Bullsh*t. The Story of Paul W. Klipsch Inventor of the Klipschorn Speaker.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ย. 2022
- Ok, so I’ve been talking a lot about the psychology of audio lately, and I’m sorry, but a lot of you are in denial. In fact I’ve only got one word for your nonsense about how expensive audio cables, amps and other components sound so differently from one another. Bullsh*t. I’m in good company. Paul W. Klipsch, inventor of the eponymous Klipschorn spent 40 years of his life telling audio quacks the same thing. This is his story.
To watch the biography video released on PWK’s 90th birthday, click:
• Paul W. Klipsch Biogra...
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I owned the KEF 30's years ago. I started with the 20's, but a five minute demo of the 30's by my oh so "helpful" audio gear salesman sold me on the upgrade to the much warmer speaker. Great sound, beautiful (especially with a fresh coating of Olde English Oil), but a beast to move around. I think they are over 100 lbs each. I still think about them and have some regrets that I was "helped" into upgrading them to Monitor Audio speakers. Funny how that works, when you got the stereo gear virus. There's always someone to help you spend more money.
The ONLY speaker brand, that will ever bring my sound!
There was a story I heard many years ago. Whether it's true or not I don't know. The story was that one year in the mid-70's when ADS was first touting their "minispeakers," the Consumer Electronics Show was coming up. Klipsch pulled some strings and managed to get the Klipsch booth put right next to the ADS booth. ADS showed up with two or three models of minispeakers, and a 50-watt-per-channel amplifier. Klipsch showed up with a pair of Klipschorns and a boombox that ran off flashlight batteries. He had the K-horns connected to the boombox, which had a sign affixed saying, "ONE WATT PER CHANNEL." For the entire show, no one could hear the ADS speakers because the K-horns were drowning them out.
In my early years I heard k horns many times. They always had the same effect. It sounded more like live music. I’m sure they were not precise and you can read spec sheets all day but I’m going to sit and listen and see how much fun I have. That is all that really matters in the end. Bob Carver made a point that low bass can be as high as 50% distortion and you just can’t tell. It always comes back to “BUT HOW DOES IT SOUND?” Great video!
I own Klipsch La Scalas, purchased around1980. I've always enjoyed their realism and efficiency. They are very musical. I finally upgraded the crossovers and they now are the main speakers in my home theater system. They can play cleanly at low or high volumes, driven by an Adcom 555 II. Luckily, my neighbors live far enough away to tolerate my movie night.
He was one-of-a-kind; an American original. He once stated that what America needed was a good five watt amplifier - he was bragging about the efficiency of his speakers.
I just recently purchased a pair of Cornwall IV 's. Over the years I've owned many high end speakers. Now I can afford them I will not be buying anymore. Words cannot describe the Awesome sound they reproduce.
Gimmicks come and go ( Karlson Coupler, Sweet 16, 901's) but good engineering will always be with us.
When I built my first high end system after a lot of auditioning speakers. I decided that I would use a pair of Klipsch Horns or Altec VOTs. When I went to work for Altec as an employ I could purchase Altec's at a extremely low price and ended up with the VOT's. This was in the days when a 75Watt amp was HIGH power. As I remember the Klipsch and the VOT's were rated at around 104 Db with 1 watt input. With a 75 watt amp the sound of both speakers is what I can best describe as effortless. While most amps would struggle to drive the typical inefficient speakers. Both had there faults the Klipsch sounded best in a corner while the VOT's were incredible when outside or in a near anechoic environment. I still have the VOT's and a pair of Klipsch Cornwall's and over the decades the only thing that limits the quality of their sound is the source material.
Jim
Great info. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Are you using the Cornwalls or VOTs as “daily drivers” or something else?
I'm way past the point of having good hearing the upper limit of what I can hear is around 7Khz. The system I listen too most of the time is a Baby Marantz 2010 used as a headphone amp and a set of Sennheiser HD598 Head phones. The sound source is from my computer. The system in my work shop is a Marantz 3800 Preamp, the power amp can be either a Mac 2105 or a modified commercial amp based on a James Bongiorno design that delivers 1KW per channel. a Marantz 120 turner, sound sources are a Thorens TD224 automatic turntable (I keep it mostly for its uniqueness), Sony TTS 3000 turntable fitted with a a SME 3012 tonearm and streaming premium Spotify. Speakers are Dynaco A25's which are hung from the rafters. If you ever get the opportunity to listen to a set of A25's with rebuilt crossovers you will be surprised by their sound. The VOT's and Cornwalls are not allowed in the house. The VOT's are sometimes used for outdoor parties while the Corwalls are kept protected as there in the shop amongst lathes, saws and are somewhat difficult to fly from the rafters.
Thanks for this great vid. Almost 5 yrs ago now, I was looking for a new pair of speakers. I auditioned many, some costing upwards of $15K. I then heard and purchased a pair of Tekton Pendragons and loved them, only to find out they were only $2K. I’d also heard a pair of Fortes and occasionally think what could have been, until a neighbor of mine recently told me he had a pr. of Forte l’s. I of course quickly snagged em for a great price and am currently upgrading the crossovers with better parts, as a few of the old ones are out of spec or close to it. There’s something about horn speakers I really like, but feel very fortunate to own a pair of both speakers. They both bring something to the table. Thanks again.
