Klipsch in Best Buy

[fireshoes]

I saw a memo today from Klipsch stating how they will continue to offer specialty shops 'top notch' service and support, as well keeping the Reference line exclusive to specialty stores, but that they were going to begin carrying their Synergy line in Best Buy stores beginning in June 2003. They also mentioned discontinuing their relationships with Magnolia Hi-Fi and Tweeter.

I find that Klipsch being in Best Buy a plus and minus. I mean, at least it's a better speaker than what they have now, so people will have higher quality stuff. Maybe that leads them further into the hobby.

But man, there's gonna be some scary demos and a lot of misinformation out there. "See how this one is louder? It sounds so much better." Ick.

[bigsexy1]

Those JBL S series they carry are pretty decent too.

[PETERNG]

Life goes on, it will work out fine, don't worry about it. Depend on what local store you visited, some does have very good knowdlegeable sell person, some not, but then it's up to you to make the final call. To me, I always know the product I'm going to buy and I know and how to get it at the best price. BB is one of the store in general, their prices are good and their return policy is painless. Cheers

[Emlyn]

I'd agree that the JBL Studio series, in particular the S38II, is just as good as the non-Reference series Klipsch speakers. The rest of Best Buy's stuff isn't worth considering. I don't like Klipsch's move--I won't be able to see and buy the Reference line from my local Tweeter any more but can buy speakers I wouldn't want to consider from Best Buy. Sounds like more of the same from Best Buy to me--still scraping the bottom of the barrel for speakers. If Polk started selling speakers there I'd have to rethink my loyalties.

[TroyD]

Well, I look at it like this, I generally think it's a good thing for the same reasons I think that Polk being at CC is a good thing.

Klipsch, if you are into horns, makes a good product at a good price and if getting more people to buy Klipsch means selling at BB, well that's a good thing.

BDT

[RuSsMaN]

Finally, a reason to go to Best Buy. (other than the $20 KLH's)

Cheers,
Russ

[Emlyn]

The Synergy line is not too far above Bose in quality in my opinion. And, as ugly as KLH speakers too. The speakers in the Klipsch Reference line are ones I could get excited about if Best Buy would carry them. They are the only ones from Klipsch I would consider to be in the same league as Polks (RTi not LSi).

[Zero]

Rumor has it that BestBuy will under-go some renovations in terms of home audio, providing customers with better quality products and even real listening rooms.

The new brands include Athena, Klipsch, and Wharfedale. Of course, to keep things affordable and appealing, we will not be seeing the high-end speakers. Regardless, I still see this as a positive thing. Giving Circuit City some greater competition in the audio department while exposing people to over-all, better products than whats currently offered.

Sure, I would love to see even greater brands offered at BestBuy... even Polk..... call me snooty however, but I feel even Polks low end is a bit much for BestBuys staff and "listening areas". They simply would not compliment each other. BestBuy is known for being cheap - I dont believe Polk wants to associate its name with cheap...affordable, yes, but not cheap..

[Ceruleance]

I think its a great move, regardless of what they are offering at Best Buy, if klipsch makes a good product and it sells, they'll have more money which equals better R&D and possibly price cuts for the higher end speakers. Besides if it goes really well, maybe they will consider stocking a better line at BB, and I would definitely pick up a pair of reference's on super sale with one of those customer appreciation coupons.

[dbournival]

My Local Tweeter did not do a good job moving Klipsch speakers, they did mostly Boston. I tried them out when I bought my system 1 a couple of years ago, I did not find them to be a good value for the money. Maybe the price will come into line with my perceived value now they are a BB. I still would buy Polks over the Klipsch unless the price dropped by 50%... But at least they will have a half decent speaker line now.

[mantis]

As a Employee of Tweeter,I will not Miss Klipsch.Alot of my customers will,as alot of them are die hard Klipsch fans.Thats a good thing for them as they found a good product that works for them.
I'm hoping on a better line of speakers to come our way,we are however carring Martin Logan nationwide.A great speaker company,in my opnion one of the very best in the world.Some of our regins have Krell for support in the amp department.For now our regin(philly Pa) will only carry B&K for our high end line of amps and receivers.
Our Stores have undergone many changes over the last 10 years.We dropped alot of great gear and pick up some great gear.I miss alot of the gear we used to carry.......Polk was one of them.....
Klipsch in Best Buy???They don't have the receivers or amps to correctly drive them.They will need to pick up some better electronics to support Klipsch.Klipsch is one hard speaker company to match electronics to.Yamaha doesn't play nice with Klipsch.
I wish Best Buy well with there new line.They seem little by little to make agressive moves in the right direction.

