The good name of Paul W. Klipsch and all that he stood for. The supposed lineage with designs like Klipschorn and LaScala. The ability to satisfy barbarians with cool rock and roll sound... dude. They make a pretty fair end table; just the right height for a reading lamp. Sorry. I brought up that reading thing. Still, you could use the lamp to look at comic books while rocking out... dude.

The prostitution of that good name by some nare-do-well cousin Klipsch who clearly has no soul. Turns the sound from finely crafted instruments into distorted shadows of their former selves... or is that a strength...whatever.

Sorry. Didn't realize this was a forum. Thought it was a repository for reviews. But since you opened the door, Dragon1952, allow me to respond: I thought it was obvious that I was using the bass guitar as a poor man's signal generator but aparently not. I was not attempting to use the KG4 as a "bass rig". Nor would I use 4 10" drivers, 8 10" drivers or a hundred 10" drivers in some undersized sealed or badly ported enclosure so popular these days (you must be a musician). You take exception to the test setup and indeed some of the bits are dubious (the Nady tube preamp and Digitech Processor come to mind) but a vintage Crown power amp not up to the Klipsch standards? I also tried my GAS Son of Ampzilla, a highly regarded design that may still not meet your exacting standards. Clearly your engineering prowess is a force to be reconed with. What of the obvious cabinet resonance, oh great Dragon of Philistine? What of the acoustical unloading below 50 hz? What of the gross distortion and wild frequency response? So the KG4 is a great rock-and-roll speaker. What does that mean? It's limitations are masked by weak material? I listened to a pair of B&W 801s the other day and it's a funny thing; sounds good with any material. My 35 year old ARs are at least accurate. Vladamir Horowitz sounds like he's playing a Steinway on the ARs but might as well be a Fender Rhodes on the KG4s. Last time I checked a fair number of Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country, Zydeco and Salsa bands are using bass guitars, some even favoring the five string variety with a B string on the bottom. Personally, I like all the strings, not just the three upper ones you favor.. . and I'm looking in the right margin as I write this and realize you forgot to check your profanity at the door. Tut, tut.

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Closest performance equivilant: the factory speakers in my '88 Toyota truck.

Great bass...can be a little boomy with improper setup. Great rock and roll speaker! Very efficient speaker that is easy to power. Great looks. Great midrange and good highs. A real bargain at the price. Excellent with tube gear.

Horn loaded tweeter can be harsh at times or at really loud volumes. Can be tamed with tube gear. Not a real refined speaker and imaging and sounstage not up there with high end speakers but at this price what do you expect.

First I'd like to say that the dude that hooked these up to a shiity Crown pro amp and tried to play his bass through them is an absolute moron. Get a 4x10 or 8x10 cab and a decent amp you freakin' idiot!
Anyway, I am moving soon and was looking for something to replace my Vandy 2Ce signatures until the move was completed (kinda like the other reviewer...what a coincedence!). I used to have a pair of KG 5.2's which I sold during my quest for audio nirvana. Now that I have tube gear I always wondered what the Klipsch would have sounded like. I found these on Craigslist and I must say these are real rockers for sure. A great rock and roll speaker, which can't really be said for some high end speakers (like the Vandy's for example). I tell you, those Vandy's are not $1400 better than these by any means. The Klipsch are certainly not as refined, and may not be the greatest for critical listening, but they are capable replacements and are really fun to listen to in a more casual setting. Led Zep's 'When the Levee Breaks' kicked butt bigtime like the Vandy's couldn't quite do with this type of music, but Larry Carlton's 'Sapphire Blue' sounded really sweet as well. These may stay awhile.
I might add that I hope these people that disliked them experimented with room placement and setup. I was disappointed in them at first try but after messing with positioning I finally found the spot. I think it helps to angle them upward slightly (or get stands like one reviewer suggested). I just put a one inch piece of wood under the front of the base. If you can find these in good shape for $250 and under they're a great deal and you probably won't lose money on them.

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Vandersteen 2Ce sigs (not really similar), Paradigm Studio 40's, Klipsch KG5.2's, Bose 901's (ughh), Polk Audio LS50's.

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Performance

I was pretty excited at the prospect of getting these home and finally owning a pair of Klipsch after admiring from afar for thirty years. I could have waited another thirty. There is no bass output below about 50 hertz. Lots of mid-bass but don't look for the E string on a bass guitar. It's not there. There was an annoying buzzing in one speaker which I figured was a blown driver. removed the top 8" driver in one cabinet to find that the wood screws thread directly into the particle board; no pesky T-nuts here. The upside is that re-installing the driver and tightening all the wood screws stopped the buzzing. That is, unless you count the considerable box resonance as low frequency buzzing. OK, that all squared away, I plugged my bass guitar into a Digitech BP50, a Nady TPA-3 preamp, CM Labs preamp, Crown PS-400 power amp and finally the KG4s. Screws tightened and books stacked on speakers, no E string. Kick in the equalizer on the BP50 and same result. Apparently, the Active/Passive Radiator nonsense completely unloads accoustically below the cutoff frequency. Hold on, lets get realistic: for a small, high efficiency system, the response is acceptable. Of couse it's not that efficient at something like 91 dB at 2.83 volts. Remember, that's at 4 ohms which is like cheating 3 dB compared to 8 ohms. Something nice to say... hmmm... the midrange horn is not bad and I think I can stiffen-up the cabinet with some internal bracing and two days in the garage. Then at least they would be suitable for my ten year old son to blast Tool at high SPLs. Paul W. Klipsch is spinning in his grave.

