When I auditioned the Jubilees at Audio Classics, the day they were unpacked, I didn’t see any “sagging” grills. Maybe it was too early(?) or I was too focused on the sound. Form follows function. These speakers have been criticized for their looks. Whatever. (I’ll take a pair—butt-ugly or not.) Some of my stereo equipment is beautiful. Some of it not so much. I just close my eyes and smile when it’s right.
new Klipsch Jubilee
- Thread starter bolero
- Start date
"Not in my house, you would be thrown out on your ear. It wouldn't be me doing the throwing. I would stand back and watch. Altec horns were about controlling sound dispersion for maximum gain and definition in a reverberant space. Nothing more. They needed voicing to be tolerated. But as far as looks go, the 402 and the larger Mantarays are equally ugly. So in my case they would have to be hidden behind shear curtains or behind large grill covered with porous cloth.
If I had a man cave maybe three Jubilee's behind a large projection screen for movies. and I wouldn't need subwoofers. I guess I could use Cornwalls for surround speakers. That means one MC 257 and one MC 255"........TWiiii quote
Again, talking about Cornwalls you don't own, or horns you don't own. You are simply a Word Theorist without ownership, measurements, or data to back up your claims. Altec Manta horns were bad examples of them copying EV and JBL horns. They had to many abrupt interruptions of the sonic bubble. Constant Directivity Horns were invented/spearheaded by Ray Newman and his engineers at at EV with majority contributions by Don Keele (EV, Klipsch, JBL, and Crown), and I have spent time with both.
I have also owned and measured most of the EV horns along with JBL 2360a's with various drivers, including EV, Klipsch (the big 2" pro stuff). I fully differentiate my opinions from facts, rather than pretend I know what I'm talking about,
If I had a man cave maybe three Jubilee's behind a large projection screen for movies. and I wouldn't need subwoofers. I guess I could use Cornwalls for surround speakers. That means one MC 257 and one MC 255"........TWiiii quote
Again, talking about Cornwalls you don't own, or horns you don't own. You are simply a Word Theorist without ownership, measurements, or data to back up your claims. Altec Manta horns were bad examples of them copying EV and JBL horns. They had to many abrupt interruptions of the sonic bubble. Constant Directivity Horns were invented/spearheaded by Ray Newman and his engineers at at EV with majority contributions by Don Keele (EV, Klipsch, JBL, and Crown), and I have spent time with both.
I have also owned and measured most of the EV horns along with JBL 2360a's with various drivers, including EV, Klipsch (the big 2" pro stuff). I fully differentiate my opinions from facts, rather than pretend I know what I'm talking about,
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ThumpNHiss
Member
Hello,
Not that I could afford a pair of Jubilee speakers anytime soon but I am interested in how they sound compared to the new Klipschorns. The obvious answer would be to go and find a dealer to audition them in person but I haven't found a pair of Jubilees anywhere close. If I find myself in an area that has both the Jubilee and Klipschorn. AK6 to compare, I'd definitely try to schedule some listening time. Any time I take a trip, I check along the route to see if a Klipsch heritage dealer is along the trip route.
If anyone has listened to the Jubilees or owns a pair, would you please give a description of what they sound like? If you have A/B'd them with a pair of AK6 Klipschhorns, that would be even better.
Not that I could afford a pair of Jubilee speakers anytime soon but I am interested in how they sound compared to the new Klipschorns. The obvious answer would be to go and find a dealer to audition them in person but I haven't found a pair of Jubilees anywhere close. If I find myself in an area that has both the Jubilee and Klipschorn. AK6 to compare, I'd definitely try to schedule some listening time. Any time I take a trip, I check along the route to see if a Klipsch heritage dealer is along the trip route.
If anyone has listened to the Jubilees or owns a pair, would you please give a description of what they sound like? If you have A/B'd them with a pair of AK6 Klipschhorns, that would be even better.
Coytee
Super Member
I'll try to tackle this one.
First, full disclosure.... I've never heard the Heritage Jubilee. I have never heard the new Khorn..... so, we're getting off to a good start, right?
My thoughts.... if space & funds allow, it is a no-brainer.... Heritage Jubilee 100%, all the way.
Why? Simple answer, larger horns. Now, if your Rice Crispies are getting soggy, you can finish now & know the answer. If you don't mind them getting more soggy, then I'll continue a bit.
You have a stock Dodge Challenger, Vette, other..... going up against a new 911. Odds are the new 911 is going to beat the challengers in almost any way but perhaps cost. Now, let's soup up the "challengers".....but to be fair, give Porsche a chance to soup up the 911..... I'd contend again, the 911 is going to whoop some hiney even with them souped up.
The Jubilee is going to simply make the Khorn sound like a toy speaker when auditioned to side by side. This isn't a disrespect of the Khorn.... it IS a 75 year old design. When PWK set out to create the (what became known as) Jubilee.... (he was originally wanting to create the Khorn II but in the end, felt the new design bested the Khorn by such a margin it deserved its own place atop the lineup of speakers)
Anyway, when he created the Khorn, how many years of experience did he have? I don't pretend to know the answer but given it was essentially after WWII, I'd say not many, if any at all. Later in life, technology improves and he wants to revisit his dream.... making the Khorn a 2-way speaker. Now, we have better drivers, better electronics AND he's now got 50 years of design experience behind him. It shows.
