For a number of years I used a pair of Klipsch KLF 20s, which were overkill for my room, but loads of fun for music and HT. This was before I knew much about audio stuff and the difference between horns and soft-dome tweeters, etc. I liked listening to music, and the Klipsch's made the music enjoyable. I noticed when I listened for more than an hour or so my ears hurt a little, like a mild discomfort. Not too bad, but enough to make me stop listening. During HT I would always keep the remote handy to turn the volume down to reduce the cringe factor for the loud parts.
Years later, and a lot of info soaked up on the Internet, I learn about listening fatigue being prevalent with horn speakers. It is difficult to experience when speaker shopping because it's hard to spend much time in showrooms. Yes, my Klipsch's were loud and bright, and I didn't care much for the sound after about 40 minutes, but they were also a lot of fun. I have an odd affinity for my Klipsch's. I can't quite bring myself to sell them. My brother-in-law is using them in his living room. Sure, the horns are loud and obnoxious, but sometimes music needs to be just that. These things are built to be played loud and have a blast with.
There are so many differing opinions on Klipsch, and it is easy to bash them because they are readily available at any B&M store (there is a certain snob factor in audio circles), but you definitely need to spend time with them to judge for yourself. For me, I can't use them for long term listening. For a quick fix, though, some blow-my-hair-back kind of moments, I like the horns.
I'm kind of interested in getting the speakers back and putting them in a large room and unleashing some power into them. Maybe after all this time I may find out a don't like them at all, who knows.
