Need I say it again--------------It's the BEST!!!!!

Only if your a fool do you need to look here!

It's been 6 years now and I think its time to speak up and tell the truth. First off let me say I'm 52 (retired) and been searching for the right sound for 38 years now. I'd have to describe myself as a hard to satisfy nut, Mathematical genius with a scientific desire to create the ultimate (the best sound there is). I currently own 98 speakers, to mention a few Definitve TechnolgyBP3000TL ( best home theater speaker I've ever heard, bar none---absolutely none!) Def Tech Pro400, Infinity Il60, Il50,(nice) Klipsch (Lascalla, sp1, klf-30,rp-5,rp-3) some classic old stuff, pioneer hpm-100, bose 901 series 2, every Sansui speaker I can think of including the best in my opinion SP-5500(This is one great speaker) , Cerwin Vega, Velodyne, MB quarts and many others. That being said, none, (not even close- I HOPE YOU HEAR ME!!!!! , not even close !!!!!!, I can't emphisise this enough!!!!!) I mean none can even come remotely close to the Klipschorn when it comes to listening to (MUSIC,MUSIC , MUSIC!!!!!). Of coarse you need to have some common sense when setting these up. They will not optimize in a tiny room.(under 12' dimensions.) But even in my bedroom which is only 16x20 they are the best of any thing I've tried. My main listening area is 24x30 and nothing handles (nothing...) like these. One listen to the Doors and you'll hear what Morrison really sounds like.(none of the others can do hIm justice) Try playing Johnny Cash's deep voice on any other speaker and then see what the K-horn does with it and you'll never want to listen to any other speaker again(forget about it!). BONUS..........Try taking your speakers outside for a party and you'll see they are inferior- FOR SURE! - absolutely---- inferior!, take k-horns outside and people think you have a live band at your house! (Not even a contest, you'd need 20 of yours to sounnnnnnnnnnd like my K-horns! I'm currently listening to the Doors at 10 watts peak in my living room and you can't imagine how fantastic it sounds! (huge understatement, unbelievable!!) Is Jim here, I don't know, but I think he could be!
In summury, yea everyone knows they play loud, that's a given, thats not my point, they sound Real! ------that's my point.(REAL, REAL, REAL!!!! I mean,what it's all about (REAL), nothing else I've tried can do IT! (nothing else) If you pick up a pair and you don 't like them, maybe I could take them off your hands, look me up.

Similar Products Used:

Thousands of speakers! I've been around.

they rock with very low power.

hard to move

These speakers are the only ones i've ever heard where the sound doesn't seem like it's coming from a box. I listen to all kinds of music and believe me, they sound just like the soundstage. I'm only driving these with a 70 watt class a amplifiier and theywill make the walls jump with no distorition. I've had these for about 21 years now and will be buried in them when I die.

Similar Products Used:

all other surround speakers are klipsch.
Sumo 9 amp

See above

None except size and weight. King Kong could move them easily.

Classical Music through the Klipschorn sounds more like real orchestral music than through any other speaker I have heard. Very clean and dynamic. There is more "there" there. I have the 1982 models, but just purchased the 2002 (and beyond) update. It will be installed in about a month, one channel at a time, so I can make a careful comparison. I'll let you know the results.

Similar Products Used:

Belle Klipsch
Heresy IIs
Various JBL, ADC, B & W 801 F

> high efficiency, blooming sound with 0.5W > accurate and smooth phenolic mid/highs drivers, no harshness as some titanium drivers give > can either display the delicacy and accuracy of a falling droplet or the thunder of a storm > great AK-4 network > distortion close to none > superb mid & highs driven by a SET 300B amp > handsome though huge piece of furniture > does not clutter your living-room since it has to be set in a corner > positive WAF test (wife acceptance factor)

