What got you into Klipsch?

[parvo]

My first pair of Klipsch was a Hersey and I took the face plates out with drivers intact to try using in the hatchback of my Mustang Mach one...Both were brand new in the 60s..Needless to say the horns extended out too far to keep the speakers stable on turns and I promptly threw away the speakers...OK I was a young 21 year old whipper snapper and I went through the years owning KG4, (twice) Chorus...sold to my brother, Promedia 2.1..(.still use) and now, R820P with matching center channel. Contemplating whether not to get a matching sub but the towers seem to do just fine without it. Could not afford Klipsch horns (corner speakers) back in the day...still can't..sorta like corvettes they always stay unaffordable but the newer reference series are just fine to me

 

[ldatlof]

I heard some Heresys at a store in Metairie, LA in the mid 80's and was blown away by their clarity and dynamics. I ran them with an Adcom GFA-1 and some Adcom pre/tuner with a Yamaha CD player. I still have them today.

 

[Soundork]

The town dump. True story.

I spotted the pair of 1977 Heresy's at the town dump, just as they were preparing to enter the Klipsch Valhalla and immediately adopted them.

Didn't particularly like them, felt like the Polk Audio S60's are ten times the speaker, but decided to rebuild the crossovers and now my Polks sit very, very lonely in the basement...if you get my drift.

Best

Soundork

 

[cdfac]

I'm currently running some Forte II's with Crites tweeter diaphragms and recapped crossovers. Quite happy with a SE triode-strapped amp with 6L6-ish tubes currently installed (5Wpc). But I came to Klipsch in a roundabout way...

First heard their run-of-the-mill "big box" speakers during college ca. 2003 and was not impressed at all (my experience was coming primarily from just playing instruments growing up, not actually being big into stereo gear). At that time, I didn't know about their "Heritage" gear or a Klipschorns or anything like that.

Joined AK back in 2008 or so and starting absorbing info about the Heritage gear. Went to either the second- or third-to-last AK Fest and had a lot of late-night fun in @Kegger's room with KG2.5's. And I met the esteemed Yang Lin, who told me that all you really need in life is a good pair of Klipsch Fortes modded to the hilt, mated to a tube amp. Not long after, I heard some Cornwalls with some Yamaha Class A at a local dude's house and loved it. Eventually got the chance to pick up some nice KG4's for a relative song, and I was so excited I recapped the crossovers that day. End result: BLAH, even with Class A solid state. They didn't really do anything for me. I much preferred my little Andrew Jones Pioneer bookshelves. I was about to give up on Klipsch.

Then, at the local/regional AK meet-up in Manchester, IA, last year, I heard some Klipsch Choruses with a really good amp. WOW! That was something. I had brought some custom Altecs up to the event myself and I knew I loved them with my tube amp, but in the back of my mind there was something about the Choruses that I really latched onto.

Then this winter, after a lackluster stint with a set of refurbed EV Aristocrats, I lucked into a pair of Forte II's from a buyer whom I'd previously sold a Nikko Alpha III amp to (I only mention it because that is one sweet, underrated amp -- anyone still reading at this point, lol?). Long story short, I recapped the Forte II's with good parts, played around with tube complementsin my amp and preamp, and I'm EXTREMELY happy right now. I've come to accept that I will always have somewhat of a wandering eye with speakers, but the Forte's are sleeping pretty soundly tonight at least.

 

[SWL3600]

I heard CF-4's at Simply Stereo in Hoffman Estates, IL circa early 90's. Fricken awesome sounding speakers that just rocked....my kind of sound. Never owned a pair, though.....

Late 90's.....my uncle got a pair of KLF-30's. They were reminiscent of the CF-4's I heard a few years earlier. They could sound bad and they could sound really good

About 2009 I picked up some 30's used for a good price. A couple years later I snagged another used pair. Both very good condition, stock for a good price.

A few years later both pairs at practically the same time, the cabinets started rattling and both pairs the crossovers had issues. I went all out on both pairs. Sealed and added additional bracing beefing up the cabs. Also, I upgraded practically every component in both pairs:
1. Bob Crites crossovers with new internal wiring
2. Ciare woofers
3. A55G mid drivers
4. Dave A's MAHL tweeters with B&C DE10 drivers
5. Mogami jumpers

These speakers are amazing now. Rock solid. They love high power and also love low power tube amplification.

