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Klipsch Chorus I vs Chorus II

danrclem

danrclem

Super Member
I've been wanting to buy a pair of Chorus II speakers but have found a pair of Chorus I speakers for a reasonable price.

Have any of you heard both (stock) and what are the differences in the sound?

Should I wait for a pair of Chorus II speakers or buy these?

Thanks
 
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Thanks for the links reverb.

I'm a rookie in the audio department so I can't really decipher the numbers all that well.

It seems as though they're the same except for the mids, the crossovers and the low level frequency which I'm assuming all of these could make a lot of difference in the sound. Is there a lot of bass difference in 45 KZ and 39 KZ? The crossovers are different so could something be changed there to improve the bass without a lot of added expense? Will the Chorus I speakers be lacking bass at fairly low volumes?
 
On paper they look to be very similar. Exact same size cabinet, same tweet, same woof. As you mentioned the mid is different. I am not sure if this is an upgrade or not.

The biggest difference however is that the original is a ported design and the II's have a passive radiator. I would guess (and this is only a guess) that explains why the II's go a bit deeper.

I'm not sure how pronounced the difference in bass between 45Hz to 39Hz would be. That being said though, I doubt either the Chorus or the Chorus II will ever be accused of "lacking bass". :thmbsp:
 
Chorus uses a K701 mid horn which is the exact same horn used in all the Heresy models. This is a very old and very tired design which is well past it best before date. The Chorus ll uses a larger hybrid tractrix mid horn which is a MUCH better horn. The Chorus ll uses a large 15" passive radiator rather than a pair of small vents the passive does the jobeter and with lower distortion than the factory vents in the Chorus. Both speakers use the exact same woofer and K79 tweeter.The extra bass of the Chorus ll is easily heard and if you want to lower the tuning a little lower you can easily do that with the passive by adding 2.5 ounces of dead weight to the inside centre of the passive. Neither stock Chorus make any deeper bass than a good Cornwalll so while they can whack they don't go all that deep. The Chorus ll is very much an upgrade over the Chorus. If you decide to modify there is a lot that can be done to extract more performance from them. If the price is right and you are good with the size grab them you will never regret doing so. Best regards Moray James.
 
Thanks for the reply moray james.

I want to buy a set of speakers to keep without putting more money in to improve performance. If these speakers are what the guy says they are they're worth the money but maybe I should wait on some Chorus IIs. I'll probably have to pay more money but they'll probably be worth the difference.
 
I've owned both (at the same time) and think they sound much more similar than different. Yes, the II's go a little bit deeper than the I's but I could really only tell by having them side by side. Even then, the II's have to be properly placed in corners to reach deeper. The mids and tweets sounded pretty much the same to me. The I's are much easier to place / position due to the front firing ports vs the II's rear passive radiators.

Soundwise, I would be happy with either. However, I eventually sold the II's and kept the I's.
 
I bought the Chorus I speakers today. They are keepers,............for right now anyway. I'll probably try to keep climbing that endless ladder until it gets too expensive.
 
Congrats! I'm sure you will have fun with them. Please post if you do any upgrades.
 
-reverb- said:
Congrats! I'm sure you will have fun with them. Please post if you do any upgrades.
Click to expand...

I'll have to do some research and see what upgrades and at what cost can be done. If I do upgrades it'll probably be this winter before I start but I'll be sure to post them.
 
Thread back from the archives... Looks like the interwebz consensus is:

Age related maintenance:
  • Inspect the woofer cone and diaphragm
  • Flip the woofer 180 degrees to counter sagging
  • Check the capacitors on the crossover to see if they are in spec
  • Ditto the resistors
  • Inspect and change, if necessary, horn driver gaskets
Modifications to consider:
  • Crites titanium tweeter
  • Crites titanium squawker
  • Passive vent tubes (4 inch outer diameter, seven inches long)
  • Internal cabinet bracing
  • New or rebuilt crossover network
It’s unclear to me if the Chorus II’s squawker would fit without cabinet modification.
If that squawker was installed along with a Crites tweeter mod, would a Chorus II Crossover network be more appropriate than the original?
 
The Chorus II tactrix mid horn will not fit the motor board of the Chorus I cabinet without modification. The front has different dimensions.
 
@njcanuck... Thank you for the timely reply.

Since the Tractrix isn't a simple drop in, that raises the question about whether new Titanium diaphragms are a suitable substitute for the Tractrix squawker. (Mid horn does sound more refined than squawker.)

The horns probably have different dispersal patterns as well as different drivers and diaphragms, but a modified C-I mid horn could be enough of an improvement to warrant the expense and effort.

I'm not sure it has to be the same or better than Tractrix, just good enough to improve over stock.
 
I believe the Mid diaphragms are interchangeable. I tried the Ti diaphragms in my CIIs but didn’t really like them. I thought they were too bright / brittle soundIng in my normal sized living room. They did sound better in the larger family room (20 x 30). Overall I preferred the Crites phenolics - much smoother! On the other hand, the Crites Ti tweeter diaphragms are excellent! YMMV
 
@njcanuck. Thanks again. I found a pair of Chorus Is at a price I was happy with and I’m looking forward to getting the most out of them.

