Klipschhorns versus Altecs

[Sounder]

Today, at work, someone was recounting how great sounding the Khorns are. They are seriously considering buying a set on Ebay (at well over $2.5K). I recommended looking at Altecs (19's, for example) but I don't know which Altecs are comparable to the sound of the Khorns (maybe A7's?).

For those of you who have heard both "rivals", what is your impression? What are the strengths/weaknesses of the two. The gal likes jazz (voice and instrumental) as well as classical (orchestra mostly). She lives in a large home (music room is 25x40 ft, approx) and has the "corners" that Khorns require.

I'm very interested to find out since I see a lot more Khorns than 19's on Ebay (at nearly twice the price of 19's).

Thanks.

[Todd W. White]

The Klipschorn relies on an old principle of speaker design called frequency doubling.

Frequency doubling, simply described, is caused by overloading a low-frequency speaker. It makes bass instruments sound an octave higher than they really are. This is because the overdriven speaker is making the second harmonic louder than the fundamental pitch.

Translated, this means that the K-horn utilizes a design that results in an unnatural, exaggerated frequency response. Paul Klipsch did this, I think, because the speakers he used were so terrible that he had to do SOMETHING to make the systems sound better, and frequency doubling makes the listener THINK it sounds better than it realyl does.

When you look at the frequency response of the K-horn, it's just awful.

In reality, the K-horn exhibits additional anomolies. My friend and audio pioneer, the late Dr. John K. Hilliard, when attending a listening demo of the K-horn, with that big smile he would have, told those around him, "If you listen carefully, you'll find that it not only doubles - IT TRIPLES!"

The Model 19 relies on nothing of the sort to sound good - go with a pair of them instead, and you'll never have to listen to altered sounds coming from your speakers.

[RonSSS]

The true Klipsch corner horn suffered from a few things.

1) It needs to be in a corner in a symetrical room designed around the speaker. (They have awesome low end when the room is right)

2) Again, the room needs to be the correct width to get a good image....if that's important to you.

3) K-horns suffer from phase issues between the woof and the horn (mids come from both and the woof is buried some distance from the hoen mouth)

4) Klipsch drivers were no where near as good as Altec.

The room can be solved....if you have one or are building a house.

The driver issues can be solved....you can use Altec! (heard some with Altecs....stunning)

The phase issue could be solved with delay...but it aint pure.

Lastly...what Tom said!

Ron

[bigjunglejim]

I'm not very scientific but when I was looking to buy speakers in the mid 70's to the early 80's I listened to a bunch of Klipsch and Altec speakers around town. I don't recall ever seeing both a model 19 and a Klipsch in the same store. Those who sold Klipsch talked them up big time. The Altec dealers put music on and I listened. One thing the Altec dealers didn't do, they didn't adjust the highs and mids for the speaker location and the types of music being played. None-the-less, as good as the Klipsch sounded, the Model 19 sounded much better. When I listen to clasical, I adjust model 19's flat. When I listen to Rock or play a movie through them, I like to turn down the highs and mids. A cook would say, season to taste. When I bought my first pair of model 19's it was a close call between the model 18's and 19's. The 19's won out. Both are great speakers. In my humble opinion, both beat any Klipsch I've ever heard.

[Tom Brennan]

Sounder----There's no right answer here, it's a matter of opinion.

IMO the Khorn is a good speaker but the Nineteen is a better one. I think the Nineteen goes deeper in the bass, is more natural and less distorted in the midrange and also more extended and smoother in the highs. Compared to Altec even the best Klipsch sounds somewhat raspy and raw though I don't want to overstate that in the case of the full-blown Khorn which sounds much better than LaScalas, Belles and Heresys.

Both speakers have the virtues of excellent clarity and dynamics, the Khorn will better the Nineteen somewhat in bass dynamics.

Note that many Khorn fans fiddle and modify their speakers until one day they turn around and realize what they have is an Altec or JBL with a Klipsch badge. But I've never seen Altec fans saying "hmmm, I think I'll replace my 802s with that Atlas bullhorn driver Klipsch uses and my 416s with that cheezy K-33".

These are my opinions.

[MikeInNH]

I don't have a lot of experience listening to KHorns...Only time I did was at a disco I use to go to back in the 70's...remember those? At least I don't have a leisure suit anymore.

But I have listened to a lot of different Klipsch speakers....The Hersey's....LaScala, and the Forte'. I did a direct comparison of the LaScala to 19s (friends) and my 15s. Either one blew the LaScala away. The LaScala was nice....and very LOUD...but not as detailed...and the Altecs really shined in the mid range....I was really amazed how well my 15's did against the LaScala in the low end. Almost every Klipsch speaker I've listened to..the low end sounds muffled. Not tight, like Altec or even JBL.

The Forte's....I absolutely LOVED....As good or better then my 15's...with the exception of low-mid base...The 15's were FAR superior there...But the Forte's were very very nice...and smooth...

Overall...I've always liked Klipsch....But liked Altec Better....

[Cut-Throat]

Well, I've heard both and much prefer the Klipshorn which is a 3 way not a 2 way speaker. I was auditioning a bigger Horn System when I had Klipsch Belles. So I took my time and found various Audiophile that let mne listen to their gear. Because I knew I was commiting myself to a pair of speakers that would be difficult to move/ship. I ended up Driving about 800 miles roungtrip to pick up my Khorns. I much prefer the Klipsch Bass Bin

With that said I now Have the Klispchorn Bass Bin and Klipsch Tweeter currently paired with an Altec 1005B Horn and 288-16K Drivers. And this configuration sounds far better than either!

[gamalot]

I auditioned both the 19s and Khorns side by side in 1976 and the 19s blew the khorns away then, lasted probably 10 years longer under loud conditions and still blow the Khorns away today.

The only thing Khorns have over 19s is value because many are willing to pay rediculous prices for a highly over rated speaker.

Anyone with an ear should be able to hear that 19s are superior in every way.

This ofcourse is just my opinion but the music will back me up!

Gary

[tomt]

Originally posted by RonSS:


4) Klipsch drivers were no where near as good as Altec.

Ron

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">it's my understanding that,some k-horns utilized,

stephens trusonic drivers (early 50's)

so klipsch were'nt allways filled with cts and

eminence

[Old Guy]

No, but the mids were always Atlas.