New-To-Me K-Horns In Da House!!!

musichal

poet emeritus
So, here's the way it happened. An AK member was considering possible purchase of a pair of oak Fortes from me but they had a bit of water damage, and for various reasons it is difficult for me to take and to send or post pics. The area was small and barely showed, but seeing it is much better for a prospective buyer than reading about it. I have a cabinet guy who does beautiful work who has been remodeling our kitchen and two baths. I decided to just have him repair the Fortes and still honor an already friendly price, being an intermittently nice guy.

So my cabinet guy shows up today to check out what he needed to pick up, but he loves my walnut Fortes, and he makes a barter offer for the oak speakers for a few odds and ends of work to finish our project - a few minor things. But, let's back up an hour. I spotted a pair of early-80s K-horns on CL at a pretty reasonable price. I called and spoke with the fellow, and we spoke the same audio language.

I had been saving for a pair of Cornwalls or Choruses, and the audio kitty was pretty healthy for I hadn't spotted any in the condition, and for the price I wanted. Klipschorns didn't enter my mind. Until today. I mentioned a dollar figure which he said was slightly less than his best price, which he named. I replied that I was suddenly getting serious about K-horns and he gladly agreed to hold that price for 24 hours.

Back to Mr. Cabinet. He makes his barter offer, and I counter with the suggestion that if we leave now and drive an hour twenty in his truck, his gas, and he loads the K-horns, then returns, unloads, assembles and connects them for me, then he can take the Fortes with him. I had decided that if he were too busy, I'd drop the K-horn idea. Interestingly, he'd never before seen, heard, or heard of corner-horns. His introduction to Klipsch was the Forte through me a few months ago. This guy is busy, and I didn't think he'd have or take the time, but he readily agreed.

So I called the seller back, and tonight was good for him

Christine thinks they are big and ugly, "Yeah? Well, so am I and you love me."

She'll get accustomed to them. The forgiveness vs permission thing definitely in action. I sent the AKer who'd expressed interest in the Fortes my apologies. Afraid he missed a good deal due to my own techtardation. The behemoths are in my family room, sounding like K-horns, which is a mighty fine thing, to my ear.

The seller finished them with rosewood stain, and they look okay. However, I will have my cabinet buddy refinish professionally. They are consecutively numbered.

Remember the camera/image-handling techtardiness I mentioned? I assure everyone that pics are certain to be delayed.

The walnut Fortes will go to the Master BR, which system gets a lot of use, too.

The seller's wife was ecstatic to move them out, the seller a bit sad.

I'M STOKED!!
 
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Congrats Hal,
Wanted a pair for a while. The 2 problems, space, which I could have dealt with. Lack of a corner (deal breaker) I understand the corner is part of the speaker. Let us know what you think and how they compare to the Cornwalls.
 
Now that story demonstrates how creative thinking can solve some big problems. Speakers for a lifetime. Congrats.
 
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Hope I didn't spoil anything. Those look nice. If those are the ones, the seller knowing Speaker Dave and saying he gives them his seal of approval, that is all you need. Oh and two corners to stuff the speaker into.

A professional cabinet redo on those and wow.
 
Yes, that is indeed them!! Blue Shadow comes through with pics of my speakers for all of us - great sleuthing job and taking the seven hours (musichal time estimate) to help out the less fortunate. Something about that sentence just ain't quite right, but I can't put my finger on it. Twelve hours after first seeing them, Christine says, "They are ugly, but I'm starting to get used to them." She's a gem.


Congrats Hal!

And kudos to your contractor for being a flexible guy.

Despite the gigantic sum we've paid him for the remodel, we have become friends. He stops by now and then to chat and listen to Klipsches. He was just as excited about the Fortes as I was/am about the bigguns. Kyle works alone and is meticulous with every step of a job - his prep time may be a bit long, but it by-god shows in the end. It was a fairly extensive remodel, with walls knocked down, custom cabinetry built, bamboo flooring installed (check out Cali brand out of LA, great price and quality), travertine in kitchen, tile work in baths, plumbing, some electrical and he did it all with us living in the middle of it, carefully using visqueen to keep dust contained, providing ventilation, and moving furniture around. Very patient guy, following my designs without having the need for detailed drawings, quick to understand and retain the minutia of information while only needing to write down a few of the many measurements. Great ability to visualize and think three-dimensionally. We worked well together, solving problems we foresaw, and speaking the same language of construction. That's why we became friends.