I never cared for the Heritage sound. However, recently I got a demo of the new Cornwall IV's and was seriously impressed at how smooth they sounded and that it wasn't that typical Heritage sound. The other thing that shocked me was how similar they sounded to my upgraded 30's. Not exactly but similar. No forward midrange. Not shouty. Very balanced sounding.

 

[HomeMadeSin]

About 30 or so years ago, my old man bought a pair of Klipschorns and the SW-15 subwoofer. He also bought the KV-4 center channel and a pair of Infinitys for the rear for an usual 5.1 setup. About 6 years ago, he gave them to me and they were in climate controlled storage (no space in the house and moving) until 2 years ago. I enjoy them of course but just ordered the Crites AK-3 crossovers and looking forward to hearing them after that. Everything else is original.

 

[john5220]

A friend of mine that cleans houses told me a client of hers was buying a Bose Accustic Wave system and was selling his KG4's for $150....nice clean sound and not a mark on them!

 

[Sounder206]

Started with R-15PM powered speakers, because I wanted a simple turntable setup for my bedroom. And then I got sucked down the rabbit hole via this and other Hi-Fi forums, Hi-Fi review videos on YouTube, Craigslist, eBay...

I now have RP-600M, SPL-100 sub (powered by NAD D 3045 integrated amp and U-Turn Orbit turntable) as my primary bedroom system, and my vintage system are either KG1 or KG2, both powered with a NAD 3020. I’m done buying gear for the foreseeable future until I move to another place and then I’ll think about Forte III or Heresy IV.

The R-15PM is regulated to the closet for now.

 

[genes]

Thrift store, Heresy one, Twenty dollars for pair. I had to clear out the termites! Many mods, now love them.

 

[Cujo18]

I had a friend that had an older pair of Klipsch with the black dust cap, they were on the smaller side as I came from a family of 12” and 18” speakers. I’m not sure what model they were but I was flabbergasted with what was cranked out of those little drivers. All that sound and a small Yamaha receiver powering them. I was sold, told myself that when I get rich and famous I would definitely buy me some Klipsch speakers. Well I am definitely not rich and none of you know me so nor am I famous however for about 7 years now I own a pair of RF-7s and an RC-62. Bought them new and haven’t looked back. Love them!!!

 

[jgmacv]

I was stationed in Berlin while in the Air Force. A friend of mine was getting ready to rotate back and had a pair of Heresys he wanted to sell. I listened to them and was hooked. That was in 1980 and i'm still hooked!

 

[John Hogie]

I worked at an audio store ('88 - 92) which sold Klipsch. I started with a pair of Heresy's and then moved up to la Scalas in '94. I have had them ever since. I currently drive them with either a Magnavox SET (EL-84) amp or an Amp Camp Amp.

 

[macaltec]

What got me into Klipsch? Well, very very shortly after I was born, I took my first breath..........

 

[JD Harvey]

I wanted good bookshelf speakers. After a few online recommendations and YouTube reviews they showed in the mail. Never looked back.

 

[Splatter Pak]

It was a slightly rough pair of Heresy's in Carlsbad, New Mexico...for one hundred bucks. I liked them well enough, but didn't yet know that my amp needed a recap. Therefore, I may not have heard them at their best. Moving back to Missouri, I sold them for twice what I paid, and sorry guys, bought a pair of Vandersteen 2C's. The amp in question is now recapped and converted to preamp use (therein lies a tale, told in some other AK thread)...and sounds great. To this day, I don't know if I really like horns or not...

 

[jcn3]

needed to put together a second bedroom system. wanted to use tubes. found my '75 heresys on the klipsch forum last year -- $600 for oiled walnut in excellent condition. they've wildly exceed expectations!

 

[Gigantic]

I rescued a pair of 1971 H700 Heresy Decorators from a fire restoration job I did 16 years ago. I was underwhelmed by them, frankly, and their anemic low frequency response. They ultimately spent the past 10 years in an unheated carriage house, collecting dust and getting even more damaged.

A few months ago, I decided to restore them, replaced the woofers and refreshed the networks. I remained unimpressed. The clarity of the mids and highs was remarkable, but then the bass dropped off around 70-80hz. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why these speakers were held in such high esteem.

I then found the Super Heresy thread, did the 1.0 versions and my mind was blown! they have Klipsch's legendary sensitivity, but the bass extends down in the 40's. I'd never appreciated what a tweeter brought to the table, until I heard the sMAHLs. Suddenly, all of the potential of these speakers was unlocked, they were really quite amazing, as was the mod community over at the K-forums that encouraged it, the technical expertise they brought to bear was as impressive as the results and that gave me confidence that I wasn't doing something that some random guy on the internet recommended.

