The aversion to horns is hardly universal.
Some of the very best speakers I've heard have been horn loaded, at
several times the price of the Klipsch versions. The new Klipsch Jubilee shows great promise.
But, IMO, Klipschorns sound amazingly musical and like a live orchestra (I've played in 5, if you count school, used to eat lunch in front of one rehearsing, and have been a frequent classical, romantic period, and contemporary concert goer). They have sounded great (low distortion and incredible dynamics) in the three rooms I have had Klipschorns in, and also at all of the audio stores in which I have heard them (except The Good Guys). The Cornwall isn't quite as good, and doesn't have the precise bass of the Khorns. The La Scala and the Belle definitely need a subwoofer, preferably a horn loaded one. Just as my dislike of the La Scala was reaching the max, I walked into a cheesy little store where they sounded
great! When the monarch asked the wise men for a saying that would always be appropriate, they suggested, "It all depends."
The Klipschorn sound can be optimised 1) in a properly treated room 2) with either Audyssey, the highest Dirac, Trinnov, etc. 3) for some recordings, further EQed with TLC 4) a high ceiling 5) a thick carpet, or area rugs 6) more than 13-15 feet away 7) on tweeter axis 8) in a large room 9) containing the newest stock upgrades from Klipsch (we brought our 1980 Klipschorns up to the 2005 level by installing a Klipsch upgrade -- we could hear the difference, although subtle, with most music. One subtle improvement resulted from adding 2' x 4' absorbers to the walls where a yardstick pressed flat across the front of the midrange horn would touch the side wall, with the absorbers reaching 2 feet farther into the room, from there. This advice came from Chris A, an engineer who is on the Klipsch forum, in his article, "Corner Horn Acoustics." These absorbers are in a completely different location than the position dictated by the "mirror test."
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How about distortion? At THX's highest peak SPL of 105 dB (above 80 Hz; subwoofers can go 10 dB higher) would be a decent place to measure. IM (Modulation or Doppler)
distortion is generally the most serious. I fully realize that these measurements were taken by different people, in different locations, at different times -- just like subjective listening tests. So, at 105 dB, then:
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Speakers | IM distortion at 105dB (fs) at ~~14' | THD at 105 dB (fs) at ~~14' | | | | | | | | |
Klipschorn | 1.7% Slightly Audible | 0.25% | | | | | | | | |
AR 4-way AR 98RS | 2.7% Clearly Audible and slightly Annoying | ~3% Audible | | | | | | | | |
Fried Studio 4 | 10% Clearly Audible & Annoying | 4% Audible | | | | | | | | |
Platinum Studio 2 | 7% Clearly Audible and Annoying | 1.9% Audible | | | | | | | | |
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From reviews by Heyser, Keele, Jr., and others. | | | | | | | | | | |
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