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AR LST-2 and Home Builts

Superb with valve amps

Could benefit from a ribbon super tweeter in addition to the soft dome horn loaded tweeter.Shows up the weaknesses of poor systems and transistor amps.

If you own a valve amp you need to give these a try.They are not perfect but are an affordable insight into the magical synergy between valves and efficient speakers.They are infinitely better than things like Lowthers and Fostex in back loaded horns.Better balanced,better tonally,superb bass,can convey emotion better and non fatigueing.Imaging is not as precise as point source but still very good and no peculiar phaseing like back loaded horns. These absolutely need to go on open framed stands to sound good though.On the floor they sound very ordinary.The skirt on the bottom should be removed to facilitate this. Rewiring with solid core copper [eg Axon 2 or 4] also improves smoothness of sound and ALWAYS use solid core speaker cable.

Look good.

Don't sound so good.

After reading all of the other reviews, I decided to give the KG 4's a try, as I felt that my Cerwin Vega VS 150's were a little short on the high end. Figuring that they would be pushed with either a Fisher X202C or a Sansui 1000A, this should be about the perfect setup for these Klipsch's. I was like a kid in a candy store when they arrived, hooked 'em up, played them for about an hour, then pushed them in a corner & started listening to my CV's. The high end was no better than the CV's, only harsher. There was no midrange, & the bass was weak & undefined as well. I realize that Cerwin Vega is considered to be even cruder that Bose, but mine mopped the floor with the Klipch's asses. I can only imagine who harsh they would sound with an SS amp.

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Cerwin Vega, Bose, AR, Altec, Kenwood

sweet highs and great depth. Klipsch had it right with these.

as they say stopped makin them

Have the KG4's powered with a Rotel pre and Bryston 4B . The horn sound is so clear. Bass is fantastic and the passive gives the sound added depth.Have had thes for about 16 yrs and just purchased a second set. powered them with a hafler 500 . Unbelievable sound with the two pairs. Get a chance buy them.

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polk ,vifa, bose, heresey Jbl . Thes top them all

Good bass reproduction , classic Klipsch horn definition , beautiful oak cabs , awesome for rock, metal , jazz in a small package

Rubber surrounds crack on the 8" drivers after time , thats all folks!

Klipsch KG 4's are a super choice for Rock , Jazz , and even Hip Hop / Rap. Definition is excellent in all aspects of performance. Horns can be a little loud in small rooms at higher output levels but a little foam can quiet these down and still retain their clarity.Dual 8" drivers are very tight and punchy , percise and work super with the passive in the rear.I would buy and am looking to buy another pair in excellent /like new condition. A++++++ SPEAKER NO COMPETITION IN ITS PRICE CLASS!!

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BOZAK , FORTE' II

Extraordinary lows - if they don't drop to 20Hz, I'll eat my hat.

Can't keep anything on top of them - my wife's precious little figurines just vibrate right off - oops!

Can you say thump, boys and girls. These have been part of my family for 14 years now and I just had to write and brag them up - they've earned it. Abused? No. Pounded? Every chance I get and they just keep coming back for more. And by far one of the most efficient speakers I've used.

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Don't make me laugh.

Nice sound, handles power well. These lend themselves to jazz and rock very well- clean, crisp highs and deep lows. Reasonably sized for a living room.

Lacks the warmth of the Forte, but is half the price.

Purchased a pair of the KG 4's from a guy in my office to replace a tired old set of Marantz Imperial 7's. WOW. What an idiot I was- I should have a set of Klipsch's 15 years ago. I didn't realize what I missed. These babies just flat rock. Any jazz instrumentals are nothing short of awesome. This is a great sounding speaker at an unbelieveabkle price. I see these sold on EBAY for under $300 all the time. You can't touch this kind of sound and quality for that. Never satisfied, I did a little research and bought a used great condition set of original Forte's. The Forte does a little better with vocals, but is very large and twice the price. I still think the KG's are a great value, if you can find them in nice condition, buy them. These are terrific.

play loud, if you don't boost bass

only the sound. it sucks

I sold mine for 50 bucks, they were in perfect condition. I could not wait to get rid of them, they sound like crap. I love my Klipsch RF-3s

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Replaced them with Polk S4 book shelfs and a sub, the S-4 sounded 5000 % better!