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What attracted you to Klipsch?

silversport said:
(probably saw Tom Brennan there a time or two and just didn't know it)
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My guess is he was the one with long hair, frayed bottom jeans (bell bottoms at that), Converse tennis shoes (probably worn...) a tie-dyed shirt and if he was true to the day...might have smelled more like burnt rope :beatnik: than Aramis cologne....iffen ya know what I mean...:D
 
I will prefaced this story by saying, I am not a person who finds all these super deals, no matter what is I am trying to find.


I don't remember when I first learned about Klipsch speakers. In college inthe 80s, I read Audio magazine, so I know they had something to say about them. Fast forward to 2007, I am working for an Commercial audio/video company and we are putting in a new sound system at this church. Their original speakers were a pair of 1976 LaScalas up front, each one sitting in a wall cavity behind a cloth grill and ceiling mounted speakers to fill in the rear.

We replaced them with all new ceiling mounted speakers. I asked if I could have/buy the LaScalas. A deal was worked out between the church and my company and I got the speakers for $200. $100 more for a set of replacement coils for the tweeters and I am enjoying them while I type this.

Those speakers also got me interested in SET amps.
 
Late 50s, Dad flew home with two Patrician kits from his TDY Operation in Tooley with SAC (Flew B52's & everything else).
I spent the summer building them and they are still in his home.
I've had a lot of speakers in the last few decades and to date, nothing has sounded ANY better than a Paul Klipsch designed
corner horn. My current EV/KD2's are stuffed with JBL 2404H tweeters, JBL 2482's (4"CD) w/JBL2380A horns and I've recently swapped the JBL 2220H 15's with a pair of Mr. Crites
CW1526 15's and a fresh pair of XO's.
The only thing I've found that sounds close is a a set of HD 600 headphones.
If you have a table saw, can read a set of prints and send some time digging around for the right drivers you would be delighted
with the results.
Thank You Mr. Klipsch for designing a delight to my ears for the last 50 years.
Buddy Guy (and everything else too) never sounded better.
pc
 
Circa, 1981 - 1983:

I frequently visited a Hi-End shop called Sound Studio locally, and one day they happened to have a set of Klipsch CW's and Heresy's being demonstrated, and instantly fell in love.

The rest is history......there went one of my college loan checks:sigh::D
 
Stationed in Germany 1987-89. The barracks was packed with awesome systems. My roommate had a 2 pair of herseys. The guy down the hall had LaScala's. Couldn't afford the LaScala's back then so I bought hersey II's.

I can afford them now......Bought a set of LaScala II's last month.:banana:
 
fotno said:
"...Just as there always seems to be an underlying reason and history for one's love of a car brand, or sports team, there must be some great stories amongst us regarding how each of you came to love Klipsch gear. Please try to think beyond "they sound good", and look at this thread as a campfire (if you will) around which you can tell your story."

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I early fell into the “sensitivity leads to less distortion” that Paul Klipsch espoused over many years without wavering. But many brands followed this tenent, some more than others. His products are far from perfect but perfection comes with a cost few can afford.

It was in fact Paul the person that pulled me to the brand. The product was honest and of good value, in an old world sense of craftsmanship. The product had a purpose that was neither trendy or fleeting. The product had a design that did not need constant revision or market hype to sustain it. Paul refused Bull**** in any part of his profession and livelihood.

When you purchase one his speakers it was an affirmation of what he brought to the industry. There are certainly other names that come to mind but none were as personally enduring as Paul. I appreciate him for that and empathized with his lifetime pursuit of something he loved.

David F
San Jose
 
I worked grounds keeping at Fairchild AFB. They had a thrift store on base that civilians could buy from as well as air force folks.

It was around 2001 or so. I had Sansui speakers at the time, and had done modifications to them with help from a guy online. So I was always looking for decent to good speakers of some sort.

So I stumbled across a pair of 1995 black Klipsch Chorus II's in the thrift store one day.

I knew nothing about Klipsch speakers still being made at the time.
The only Klipsch I knew of, where those goofy looking speakers you stick in a corner...the Klipschorn. My buddy and I used to drool over them along with Altec gear in audio mags back in the late '70's.
I figured the company was defunct for all I knew.

My first thought was: "Those sure are some nice looking PA speakers." "Public Address for the home?"

The only horn speakers I knew of at the time were used at concerts and at bars, pro gear....
They were 179 bucks for the pair, IIRC. I then hit the internet and found the Klipsch website and forums. They said to buy them, so I did.
I also bought the Yamaha MX-1 and CX-1 pre-amp that went with them a couple weeks later. Not a real good match. It made the Chorus II's sound hard and cold.... but clean and detailed too.....and very loud.

I had to buy a tweeter diaphragm and midhorn diaphragm I think.....and made a crossover upgrade with nice parts on a piece of MDF.

Then the general concensus is Klipsch and tubes. I started listening to tubes and Chorus II's with a SE RCA 6BQ5 console amp, and a pair of Eico HF-12's modded into power amps. (I think..)

I eventually sold the Chorus II's to purchase a pair of 1983Cornwalls for some reason. But I like my Cornwalls, and enjoyed vacuum tube sound with them.

So I think it's safe to say, that Klipsch speakers are what put over the edge with respect to audio insanity.

I do like them coaxials as well.....
 
DavidF said:
It was in fact Paul the person that pulled me to the brand.

When you purchase one his speakers it was an affirmation of what he brought to the industry.