I’ve seen a few excellent threads on the speaker that should help. I’ve enjoyed Moray James’ comments immensely, but others have added much to the discussion, too.

This is a pretty decent thread and there are a few others on different sites. If forum rules allow, I’ll cross post.
 
@moray james. I’d like to know your thinking about the tweeter the mid-range horns, and cross-overs.

The obvious range of options is pretty clear at the less effort scale:
  • Do nothing and enjoy
  • Do the maintenance steps listed above
  • Install tubes on the bass ports
What’s less clear is the part where you start spending money. I suspect that’s because people have different objectives. Mine are:
  • Find any fix anything that’s broken
  • Preventative maintenance such as replacing oil based capacitors in Heresy Is
  • Incremental upgrades, such as new technology diaphragms
  • Modifications to improve from the original construction and design
    • Internal bracing
    • Changed components, such as drivers
The tweeter choice seems simple, as so many suggest the Crites Titanium tweeter mod.

The midrange horn seems to me the biggest enigma. Some have said leave it alone, others like Crites mods, and then there’s the more complicated switch over to Tractrix.

I may find the crossover even more enigmatic as there’s a lot less out there on Chorus I crossovers than there is on AA crossovers.
 
@njcanuck... Thanks for the observations about Ti vs phenolic replacements. You’ve embedded a nice reminder about subjectivity and about the importance and relevance of the listening environment. Not sure what I will do regarding new parts like diaphragms and crossovers, but short of leaky capacitors, there’s no rush to act.
 
Outrider 6 said:
@moray james. I’d like to know your thinking about the tweeter the mid-range horns, and cross-overs.

The obvious range of options is pretty clear at the less effort scale:
  • Do nothing and enjoy
  • Do the maintenance steps listed above
  • Install tubes on the bass ports
What’s less clear is the part where you start spending money. I suspect that’s because people have different objectives. Mine are:
  • Find any fix anything that’s broken
  • Preventative maintenance such as replacing oil based capacitors in Heresy Is
  • Incremental upgrades, such as new technology diaphragms
  • Modifications to improve from the original construction and design
    • Internal bracing
    • Changed components, such as drivers
The tweeter choice seems simple, as so many suggest the Crites Titanium tweeter mod.

The midrange horn seems to me the biggest enigma. Some have said leave it alone, others like Crites mods, and then there’s the more complicated switch over to Tractrix.

I may find the crossover even more enigmatic as there’s a lot less out there on Chorus I crossovers than there is on AA crossovers.
Click to expand...
old speakers need fresh gaskets at all the woofers, horns, passive devices and terminal cups make sure the cabinet itself is air tight you only need do this once and forget about it after that. Don't forget the gasket between the mid horn and driver either.
Crossover caps should be replaced and cap technology is much improves today from 20 years past and does not have to cost a lot be prepared for caps to burn in this can take days to weeks the louder and longer you play the sooner this will happen.
you can upgrade from Heritage phenolic tweeters for not a lot and the new entry level Crites tweeters sound much better than the original stock devices for a little more yu can step up to the B&C devices which are better again. If you are dealing with H2 Forte Quartet or Chorus remember that the tweeters operate generally above 6KHz.. That means they reproduce only harmonics and no fundamentals. The id driver is the primary device. I like to think of these a speaker designs as wide band mid drives with helper woofers and tweeters because that is the design goal. The critical mid is kept as wide and as untouched as possible. The is the attraction to wideband or fullrange drivers they reproduce the important range with little to no interference and use a woofer and or a tweeter to round out response. Aluminum or ti mid diaphragms do make a nice improvement but the choice is up to you to judge for yourself. Remember a clearer mid device can show up system issues in that range and also can show up issues with older horn designs as well so pick your poison.
Adding weight to your passive or extending vent length is easy and totally reversible there are many threads discussing this experiment for yourself it does not take long is not difficult does not cost much draw your own conclusions for your speakers in your system. Brace work is a good idea if you plan to keep your loudspeakers and again there are many threads. You can find my posts and see how I did mine to keep material use to a minimum and rigidity to a maximum. Klipsch are prime candidates as most have little or no brace work from the factory. Hope this helps.
 
@moray james... Thanks for your thoughtful answer. Since you didn’t discuss swapping in the Chorus II Tractrix, I’ll assume it’s in the one mod too many category. (Some combination of too expensive, too complicated—motor board mod, crossover mod, or both.)

@danrclem.. Any update on your Chorus Is?
 
Outrider 6 said:
@moray james... Thanks for your thoughtful answer. Since you didn’t discuss swapping in the Chorus II Tractrix, I’ll assume it’s in the one mod too many category. (Some combination of too expensive, too complicated—motor board mod, crossover mod, or both.)

@danrclem.. Any update on your Chorus Is?
Click to expand...

I sold my pair of Chorus speakers earlier this year and kept a pair of Altec Flamencos. It was a tough decision but the Flamencos seemed to have a clearer sound in the higher frequencies. The Klipsh did have better bass. I recapped the Klipsch quite sometime ago and it did make an improvement in the mids but the overall sound was brighter and that's a problem for me. I didn't do any other mods.

I do think that the Chorus are good speakers and don't regret buying them. If I ever find a pair of Cornwalls at a good price I'll buy them and try them out. I hope yours work out for you.
 
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