One Simple Change to the Stereo System Makes the Klipsch Speakers Sing!

September 13, 2018

#274

Gentle reader,

As you probably know I belong to a number of FaceBook groups dedicated to vintage and classic stereo equipment. There are MANY folks with a world of knowledge and experience in this fascinating hobby. One of them suggested something I should do with my 1985 Klipsch KG4 speakers.*

I first introduced you to them last year when I found them at a thrift store called SAVERS: 32 Year-Old Klipsch KG4 speakers found for $9.99! 

I raised them up a bit and secured them which helped a lot in treble response: Earthquake Proof your speakers! Amazing "Reusable Adhesive" will hold my Klipsch KG4 speakers firm! 

I chose to show this photo for two reasons. Firstly is to show my initial answer to raising the tweeters, you can read about it in the first article. (Yes, firstly is a real word.) Secondly is so that you can clearly see the convoluted foam I placed in the corners to prevent bass notes from being too powerful due to the reinforcement placing speakers on the floor and in corners. They are backed by corrugated carton material which stiffens them. So they are convoluted and corrugated. Both fun words to say. That their use makes any changes to the sound is frankly not known. It seemed like a good idea to try them out.

This is the room as of a few minutes ago. Aside from the component changes and smaller Baby Advent II speakers atop the Klipsch, the "bass traps" are gone.

* Bill G. of one the FaceBook groups told me: "You don’t hear it (bass) behind them. It has to react with the wall behind it, and you hear it in the room. Klipsch Speakers with rear passives are very sensitive to placement. I learned this the hard way with my Forte IIs. My ex used to have KG4 so I’ve lived with them as well." And, "Klipsch rears need to react and usually need 12-24” from wall or corner and toe in to optimize."

Klipsch KG4s have 12 inch passive radiators, of which Bill spoke, on the back which help reinforce the bass without using a port or vent to release the bass music from rearward movement of the woofers. 

Once I removed the foam "traps", I measured the left speaker's distances from the corner and side walls. I then adjusted the right speaker's placeent to match.

I chose the greatest source for testing bass response ever produced: Recording of October 1979: The Telarc 1812 Overture | Stereophile.com 

I was a longtime subscriber to Stereophile magazine as well as The Absolute Sound and before their death or transformation to another name or format, Stereo Review and Audio. But, as even the least expensive components the first two magazines reviewed and had advertisements for, were still beyond my humble means, I let the subscriptions finally lapse.

I bought the LP in 1979. It came with a microscopic photograph of the grooves containing the cannon shots. They widely swing back and forth. All but one of the times I played the record, the last cannon shot always skipped. 

Then one day, I saw what I thought was a CD version of it on eBay. I bought it and when it arrived, I saw it was an SACD. My first encounter with one, and it started me on another journey..... 

Anyway, I put the SACD in my OPPO universal player and turned the bass down on the Dynaco PAT-6. I began rearranging CDs to make room for a new one, and sensing the cannons about to appear, I sat down. WOW! The shots equaled what my Cerwin-Vega LS-12s reproduced. Those have 12 inch woofers with two enormous reflex ports on the back of them and like the KG4s are very efficient. That means it takes little amplifier power to play them loudly.

Now, I know the corners now helped the bass, but how much? The KG4s sit 22 inches in front of them. I suspect it was the removal of the foam that had softened and dispersed the bass radiating from the rear of the speakers. But, I am no audio expert, I just love music and want to hear it played as realistically as my budget will allow.

Not knowing what to do with the foam, I placed them on the side walls adjacent to the speaker's front corners. Will that do any good or ill? LEFT is above and RIGHT is below.

Below is a photo of the grille off of one of the KG4s so that you can see the twin 8 inch woofers. 

The cones are made from some sort of poly-carbonate. Plus, they have rubber surrounds not foam which will eventually rot. I read a contemporary review (when these were new to the market) about the KG4s and the reviewer was shocked when he pried (they have strong magnets holding them on) the grille off one to see a horn tweeter. "So much for the 'horn' sound." he wrote. Horn drivers have been poo-pooed by some as a cheap way to reproduce treble. Klipsch proved them wrong.







While I have you, I bought a pair of Radio Shacks last "Gold Series" audio interconnect cables via eBay merely out of curiosity. I had written about their original top-of-the-line models of the same name which can be seen here:
Audio Interconnect Cables, Does Size Really Matter?
I have not tried them yet, I do not have the ability to do an A/B test anyway. But I wanted to show you comparison photos of new verses old:

Not quite as thick and no ferules either.

While the insulators on the new models at first appear to be metal that has been crimped on the cables, it is an illusion. Simple plastic.

Above is the sheet that explains it all and below, the cables themselves are imprinted with some of the same information.

Here, you can clearly see that they are molded plastic sleeves. As I said, I have not tried them yet. They may be fine. 

Sadly, Radio Shack has gone the way of so many "brick and mortar" electronics chains. I used to love to visit them and was always excited when their new catalog arrived in the mail. 

So, there you have it, I'm even more convinced that after 40+ years of pursuit of "The Absolute Sound" in my stereo that I have most probably achieved the best music reproduction. My wife is no doubt laughing right now as she read that.

Again, thank you so much for reading my humble words and viewing my photographs. It is a labor of joy putting these articles together. But it is your reading them and your kind words that make it all worthwhile.

Scott
September 13, 2018
#274