[RDavidson]

Klipsch now sells at Parts Express. Nothing against PE, but I know they buy out leftover stock of stuff from time to time.
http://www.parts-express.com/brand/klipsch/621?utm_source=Retail&utm_medium=Email_Newsletter&utm_content=Klipsch&utm_campaign=email111714K

I know Klipsch has changed ownership (again) in fairly recent times (2011-2012 time frame). I believe Audiovox owns Klipsch now. I knew this wasn't good, but thought it might be possible for Klipsch to operate largely as it normally has with some minor revamping. I think the brand is getting watered down quickly (more quickly than ever before). They have so many product lines, many lifestyle type products, and it kind of seems like home speakers (especially the Heritage and Palladium series) aren't Klipsch's most important products anymore.

[dB Cooper]

It probably is, sad to say. The people who remember the heyday of Klipsch- and to be honest, that was really during the tube era- won't consider the "me too" "lifestyle" type products, and to the youth market, Klipsch is just another brand, with not particularly strong "differentiation" (that's marketingspeak).

Unfortunate that smaller companies are having such a tough go in today's audio marketplace.

[RDavidson]

Yeah. I'm not even of that era, and I could kind of care less to own most things Klipsch makes (not including the Heritage or Palladium series). Why don't they offer compression horn drivers in their Reference series (not just the RF-7)? It's this horn technology that built the Klipsch name. In a day where kids buy whatever their friends buy or see on TV, yet college age and young adults look for authenticity, there has to be a happy medium there. Klipsch is just making me too products, and their authentic products are FAR out of the price range of young adults who might be interested in such. On top of this, you can't go to a store (that I have ever seen) to hear any of the Heritage line (or Palladiums for that matter). I mean, I would think that the point of Klipsch's entry level products (headphones, Bluetooth speakers, etc) would be to serve as a gateway to better things. But these products are so entirely disconnected from "real" Klipsch they serve nothing but to saturate the market. In fact, they likey serve just as easily a gateway to more junk, like Beats and Bose than even low end Klipsch home speakers.

[JohnR]

I don't follow how the fact that PE sells Klipsch has any bearing on the company's health, while they do have buyouts and the like I think that's probably a minority of what they do and the listings on that page don't look like closeouts.

[RDavidson]

My view of the land isn't entirely based on PE selling Klipsch stuff. PE selling Klipsch stuff, to me, is just another sign pointing to the further demise of the brand (not necessarily company health). That was my point. Who gives a crap about the health of a company who seems to be more intent on selling junk than the seriously good products that built the company to start with. Keep in mind we're talking about an American brand with DEEP roots. It's sad to see.

[Mike Nomad]

Unfortunately, at first glance, it does look like a further watering-down of the brand. However, as the proud owner of a pair of vintage Cornwalls, I see the PE news as positive: Maybe Klipsch is dumping parts, because they are getting out of the low-end, life-style, blah blah products that aren't what Klipsch built their reputation on/with.

[RDavidson]

Unfortunately, at first glance, it does look like a further watering-down of the brand. However, as the proud owner of a pair of vintage Cornwalls, I see the PE news as positive: Maybe Klipsch is dumping parts, because they are getting out of the low-end, life-style, blah blah products that aren't what Klipsch built their reputation on/with.

That's a good way of looking at it.
I'd really like to see Klipsch streamline the product lineup and focus on the things that made Klipsch great to begin with. I understand they need to have some entry products for revenue flow and to support development, but right now, they're just one of many companies providing a little better than average lifestyle gear as their bread and butter. I'd like to see home speakers come back to being their bread and butter, with an emphasis on bringing their Heritage technologies to more affordable levels. That way the younger generation, getting acquainted with the brand via headphones or whatever, will get an actual taste of what Klipsch really does well when they buy their first set of home speakers. Right now, their entry speakers, including the Reference line, don't bear that much resemblance to the Heritage speakers. They don't even really sound like them either, unsurprisingly. Not saying they aren't good, but they aren't as good as they could/should be if the point is to give people the "Klipsch sound."

[Mike Nomad]

Yeah, I think it's a crime that new Cornwalls list at $2K _a piece_, and you get MDF cabinets.

I paid $1,800 (delivered) for an all-original _pair_ in plywood (wood core?), dated as 1977. So, the backs are removable, making it easy to work on things (like dropping in a new pair of crossovers), and the cabinets will actually last.

