$30K Budget - On the quest for my "end game" speaker

[MKR]

Oversimplification for your purposes being: UPmixing for > 2 Ch.

Stereo purists may disfavor as “not hifi.”
A/V gurus may see as a way to meld hifi and HT approaches.

Multiple examples if googled.

Immersive sound, Audio codecs and binaural sound - StormAudio

Immersive sound provides a natural, lifelike sound experience. StormAudio supports all existing and future leading Immersive sound formats.

www.stormaudio.com

That being the current top hit.

When well-implemented, Immersive Audio seems (to me) more all-encompassing than the best of holographic stereo. Imagine it as something that turns your stereo music into an enveloping image like 5.1, or Atmos etc. does natively with movie audio.
Not quite what I go for in music playback, since I’ve still never been to a “holographic” concert of any kind, so mileage varies as with everything else.
Very cool tech, no doubt about it.

Ah, got it, thanks for the info … definitely something I will check into as I will have a multi-chan setup anyway

 

[MKR]

Fits your budget!

That purchase would be a real "flex."

I was speaking with another Legacy dealer (trying to find where I may be able to audition the Legacy V System) and as it turned out he is also a Klipsch Heritage dealer, and had recently got the Jubilee on the floor. Let’s just say he was quite smitten with the Jubilee. I may just have to find a way to audition these before final decision. Problem is they are BIG, I mean really massive. And they weigh 400lbs each, better have a stout floor! Not quite what I envisioned in my listening room. But, in the end, all about the sound. I am sure I could make them work

Never been a huge Klipsch fan, but seems these may be a very different Klipsch than the other current offerings.

 

[Ted G]

First, I’d love to have a room with those dimensions! Klischorns would be fun.

 

[Kervel]

Oversimplification for your purposes being: UPmixing for > 2 Ch.

When well-implemented, Immersive Audio seems (to me) more all-encompassing than the best of holographic stereo. Imagine it as something that turns your stereo music into an enveloping image like 5.1, or Atmos etc. does natively with movie audio.

What Benanders said. The argument is that just a left and right speaker is too limited to completely fill up a room with even sound. Toole discusses this in his book; and there are various threads on ASR, one being https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...envelopment-toole-multichannel-binaural.2372/

Since majority of music is two channel, the crucial element is the quality of the upmixing algorithm (like Atmos or Auro)

 

[olegtern]

Problem is they are BIG

Correct horn size!

This is definitely a contender for the endgame!

 

[MKR]

Correct horn size!

This is definitely a contender for the endgame!

Theoretically they should have very good directivity, potentially better than anything I have auditioned thus far. And of course as far as dynamics, I expect these will melt your face off

 

[Purité Audio]

Their treble maybe, I wouldn’t sit too close just in case.
Keith

 

[MKR]

Their treble maybe, I wouldn’t sit too close just in case.
Keith

Have you heard them?

 

[Purité Audio]

No I haven’t but in my defence every pair of Klipsch I have heard have been painful to listen to.
I will be interested to hear if you feel these are different.
Keith

 

[MKR]

No I haven’t but in my defence every pair of Klipsch I have heard have been painful to listen to.
I will be interested to hear if you feel these are different.
Keith

My experience with Klipsch definitely mirrors yours. Extreme ear bleed. No idea how people can spend any extended time with them or enjoy them, maybe they are deaf, or they certainly are so after they listen to them for a time!

The Jubilee is supposed to be a fully different beastie … we shall see …

 

[Purité Audio]

Leopard…spots but interested to hear, just looking at Erin’s where he has measured a handful of their designs, they all have severely tilted HF.
Keith

 

[olegtern]

Even if Klipsch set up an excess of HF, that's definitely not a problem, this horn is perfect for equalization.

 

[Purité Audio]

Personally I prefer a well designed loudspeaker that doesn't need EQ to sound acceptable.
Keith

 

[Mart68]

No I haven’t but in my defence every pair of Klipsch I have heard have been painful to listen to.
I will be interested to hear if you feel these are different.
Keith

had a listen to Cornwalls twice last year, different systems and rooms. First pair were unlistenable, absolutely terrible. Second pair were fine. Coloured though - far too much for me - but not unpleasant at all. Not shouty, not too toppy, no ear bleeding.

Neither system used any EQ.

They must be ways to get Klipsch to work acceptably or they'd have gone broke by now. A surprising number of people seem to stick with them.

 

[olegtern]

Personally I prefer a well designed loudspeaker that doesn't need EQ to sound acceptable.

300-20k drivers use EQ anyway, they have a constant directivity — there is no difficulty in adjusting them. This is generally an ideal scenario for equalization, one driver with a constant directivity from the Schroeder frequency to the top. It is well-designed by default.

 

[Inner Space]

No I haven’t but in my defence every pair of Klipsch I have heard have been painful to listen to.
I will be interested to hear if you feel these are different.

The Jubilees are two-way actives with DSP crossover ... what's not to like? Gain for LF and HF can be set independently. I heard a pair ... and bought them. Can't take delivery until the summer, but I'll let you know how the install goes.

 

[Bugal1998]

I was speaking with another Legacy dealer (trying to find where I may be able to audition the Legacy V System) and as it turned out he is also a Klipsch Heritage dealer, and had recently got the Jubilee on the floor. Let’s just say he was quite smitten with the Jubilee. I may just have to find a way to audition these before final decision. Problem is they are BIG, I mean really massive. And they weigh 400lbs each, better have a stout floor! Not quite what I envisioned in my listening room. But, in the end, all about the sound. I am sure I could make them work

Never been a huge Klipsch fan, but seems these may be a very different Klipsch than the other current offerings.

If you're looking for dynamics and good directivity, maybe it's time to revisit finding a way to hear the JBL M2 and/or 4367?

The room and Trinnov optimization are contributing factors, but I'd say I'm enjoying an enveloping 'holographic' soundstage (best I've heard without a doubt), incredible output & dynamics, tonal neutrality, and finesse. That doesn't mean you would find either of them to your liking, but recent developments in your search suggest skipping the latest big JBLs may be short-changing your search.

 

[MKR]

The Jubilees are two-way actives with DSP crossover ... what's not to like? Gain for LF and HF can be set independently. I heard a pair ... and bought them. Can't take delivery until the summer, but I'll let you know how the install goes.

@Inner Space Thanks for chiming in here. Given you have direct experience with the Jubilees, what are your thoughts? What other speakers do you have experience with and how do they compare to the Jubilees?

 

[OdysseusG]

No harm in checking things out, right? The set of Jubilees at Axpona last year were way better than the Cornwalls I'd heard but that's a low bar to say the least. As ever I note that show conditions are usually bad and not the best for critical evaluation but I just can't see the Jubilees as a serious player for that kind of money if you're going by sound quality. By conversation piece? Sure, they're distinctive, if you're into that sort of thing

 

[MKR]

If you're looking for dynamics and good directivity, maybe it's time to revisit finding a way to hear the JBL M2 and/or 4367?

The room and Trinnov optimization are contributing factors, but I'd say I'm enjoying an enveloping 'holographic' soundstage (best I've heard without a doubt), incredible output & dynamics, tonal neutrality, and finesse. That doesn't mean you would find either of them to your liking, but recent developments in your search suggest skipping the latest big JBLs may be short-changing your search.

I would love to hear them, but finding a place to audition somewhat close to me has been darn near impossible. I am sure I can find somewhere, including the Harman experience center in LA, but it becomes a more involved and complex (and expensive) “expedition”.

Sometimes I wonder if JBL cares much about selling their higher end offerings given how difficult it is to audition them.