[fireshoes]

Originally posted by dbournival
My Local Tweeter did not do a good job moving Klipsch speakers, they did mostly Boston.

It seems like stores either do a ton or none. The Ultimate here sells a lot more Klipsch than Boston. The other American stores sell a lot of Klipsch, but everyone at my store sells Polk like crazy. :lol:


Originally posted by mantis
As a Employee of Tweeter,I will not Miss Klipsch.Alot of my customers will,as alot of them are die hard Klipsch fans.Thats a good thing for them as they found a good product that works for them. I'm hoping on a better line of speakers to come our way,we are however carring Martin Logan nationwide.

There seems to be a lot of brand juggling right now. Ultimate Electronics is dropping Boston and Martin Logan, but picking up KEF. I wish we would drop Infinity and pick up Martin Logan. We don't have the Infinty Kappas yet, which I've heard are nice, but the Alpha series is just horrible - both in sound and construction.

[TroyD]

When you get right down to it, most of these brand decisions are based on money, not how a particular speaker sounds. Tweeter, Best Buy, CC, or whatever mass retailer you can think of basically makes decisions on what is going to put more coin in thier pocket. Does BB really give two hoots over what receiver sounds best with Klipsch speakers? Pfffffffft. Not.

BDT

[TroyD]

I'd also caution against dismissing Klipsch speakers out of hand as terrible sounding speakers. I'd say that Klipsch has as a devoted following as Polk does. Different strokes for different folks.

BDT

[criverajr]

Guys,

In our area I just read that The Wiz will be closing in June, thus another place that sells Polkspeakers will be gone, only the Great Indoors, and CC will be selling Polks around here. The wiz although not the best place always had a good selection of Polk speakers, I went their the other day and they had a psw650, I came from their this morning and it was gone, where will I get my polks from now, CC is horrible and I don;t really trust online stores except Cruchfeild and they somewhat overpriced.

CRj

[Emlyn]

Hmmm, maybe Polk could take Klipsch's floor space in Tweeter stores and start selling the LSi line there too. Just a thought. The local market competition with Circuit City would probably kill that idea though. If Klipsch is intent on moving the Synergy line down market, Polk would have an opening. As with Circuit City, I like Tweeter's upgrade and return policies.

[gidrah]

It's about time for both sides. The local A/V stores that carry Klipsch don't sell too much of the Synergy line compared to their others.

BestBuy has been behind the times on the home theater boom for quite awhile. I see people buying lots of electronics, but few speakers.

I hope they carry the Quintets and a bunch of new Wharfedale. I've been wanting to listen to both for quite a time.

[mantis]

Fireshoes,
where do you work?I assume Best Buy correct???

TroyD,

When you get right down to it, most of these brand decisions are based on money, not how a particular speaker sounds. Tweeter, Best Buy, CC, or whatever mass retailer you can think of basically makes decisions on what is going to put more coin in thier pocket. Does BB really give two hoots over what receiver sounds best with Klipsch speakers? Pfffffffft. Not.
This maybe true at Best Buy but not at Tweeter.We as a company actually care about the way our combo's sound.Our company goal is to (as any other company)sadisfy the customers needs.We help them as much as possible with matching the right gear with the right speakers,Tv and such.We build systems and Install them.From small one room systems to whole house automation systems/lighting/Theater/music/phone systems.
Klipsch decided to part ways with us (Tweeter) for there reasons I believe was they simp[ly couldn't keep up with our volume.We seel tons of Klipsch,there speakers did extremely well in our store in this regin.