That's a good way of looking at it.
I'd really like to see Klipsch streamline the product lineup and focus on the things that made Klipsch great to begin with. I understand they need to have some entry products for revenue flow and to support development, but right now, they're just one of many companies providing a little better than average lifestyle gear as their bread and butter. I'd like to see home speakers come back to being their bread and butter, with an emphasis on bringing their Heritage technologies to more affordable levels. That way the younger generation, getting acquainted with the brand via headphones or whatever, will get an actual taste of what Klipsch really does well when they buy their first set of home speakers. Right now, their entry speakers, including the Reference line, don't bear that much resemblance to the Heritage speakers. They don't even really sound like them either, unsurprisingly. Not saying they aren't good, but they aren't as good as they could/should be if the point is to give people the "Klipsch sound."

[RDavidson]

Yeah, I think it's a crime that new Cornwalls list at $2K _a piece_, and you get MDF cabinets.

I paid $1,800 (delivered) for an all-original _pair_ in Walnut, dated as 1977. So, the backs are removable, making it easy to work on things (like dropping in a new pair of crossovers), and the cabinets are solid wood.

Well, half of that cost is the use of American labor for the Heritage line. I like this aspect, and I think the Heritage line should always be made with American labor, mostly by hand,with pride. My guess is that this operation is just not very efficient. In keeping with essentially the same construction as the originals (except for materials like MDF) the cost has to boil down to construction time. Maybe Klipsch needs to revamp this aspect and produce the Heritage line in higher numbers, via assembly line or make a new line of lower cost products that still use many of the same parts as the Heritage line to help keep overall costs down. This line wouldn't supplant the REAL Heritage line, it'd work to help support it. Think of it as Heritage lite. Like I was saying before, Klipsch has zero offerings that really serve as entry to the good stuff, ie the Heritage line. They need to work to solve that issue will also bringing the Heritage line more within reach.

[Doublej]

Well, half of that cost is the use of American labor for the Heritage line. I like this aspect, and I think the Heritage line should always be made with American labor, mostly by hand,with pride. My guess is that this operation is just not very efficient. In keeping with essentially the same construction as the originals (except for materials like MDF) the cost has to boil down to construction time. Maybe Klipsch needs to revamp this aspect and produce the Heritage line in higher numbers, via assembly line or make a new line of lower cost products that still use many of the same parts as the Heritage line to help keep overall costs down. This line wouldn't supplant the REAL Heritage line, it'd work to help support it. Think of it as Heritage lite. Like I was saying before, Klipsch has zero offerings that really serve as entry to the good stuff, ie the Heritage line. They need to work to solve that issue will also bringing the Heritage line more within reach.

Why pursue what is basically a dead market? How many people are going to put giant speakers in their houses these days?

[RDavidson]

They definitely won't with that attitude.........and who said they HAD to be huge. Has anyone ever tried to make a compact Klipschorn? Why not?
Why can't the Heritage technology be made more modern, efficient, and compact while retaining most of the virtues of the originals?
One other thing : Apparently some people ARE still buying huge speakers, or they wouldn't still have the factory in Hope, Arkansas making them.

[*Scotty*]

....who said they HAD to be huge. Has anyone ever tried to make a compact Klipschorn? Why not?

And the answer is what is "The Laws of Physics"? They can't be made much smaller and retain the bass extension and bass sensitivity they have.
The Heritage series averages 102.75dB sensitivity, they also really can't be made much more efficient.
These particular speakers are what they are.
If we equate the brand identity of Klipsch with the iconic Klipschorn speaker, which I do, the "brand" will be gone when they cease manufacturing the K horn. The companies speaker line has already changed beyond all recognition over the last 20 years and for it to survive in any form it had to change with the times.
Scotty

[RDavidson]