The Jubilee is more coherent (sounds like a single driver type thing) than the Khorn but for MY kicks & grins, it absolutely stomps the Khorn with scale of sound. Yeah, they're both big speakers.....huge even. They however, generally fit into a corner so take up very little room space. So I'm not talking physical size. Go get a 1970's transistor radio..... Heck, make it a full on home stereo. Put on your most favorite college marching band. Now, click your heels and transport yourself to the physical band practice where the full ensemble is in front of you. One might argue that the transistor radio has "full sound", they might argue that they can hear EVERYTHING, they might suggest it sounds good.....heck, they might possibly suggest it can play loud (if they've missed their medications). But ALL of that pales in scale to when you hear the band live. Impact is harder, left/right/up/down is bigger, sound is more loud.... just stomps the radio in all respects.
It's not how LOUD the Jubilee might (will) go, it is how BIG it sounds, at loud volumes AND or, normal listening volumes. It is not a Tuba playing in front of you, it's having your head stuffed inside the tuba for that genuine close up listen!
There really is no comparison.
DIsclaimer: No Khorns, transistor radios, Tuba's nor marching bands were hurt during the disclosure of above. Also, I've owned the 'Underground' Jubilee's for about 16 years now and they replaced Khorns so I've got some mileage behind my thoughts. I knew within probably 30 seconds of hearing the (underground) Jubilee's for the first time that I wanted a pair and the Khorns were gone.
ThumpNHiss
Member
Thanks. From all reviews online except one, the Jubilees are on another level of sound reproduction. The DSP synched amplifier seems like the knockout punch that puts the Jubilees clearly and firmly at the top off the Klipsch line-up over passive speaker designs. The Jubilee reminds me of the Golden Ear Triton Reference speakers in that regard. They (Triton Reference) also have a DSP synched amp (I have heard those and they sounded great).
Not that the new Khorns are slack. They get generally fantastic reviews as well. I've heard a couple of pairs of Khorns over the years that were vintage but I understand from reviews that the AK-6 is much more refined and with the back added, are less fussy about absolute tight in corner placement.
I intend to hear them both just to say that I have but until I can, I read/watch every first hand account that I come across.
ThumpNHiss
Member
I doubt I'd have the funds or the space for the Jubilees anytime soon. The Khorns? ....maybe someday. I want to hear them regardless.
While I agree with this sentiment. I would prefer to used the funds elsewhere since I built "Underground Jubilee-Like Clones" with 3 woofers instead of 2, and will be using my yet-to-be-PL3-glued-together Super Tapped Horn that will go down even lower than the "all the way" PEQ'd new Bass Reflex Horn Jubilees. I will have better performance (lower, louder, and less distortion) for 1/4 the money. Fully adding that I traded my knowledge and labor for cash, effectively.
And NO, I don't have to prove it with curves and ears to Anyone but close Audiophile friends, since they will NOT be for sale by me. You can't get serious "used speaker money" unless it was "Factory Built." The current new and used pricing of used Klipsch speakers is proof of my statement.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Some one I have known for over 40 years and trust has Klipsch horns at home. He also has two Pair of Jubilees in stock and some 75th anniversary Khorns in stock. If you show up I know Steve would be more than glad to demo pairs so you can compare. But he told me the imaging of the two way Jubilee is much better and the bass is just something you would never believe coming from a horn loaded speaker. The scale of the sound is tremendous, almost like a large very expensive professional line array, JBL. But he prefers the dynamics or horn loaded speakers be they Klipsch or the older JBL and Altecs and EV's. He also has a pair of Georgians from EV you can audition, they are a very 
large speaker using an 18 inch woofer that is horn loaded similar to a K-horn. That is Dereck in the photo . He's about 5' 8" as a guess. He'll hook the system anyway you want. Tubes, SS, or a mixture. 275's is all your really need. 105 db sensitivity for the woofer and 109 db for the horn. So thats around 122 or 123 both combined. So 1 or 2 watts is all you need. Maybe 5 watts in a pinch per channel. It might be fun to try that new Hybrid MC 451 amp with tubes for the horn and SS for the woofer section. But you would still use the Klipsch SS electronic crossover to get the best alignment between the two sections of each speaker.
Now I have sold, installed, designed Klipsch systems for home. commercial, professional, and disco systems. I prefer Cornwalls and the new MK IV are the best ones yet. They were always enough for me in a home. I am not a K-horn fan since the middle 60's. But voicing a pair changes their entire presentation and makes them very listenable. So I bet if these new Jubilees are that much better than the 75th anniversary -horns they must be fantastic. At at least thats what Steve and Dereck tell me. Don't be afraid to ask for a consideration, just don't mention me when you do it. Steve will want to charge you double to make up for all the money he has lost on me. AS if he has lost one penny.
large speaker using an 18 inch woofer that is horn loaded similar to a K-horn. That is Dereck in the photo . He's about 5' 8" as a guess. He'll hook the system anyway you want. Tubes, SS, or a mixture. 275's is all your really need. 105 db sensitivity for the woofer and 109 db for the horn. So thats around 122 or 123 both combined. So 1 or 2 watts is all you need. Maybe 5 watts in a pinch per channel. It might be fun to try that new Hybrid MC 451 amp with tubes for the horn and SS for the woofer section. But you would still use the Klipsch SS electronic crossover to get the best alignment between the two sections of each speaker.Now I have sold, installed, designed Klipsch systems for home. commercial, professional, and disco systems. I prefer Cornwalls and the new MK IV are the best ones yet. They were always enough for me in a home. I am not a K-horn fan since the middle 60's. But voicing a pair changes their entire presentation and makes them very listenable. So I bet if these new Jubilees are that much better than the 75th anniversary -horns they must be fantastic. At at least thats what Steve and Dereck tell me. Don't be afraid to ask for a consideration, just don't mention me when you do it. Steve will want to charge you double to make up for all the money he has lost on me. AS if he has lost one penny.
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Invidiosulus
Well-Known Member
I sent you a PM regarding the plans for the U-Jubes.
I’m curious if I could get a copy.
Thanks,
Josh.
