(additional pictures and contact info below)These are reproductions of the classic Klipschorn speakers. The Klipschorn speaker has been produced by Klipsch for over 55 years now, longer than any other speaker ever built. My Klipschorns were built using plans from a company called Speaker Lab, which at one time also produced a Klipschorn kit (Speaker Lab K's). I am an accomplished woodworker and I have been building speakers for many years. I have put years of research into these speakers and I am totally convinced they sound even better than the original.
Woofer:
The woofer used by Klipsch is an Eminence woofer K-33-E. This woofer is a compromise between price and quality. For a woofer to reproduce the upper bass frequencies in a horn it must be of a low electrical Q. This equates to a large and expensive magnet. My Klipschorns use an Electrovoice woofer (EVM15L) which drastically improves the mid bass frequencies. I have tried the K-33-E and there "is" a major improvement when the EV woofer is used.
Mid horns:
These mid horns were designed by Bruce Edgar and utilize a Tractrix flare. While this flare is not appropriate for a bass horn it is outstanding for mid horns. It provides a very open and clear sound and it is absent of the "aw" distortion associated with most mid horns. It utilizes an older JBL driver, which is no longer available (LE5). It is a shame that they have quit making this driver.
Tweeter:
This horn tweeter is the Audax PR120I1. This is a very high quality and efficient tweeter. In my original listening room it sounded best facing up a 40 degree angle and seemed a bit harsh pointing straight forward. In later years I moved the Klipschorns to a much larger room and found that they sound fantastic pointing straightforward. I have these tweeters sitting on top in a separate enclosure to better control the phase relationship with the mid horns. I have found that this varies a lot with the room and it is good to be able to move the tweeters where they sound best.
Speaker placement:
These speakers have one disadvantage; they have to be in a corner. By placing this speaker in a corner it utilizes the room as part of the horn flare for the bass horn. Without this placement you would need a horn 8 times larger to achieve the same bass. This of course would not fit in most living rooms. Fortunately corners are often left unused and this can sometimes be an advantage. These speakers are very large but not obtrusive in most living rooms.
Room requirements:
While I would like to sell these speakers, I do not want somebody to be able to enjoy them to their full potential. The listening room must of course have 2 free corners. The room size requirements are not exactly known but I can say that a 13 x 22 room is too small. I had these in a room this size and the bass was not great and the highs were too strong. Even so they still sounded good and were a very usable speaker. Years later I moved them to a larger 22 x 23-foot room to realize a much-improved sound. In the larger room the bass was tremendous and the mids and highs were much more balanced. I have L-pads (volume controls) on both the tweeter and midrange and in the larger room they are turned all the way up. This is an ideal situation. It eliminates the resistance between the amp and speaker which helps dampening (slightly less distortion).
Horn Loading:
I would like to say a few things about horn loading. Horn loading puts a column of air in front of a speaker (driver) which dampens cone movement. This lowers distortion drastically. Now some people might think less cone movement means less sound but just the opposite is true. A horn acts as sort of a transformer, which changes "High Pressure/ Low Volume" in the throat of the horn to "Low Pressure/High Volume" at the mouth of the horn. Horn loading increases efficiency and lowers distortion. Another advantage to a high efficiency speaker is the fact that your amplifier does not have to put out much to achieve high volume levels. This reduces the distortion your amplifier puts out at higher volume levels.
Summery:
These speakers are very efficient (104dB) and any 50 RMS watt system would be more than adequate. They should quite easily handle much higher wattage if you desire but I am not sure you could stay in the room! My amp is 65/channel, which was definitely adequate. I am selling these speakers only because I am currently getting a divorce and my current living situation will not allow for their size. I am asking $1250.00 for the pair, which is WAY below what they are worth and only $50 over my cost of materials. This system sounds better than the original Klipschorns which cost about $6000.00 for the pair. I'm not sure any speaker is worth $6000.00 but I do feel mine are worth what I am asking. I have cut and pasted some information from the Klipsch web site, which outlines the specs of the original Klipschorns. These are about the same except for the drivers used. I also made my mid/tweeter section removable for easier transporting (and better cuts from the expensive oak plywood)
Cut/paste
Bandwidth: 35Hz-17.5kHz±3dB Sensitivity: 104dB @ 1 watt/1 meter
Output: 124dB maximum continuous Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Power Handling: 100 watts maximum continuous (400 watts peak)
Configuration: Fully horn-loaded, three-way system
Drive Components: K-77-M tweeter; K-55-M midrange and K-33-E woofer
Weight: 167 lbs. (75.7kg) Height: 52" (132cm) Width: 31.25" (79.4cm) Depth: 28.5" (72.4cm)
I can be reached at 270-678-9767. Evenings after 7:00 is the best time to reach me. You can also write to "mtw41@yahoo.com" with questions.
Hearing is believing!
Please contact me and we can set up a time to audition these speakers.
Thanks, Mark Winquist
Links to pictures (includes some during construction)
This is the original Klipschorn response. Note the dip that starts at 350Hz. The Electrovoice woofer eliminates this dip which makes for a smooth transition between the woofer and mid horn. Klipsch partially addressed this by reducing the throat size but better results are obtained by replacing the woofer and leaving the throat size 6 x 13 inches.