I appreciate him for that and empathized with his lifetime pursuit of something he loved.
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Well said, sir. You nailed it for me.
 
My connection to Klipsch began the day some good-hearted but foolish soul donated a pair of Heresys to the local Goodwill. It took $16.00 for me to become a convert.
 
I too, became a Klipsch fan via the local thrift store. I have loved my Fortes ever since. I had always considered them too expensive and too large. I managed to get them out of the store in one trip with a bad-wheeled shopping cart. There was no way I was going to let these babies get away.
 
my brother used to work in a clinic as general manager. one day,
cleaning the basement, we found a pair of quartets in excellent shape.
i got the speakers for free, and after hearing it, i wanted to get another set. after a while, i got a set of kg's 5.5 and love it! :thmbsp:
 
Heard my first pair back in the late '70s when my dad bought a pair of new Cornwalls for his stereo system. He was so impressed with their performance (as was I, which was the attraction for me) that he'd invite his friends over for a listen...one visitor who was equally impressed was his boss who later bought a new pair of Cornwalls for himself.

Another friend was also a wealthy surgeon who always did things in a big way...after he heard my dad's Cornwalls, he went out and bought himself two pairs of walnut Klipschorns, one for each corner of his massive music room, driven by two Carver M-500t stereo amps (not a quad system...just a front and back stereo setup)! It may not have been the most acurate layout for an audio system, but it sure did fill out that huge room with music that sounded like a live orchestra was performing all around you!

Since then I've always wanted Klipsch...have enjoyed my dad's Cornwalls for years after he gave them to me, and I'm presently enjoying a pair of cherry RB-75s (which are better suited for my tiny listening room). Maybe someday down the road when I have more space (and not on such a tight budget), I'll purchase myself a pair of new La Scala IIs.:yes:
 
Was at a thrift store about five years ago when I stumbled across a set of odd looking speakers(turned out to be Heresys).It was the plywood that looked strange to me.I pulled the grills off and tapped the woofer.I said "these are the thickest sounding woofers I ever felt".Took the info off the speaker and went home to see what the net had to say about these.I was pretty shocked when I saw on the bay that they were selling for up to $400.Needless to say I raced immediately back to the store and picked them up.When I hooked them up at home to I think a 25wpc Pioneer I was blown away by the sound.These were my first REAL set of speakers.I still own and although they are not everyones cup of tea I still enjoy them.
 
I met Paul Klipsch back in ’81 or ’82 while I was attending college at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield Mo. A local stereo shop sponsored a ‘sound off’ contest between the K-horns and the Altec Lansing “Voice of the Theater” loudspeakers. Mr. Klipsch was there to give a brief demonstration. Afterwards, that evening, a small group of us were invited to hear his presentation on the ‘folded horn’ theory. I’ll never forget this slide he showed of a statue of two men holding each other in a loving embrace, and Mr Klipsch commented, “Now that’s distortion !”

I've owned Forte's, KG3.2's, KG4s and still have a set of Heresys.
 
First time I wever saw a pair of Klipsch was at an auction, they wrere big with the badge at the center top with Klipsch on it so I bid on them. They werent in perfect condition with some marks on the cabinets but not totally trashed either. I bid on the and bought them for five dollars. While loading them up I saw this sticker on the back saying Cornwalls, really didnt know what iI had. Got them in the house and hooked them up and it was the best thing my ears ever heard. Made every thing else sound bad, (HPM 100, stacked pair large advents ) so right then I was hooked and glad of it :^) englissa
 
Klipsch via Tannoy

When I was a student my local hi-fi shop had a pair of Electrovoice horns in the upstairs dem room. They could be so loud, the neighbouring shops had got an agreement from the hi-fi shop that they shouldn't be used during normal opening hours! But occasionally if I was there early or late we switched them on (usually with a TMA3 amp and the original Cranfield Rock TT) and revelled in them. Their clarity and dynamics were completely different to anything else I'd then heard, and better than almost anything I've heard since.

Fast forward a while, and I'm looking for a new system. I hear Glenn Croft demoing a Garrard 301 with Leak Stereo 20 and ELS57s and a Harrogate hi-fi show. It sounds more like music than anything else at the show. We talk and he says Leaks are best with either Quads or horns.

I buy a Leak and have it modded by Glenn's erstwhile partner Peter Bruty. I find a perfect 301. And I find Guy Holdsworth who deals in horns. I can't afford Tannoys but I end up with Acoustas.

Several years and various upgrades later, I need better speakers for a new listening room. I go back to Guy, who no longer deals with Tannoys but now imports Klipsch. I ask to hear the CF-4s that I'd heard at a show a few years previously. In my room at least, they were pretty average. He then says, "Try these Forte IIs". Completely different, and so much better. I buy them. That was about 8 years ago.

Since then I've got a new NA Dais deck and new monoblok'ed Trends class-T amps. I've fitted Chris Munson crossovers, Bob Crites tweeter diaphragms and some Deflex panels inside. They've never sounded better.

Perhaps one day I'll get Cornwalls, Khorns, or even Tannoy Westminsters. Until then, I enjoy my modded Forte IIs.
 
Walked Into the local Tweeter Etc In 1980,saw a pair of k-horns asked the salesman if I could listen to them,fell in love instantly being 17 at the time couldn't afford them.fast forward three years later had some money[but not enough for the big guys] bought a pair of oak Heresys and kenwood system and still have them.
 
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