I'd also caution against dismissing Klipsch speakers out of hand as terrible sounding speakers. I'd say that Klipsch has as a devoted following as Polk does. Different strokes for different folks.
You point here is invalid Troy.Everyone has an opnion on what "sounds good" to them.I hate Klipsch speakers.I think they are horrible sounding.Terrible if you will.Anyone has that right to state that as there opnion on any pair of speakers.
I don't feel any need to "caution" anyone for making any kind of opnion statements of what an individual thinks/feels.
Klipsch/Polk/DQ-10's/Martin Logan/B&W/Def Tech/Wilson Audio/Dynaudio/KLH/JBL or whatever........love me/hate em....here nor there......it doesn't even matter.Different strokes for different folks remember?
;)

[brettw22]

Originally posted by TroyD
I'd also caution against dismissing Klipsch speakers out of hand as terrible sounding speakers. I'd say that Klipsch has as a devoted following as Polk does. Different strokes for different folks. BDT

Kudos to Troy for following one of the TEN COMMANDMENTS.........;)

[TroyD]

This maybe true at Best Buy but not at Tweeter.We as a company actually care about the way our combo's sound

So, Tweeter carries Klipsch, Boston, Bose and so forth because they are the absolute best products on the market for the gear available at Tweeter? Pffffffffffffft. That's a pretty niave statement. I would then ask, why don't you own Boston speakers? I own Boston speakers, in fact when I offered a pair of them up for sale and liv4fam dismissed them as 'junk' I don't seem to recall you defending them seeing that Tweeter carries Boston Acoustics products.

Tweeter is no different than any other mass retailer. They examine the target audience and make decisions based on what is most beneficial to thier bottom line. Capitalism makes the world go round.

I'd also say that if Tweeter is so bent on doling out only the best in audiodom, 'splain the presence of Bose? Bose is there because it makes the cash registers make that lovely CHA-CHING! sound. Now, I'm NOT saying that Tweeter isn't concerned about the quality of thier products, what I AM saying is that it isn't some altruistic, hippy commune that exists to server the greater good. It's a business.

As far as the Klipsch thing goes, Dan, you are missing the point. While horns may not be for YOU, they are obviously for someone. Klipsch has sold a LOT of speakers. I'd even go as far as to say that PWK was as nearly as prolific in bringing hifi to the masses as Henry Kloss and his gang. Check out the Klipsch forum, there are some VERY knowledgeable guys over there.

BDT

[mantis]

TroyD,

So, Tweeter carries Klipsch, Boston, Bose and so forth because they are the absolute best products on the market for the gear available at Tweeter? Pffffffffffffft. That's a pretty niave statement. I would then ask, why don't you own Boston speakers? I own Boston speakers, in fact when I offered a pair of them up for sale and liv4fam dismissed them as 'junk' I don't seem to recall you defending them seeing that Tweeter carries Boston Acoustics products.
This is an easy one.Boston acoustics is a good speaker company.They make fine products and can compete with companies like Def Tech,Polk,PSB,Energy,Monitor Audio,etc in there respected class.Tweeter has carried them for a very long time.Klipsch is also a very respected speaker company and make some very nice stuff.Bose you ask?Whats so wrong with Bose,they make a fantastic all in one system that is perfect for alot of customers......by the way,they do sound pretty good when setup correctly.
The Tweeter line up doesn't stop there my friend.We also carry Sonus Faber,Vienna,Martin Logan,Rel as our high end lines of speakers.ALL of them are fantastic ,well built speakers.Personally,I feel REL is the best in the bussiness for all my past reasons.Sonus Faber??they speak for themselves.Martin Logan IS consider one of the best speaker companies in the world.
Compare Tweeter to Best Buy and Circuit City.Who carries the BEST products out of the 3 biggest chain stores?Tweeter does.
As far as Liv4fam calling Boston junk?well thats his opnion,he doesn't like the way they sound.Personally I don't care for much of there line.They do have a VRM series thats nice but still not for me.Do you think Boston Acoustics is junk?I don't.