I love Klipsch speakers! In 2010 I purchased a Klipsch Synergy 7.1 Surround Sound system. Back then hh gregg told me they were one of the top line of Klipsch speakers. They are probably bottom line nowadays, but they are still going strong and sounding as good as the day of purchase. I love watching movies and listening to music.
Great video! I'm sad that I missed out on the recent 'More Dope Than Hope' book that was recently published of all the Klipsch company mailouts.
I have no experience of Klipsch speakers but I like the cut of Paul Klipsch's jib. I stopped buying hi-fi magazines in the late 80's when they were telling me that buying a pair of £1600 speaker cables was gonna change my life. No shit! They'd make me £1600 worse off! My entire system was worth about £50 at the time. Now it's worth about £80. But I like it.
A very valuable human being, was Mr Paul Klipsch. I read his biography on the site and then the anecdotes a couple of months ago. That was prompted by reading a post in a forum where a guy said that Paul Klipsch - as a complete stranger - paid for his higher education in the face of bureaucratic bullshit.
I haven't tried Klipschorns, or any other kind of horn speaker though. Not yet anyway.
I've had 4 sets of Klipsch speakers ranging from affordable to not so affordable. Regardless they all presented sound in a new way compared to what I had been listening to throughout my life. There are so many factors, it really comes down to the individual's music taste budget and environment.
I run a pair of Cornwall IV's with a Heresy IV as my Center Channel. A pair of stacked Bose 901's Sealed Box for my surrounds. Everyone that has heard my rig can't believe they are Horn Speakers !
So yeah. PWK was and is still correct in calling out other manufacturers and even other Horn Speaker Designs as "Bullshit" !
Great quick little video.
I still have my AR-3a speakers and love them. I have also owned AR-4x, AR-6, and AR-7 during my years of building my system. All of these speakers are excellent.
Today KLH has remarketed its acoustic suspension speakers, but there seem to be very few brands using that design today. Most speakers are ported now. Why are there so few models that use the acoustic suspension design?
I own Superzeros and wouldn't trade them for any speaker under $800
Great Klipsch history vid, well done. I'm a long time owner of Cornwall III speakers. They have enhanced my music (and TV) enjoyment so much. Truly are worth every penny they cost, as they are a lifetime investment.
Although the few Klipsch speakers I have heard so far did not meet my personal taste, I do very much like the attitude Paul Klipsch had.
Klipsch never made a bad speaker while Mr Paul Klipsch was alive, sadly they never made a good one after he died.
@@wally7856 That makes perfectly sense.
My main speakers are a set of Klipsch La Scala and I absolutely love them! However, they definitely need to be complemented with a subwoofer at 50k where they begin to sharply roll off. I have two SVS PB1000 and they are awesome complementing the La Scallas.
I also have a set of Klipsch R-PM51 powered bookshelf speakers in my bedroom. Detailed sound! Of course, light on bass due to smaller size.
I'm on board bought my 1st set Forte' 2's in 1991 nothing at the time sounded as lively it was like being at the concert but most importantly high efficient speakers need good equipment to power them and I find tube amplification does the best job.
I have owned every one of the heritage line except the Belles. They are all great speakers with their own personalities.
I own a pair of k horns and love them, when they are connected to my TV in the living room. Those dynamics make movies go boom. The k horns are not allowed in my audio room however, because midrange and tweeters shouting at me in the corner does not match an unamplified instrument to "my ears" the 6 foot of phase misalignment between the drivers trashes my Image. Thanks for mentioning the measurements of Julian Hursh. He and that damn Stereo Review magazine with its stupid double blind tests on Lo Fi, damaged the hi fi industry. He has provided the fodder used against hi fi enthusiasts., by people like you too this day!!! At the CES shows in Las Vegas Hersh had to walk to the hotel. He couldn't take the shuttle bus full of seasoned experts all heckling him.
l was 15/16 years of age when l heard a pair of LA SCALAS from a neighbor who was DJ. lve already been to live concerts pinkfloyd supertramp the who etc as well as symphony orchestra and later live JAZZ here in Toronto when my dj friend would play that music on his la scalas it was the closest thing to being there l am a true audiophile now but do not own a pair of KLIPSH l cant get that sound out of my head to this day lm 60yrs now and still want a pair
I've cycled through several of the classic speakers of the 70s like large advents, AR3a, etc.. I landed on my 1980s Klipsch Heresy II with a subwoofer to fill in the bottom. They're not perfect speakers and have a tiny sweet spot, but they're the speakers that stopped my desire to keep buying speakers. I want to own the Cornwall IV and now that I'm seeing people come off of them under 4000 dollars used, I may buy some when the recession gets into full swing. I can't hear above 13khz, so maybe people that hate these speakers are hearing something I can't. Good for them. For me, I just like horn speakers, but don't have 15,000 dollars for the JBLs I really enjoy.