none so far

Hi, It sure takes a while to get KHorns ...but it's truly worth the quest 1/ you've got to meet them : that's not as simple, I mean find them is not that easy at the first place - at least around here - , then you need to really meet the magic, which implies listening in good conditions with a relevant reseller who actually knows what beautyfully balanced high efficiency speakers may actually achieve when it comes to musical bliss. As an old timer (53) in the hi-fi addiction, this happened for me 25 years ago, when I could listen to those Ladies in a Hi-Fidelity Show, through excellent display in vast room (220 cubic meters) and valve Audio research amplification. 2/ I've listened to a lot of high-end stuff since 1978, but PWK's Khorns are different... I didn't only listened to them : I did meet the Khorns...so, since that day, I had a quest going on : find the house with the suitable room, find the money by long-run savings, find the appropriate affordable 300B SET amp, then try to get a pair of Klipschorns. 3/ As you may notice, it's kinda quest for the holy grail so far : takes a lot of time, patience, money, energy to convince the significant others, some "courage" to cope with never-ending dogmatism from some so-called "audiophiles"....who decided that high efficiency horns can't be anything but harsh stuff. this part of the story was 23 years long as far as I am concerned. 4/ Then, if you live in France, you will need to stand on the stubborn side, because you won another two years bonus : negociation is a must to get the retail price from 14950 euros (approximately $17590) down to 11590 euros (that's about $13640)...that means - lows & highs, hope & despair - for a Khorn lover. Now , two years later, you have a deal. Next move : just give away $5000 of hard-earned/saved bucks for down payment, then wait 9 to 10 months for delivery... 5/ Finally, quarter of century after the shock, you are almost there : you have the 30' x 21' x 10' room, solid massively built corners and floor, you feel the heat of your 4x 300B SET waiting for the PWK ladies in oak dress, your local hi-fi reseller & friend is here too and having you on, since he just can't believe those would make the best sound on earth, used as he is to sell small expensive jewelry i.e. variety of small very expensive low efficiency boxes. 6/ you've dreamed so often: the moment you at last touch them, open the huge four parcels, turn the bass-section parcels upside down to get them out with care, try to calm down to properly install the rubber seal on the tailboard, get the camera for pictures (unfortunately it's not digital one) etc.... 7/ Breaking-in will take some time, still , straight out from the box (and thanks to the new AK-4 driver network and the 300B valve amp too), here's the shock again, 25 years after the first one : classical, lyrics, jazz at the pawnshop , then rolling stones' "love you live" : it's all there, huge yet accurate, delicacy or nuke whatever is required by the artist...Still, by now not even half-way to the top of their range, top which these Ladies will reach, after long breaking in and taking into account future regular source improvement . No limit, a life's keeper, only the level of the stuff you throw at them will hold them back. 8/ Bliss, pure bliss, as only the music gives, pure bliss as children's innocence . It took only a few minutes to get my skeptical reseller & friend, B. in a jaw-dropping configuration, asking me to already consider a date (when the speakers' breaking-in will be well in progress) in order for him to test his faithful high-end ACCUPHASE DP-85 CD/SACD player !!. Suddenly his current reference speaker $12000 "PE LEON Nobilis" seems to him sound like crap ! Then comes in the significant other and the WAF test : " it's a pretty handsome piece of furniture" she says, "I'm glad you chose the medium oak, really nice finish, and ...uumm...the piano sounded really as the real thing. 9/ You know what ? as would say Droopy in cartoons : as the music has magic and makes people feel happy, those LadyHorns have soul, they not only make music, they make ppl feel good & friendly, as B. and significant others felt Making a long story short : It was a long way (quest?) , the ticket pretty hard to swallow at $13000, but there's one thing I can tell for sure - imho - to anyone intending to buy the brand new KHorns : they more than deserve all the years/months/weeks/ worries & wait, also are easily worth to the last cent I spent ...So go out in the whole galaxy and get them, don't save yourself the trouble of patient tracking if necessary , and remember this : while paying a BMW 530's price is not easy, it's a bargain here since what you really get for those bucks is in fact a 600bhp MacLaren-BMW. Anybody owning Khorns will know what I mean [;)] Regards

My arms after lifting them. Everything.

