weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 Out slumming today and ran across a pair of Klipsch Tangent speakers, either the Tangent 30 or Tangent 40 model. I started my research after I got home because I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at. I could swear the rear sticker said "T90 W2" but I can't find any such info on the Klipsch website. By reviewing their archives I reckon them to be the 30's or 40's. Does anyone have any experience with either model or have a sense of quality and price point? They are a bit dirty but are intact as far as I could quickly observe. One had a missing nameplate and a dirty grillcloth. Both had a thick layer of dust on the terminals suggesting they have been sitting for a while. No cone rot was evident and the cabinets looked about as good as you might expect for a 20yr old pair of speaks. No price was marked on them which means they will cost whatever each shopkeeper thinks they should cost. I would relegate them to HT use so they don't need to be LaScala's or anything. Info seems to be fairly scarce. Thoughts please.
kve777 6,884 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 What is the driver arrangement? According to my Orion BB(2005) The Tangent 30's are dual 8" woofers and a 1" tweeter, the Tangent 40's add a 12" passive radiator. Prices(30's/40's)- Retail Used(near-perfect w/warranty)-$104/$48; Wholesale Mint-$60/$27; Wholesale Average Cond. $34/$16. BTW- Audiogon does NOT list them at all. I would avoid them. They seem to evoke no praise on the 'net.
TNRabbit 371 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 Pasting this from the Klipsch forum: the Tangent series was a series in itself, NOT a HERITAGE model series. The Heritage speakers were designed by PWK (Paul W. Klipsch) with assistance from his engineering staff in research and development over the years, whereas the Tangent series was designed by the engineering staff, NOT by PWK!...especially since PWK, by the time of the arrival of the Tangent series, was basically just a figurehead in the engineering department...whose advice was sought, but who did not ACTIVELY participate in the development of the speakers coming out during those years as he had done during the preceding decades(pre-1990). As a matter of fact, few of the speakers the company came out with AFTER 1985 were primarily designed by PWK...the one exception being the Jubilee, which has yet to see the light of day as a home version, although it IS being built as a professional model. Secondly, the Tangent series used NONE of the drivers the Heresy used. TRUE, the CURRENT version of the Heresy II, as it is produced TODAY, uses some of the same drivers as the Tangent series, but the current Heresy II version is ALSO less efficient than the original Heresy model or even the original Heresy II model of 1985. I outta know, I have both NEW Heresy II's AND original Heresys...and the ORIGINALS outperform the current version of the Heresy II. The current version of the Heresy II is using the drivers it uses primarily to keep its cost down, since it would have another 400 bucks or so added to its cost (in pairs) if it was built using components of the old Heresy and Heresy II versions...the tweeters, in particular. The Tangent series was a stop-gap production series to fill a void while new series were being engineered (researched and developed). It was relatively successful in sales but was only in manufacture for about 5 years or so. As for its overall success, the truth is in the pudding of the length of time they were in manufacture...one of the shortest time spans of any of the Klipsch series. One of the points behind its being sold so inexpensively was that veneered panels of MDF (with bad or mismatched veneers) could be utilized in the construction of the Tangent series cabinets...thereby using material that might otherwise have been relegated to scrap, or to having to be made into black-laquered Heresys. None of the above comments are in any way saying they were not GOOD speakers, they WERE...but they were just not AS GOOD as many of the PRECEDING models in series OR models in series that came out after they did. With the exception of the Cornwall (which was dropped due to low sales volumes, NOT due to its being an inadequate design), all of the Heritage speakers from the ORIGINAL line are still being made, and every one of these was designed and initially entered production over three decades ago!...three of them entered production over 4 decades ago!...and ONE of them entered production over FIVE decades ago! Specs for the Tangent 40: Specifications FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 42Hz-20kHz±3dB POWER HANDLING: 125 watts maximum continuous (625 watts peak) SENSITIVITY: 96dB @ 1watt/1meter NOMINAL IMPEDANCE: 8 ohms TWEETER: K-80-K 1" (2.54cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver HIGH FREQUENCY HORN: 90°x40° Exponential Horn WOOFER: Two K-6-K 8" (20.32cm) Fiber-composite cone actives / KD-13 12" (30.48cm) Fiber-composite cone passive ENCLOSURE MATERIAL: Medium density fiberboard construction (MDF) ENCLOSURE TYPE: Bass reflex via passive radiator DIMENSIONS: 31.75" (80.7cm) x 14.2" (36.1cm) x 12.25" (31.1cm) WEIGHT: 49 lbs. (22.3kg) FINISHES: Walnut BUILT FROM: 1989 BUILT UNTIL: 1991
kve777 6,884 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 So...maybe the Bose of the Klipsch line?
