I tinkered around with some little Klispch SB1's/2's last year, and got some pretty good restults for what there were!!!!...very nice with tubes indeed.
Still, what with the more expensive/bigger dudes? Anything to consider with upgrades?
Thx

exertfluffer you are correct,i own just about all the heratige line & i too get very frustrated with them,i tried them with tubes & found the best results for me with mcintosh solid state,IMO most klipsch are very placement & setup sensitive maybee a little more than most other brands but when you do FINALLY get them dialed in there is nothing like a good set of horns,i do belive i finally got my cornwalls dialed in & from what im hearin now with them & the khorns im super happy.

Exertfluffer - You can find more information about AlK crossovers for several of the Klipsch Heritage speakers which were designed by Paul here. You can also read a review of them by one reviewer on EnjoytheMusic site here. I personally did not care for them on my LaScalas in my room, but YMMV, and there are plenty of folks who love theirs. My very biased and strong opinion about the Klipsch gear being produced by the company today is that it doesn't hold a candle to the gear designed by Paul (they are still producting both the LaScala and Khorn but IMO with lesser parts and quality control in production than those of the vintage build - still those designs are certainly worth consideration though I'd go for vintage before buying new). Labor and parts are currently being outsourced all over the world. I ordered a replacement passive woofer for a pair of Forte's I owned a while back and the replacement was horribly constructed with very sloppy glue application and no gasket. It was assembled in Mexico. I phoned to complain and after several calls got someone to agree to take it back at my shipping expense. The replacement they sent was not much better. Their current product line (with the exception of Pauls designs) is more in the mass-market category as opposed to high-end. Stick to the vintage stuff designed by Paul and built in the 70's and 80's.

Hey Bigjoe - glad you figured out the problem and it was a simple one! Enjoy the speakers!

Best,

Marco