He loves music and bought a modest receiver from me a couple months ago that he'd been using with some JBL in-walls which a previous customer had traded him for patching and painting ceiling/walls(?) from which they came. He told me he just had them leaning against the wall in his garage office. So I explained to him the benefits of baffles for speakers, and convinced him that either installing in a wall or even a cabinet would make them sound better. He didn't have time. I told him he would get partial benefits from installing them in the stiffest cardboard boxes he could find. That is what he did, and was amazed at the improvement. He really wanted to buy the oak Fortes but has a young family to support.

You can better understand now his excitement in my upgrade leading to his. All in all, it was a great day, and the first time I'd been out of the house since my last doctor visit three months ago. RAM trucks have great lumbar support, I found, though we did have to take along a step-stool so that I could climb up into the seat (with assistance). When the seller saw me laboring up the hill that was his drive-way with my walker, I said, "He's Hal. He brought me along to load the speakers."

Yeah, surprise days are too few, it seems, but valued all the more because of it.


[Edit. I know some of you are wondering: 2.4K]
 
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Only thing I'd change is the shiny finish. I like satin so it sorta disappears, leaving only the grain and color.

Anyway, sounds like a great day!
 
Hey
Congrats on the bigguns. They look pretty nice. Any idea on their age?
I gotta ask how big is your room? (approximately)
The reason I ask is mine are wanting to come upstairs. I'm afraid there just isn't enough room to get the full use of them. Eric
 
Those K-Horns look gorgeous.

I agree, they do look pretty gorgeous in these pics.


Yep. But...

Only thing I'd change is the shiny finish. I like satin so it sorta disappears, leaving only the grain and color.

Anyway, sounds like a great day!

Good eye. These speakers look good across the room, but if the light catches at the right (wrong?) angle, then you begin to see various amateur mistakes. As someone who used to have a woodworking hobby, having built and finished many cabinets, I noticed prior to purchase that I would eventually want Kyle to refinish them. The use of gloss rather than satin clear-coat is all the more obvious on semi close-up inspection because the rookie not only brushed them, but he did so using a cheap nylon brush. Inevitably, there are a few bristles in the finish, which has rough spots along those black edges which are visually exacerbated by the high gloss.

The seller did a good job of sanding the rosewood-finished surfaces and applying the stain evenly. The black trim will require a bit more work, but the wood-tone areas just need the clearcoat corrected. Kyle will make it all look perfect. Obviously, it will take two or three times longer than whatever he estimates, and cost three times as much, but having the trust that it will be done right also has to be factored into the equation.

Hey
Congrats on the bigguns. They look pretty nice. Any idea on their age?
I gotta ask how big is your room? (approximately)
The reason I ask is mine are wanting to come upstairs. I'm afraid there just isn't enough room to get the full use of them. Eric

Early eighties according to seller who inherited them from his father, who was second owner. It is unclear from which of those three they received rough treatment requiring the refinish. The room I put them in is 17.5' x 31'. Unfortunately, they have to go on the short wall, but they still sound great. Also unfortunate is that in the rush to get them in place before Christine came home from work, I failed to note SNs and I can't get to the backs to see them.

Wow. Hmm.. I have two perfect corners for some of those....

I have one perfect corner and one imperfect - an MDF false wall (panel actually) is on Kyle's to-do list.

Yes, I hear things I didn't before - as people always say of new speaks. In my case, it's not so much hearing things I'd not heard in recordings, but hearing them much more clearly, and being able to follow each instrument more easily. Good, uncongested resolution. Distortion in bass lower than most of us are accustomed, and a total effortlessness which can certainly turn strident at levels much higher than I care to listen. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes like to listen very loud, but not at levels pushing the envelope of K-horns or the 60wpc emotiva amp in conjunction with them. That just hurts and make my ears ring.

Kyle's first audition of Khorns was at seller's house. He sat mouth agape at the experience; I sat with my fingers in my ears, wincing at the stridency from the AVR in use. Later Kyle would say, surprised, that they sounded even better at my house. I had a larger room and better amp, and better discretion, too.

No, I don't have the perfect room for them, but they sound pretty damned perfect to me.
 
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Wow - that's one busy corner!

Congrats on the acquisition. The speakers look to be very well taken care of. I had some oil on oak '86 model K-horns once but not the correct room so I let 'em go. They were gorgeous.

Incidentally, I personally think the attack of the K-horn bests every other speaker that my ears have heard.
 
bamboo flooring installed (check out Cali brand out of LA, great price and quality), ]

Oooo, the wife and I are big fans of Bamboo flooring. We installed some in our kitchen about eight years ago and loved it, then installed the same in an adjoining bedroom, you literally can't tell where the old bamboo meets the new. The stuff is extremely resistant to fading, general wear and scuffs.

We're eventually going to install it in our bedroom and get rid of the last remaining carpet in our house.

Threadjack over.
 
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