Nil

I bought a pair of the Khorns (unheard)on the strength of the reviews I read on this site.. Risky business! Upon arrival at my house I found them to be late 70's models with mis-matched tweeters and squakers.. I just about freaked out. Further investigation yielded more worries... Dodgy looking home-made crossovers and very rotten old cheap cabling. After a mild heart attack I moved them into my listening room and connected them to my little 2WPC SET amp. I could not believe what I was hearing! The mismatched drivers were sonically identical, the rotten cables carried a signal and that signal was AMAZING! Suddenly I had bands and singers in the room! The performance of these ancient old boxes can be likened to those of the best systems I have heard - Avante Guarde an RL Acoustic Lamhorns with PM7 Lowther drivers.. All the presence of the Uno's and nearly all the delicacy of the Lowther with more tight and wonderfull bass than either could muster. All this from hopeless cabling and what look to be fairly hopeless crossovers. Throw into the mix an RCA cable I whipped up due to my usuall one going faulty! The old copper cabling has noticibly 'woolied up' the upper/mid bass. Otherwise the sound is reasonably well ballanced. I intend to replace the crossovers soon and cables will be switched to silver ASAP too. On the music front, I would have to agree with everyone else and say forget about poor quality recordings, these speakers are RUTHLESS. Even some of my Telarc CD's that I had thought were wonderful now leave me wanting - notibly Jaques Lousier Plays Bach. Norah Jones was in the room. Pinpoint imaging and detail that had me shaking my head. Her piano-accompany reached out into the room and sounded like I was listening to my little sis play at mum and dad's. Beat that. Just about all my Putamayo CD's sound woulderfully lively - and live. Track 9 on their New Orleans compilation has two wonderful clarinet solos and a drum solo also. The drums, man, the drums! Wow. crystal clear, all the dynamics and a delivery to move your insides. Piano and guitar are two instruments that I'm always critical of in stereo systems.. I've had a great deal of live experience with both. The Klipschorn is the only speaker that I have heard that has left me wondering if I am indeed listening to a speaker or the very instrument! That is REAL hi-fi folks. I've heard it said that the Khorns are no good for electronic music. Bollox. Everything I threw at them sounded astonishing. Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Dance, Trance, you name it, these speakers sound huge, present, ballanced and invonving. Transient info whirls around the room! The little 2-watt SET amps limits volumes to only-just-rediculous levels, and certainly prefers to work with some headroom, but on the whole is more than acceptable all-round - even on hard-rock tracks like those from Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland album - a wee bit more impact wouldnt go astray though. Fortunately, I don't listen to that sort of thing often. In summation.. I love Lowther drivers, they have a delicacy and subtelty unrivaled by most BUT you can't play everything on a Lowther speaker AND you need a sub. The AG Uno's are cool, at a cool price, and need at least a good 300b system. I have no pre-amp, use the variable-out on an eight year old cd player design (Sony XA7 - brilliant) and I have 2 useable watts per side. Running the Khorns unmodded and in need of TLC, I now have a system that EASILY rivals my friend's $25,000 USD system. I have spent $3000 USD. No joke. Buy some Klipschorns if you have the room. Period.

Similar Products Used:

Just about all mainstream hifi brands.. B&W, Martin Logan, Magnepan, Tannoy, JBL, Athena, RL Acoustics, Avante Guarde, Lowther.... Mission, SSM9 Sonys..

incredible sound, great looking too

yeah right

What can you say that hasn't been said. I worked in the hi end audio business for about 15 yrs, have heard and owned LOTS of gear. I have owned mine for about 10 yrs and simply Love them. I have used them with both tube and solid state with great results. Clear,dynamic,big full sound and musical. I Purchased these directly from Klipsch as we were a dealer, and they are signed by the man himself (PWK)...most audiophiles spend their lives tweaking and futzing with their equipment..why ?? because it doesn't sound good thats why..me I just fire my Khorns up and smile...everytime. Genius is a word that rarely applies...it fits Mr. Klipsch to a tee....front them with a good source and a nifty tube int amp and you are smoking.

Similar Products Used:

linn.naim,vtl,arc,mcintosh.marantz 8b,dynaco st70,radiiset,goldmund etc

High sensitivity for inexpensive digital amps Huge bass response and incredible dynamics Tiny footprint when put in corners Very friendly to small children who like to knock things over

Heavy beasts that stay when placed.

