Floor-standing Speakers
Klipsch Palladium P-39F Floor-standing Speakers
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 25 August 2008
Introduction to the P-39F
Like McIntosh, the Klipsch name goes back as far as I can remember.
In those early days, it was the Klipschorn, which was a speaker that looked like a bookcase as much as it did a speaker. It was the most massive speaker I had ever seen. I experienced many a demo on those speakers, and the sound filled the room, but I didn't really understand why.
Specifications
- Design: Three-way, Horn Loaded Tweeter and Midrange, Bass Reflex (Woofers)
- Drivers: One 0.75" Titanium Compression Tweeter - 900 x 600 Tractrix Horn; One 4.5" Aluminum Compression Midrange - 900 x 600 Tractrix Horn; Three 9"Aluminum Cone Woofers
- MFR: 39 Hz - 24 kHz ± 3 dB
- Sensitivity: 99 dB @ 2.83V/Meter
- Crossover Frequencies: 500 Hz, 3.2 kHz
- Nominal Impedance: 4 Ohms
- Power Handling: 400 Watts Continuous (50-1000 Watts Recommended)
- Dimensions: 56" H x 12" W x 24.8" D
- Weight: 165 Pounds/Each
- MSRP: $20,000/Pair USA
- Klipsch
It turns out that it was all in the name. Paul Klipsch had designed these speakers around a "horn" concept, sort of like a megaphone. The driver was at the back of the horn, and because the horn magnified the sound - focused it in a sense - very little power was needed to drive it. In fact, only a few watts would do the trick. While today's speakers have a sensitivity of 87 dB/W/M, the Klipschorns were (are) more on the order of 105 dB/W/M. So, to put that in perspective, if you were using a 200 watt amplifier to drive a pair of 87 dB sensitivity speakers, it would only take 3 watts to drive the Klipschorns to the same volume. The P-39Fs have a sensitivity of 99 dB at 2.83V/Meter and are rated at nominal 4 Ohms impedance.
That was half a century ago, and although the Klipschorns are still manufactured, Klipsch has moved on to many other products, including the new Palladium P-39F floor-standers that are the subject of this review.
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