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1972 Klipschorns
- Thread starter lissenup
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lissenup
Super Member
That pic was a couple of years ago when I was using the larger 18x10 horn and PRV driver combo. And you are right, the angle of the shot makes them look out of proportion!
I am now back to using the stock K-400 horn with K55V. For my listening habits, I actually prefer the K-400 horn over the larger 18x10 with 2” driver.
My experience is that room size really, really matters. I’ve heard Klipschorns sound very congested and restrained in undersized rooms. My own room is 15’ W x 20’ L x 10’ H.—with KHorns on the long wall.
Adequate ceiling height (PWK recommended minimum height of 8.5’) is especially important. Otherwise, the soundstage never really launches, opens, spreads, breathes.
Keep the KHorns in the bigger room. And post some pics.
Adequate ceiling height (PWK recommended minimum height of 8.5’) is especially important. Otherwise, the soundstage never really launches, opens, spreads, breathes.
Keep the KHorns in the bigger room. And post some pics.
The combo gets dissed, but works for me too.
lissenup
Super Member
Here is a pic of the cosmetic changes I’ve made on these 54 year old Khorns. Work is still in progress but you get the idea.
Those look much nicer now. nice work!
I am surprised you were able to go back to the K400, but the ears like what the ears like I suppose.
Then again the PRV D2200 driver may have been the issue. I never like the way it sounded.
I am surprised you were able to go back to the K400, but the ears like what the ears like I suppose.
Then again the PRV D2200 driver may have been the issue. I never like the way it sounded.
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Gigantic
A big, big love
I switched to the D4500Ph-Nd and it was a dramatic improvement. it also cost 5x more than the D2200, which is a tremendous value, if not a great driver. PE has the D4500 on clearance.
I have not used the D4500Ph-nd, it does seem better suited for the application than the D2200.
The posted graph is respectable as well with a 8db-ish deviation from 400-6k.
May need to road test one on my FT402. At $250 hard to pass up.
Gigantic
A big, big love
Here’s the r
Here’s the raw, unfiltered, un-eq‘d sweep of the D4550PhNd in a modified PRV WG4550
If they have a flaw, it’s that they don’t go as low as the k-55, but that 4“ diaphragm and massive, 6“ neodymium motor really do something wonderful.
Here’s the raw, unfiltered, un-eq‘d sweep of the D4550PhNd in a modified PRV WG4550
If they have a flaw, it’s that they don’t go as low as the k-55, but that 4“ diaphragm and massive, 6“ neodymium motor really do something wonderful.
That is actually a very respectable mid band response. Yes the K55 goes significantly lower, but that only becomes critical in certain applications.
What stands out here is how smooth the D4500ph-nd is through the the core vocal region. For a moderately priced driver that's an impressive usable bandwidth without EQ.
Its efficiency also makes it relatively easy to add an HF shelf which should help it integrate well into a wider range of applications.
What stands out here is how smooth the D4500ph-nd is through the the core vocal region. For a moderately priced driver that's an impressive usable bandwidth without EQ.
Its efficiency also makes it relatively easy to add an HF shelf which should help it integrate well into a wider range of applications.
I have a room targeted for my future sound system. It's roughly 25 by 20, but since it is a 1950s era home the ceiling is only 7' 6". What do the Klipsch experts here think would be the best match? Cornwalls? Fortes? ..............
Klipsch Jubilees, if you can afford them. Bigger horns with their directivity can better handle smaller rooms. All things being equal, bigger is generally always better when it comes to horns.
Otherwise, you still could consider Klipschorns, since you at least have proper room width and length—and could get adequate distance from them. Audition them first in large rooms with tall ceilings. See how they sound to you. (Where do you live? I’m sure you could hear a pair or two in AK members’ spaces. Mine, not perfectly set up, are in PA.)
Then go ahead and get a pair and put them in your space. If they’re too constrained, return/sell them and downsize, maybe to Belles or La Scalas or Cornwalls. My brother has La Scalas in a small temporary room with low ceilings. His listening room is by far his stereo’s biggest weakness. They sound really good but caged there—but he’s used to the sound. He’s also moving to a bigger house in about a year or so, so he’ll have a bigger dedicated listening room eventually.
Before I bought my Klipschorns, I had heard and auditioned them in different places. It was only after auditioning a pair in a small, narrow basement salon with low ceilings—where they were mated badly to expensive SS amps, placed much too close together, not at all sealed to corners, and sounded horrible—that I even considered anything beyond corner placement as being essential.
The dealer told us they would suck before he fired them up. And they did. Big time. My wife was with me, hearing them for the first time. Totally soured her. She told me—with good reason—that never would she allow those awful sounding speakers the size of refrigerators into our house. I couldn’t convince her they were badly installed there and could sound much better until she finally heard one just sitting in the middle of a big, tall room in our house. She said, “It sounds amazing, like a totally different speaker.”
If I’d had your large room, I still would have probably gotten a pair. It was only later, after talking at length to Klipsch employees, that I learned about adequate ceiling height and what extreme lengths PWK went to in order to seal them properly to corners in dealerships he visited where they were improperly installed. They’re extremely temperamental beasts. But they reward attention.
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Its been a while since I used a PRV driver, so I picked a D2200ph as a test mule. I used on my Eliptical top mount horn. Pleasantly surprised how flat the response was.Although not everyone's cup of tea, the 2200Ph on the 18x10 horn is extremely flat across its usable bandwidth. This is nearfield, no EQ/PEQ.
I will have to edit my previous statement. I may have mistaken the D2200 with another model or I may have had an earlier version that did not perform this well.
lissenup
Super Member
1972 Khorn project complete.
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lissenup
Super Member
Good eye! Rebuilt 1997 LeMond Maillot Jaune.