Why don’t people like me… I mean Klipsch.

[jopela]

After auditioning several speakers in my price range I liked the Klipsch reference series the best and picked up a whole surround setup. The seemed to give me good sound to value. Compared to my JBL $150 HTIB and my parents Bose system I thought it was a great improvement, but after hanging around here and some other audiophile boards it seems like I am almost as big of a pariah as the avid Bose defender. I know the klips are not as high end as many of the systems out there, but where is the respect and love? Am I missing something, or is it mainstream syndrome, where a company has gotten very successful and turned ‘mainstream’ so everybody hates them now?

The only real complaint I consistently hear about Klipsch is the horn tweeters, and I can only attribute that to personal listening taste, but I don’t hear the same level of hatred towards other speakers that people don’t care for the sound of.

or since this is my first set of real speakers am I completely ignorant ant Klipsch the ford fiesta of higher end speakers.

Please educate me without turning this into a war.

 

[timmay8612]

I don't know about the reference series, but I own two lower end Klipsch products, a HTIB targeted towards gamers and some computer speakers. I like the sound, but a consistent critique I hear is small problems like scratchy pots, or my HTIB sometimes needs to be toggled on/off or the source button needs to be cycled for it to work. Duno if there are issues with the high end stuff too or not.

 

[trnqk7]

Most people don't like the sound of the horn tweeters, like you mentioned. Personally, it's not my favorite, but I've heard worse IMO. I think the other issue is that they seem quite expensive for the "quality" you get. If they were lower in price, then I think you would be getting a better deal compared to other speakers at similar price points. That's just my opinion.

 

[jamie2112]

There is no reason for you not to be happy with your klipsch. They don't sound good to everyone but you are the only one that matters. Enjoy your speakers and don't worry what other peoples opinon's are, they really don't matter.

 

[dem beats]

Many people love klipsch. They own Energy, who made the speakers I have.

I will say this, usualy when looking at klipsch there are other alternatives at the same pricepoint.

AKA Some would say you can do better for the same dollar. For the usual price or even sale price of those speakers you can find something that will out perform in many ways. But then you get down to transient something or anothers and attack and tooth decay or somthing else. Frankly if you are happy then stay happy.

I actualy don't hate bose speakers. I don't even hate the crappy chinease little cube things. They have their place, just not in my home. One of my co workers has a decent sounding system with those used as surrounds and some of the classic old bose 3 way towers. They sound great with a sub. He gets 7.1 sound in a small room and his wife doesn't mind cubes all over as they can be hidden.

I personaly think manycompanies such as bose and klipsch blow their own horn pretty hard, and could really step up the quality in construction. Really Timmy, if you like the sound, and they work with your space and budget then, sweet.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

A lot of pelple love Klipsch, Definitive Technology, Paradigm, Mirage, B&W, and many, many other speakers out there. It's personal taste.

I've listened to some expensive speakers ($20K B&W, $10K Dali, $8K Krell) and a lot of speakers in between ($2K MartinLogan, $2K Dali, Klipsch, NHT, Mirage, etc.). The difference in sound quality to me is small.

 

[TjMV3]

After auditioning several speakers in my price range I liked the Klipsch reference series the best and picked up a whole surround setup. The seemed to give me good sound to value. Compared to my JBL $150 HTIB and my parents Bose system I thought it was a great improvement, but after hanging around here and some other audiophile boards it seems like I am almost as big of a pariah as the avid Bose defender. I know the klips are not as high end as many of the systems out there, but where is the respect and love? Am I missing something, or is it mainstream syndrome, where a company has gotten very successful and turned ‘mainstream’ so everybody hates them now?

The only real complaint I consistently hear about Klipsch is the horn tweeters, and I can only attribute that to personal listening taste, but I don’t hear the same level of hatred towards other speakers that people don’t care for the sound of.

or since this is my first set of real speakers am I completely ignorant ant Klipsch the ford fiesta of higher end speakers.

Please educate me without turning this into a war.

Don't worry about what everyone else likes or dislikes. As long as your ears like them, that's all that matters.

I could on and on about how I dislike a lot of the B & W and Paradigm speakers, but it's all a matter of personal taste and personal preference.

Tell every one else to kiss your ***


Although, it is always funny to watch those over-top and overly-sensitive B & W and Paradigm lovers get all upset and offended when someone doesn't like those speakers.


By the way, Jamo Rules!!!

 

[WmAx]

After auditioning several speakers in my price range I liked the Klipsch reference series the best and picked up a whole surround setup. The seemed to give me good sound to value. Compared to my JBL $150 HTIB and my parents Bose system I thought it was a great improvement, but after hanging around here and some other audiophile boards it seems like I am almost as big of a pariah as the avid Bose defender. I know the klips are not as high end as many of the systems out there, but where is the respect and love? Am I missing something, or is it mainstream syndrome, where a company has gotten very successful and turned ‘mainstream’ so everybody hates them now?

The only real complaint I consistently hear about Klipsch is the horn tweeters, and I can only attribute that to personal listening taste, but I don’t hear the same level of hatred towards other speakers that people don’t care for the sound of.

or since this is my first set of real speakers am I completely ignorant ant Klipsch the ford fiesta of higher end speakers.