Then suddenly, the atmosphere changed from the top, talking about modifications was strictly verboten, threads were locked or deleted, people were banned or pushed away. It left a rather sour taste in my mouth; while I'm deeply intrigued but PWK's ideas and am now hooked on horn driven speakers, I kinda don't want anything to do with the company; I doubt I'll buy another Klipsch branded product again, unless it's a part that I to build my own speakers.

 

[JD Harvey]

...... talking about modifications was strictly verboten, threads were locked or deleted, people were banned or pushed away. It left a rather sour taste in my mouth; while I'm deeply intrigued but PWK's ideas and am now hooked on horn driven speakers, I kinda don't want anything to do with the company; I doubt I'll buy another Klipsch branded product again, unless it's a part that I to build my own speakers.

I've seen businesses pull this type of tactic before and I understand your feelings on it 100%. That sour taste never leaves and that does suck.

 

[Gigantic]

I've seen businesses pull this type of tactic before and I understand your feelings on it 100%. That sour taste never leaves and that does suck.

It's a shame, because I am absolutely enamored with my Klipsch H700's; I also have some significant completist tendencies and had envisioned myself getting Klipsch subs and satellites for my home theater system, just to have everything all matchy-matchy. I would have eventually upgraded so something like a Cornwall or La Scala; I still might, but it won't be their product I buy- I'll either get Crites or, more likely, go the DIY route. It bothers me even though I wasn't necessarily personally targeted, although I did have a couple of posts removed that were critical of the new policy, so perhaps I was. There was such a great vibe amongst the mod community and it instantly vanished in a day. It tells me that the company doesn't value its customers as much as it values its product and perception. That seems terribly short-sighted.

 

[Audible Nectar]

It's funny to see Simply Stereo get mention here as that place was connected to a big reason I like these so much.....

Of course I also did see Klipschorns and similar when in college and they made a real impression - really the only speakers I had seen for home use that could really capture the feel of a live performance.

But the real proof came when a friend of mine - who was a service tech at an audio shop I worked at - went to ANOTHER competing shop because he sorta figured out that his use was going to require a set of Klipsch. He had a friend who owned a bar with a set of LaScalas hung from the ceiling so he knew full well what Klipsch could do vs everyone else.

So he ends up at Simply Stereo, and basically tells the guy, point blank, that he wants these speakers to "rock the nation" (those exact words circa 1988). Somehow the salesperson convinces him that the Fortes are enough, and so he makes purchase of the Fortes along with a Harman/Kardon 665 integrated amp (150WPC and a BRUTE build with dual power transformers and some hella current).

He blew those Fortes in less than a week.

Now the Simply Stereo people are AT HIS HOUSE - never mind bringing those in, we wanna see what in the hello you are trying to accomplish here, LOL. Again, my friend was very forthright - "I want these speakers to rock this place so if they can't don't sell them to me and just tell me they aren't good enough". Then along with explaining that "I'm a service tech and KNOW what distortion is and those (pointing at Fortes) can't handle it."

They discuss etc and arrive at a pair of Cornwalls in Birch Raw, begrudgingly accepted as they were unfinished but would be more affordable, but were definitely a step up in terms of speaker and would handle the pounding - supposedly.

He would hold parties and you could hear the speakers at the local gas station/beer stop four blocks away. He had a collection of letters he kept like badges of honor (sorta like AC/DC's "letters" on the back of "Dirty Deeds"). I'll never forget him showing off that amp and how he could take the volume to pretty much max clean power while those Cornwalls just dished it out and asked for more.

Made me a real believer. He beat the hello out of those speakers wayyyyyyy beyond anything I would (as he did his Toyota pickup truck). I've been a regular owner of Klipsch (Cornwalls and larger) speakers and Toyota vehicles ever since, because to see that kind of workload/bordering on abuse that "up close" told me that more regular use and maintenance would make those "lifer" sort of purchases. Dude was a service tech after all, and as such reliability and serviceability was paramount. I was so sold and remembered that stuff so well, making such an impression, that on a wild lark ran a search online in 2000-2001 (and was probably some engine like Lycos, Excite, AOL, or something similar that no longer exists) when a light in the head goes off and says "what if I search for Klipsch Cornwall here" and was on their forum and found a clean, pretty used pair of Cornwalls inside of a week. The rest, as they say, is history.