Yeah, I understand the situation in terms of physics and in terms of the company.
I would never want Klipsch to stop producing the true Heritage speakers (including K horns), as I stated before.
There has to be a creative way to reduce their size, though, to make a "modern" Heritage-based line that'd retain at least 75% of the "Klipsch sound" at an attainable cost, even if the system isn't exactly like the true Heritage line. Is there a reason they use compression horns in only a few of their speakers? To me, that's one of the keys, if not the single most major key to the Klipsch sound. We have to keep in mind that technology and speaker building design/techniques have improved greatly since the inception of the classic Klipsch Heritage speakers. I feel that it just takes someone at Klipsch to take a step back and evaluate the idea of putting real compression horns in smaller speakers, if not ALL their speakers. Wouldn't that be cool?
On top of this, they could lower the parts costs involved in the Heritage line since the Heritage line could then share components. Some might feel it would water down the Heritage line. My argument is it isn't watering them down. It's making their product line more cohesive. It's getting back to their roots. It's the Klipsch sound, or at least something that much more closely resembles it, for EVERYONE. Wouldn't that be great?
It's this same kind of authenticity that people expect from Harley Davidson, and McIntosh, and Heinz ketchup, and Coca-Cola, that keeps these brands relevant after all these years. Why shouldn't Klipsch do the same or at least strive for it? Right now, all they do is perpetuate this fake authentic image with their marketing material.

[*Scotty*]

They may feel that they have already done this with introduction of the Reference and Reference II series, all have horn tweeters.
Scotty

[RDavidson]

They may feel that they have already done this with introduction of the Reference and Reference II series, all have horn tweeters.
Scotty

........but they aren't compression horns. They're just tweeters mounted in the throat of a horn. Pretty big difference. The only speaker in the Reference series with a compression horn is the RF7 series II. After that, the Heritage line and more than likely the Palladium line are your only options......all of which brings me back to the point, which you also noted, that Klipsch started moving away from the Klipsch sound probably 20+ years ago. Now look where they are. Not good.

[JLM]

Hope not, but if so here's a few reasons why:

1. Paul Klipsch is dead and as a designer followed Henry Ford's philosophy that he had designed perfection and didn't need to move on after the Klipschorn generation of speakers.
2. Stereo killed the K-horn (hard to find rooms with 2 adjoining/suitable corners or the space to accommodate 2 of them) and they don't image well.
3. Klipsch speakers are designed to mate with small tube amps, access to solid state makes large/efficient speakers obsolete in the eyes of most.
4. Cost of building and safely shipping large complicated cabinets.
5. K-fans associate the brand only with the classic (obsolete) models.
6. Even the modern (nothing really special) designs, like RF-7, have DIY crossover mods available, but the factory (post Paul) is slow to offer the same.
7. Smaller, cheaper, domestically friendlier competition paired to cost effective high powered amps.
8. Brand recognition from classic audio companies in general, and Klipsch in particular, means nothing to the mass market - so dumbing down the brand hasn't/won't work.

We can bemoan the loss, and not to throw dirt, but how many would be happy using a Model T as an everyday car?

[charmerci]

Just going to throw in my Klipsch history to lighten things up a bit.

In the late 70's, my brother was really into them - and still is! We lived at home with our parents. We would buy them used in the DC area and he was using me a high school student loan company as I was working and had pocket money to spend. We bought a pair of Cornwalls for $600 a pair! My brother then sold them and he bought a pair of LaScalas unfinished. Those were sold and I bought a pair of walnut Klipschorns for $1000! Then he bought another pair for himself and we had four of them in the downstairs in the family room which he was using as his bedroom which was something like 18'x25'. He bought my pair from me when I took off for college.

Fun times cranking those up! DSotM and the Telarc 1812 cannons were in the rotation!

[RDavidson]

JLM, you bring up some important points, and perhaps the answer is already in front of us.

If there's any modern interpretation of the Klipsch Sound in a line of home speakers it's Klipsch's own Palladium series! They're the modern Fords, not model T's.

So, why on earth have they NOT trickled the Palladium technology / design / construction down?! This is kind of frustrating. This is pretty common practice in virtually any industry. You have your expensive, top shelf line of products (if not a single product) that keep(s) the company relevant, then you figure out how to make this technology more affordable.

The affordable line of Klipsch products (Reference / Reference II / etc) really bear little semblance to the Heritage line, let alone the more closely related Palladium line.

At least their marketing materials look to continue to carry the "Legendary" message.

[BobM]

No, the original Klipshorns didn't image well, but the updated Volti-Klipshorn's are totally 'nother story. Which means, the design is capable of imaging.

Then again, there are few speakers that can match them in terms of micro and macro dynamics and slam. Plus, you can use those awesome sounding flea-watt SET amps with these.

That leads me to believe/hope that their premium offerings will still be produced, even if their consumer line is disbanded.

[RDavidson]

Not really on topic, but OK, I agree with what you're saying.