dmgreger 3 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 I owned a pair of Tangent 50s back in 1989-92. Bought them overseas at the PX for $379 ea. Same Horn Tweeter mentioned above, but with 3 8" drivers and a 12" passive in the rear 98db Sensitivity. and let me tell you they rocked the barracks. I ran them with a Carver m200t/C2 combo,they were so crisp and the bass was tight and controlled. I would Love to get mine back
weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Posted February 4, 2011 I really appreciate the input given so far. Specs I had looked at but I'm still not sure if the speakers in question are the 30's or the 40's, but if the price is right I just might take a shot at them. Looking at the construction I knew full well they weren't going to be any kind of flagship model but the right price point might just make them mine.
dmgreger 3 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 Look at the back of the ones you are looking at, the T30s do Not have a Passive radiator making them a sealed enclosure design. But still at 96db they are very efficient and in good shape are pretty kick ass IMO. They wont have quite as much bass as the 40s or 50s Below is front and back of the 50s. 40s are the same only 2 8" woofers
weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Posted February 4, 2011 Excellent! I did look at the backs and there are no passive radiators, thus I conclude they are the T30's. This afternoon I may go down there and see what they are asking for them fully prepared to give them a history lesson on how these are Klipschs' low-ball model. Used in HT mode I won't worry too much about a thin bass response.
kingman 662 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 Good luck with your impending purchase!!! Keep us posted....
weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Posted February 5, 2011 Came down with flu so I hope the Klipschs will still be there when I can get out again.
weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 Strolled into the second hand/pawn shop yesterday afternoon and grabbed these for $40. The kid behind the counter thought they were JBL's so he sent a girl over to look at them whereupon she had to spell aloud 'K L I P S C H' apparently unable to pronounce the word. They really had no idea because she first insisted the brand was Tangent because that was a word she could say. Anyway, I got them home and gave them a good wipe-down while sitting on the tailgate of my truck and I must say they are in pretty decent shape for 1985 production. They had been decently cared for, I suspect, until they entered storage for a lengthy period as evident by the thick dust on the terminal cups which are good candidates for replacement owing to their spring-clip terminals. There is only minor veneer chipping at the bottom rear corners and a few small snags in the grill cloth invisible from a few feet away. One grill has a glue spot where the nameplate used to be. Both could use replacement hook and loop fasteners to hold the grill frames in place. They play just fine, in fact they sound pretty damned decent if a bit small compared to my Plats which I expected. I ran them up to a volume level I'll likely never surpass with no detectable distortion in any of the 6 drivers. All in all I'd have to say this was a pretty good acquisition. And my wife didn't even notice them sitting there next to my Plats!
TNRabbit 371 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Cool~ congrats! Going to use them for surrounds?
weitrhino 1,443 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 Cool~ congrats! Going to use them for surrounds? No, actually for now they will be used as HT mains because the house has built-in surrounds and rear surrounds by Cambridge Audio. Eventually I expect them to migrate into my son's room when he's old enough. I'm already holding the M500t and DTL200 but he's only 10 and not quite ready for them. He may get the old JVC RX-805 receiver till he's proven himself capable of respecting the equipment.
kve777 6,884 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Nice! I would not have hesitated at 40 bucks! 'course I'm a sucker for this crap! Glad they work great! I'm always on the lookout for Klipsch, Polk, JBL deals. Enjoy them!
TNRabbit 371 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 If anyone ever sees a pair of JBL 4312 Studio Monitors for $40 I'll be on them like stink on sh!t!
kve777 6,884 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 If anyone ever sees a pair of JBL 4312 Studio Monitors for $40 I'll be on them like stink on sh!t! The pair of C-60 Sovereigns (S-8 driver set up) I bought for $50 was executed in seconds! HIS asking price!
kingman 662 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Cool~ congrats! Going to use them for surrounds? No, actually for now they will be used as HT mains because the house has built-in surrounds and rear surrounds by Cambridge Audio. Eventually I expect them to migrate into my son's room when he's old enough. I'm already holding the M500t and DTL200 but he's only 10 and not quite ready for them. He may get the old JVC RX-805 receiver till he's proven himself capable of respecting the equipment. He will appreciate this in the future...Congrats on your purchase!!!!
tinpan 5 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 You may be surprised how nice of a main speaker they could be. They look to be a two way design. I have a pair of KG4's that are a two way design. I put them on a Sophia baby amps for a couple weeks and I was shocked at how nice they sounded
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