The models sold under 1000$ are simple 2 way design and are far from the quality standard of the luxury models like the Heresy and Forte. Thanks for the stroll through memory lane!
As to your ongoing rant against the audio crazies.....yeah, pretty much on the money, so don't let 'em get you down. But as for Paul Klipsch..well...I guess it depends on how you look at things. His objections to the AR3a may have had merit, but it's hard to argue that the acoustic suspension speaker, and AR's contributions in particular really revolutionized the world of high end audio. Being able to reproduce deep bass from such a small box was impossible prior to this, and with the constant increases in power available from amplifiers, the inefficiency argument was less and less valid. People may still love the old Klipschorn, but the reality is that it was designed in the mono era and was poorly suited for stereo reproduction. Its acoustic design is also very much obsolete, bettered by many other, more modern, high sensitivity designs. But if he was alive today, he'd probably say the same thing. Agree or disagree, the guy was colorful, and made good points.
You’ll get no argument from me about the merits and significance of the AR3. As a Bostonian, I’m a big fan of the “east coast sound” and all the genius and classic brands that spawned from from the area, particularly KLH.
I rock the Klipsch THX 2.1 system for my PC. I live in a trailer park, so, Half volume can literally rock my whole neighborhood. Friend of mine bought the gold series back in the day, I've never heard anything that can even compare. I'm all Klipsch, till I die. Only brand I will ever buy unless i can find some cheap Bose 901's at a garage sale.
Great video. Cheers fellow audiophiles
An interesting video-thanks.
My pleasure, Dave. So glad you enjoyed it.
The classic Klipsch mid boxes are still the best available. Belles, La Scalas and Horns. Squawks and tweets and x overs have moved on. He was a giant in his field.
Owned them. Love them. A very warm and balanced sound.
Awesome info!
Thanks for watching!
I have a pair of 1974 Chorus (the "new coke" of Klipsch intended to replace the Cornwall) - I also own some mid 70's Heresy -- I have had so many speakers over the years, including some flagships like JBL 4350 and Magnapans - always the Klipsch sound better - ALWAYS. Just bought a custom set of Tekton called Polycell 15; they are average sounding in my space and will get sold soon. --- as for power, yes, its the first 5 watts for most of the time, if you have a pair of Klipsch speakers, try getting a real amp on them 200wpc and add a serious sub (I have a 400w Klipsch 15"), and piss off the neighbors they are gonna love how they sound
It would be great to see some videos where you null two amps to show the differences
Best speaker of all time
I have no useful experience with Klipsch speakers,
but I can say that good sound does not rely on any one detail,
and the method by which it is achieved is immaterial.
I agree all this hype on pricey gear sounding better is silly the most important parts of audio is source content meaning a good copy of a recording whatever format and good speakers amps preamps will sound very similar as long they match the power requirements of the speakers and room volume. How can a $75k turntable sound that much better then a good table be it vintage or modern in the $1-1.5k range. The pricey gear is built better and will last longer plus looks and veils good but the sound doesn't care about all that.
Beware of buzz words like AMAZING and that unit will stomp that unit that is all ego. Cheers
KG4s have only one horn and imo are more natural sounding than the Heritage series !
An inspiring example of bullshit-driven promotion of a real deal no-bullshit business! Loved this one :)
+1 for quoting Stereo Review. They were the Paul W. Klipsch of the audio magazine world. While other audio mags bought into the audiophool stuff, SR, and Julian Hirsch, stuck to science in their reviews. I always enjoyed reading my father's issues back in the 70s.
Any thoughts on Louis W. Erath Folkspeakers?
I agree there's lots of bullshit that's common with AADS (Acquired Audiophile Disability Syndrome), but I also think that PK was mostly deaf above 2000hz.
Your evidence?
@@FluxCondenser I used to sell Klipsh speakers. Had plenty of experience comparing them.
He more likely got used to "horn shout," the cupped hands coloration that smaller horns impart. I too have a hearing curve that resembles AM radio but I can still detect treble issues because they reflect back into the midrange.
@@1mctous That's a good description of the rather pronounced coloration. On the positive side, the horns do have excellent transient response.
horns = yes, klipsh = no, CERWIN VEGA = YESSSSSS!!!
I think I would have liked Paul. What we need is more no-bullshit people.
Ah, but would Paul have liked you?
I'v owned Klipsch speakers since 1975, no other brand equals them, thats a fact, not bull💩
My experience with klipsh is early 2000s and they always made my ears bleed. I think this was a dark time for the company though.
the copper-colored woofer series are bull...they sound shrilling!!!!!!
hold your hands up to your mouth and go "EEEEE"...that's what a "Shithorn" sounds like. Most audiophile bullshit like these expensive garbage boxes, dissolves behind a screen that you can hear through., and can't see the speakers in question being compared....over and over and over again...any goodwill these days, or craigslist can get you a pair of pretty good speakers for 40 bucks....for 140.00 you can get a c-note kit from Parts Express that sound very good...oh there's bullshit alright... more in audio than politics....