I bought a pair of KG 5.2's about five years ago. It sounded very good to my ears at the time. However, when I tested them against some (higher priced) Thiel speaker, I knew that they were passé. Since I hadn't got the money for the Thiel's, I opened the speaker (warranty void, of course) and found out that there's just open air inside the box. Nothing to add extra stiffness to the box!! The filter was dimensioned with very tiny cables and poor quality parts!!
The solution to get the speaker to perform well was sand in the bottom of the box (3 liters/spkr with a thin wooden protection to hold it in place) and better filter parts. I spent 5 hours of work and $250 on high quality filter parts and cables.

The reduced volume makes the speaker's lower frequency limit a little higher, but the weight from the sand and the better filter parts makes the total result a tighter, deeper bass sound!!

Thanks to the MIT MultiCap capacitors the higher frequencies were more clear and "alive". The CFAC inductors, with their low loss made the bass notes more clear (before this modification, I couldn't distinguish a bass' string from a bassdrum, but now I can).

Having paid $1250 in total, this speaker plays better than any existing speaker within this price range. I give this modified speaker 5 stars (taking its price into account).

I purchased the Klipsch Kg 4.2s about 4 1/2 years ago and I have never looked back. I was impressed with them in the store and even more impressed with them when I got them home. They are the first horn-loaded speaker system that I had heard that did not have that nasal horn sound. The blend between the horn and the cone woffer gives no clue as to the differing nature of the two. They have extremely good bass response especially when coupled with an amplifier that has a high damping factor. There is truly no better speaker for the price.

I've owned the Klipsch KG 4.5s for about a year now teamed up with a matching Klipsch center channel speaker. I compared the Klipsch to Paradigm line and found that the 4.5 was "quicker", more dynamic, and played louder. I believe that the quickness has to do with the horn going down to around 1600Hz. This makes the "attack" faster. A kick-drum, for example, includes a higher frequency attack that the Paradigm's could just not duplicate.
The speakers really don't NEED a subwoofer. They play loud down to around 36Hz (measured in my media room). I've been trying different subs but many have a hard time keeping up with the volume level that the Klipsch's can output. I have, however, just added a Hsu TN1225HO sub and it has no problem keeping up. The combination is amazing! The system can easily output 110db+ without even trying (as measured). My media room has a cement floor and the walls are cement half way up. To get the floor to shake requires a LOT of power. BTW, the floor shakes.

Some may say that horn speakers don't have much fidelity. Well, first off, that was true 25 years ago, but not anymore. Also, considering that all THX theaters, all concerts, and most studios have speakers with horns should tell you something. For someone who listens mostly to home theater and modern music, Klipsch horns are the speakers to get. If you listen to only classical music and no video, then get something else.

Highly efficient, Beautiful veneer finish, suprisingly tolerable at low volume.

Sound stage is a bit too upfront for pure vocal music.

It goes without saying that these are a true bargain. I picked them up for a steal off of ebay at $280 for the pair. I am disappointed to some degree that in moving from the 4.2s to the 4.5s Klipsch decided to abandon the passive radiatior for a ported format. This increased the overall size of the speaker which I don't care for. However, I feel that they are now more efficient which is a plus if you are suffering from an amplifier defficiency. Overall I feel that they cannot be beaten in their respective price range.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch KG 4.2, Polk 5 JR+