Ever since I first heard the Klipschorn at Listen Up in Denver in 1978, I knew I'd always want a pair. More than twenty years later, I saw a pair nearby on Ebay for a Buy-It-Now price of $1000. The year (1976) was a very good vintage (with Alnico magnets), although the "C" style (no neck between the HF and LF sections) took a little while to grow on me. It's actually now my preference since it appears to be a cleaner design, and it sits a few inches lower than the "B" style. The speakers were originally raw birch, and were painted somewhere along the way. The edge veneer was all dried out and chipping. The grills were worn through in places. In other words, they were rough, but they were in otherwise fine condition. For the next few months, after breaking them down (the tops come off easily, and the top's side panels are easily disassembled), I stripped off the old paint, sanded them out, cut off the old grills and replaced with new ones (ordered the material from Klipsch, then cut to size and stapled back in place). I then conditioned the birch (to keep the new stain from bleeding), and I also reveneered the edges with pre-glued, iron-on veneer (1" wide). I then stained them along with the rest of the speaker. I applied three coats of mahogany stain, then applied put three coats of satin poly. I then reassembled and added a little "kick" trim at the bottom of the speaker to protect it from wayward vacuum cleaners. Total cost: $35 plus elbow grease. The AA crossover from 1976 needed to be updated, so I contacted Al Klappenberger of ALK Engineering down in Maryland, and he built a set of new crossovers (www. alkeng.com) that do a great job of leveling the impedance that the amp see, as well as offering different taps for attenuating the squawker (midrange horn). The improvement in sound was not subtle, and since I am driving these with tiny 3W SET 2A3 tube amps, the impedance swings would otherwise wreak havoc. As others have stated, one needs a good pair of corners sharing the long wall of the room. Short wall listening is okay, but not optimal. Some weather stripping (with the one side that's tacky) on the tail board and the bottom of the HF section will seal up the last stage of the exponential folded bass horn (which uses the walls). Failure to do this will result in a few lost db of bass response. Because these speakers are so sensitive (104db/watt/meter), having a clean "first watt" from your amplifier is crucial. Solid state amps with high power and low THD figures may not do well, because these amps THD figures are measured at the RATED OUTPUT. Trust me, you couldn't be in the same neighborhood when these are getting Led Zeppelin at 100W continuous (but clean) power. Normal 90db listen levels are usually accomplished at 0.5 - 0.75W of power. One fun demonstration of this fact is to go grab one of the inexpensive TriPath digital amps (Sonic Impact, Teac, etc.) that sell on Amazon for $25 to $95) and run a good source into it (a nice CDP will do very well). These digital amps are very clean, distortion-wise, up to about 5W before they start to get noisy. The sound will blow you away and wonder why loons like me have five grand invested in beautiful tube gear. But because the Klipschorn is so sensitive, you really can grind out some serious music with these monsters; few speakers can accomplish this. I should add that while the Klipschorn is a huge speaker when standing in the middle of the room, they almost disappear when snuggled into corners. This might be a slight exaggeration, but not too much. They intrude on a room less than most speakers half their size (like the Klipsch Cornwall, Belle or LaScala). My wife wanted to divorce me when she first saw them free-standing, but later thought they were "cute" after being installed. These speakers have a surprisingly high WAF (wife acceptance factor) once "in situ". If I had to, I'd buy a pair of Klipschorns new anyday. But for the price they can be had everyday on Ebay ($1000 - $2750), and given the build quality of the older models (1970's in particular), they are amazing, amazing values if you've got the right room and amplification. Give them a try. You almost certainly won't regret it!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Belle, Klipsch Cornwall

Clarity Low distortion Concert/Stage length & depth Reality & truth to the recording

