Klipsch KLF 10

[TheAnomaly]

there's a pair on craigslist for $400, "excellent condition". i'm seriously thinking about going for them, possibly offering less than that because they've been up for a month...little interest. is there anything i should know about these before i audition? did they age well? were they ever good in the first place? is that a good value? any information on them would be appreciated...

the only first hand experience i've had with Klipsch is with their promedia speakers which can be summed up as good PC speakers, which isn't saying much. i currently use DT880s for my cans, and although i'm not necessarily looking for something that sounds like that but in speaker form, i do want something that can: 1) go loud 2) is precise in the high end and midrange 3) has solid bass response without a sub 4) overall full range dynamics. not in that order; i value all of those fairly equally.

i know Klipsch has a reputation for providing the fairly raucous, bright, large sounding tower speaker. does the KLF sacrifice overall quality for being able to pump it up, like the Promedias did? i mostly listen to rock and rock sub-genres, with some rap, electronica, and classical thrown in every now and then. movies and game playing would be common fare as well. would the KLF be good for those uses? any information at all is appreciated in trying to put this picture together, because the only other stuff i can find is from AudioReview.com, where they received overall glowing reviews. i am wary of those recommendations alone, of course, but will supplement that and whatever i learn here with my audition later today.

 

[spacemanspliff]

They are Klipsch and will be bright. You can eq that out. I don't like Klipsch but MRARROYO does and I respect him. Maybe he knows something that I don't lol.

Still, there has GOT to be better on Audiogon for the $$.

 

[mrarroyo]

I really like Klipsch speakers because of their high efficiency, impactful bass, and clear highs. I should mention that IMO Klipsch should be driven by tube amps to help mellow their high end. If you do not have a tube amp then a dark sounding SS amp would be second best.

The KLF10 have an efficiency of 98 dB at 1W/1M so even an small tube amp (15 wpc or so) will drive them to very loud volumes ( well over 110 dB). The KLF10 was designed with home theater in mind. If you have the time and a bit more money you may want to wait for one of their heritage models to become available in the used market. Here is a link to Klipsch Heritage models: http://www.klipsch.com/products/lists/heritage.aspx

Here is link to the KLF10 owners manual: http://www.klipsch.com/media/product...als/klf_om.pdf

 

[tbonner1]

The KLF10's are built very well and have heavy cabinets and pretty robust drivers.

As stated, they are very efficient and can be driven well by low power tube amplifiers.

I have listened to many of the Classic Klipsch (Full corner horns, Forte, Heresy etc.) and was surprised how good the KLF series sounded when they came out.

No jokes about the horns ringing like a bell, these are clear when set up correctly and you sit on axis.

I suggest a warm source though or they will tend to be bright.

Good luck.

 

[TheAnomaly]

i should mention this is by no means a purist setup. i'm a college kid looking for some cheap speakers to add to my existing cheap audio setup (minus the DT880s...) so that i have "something" to listen to when i want to hear speakers. i also enjoy the greater impact that speakers should ideally be able to give. i have been somewhat discouraged so far, but i am leaving to go audition them shortly. the guy who owns them said he is something of a collector of speakers, and that he has over 20 pairs in his house, and that i can see what else he has and we can work something out. his place is an hour from where i live though, so i'll most likely be coming back with speakers or never getting them. more in about 3 hours...

edit: i should say that if i like the speakers and purchase them, i will also be eventually moving this into a more dedicated stereo system, so they won't always be used with such a modest setup. these speakers will be major workhorses for a huge variety of things, and based on what i know about Klipsch (without hearing them, though), these *seem* like they will do the trick; full range dynamics, precise high end, powerful bass/volume, low price. at this point, if i decide it's worth it to spend money on speakers, i'll probably go with the Klipsch anyway, unless i am extremely disappointed with their midrange performance. like i said though, more in about 3 hours. i'm sure you're all on tenterhooks! haha.

 

[spacemanspliff]

three hours my ass. you will gab for longer than that I promise. guys and speakers are like girls and gossip.

 

[TheAnomaly]

back...not much later than expected :O

the guy had a very horrendous audio setup in his living room; the positioning was very bad. looking past that, the sound was more or less what i expected. fairly bright, not all that different from what i'm used to with the DT880s, though. bass was impactful, a little boomy in his setup, but i'm certain a lot of that is due to his room. i could get an EQ and fix that, too. overall i would say $400 is towards the upper range of reasonable for what i was hearing. it's hard to do a very critical audition with what was there, and i didn't hear the actual ones i'd be buying (he has 2 pairs...i would of course demand to hear the ones for sale before putting anything on the table).

these are more or less what i was looking for in a speaker. for logistics reasons i did not purchase them, and his house was uber hot so i couldn't stay for real long. i may go back in a week or two and see if he still has them, and if he does, and my housing situation for next semester is worked out (apartment w/ a real living room, that is) i will probably pull the trigger on these. i would probably offer him more like $320 and get up to around $350-375; they've been on craigslist over a month now, so i'd have to imagine he can't be that picky. overall an interesting experience.

edit: ok i'm derailing my own thread a little here. i don't think i have a big enough room either at home or in this apartment to do anywhere near justice to the KLF 10s even if i bought them. would a smaller tower or sub/sat system work good? i was initially leaning towards a full size tower setup because i don't want to take any risks to get full range sound, but now i'm thinking a tower like that is overboard. again, budget somewhere in the $400-500 range for a pair of mini monitors and a sub...i'm looking at Aperion Audio and AV123. are those both legit? any help on this speaker adventure is appreciated.

 

[spacemanspliff]

for your price range the av123 or used psb would be nice choices. smaller rooms = bookshelves and a small sub. I have a pair of Usher 520s and a tiny 6.5" sub and I still need to work on the sub placement. However, soundstage is spot on and sounds fantastic. My speakers are just at eye level tweeter wise.

 

[tbonner1]

I have had several mini-monitors with subwoofers and the stereo image is spooky good. The center channel image from a good set of stereo monitors can be startling.

 

[mrarroyo]

If you could pick this KEF for cheap you would be very satisfied. I hae no association w/ the seller, found them via search mode.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PR-OF-KEF-FLOOR-...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[spacemanspliff]

I dunno man. 1980? That's old but if you can get them for $100 then yes.

On soundstage, I have experienced vertical soundstage accurate ABOVE my head from only 3 feet away!

I mean that when playing a game of COD2 I hear someone firing on the floor above me and it sounds EXACTLY like that! Really wild to experience.

 

[mrarroyo]

I hear you, I can tell you that my DCM Time Windows 1A which are over 22 years old are still going on strong.

 

[spacemanspliff]

I had some 1989 Canton bookshelves with 8" drivers for years with a 1991 Sony 1000ESD pre-amp and nad 330 amp. Loud and bassy for what they were but the tweets kind of pissed me off so I let it sit for years and traded them for something else I forget now.

Anyway, point is some old vintage gear is great but for speakers I am pretty sure my Usher 520s would have been hard to beat in 1980 lol.