KvH: Klipsch loudspeakers

[TransformX]

My av retailer started selling Klipsch loudspeakers, mainly the Reference series (15,25,35).
He's also selling B&W (mainly 60?s3 and CDM xNT) for quite a while.
He thinks the Klipsch are as good as the B&W, especially pricewise.

Can you comment about it ?

[az]

Listen to them yourself, no one can tell you which sound best to YOU

AZ

[K6-III]

If you prefer the sound of horns, you'll like the Klipsch.

Otherwise, there is a sea of great speakers at that pricepoint worth comparing...

[TransformX]

Sound is a lot but it isn't everything.
My current ls are Wharfedale Modus series who's power handling isn't that good - in high volumes it's quite easy to kill a driver (ls rated as 150W-170W RMS, receiver rated as 85W RMS, never played above half volume).
Some ls sound better over time, some don't. If you happen to listen to new kinds of music, you might sadly discover that your ls play it like sh1t.

This is why buying a known brand name is good as it lowers the risk of buying rubbish.

edit: the look also counts (especially with the grills off):

[KvHagedorn]

As Az said.. listen to them. However, do not do so in a biased way.. a biased way would be to play only the music which sounds best on one, and to neglect extended listening. By and large, B&W has generated more satisfied customers than any other speaker we have sold, and that goes for the 600 series as well as the high enders. They are tough, too.. they handle most anything you throw at them without dying. I've only had to replace one defective driver in the past 5 years.

Klipsch was great back in the day, when Paul Klipsch was alive and running the thing. The Forte and other speakers in the classic line were pretty awesome. They have gone downhill, though.. driven by marketers more than engineers (B&W is decidedly the opposite). We used to carry them, but were not really impressed enough to keep the line. However, if you like to listen exclusively to heavy rock at loud volumes, they have their merits. A pair of 604s will give you 90% of that, though.. and play everything else with faithful clarity. You can sit down with B&Ws and really enjoy music (or home theater for that matter).

[KvHagedorn]

By the way, if you like the look and want wood finish speakers, look at the CM4 and CM6. You will need a subwoofer for pounding bass, though (which sounds much better anyhow).

[TransformX]

Speaking of looks, I think the B&W 600 series without the grille look awesome !

About the klipsch, I guess I was mostly impressed by the very clear highs, high volume (high sensitivity speakers) and ofcourse the agressive look Not to mention that the price seemed quite sensible.

As far as I understand, with everything being equal, you'd still put your $ on B&W. Thanks !

[KvHagedorn]

Yep. As I said, listen to the highs on each pair for at least 10 minutes and see if your opinion changes.

I remember what you listen to now.. I'd rather have B&Ws for that. How much do you want to spend? If I was going to buy now and had some dosh, I would go for the 705 bookshelves and the small 700 series woofer. $1500 and $1300 respectively.. but that's if I had the money..

[Jammrock]

When I was looking for stereo equipment a couple of years back I listened to both the Klipsch Reference and the B&W CDM NT line. I thought the B&W were much better, IMO. I thought the Klipsch speakers were very harsh on the high end for anything but hard rock and metal. My B&W CDM 9NT's were an excellent mix of price and performance.

Though I would recommend a dedicated power amp if you go up in the B&W CDM line. The lower lines I don't think need it, but my 9NT's didn't truly come alive until I slapped a Rotel RB-1080 ( 2 channels x 200 W) into the system to power them.

Jammrock

[TransformX]

I don't really have the money right now as I'm on my way to buy an apartment (fo which I'll be paying during the next 20 years ). It's just the first time I've seen them around here and had the chance to listen to them. They're one of the only loudspeaker manufacturers to make THX compliant loudspeakers afair.

Anyway, I just wanted an expert's opinion before I tell my friends who are looking for new rigs anything about them. (even though they can use the computer quite well, they still tust me to use google and audioreview better than them to find info on the 'good stuff')

[K6-III]

THX compliance is nothing more than paying Lucas Arts a certain amount of money...

I'd also suggest taking a look at some KEF Reference speakers. Excellent soundquality from my experience.

I have the much lower-end Q1's myself and have been very happy with them.

With KEF's Uni-Q coax drivers, they would be a great choice for smaller rooms with their excellent off-axis performance.

[TransformX]

Could anyone explain the difference between high current and high power (W) in audio amplfication ?

[Umfriend]

AFAIK, it's the same thing. To move the speaker to a certain position, the Amp sets a voltage (V). Given the resistance of the speaker, the Amp must supply a certain current (I) (lower resistance needs higher current). Now as V.I = W, higher I yields higher W....

If the Amp is unable to provide the current required, V will fall causing the speaker to not move as far out as required and ussually to not move well at all.

But others must be able to explain it better, if this is correct at all.

[Jammrock]

Power (W) is the measure of how much sound the speaker/amp can make. Be careful when readin Power, as power can be measured many different ways. Those little $100 stereo's may say they can push 400 W, but at best that means peak-to-peak Watts at a certain frequency with the volume cranked all the way up during a heavy bass hit. The true measure of a system's power is nominal RMS wattage, which that tiny system might porduce 10 W of. Anyway ... in sum, Watts (power) is the amount of sound energy that the device can dissipate.

High current, though electronically linked to power, determines how well the amp can drive the speaker cone (or whatever sound reporduction device you're using). A true high current system will be able to drive a 3-way system, tweeter (high freq.), mid (freq.) and sub-woofer (low freq.), without much loss in sound quality, even if one of your speaker cones is a pesky B&W Kevlar job. Switching from my internal Denon AVR amp to my dedicate Rotel power amp made a world of difference in sound reproduction, especially in the mids (see Kevlar cone) and the lows (sub-woofers suck tons of juice from your amp).

And because of the low freq. need for !!!!!MORE POWER!!!!! it is best to get a dedicated powered sub, or get a good high current amp to drive the subs in your 3-way speakers. This is also why you see all those boom-car ricers put 1 F capacitors in their cars, so the bass hits won't drain all the power from the car and the rest of the system. This is also why if you see the inside of a high-end, high-power, high-current system you will see banks of capacitors.

Anywho ... quick sum over.

Jammrock

[TransformX]

How do I know if a certain amplifier is high current (except for the price) ?
What measurment tells me about it, damping factor ?