Build Quality

Just thought I would post my story on a pair of KHORNS. Simply stated they are probably the 'biggest bang for your buck' on our planet; for at least 50 years.Certainly there are other speakers that would surpass the KHORN but you would need to rob a bank to own them. With their new AK4 crossover and some tweaking to the drivers, they have become a non fatiguing front row seat to the concert of your choice. The build quality is not what it used to be but you overlook this for the sheer enjoyment these speakers present. Not for the faint hearted (they are big & bold)and certainly room dimensions and acoustics play a BIG part in their performance. You can still have a medium size room to listen to these beasts but be prepared to spend some time on room treatments. You must have 2 corners without interruption.I was at first disappointed with them but after spending time on my room and letting the KHORNS slowly break-in, I became awestruck plus goosebumps. They never cease to amaze me. I listen to all types of music from heavy rock and rap to soaring sopranos. These speakers will give it up, from a mosquitto grinding its teeth to the roar of an elephant, in a split second. They will also shock as they are capable of reaching loud yet clean highs with little distortion all from a few watts! Also make sure that the rest of your system is clean and up to scratch, if it isn't the KHORNS will let you know.

Similar Products Used:

Mirage OM6 Klipsch Forte II Klipsch La Scala Focal etc etc

Best kick but sound available

not that favorable for string classical music

I bought the Classic Khorns as a graduation present to myself. I had scoured the best audio shops in Toronto for years for all the Top of the line Equiptment. I had read alot of reviews and in my mid 20's I was a member of a concert club and had seen alot of Rock Concerts. There is noting like reproducing the sound of life rock concert at home, and the Khorns are the answer. As with other reviews, placement and room size is critical. The room must be large with a high ceiling to "air them out", I have had neighbors a few miles away call in with requests at my waterfront cottage, knocked pictures off the wall at the cottage next door. All with incredible low distortion. As I have aged and my tastes have soffened, I have heard better sound systems, with acurracy and clarity at a very high price. But for a pure gutteral experience from a single pair of speakers, there is no experience like the Khorn. I no longer have a room big enough for them and have them in storage in the basement. I had them listed on ebay for $750.00 and no-one jumped. After reading a few of these reviews I sure am glad. I will keep these timeless classics until the day I can build my next Khorn room. I am sure that I will add the the rest of the Klipsh home theater system to meet the present day requirements for a audiophile worthy system. Razz

slammin' bass super clean very sensitive; require little power high resale value great mids rugged

need specific room qualities to shine BIG! poor image depth

This review is coming from what is probably an unusual perspective, in that I just sold these speakers a couple of weeks ago. The sale was mainly for financial reasons, but I had come to be unhappy with the big horns performance, too. First off, let me say that the klipschorn is, in my opinion, just as many here have said: one of the best speakers in the world. But I would attach a few provisos to that statement. For one thing, they need a big room to really sing. I mean a BIG room. It does not have to be huge in square footage, but it does need to have mucho CUBIC footage! High ceilings are a big plus. Also, the dimensions of the room are critical to achieving the maximum performance these beasts are capable of, because the required corner placement will excite all room modes, for better or for worse. So if your room has favorable dimensions, you will get fantastic, powerful bass down below 40Hz. If the dimensions are bad, you will have very lumpy, uneven bass response, period. Another point to consider, which also relates to their corner placement, is that imaging depth is very limited. This may be effected by the partnering electronics, but generally, anytime you put a loudspeaker near a wall or corner, image depth will be compromised. This is a performance parameter that some people seem pretty much indifferent to, while others are keenly atuned to it, and value it highly. Finally, klipschorns provide a "front-row, center" listening perspective. Again, some people love this, and some don't. But to get good "air" with k-horns, which requires sitting on or near the axis of the horns, you will have to be much closer to the plane of the speakers than you generally are with other speakers. And this creates that "front row, center" perspective. A related down-side of this is that images can sometimes sound bigger than life. Having laid all these potential drawbacks out, let me emphasize: The upside of these classics is HUGE! When the set-up is right, they can do things no other speaker can do: Super clean bass as loud as you can stand; Dynamics, both micro and macro, that define the state of the art; vanishingly low distortion; and transparent, natural midrange. And for the kicker, they can do it all without the need for high-power super amps. They are really bullet-proof, and the resale value is probably one of the best in the industry. Just be sure you can accomodate them, and you will be thrilled. Otherwise, you will be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 703's Amrita Reference Standards klipsch cornwalls ESS amt-1b's Bose 901 Series IV Advent "New Advent"