Please educate me without turning this into a war.

Depends on your primary usage.

If your primary use is for home theater, games, etc.; then the Klipsch are just fine. HT does not have much demand on fidelity. The Klipsche get loud and clear with a reasonable flat response and this is the most important thing for HT.

If your primary use is for critical music listening and you want realism of sound, then you would be far better served with something else. The Klispche are not physically capable of sounding realistic; they clearly lack critical measured behavior(s) that are known by human auditory research to be critical to maximum sound quality as perceived by human subjects.

-Chris

 

[dem beats]

Oh chris, you and your new fangled research and science!

Nonesence. My magic pebles fix everything.

I can agree with that statement though, HT is FAR less demanding. I LOVE my energy speakers, (again owned by klipsch) but my room is a dedicated HT. When I first listened to 2 chan I was blow away at how great they sounded, but I really do think I could have a much better 2 chan experience with some quite different speakers.

i.e. some day I would love to have a pair of the big maggies with subs in stereo. But that's down the road.....

 

[tyreal78]

Cuz they suck (shrugs shoulders). I'm kidding.

You might be correct in saying many don't like something because it has become a mainstream product. This seems to occurr most often when elitists are involved. It's like the music snob who only likes indy bands, labels, etc. Once the snob's precious talent gets discovered and goes mainstream they no longer like them anymore. I could go into the reasons why, but who cares.

Just like everyone here has said, it's important to purchase something or like a band based on what sounds good, not on what others think or how popular it is. This forum can help guide you in the right direction or give suggestions, but it's all based on your ears.

 

[hotroady]

You might be correct in saying many don't like something because it has become a mainstream product. This seems to occurr most often when elitists are involved. It's like the music snob who only likes indy bands, labels, etc. Once the snob's precious talent gets discovered and goes mainstream they no longer like them anymore. I could go into the reasons why, but who cares.

Just like everyone here has said, it's important to purchase something or like a band based on what sounds good, not on what others think or how popular it is. This forum can help guide you in the right direction or give suggestions, but it's all based on your ears.

Snipey, pithy remarks from Klipsch bashers are a result of: #1. They have small pee pees #2. They have no balls #3. They make every effort to 'prove' their senses and sensability are superior to yours #4. In general; they have personality disorders, and overcompensate. #5 Comprehension skills are limited, and very hard to explain simple things, too. Just rejoice that God has favored you with sizable gonads to scratch then move on!

 

[tom67]

Klipsch

Application may be the most important aspect....I recently relegated my Paradigm Studio 20s to the den in favor of older Klipsch RB5 bookshelf units for the main family room area....frankly the Klipsch much better for HT and very good for music. The Paradigms are very well made and better for low volume music,especially choral which is probably the hardest to reproduce but that is about it.....and dont listen to the conventional horn nonsense. The newer horn models have a 1" deep vestigial horns that have no resemblance to the large metallic horns of yesteryear in terms of performance.

 

[fredk]

Hmm. The first pair of audiophile speakers I heard was high end Klipsch. The album was Dark Side of the Moon, THE reference lp of the time.

Sitting in the sweet spot, it was like the band was there in front of you. This was back in the late '70s. It was a real WOW moment.

 

[jopela]

Thanks for the constructive feedback. Believe me, I like them and don't care what other people think about it. It just seemed Klipsch was a common target for many people and I was just curious if there was an overwhenming reason why... I think you all hit it on the head... the heck with em.

 

[fmw]

The best advice I can give you is not to go through life worrying about what other people think. As you get older you will get to the point where it doesn't matter to you at all. The person who has to be satisfied with the sound is you. Not anyone else. If you are satisfied with the sound then you are in great shape. Your preferences are what matter, no someone else's.

 

[captiankirk28]

Like many others said if they sound good to you their are great, and they are leaps and bounds better than Bose, i can't belive you even used them in the same sentance together

 

[randy98ss]

I have Klipsch RF-5 series that I bought in 2001, and before that I had an equivalent series (cant remember hte model number). I really like them alot, but I have not had any experience with other speakers.

You are right though, Klipsch is not well liked in the audiophile world.

 

[hotroady]

Snipey, pithy remarks from Klipsch bashers are a result of: #1. They have small pee pees #2. They have no balls #3. They make every effort to 'prove' their senses and sensability are superior to yours #4. In general; they have personality disorders, and overcompensate. #5 Comprehension skills are limited, and very hard to explain simple things, too. Just rejoice that God has favored you with sizable gonads to scratch then move on!

Yeah..well, I don't think I was being "constructive" here, but I do get sick of being sniped for liking Klipsch. I also like my Martin Logan's for different reasons. Yeah, they like to compare Klipsch to Bose. Tends to`show their ignorance. Klipsch are revealing and forward. Bose are defused. I would say Klipsch makes the attempt to give you value in a given price range.

 

[cfrizz]

I don't hate any speaker company. However, my ears cannot handle any kind of horn/metal tweeter.

They are simply too hard on my ears & I end up with a headache after about an hour. So I just stay away from them.

But if your ears can handle them & you like them...enjoy!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

They are simply too hard on my ears...

What are you talking about, woman?

You have 405WPC amps!!!