I'd also say that if Tweeter is so bent on doling out only the best in audiodom, 'splain the presence of Bose? Bose is there because it makes the cash registers make that lovely CHA-CHING! sound. Now, I'm NOT saying that Tweeter isn't concerned about the quality of thier products, what I AM saying is that it isn't some altruistic, hippy commune that exists to server the greater good. It's a business.
You are one of the last people I'd expect to be a BOSE basher.No respect for what they do Troy?I'll tell you why Bose sells and why I think they are a fantastic product.
1)Bose sells because it's easy,all in one box.Does everything the customer wants it to do.It's easy to use and setup.The speakers are small enough that they are easy to hide if nessary.Very wife friendly.I don't know about your wife,but most if not all wives hate big black boxes all over there house/living space.Bose products are WELL engineered.We get the least amount of proplems with Bose products.....they work all the time.Maybe 1 out of thousands are defective.

I don't miss your Klipsch thing Troy,I respect Klipsch for what they are and alot of people like them.It seems you missed the part in my post where alot of my customers love them.Tweeter sold tons of Klipsch products.Wanna hear something funny?I personally like Klipsch inwalls.Next to Niles ,I feel they where are best sounding inwall speakers.They made for Killer Home Theater all inwall except the sub.AND there new line of rsw subs???KIller dude,blows Boston subs right out the door.Very well made and very powerfull.
I don't see why you said "caution in dismissing Klispch speakers out of hand as terrible sounding speakers.Remember Troy,thats an opnion not fact.I also don't remember you owning any Klipsch speakers do you?minus there inwalls,computer speakers and new sub line.....I don't care for them at at all.Why can't I say that?Thats my opnion.;)

[avelanchefan]

SERENITY NOW!!!

[TroyD]

I gave my opinion, I'm done.

[mantis]

And I mine.......

[RuSsMaN]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Zero]

So,

Russ, Troy, Dan and Jstas walk into a bar.........


heh

[Emlyn]

The best speakers I can remember Best Buy selling in the past were the JBL SVA series back in the mid-90s. From what I remember, they didn't sell too well until JBL decided to take them off the market and Best Buy had customers rushing to take advantage of the low prices they unloaded them for. The SVA line had horn tweeters, similar to the Klipsch Reference line of today except not as high efficiency, and I think JBL is still selling a variant of them. They really were awesome speakers but a little too expensive for Best Buy's customers. I'm sure the Synergy series will sell more with Best Buy than with Tweeter--more stores, cheap finance deals, sales, etc. Klipsch's press release says the plan is to start selling the Synergy line, excluding in-walls and outdoor speakers, on the Memorial Day weekend. I wonder if Tweeter has a stock of the Reference line they'll need to unload. If so, I'd be tempted by some 7s for obnoxiously loud two-channel listening--AC/DC. Their big subwoofers are good too.

[RuSsMaN]

Good points Emlyn.

I remember when best buy carried the JBL TLX series, not a real-high-end series, but a giant killer for the price.

They also sold (early Recoton days) Advent, before they went Tango-Uniform. Laurets, Ruby, Jade. The last decent offerings from the late Kloss Advent corp.

Actually, at the same time, they sold Eosone, a bit pricey, but good speakers nontheless. For those who may or may not know, Polk had their hands in Eosone.

Cheers,
Russ

[Dr. Spec]

I have heard the Klipsch Reference "RF-7" series speaks. Clean, articulate, detailed, and powerful. I would not be ashamed to own Klipsch RF-7 at all.

Yes, the Klipsch horn has that trademark timbre, but the RF-7 uses a larger (1.75") compression tweeter and man does that thing sound amazing - revealing as all hell. I was not fatigued at all during my demo.

Anyone bagging Klipsch first owes a demo with the Reference "7" series (RF-7, RC-7, RS-7) series before they form a final opinion.

[mantis]

what ever hapened to Eosone?Are they still being made or went out of bussiness?

[wallstreet]

I just heard some Klipsch in walls at at Ultimate and they sounded horrible. Fortunately, the floor standing models sound much better. Why isn't Polk in at Tweeter or Ultimate???

[mantis]

wallstreet,
I can answer that.Tweeter carries Boston Acoustic's.Before Tweeter purchased Bryn Mawr Stereo and Video,we carried Polk Audio.In 1996,Tweeter purchased Bryn Mawr Stereo and Video and out went Polk Audio,Velodyne,Kef,Adcom,MIT,and I can't remember what else went but you get the Idea.
I wish Polk would come back to Tweeter,we just seperated with Klipsch and I believe Polk would fit right in.Lsi at least.

