quote:

---

This week, Crutchfield is proud to welcome Klipsch® to our family of products. Even if you're not familiar with Klipsch, you've probably heard their speakers in action — half of all new movie theaters today install Klipsch professional cinema gear. And they apply that audio expertise to their home speakers, giving you full, rich, lifelike sound for music and home theater.

---

I was under the impression that JBL pretty much owned the cinema speaker market with QSC starting to break in to the new installs quite a bit. Is Klipsch really a big player?

Steve
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-21-2008, 10:42 AM:
 
Regal uses Klipsch exclusively in all their new builds. That alone probably accounts for close to half the cinema speaker market in the US. Klipsch claims 50% of the South American market too. The Regal 15 that opened here in 2007 is all-Klipsch.
 

---

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-21-2008, 10:45 AM:
 
Your orignal conclusion is still correct. Louis
 

---

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-21-2008, 12:18 PM:
 
Would the stage speakers be The La Scala's? I think this was what UA installed in some theatres in the 80s...
 

---

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-21-2008, 01:02 PM:
 
Those LaScala's SUCK!!! Then again, all Klipsch speakers sound like ass.

Does Regal REALLY use Klipsch in their new builds??? I don't know why, but I thought they were JBL.
 

---

Posted by Ron Funderburg (Member # 4561) on 03-21-2008, 01:37 PM:
 
At one point in time Klipsch was consider to be hands down the finest cinema speaker in the world. It was the early 1970's and a few changes have happened since then! I like JBL or QSC myself but that is just me!

[ 03-21-2008, 10:32 PM: Message edited by: Ron Funderburg ]
 

---

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-21-2008, 01:39 PM:
 
The new IMAX at the Regal Redrock Station uses a mix of Klipsch and whatever IMAX is using these days (Sonics?)
 

---

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-21-2008, 05:46 PM:
 
To steal from the other Brad:
Klipsch home speakers "suck ass" as well.
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-21-2008, 06:35 PM:
 
Klipsch Professional Cinema Speakers (sorry, no LaScala listed )

Quote from Klipsch web page

quote:

---

• The world’s largest cinema chains, including Regal Cinemas, Malco Theatres and Harkins Theatres, turn to Klipsch to provide the power, detail and emotion of today’s complex film soundtracks. In fact, one of every two new theaters in North and South America installs Klipsch.

---

 

---

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 03-21-2008, 06:41 PM:
 
Klipsch is 2nd only to BOSE...my favorite!
 

---

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-21-2008, 07:18 PM:
 
Well I'm sure it at least saves them money in construction costs. With the quality of low end capable of being produced from Klipsch, a piece of sheetrock should be ample sound isolation between auditoriums.
 

---

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-21-2008, 07:59 PM:
 
Brad...you're killing me..."A" piece of sheet rock....one side only. Louis
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-21-2008, 08:33 PM:
 
All I can say is I haven't noticed any low-end deficiency or lack of overall dynamics at the new Regal here. The only thing I have noticed is frequency response coverage across the auditorium doesn't seem as uniform as it should be in some rooms. It's like the mids and highs roll off as you move off-center. I don't know whether that's a speaker issue or a setup issue.

Looking at specs comaparing "best" QSC and Klipsch subwoofers, they seem fairly similar in terms of low-frequency capability, keeping in mind that QSC quotes the low-end limit at -6db, and Klipsch quotes it at -3db (both also quote -10db points). I'm sure Steve or someone will tell us why the specs don't mean squat though.
 

---

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-21-2008, 09:32 PM:
 
I think it was Klipsch's contract to be the exclusive provider of speakers for new Regal builds (just before Regal's bankruptcy) that got them into the cinema business.

The first ones I heard (Regal 16, Eagan, MN) reminded me of a home bookshelf system...a lot of punchy high end and thump with something missing in between. But since most cheap home systems sound like that, I figure their patrons must think it's awesome.

And that Regal 10 in Sherwood, Oregon...that place just sounds hideous.
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-22-2008, 12:05 AM:
 
I thought "Klipsch" was an ancient Chinese word for "crap."
 

---

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-22-2008, 01:28 AM:
 
You'd think they would *cough cough* "upgrade" to Peavey...*cough cough*.
 

---

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 03-22-2008, 07:30 AM:
 
Speaker design is cyclic....In the early 1970's we where installing many Klipsch 3 / 4 way systems and "hugh" power amplifiers bursting at 100 watts JBL came up with new designs so we ran with that for a few years, Then Electrovoice...et cetera. We developed one of the surrounds in association with Klipsch which is still being sold. Sheldon Combs at Klipsch speaks perfect Spanish and Manderin Chinese so sales to those markets should be good. There are good and bad in all makes but generally we can tune / balance / cover the venue space. The late Paul Klipsch rebuttal was "Bullshit"
 

---

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-22-2008, 09:59 AM:
 
Speaking of speaker use being cyclic There is a chain of cinemas in New England that is owned by a Large CONCESSION GROUP out of BOSTON. Some of thier theatres utilize Radio Shack Realistic (R)(C)1972 Tandy Corporatiospeakers. Some use smart speakers which is funny because the ones they used are smaller than my HI-FI speakers on my bedroom, and a lot of them use no name just a wooden box with what appears to be car stereo speakers thrown in. Think the Princess II here. At least one of their theatres has the one speaker sitting on the floor below the screen. Now, in a way it is not their fault these theatres were built this way it is my understanding that they lend money to people to build theatres and then if they don't make their loan payments they reposess the theatres and operate them themselves. There is one theatre in Vermont that is pretty decent with SR*D. Not sure what kind of speakers.
 

---

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 03-23-2008, 12:25 AM:
 
Hmm, that sounds really familiar! There's a theater in New Hampshire too that has at least one room with a small radio shack looking speaker sitting on the floor below the screen. The big house is equipped with DTS and the next biggest appears to have some sort of stereo (there are speakers on the wall) but I've never heard anything other than mono in that room. I don't remember (or have never seen) the remaining 5 rooms. I don't know who built this place though, for a while it was operated by Hoyts but I think they acquired it at some point.
 

---