[fireshoes]

In walls are kind of a tough thing to judge in a store. The best pair at my store sound like poo til you get them in a house, then they rock.

[woodyjacobs]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RuSsMaN



They also sold (early Recoton days) Advent, before they went Tango-Uniform. Laurets, Ruby, Jade. The last decent offerings from the late Kloss Advent corp.

Actually, at the same time, they sold Eosone, a bit pricey, but good speakers nontheless. For those who may or may not know, Polk had their hands in Eosone.

By, the way Russ...thanks for this. I had a pair of Advent Jade towers for a couple of years and really liked them...just replaced them last year with the RT2000is, but will always have a soft-spot for Advent...of that era and before, of course. Not after.

I also still use an Eosone 12" sub. It is excellent of rmovies, but a bit boomy on music...but not so bad that I have felt the need to replace it yet. I wondered whatever happened to that company. Thanks! Wood

[wallstreet]

Originally posted by fireshoes
In walls are kind of a tough thing to judge in a store. The best pair at my store sound like poo til you get them in a house, then they rock.
They must have done something wrong when they installed the Klipsch . They've got all the inwalls setup on opposite sides of each other. I got in their and there wasn't anybody in the room and the system was on. I flipped the cd to fourplay, cranked up the 3803 and started listening to all of the inwalls. No salesman to bug me, nobody around at all. It was like heaven! Finally a salesman comes around and I asked him if any of these inwalls have directional tweeters because I could notice on some of the speakers, once you go a little off axis, the highs drop right off. He said noone has ever asked him that question! And of course, he didn't have an answer. And for some reason, they think you can't put a rectangular inwall in the ceiling. If you go ceiling, instead of wall, you should go round. I haven't ever heard that before, but I need a round one anyways, so I didn't bother to ask for an explanation. I settled on the Infiniti's sounding the best.

[mantis]

And for some reason, they think you can't put a rectangular inwall in the ceiling. If you go ceiling, instead of wall, you should go round. I haven't ever heard that before, but I need a round one anyways, so I didn't bother to ask for an explanation. I settled on the Infiniti's sounding the best.
wallstreet,
round inceiling speakers are designed to be just that.In the ceiling.Rectangular inwall speakers are also just that,designed to be in the wall.
You can put inceiling's in the wall if you like,it looks like your on a ship.And if it may,you can also put inwall spekers in the ceiling but they look silly.Think about recessed lighting.
Inwall/ceiling aren't just for floor space,it's also an esthetics thing.Think about it.

[brettw22]

Originally posted by wallstreet
Why isn't Polk in at Tweeter or Ultimate???

I bought my RT16's from Ultimate back in '96. From what the salespeople had told me, they just decided to go with other lines. I wish they would go back to Ultimate as well. One thing about Ultimate is that on demonstrative purposes alone, they squash the hell out of CC.

[wallstreet]

Originally posted by mantis

wallstreet,
round inceiling speakers are designed to be just that.In the ceiling.Rectangular inwall speakers are also just that,designed to be in the wall.
You can put inceiling's in the wall if you like,it looks like your on a ship.And if it may,you can also put inwall spekers in the ceiling but they look silly.Think about recessed lighting.
Inwall/ceiling aren't just for floor space,it's also an esthetics thing.Think about it.

Check out these bad boy rectangular in ceilings...
http://www.kef.com/products/ciseries/ci200qt.html

[brettw22]

If the only reason for not putting rectangular speaks in the ceiling, then I say go for it. I get the point about round ones up front looking odd, but hey, get artistic and make an i out of the speakers......or you can go ! (you choose)

[wallstreet]

Originally posted by brettw22
If the only reason for not putting rectangular speaks in the ceiling, then I say go for it. I get the point about round ones up front looking odd, but hey, get artistic and make an i out of the speakers......or you can go ! (you choose)

I hear you. I'm going round all around.:rolleyes: But I have lots of upgrading to do in my "reference" HT before I start on the bedroom HT. But I am looking forward to putting a 12" sub under my bed!:D