Klipsch Belle (1971)

The Klipsch Belle was originally introduced in 1971 and today it is considered the queen of the Klipsch heritage line. It is the only speaker system Paul Klipsch designed with a woman in mind, his wife whom he named the speaker after. As the story goes, Belle Klipsch wanted a less obtrusive, pleasing to the eye speaker system for their living room, yet without compromising the trademark Klipsch sound. Starting with the enclosure design of the famed La Scala system, Paul Klipsch tweaked the proportions of cabinet to give it a more balanced look and “beautified” it with grille cloth and high-grade veneer. Of course Belle couldn’t have been more pleased with the results, not to mention the thousands of wives thereafter. The Belle has a truly timeless esthetic appeal that seems to get even better with age.
While the Belle Klipsch has been called the most beautiful heritage speaker system of all time, not many were sold. It is pretty much sonically identical to the La Scala system, which was priced approximately 55% lower (85% lower if you settled for a pair of unfinished Scalas) then the Belles. Because the buying demographic of Klipsch speakers was predominantly men, most of which weren’t concerned with style, you can understand why paying a premium for beauty was not appealing. Ironically, today, of all the Klipsch Heritage systems, the Belle has seen the biggest increase in value because there are relatively so few around.

K-77-M High Frequency Driver/Horn
The famed compression driver /horn tweeter gives you vivid, sparkling high frequency detail beyond the range of audibility. You hear a sharply focused, lifelike stereo image. Dynamic range is breathtaking. Distortion is nowhere to be heard.
K-55-V Alnico Mid Range Driver/Exponential Metal Horn
Midrange frequencies are the most critical to your enjoyment of music. In the Belle, these frequencies are capably handled by a powerful, smooth sounding compression driver/horn assembly. This midrange driver assists the Belle, in delivering an amazing 104 decibels of sound pressure when operating on just one watt of input power. This results in awesome dynamic range and distortion free response.
K-33 Woofer
The K-33 fully takes advantage of it folded bass horn cabinet. Deep full-bodied bass that is not only heard but felt!
Type AA Crossover
The passive crossover network of the Belle, is a vital component to the overall performance of the system and is a classic example of the KLIPSCH dedication to engineering excellence. This network takes incoming electrical information and assigns it to the proper driver to achieve the smoothest frequency response.

Unmatched Craftsmanship
KLIPSCH cabinetry is the immediately evident indicator of the construction quality that has made KLIPSCH famous. Meticulously crafted by the finest craftsman in the business. Each pair is precisely matched for color and grain structure. One tiny flaw in one speaker and the pair is destroyed. The cabinet of the Belle, is also critical to its bass response since a large part of this cabinet forms the woofer horn.
Belle Folded Bass Horn
The Belle’s folded horn woofer has long been the marvel of audio enthusiasts and engineers alike. The horn has always been the most efficient means of reproducing sound. But for deep bass, a horn of considerable length is required. KLIPSCH long ago solved this problem by "folding" a horn into a more compact size, resulting in unmatched bass reproduction.

Specifications

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 54 Hz - 17 kHz ±3dB
POWER HANDLING: 100 w max continuous (400 w peak)
SENSITIVITY: 103 dB @ 1watt/1meter
MAX ACOUSTIC OUTPUT: 120 dB SPL
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE: 8 ohms
CROSSOVER FREQUENCY: HF: 4500 Hz; MF: 450 Hz
MAXIMUM ACOUSTIC OUTPUT: 120 dB SPL
TWEETER
K-77-F 1" (2.54 cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver
MIDRANGE
K-55-X 2" (5.08 cm) Phenolic diaphragm compression driver
MID FREQUENCY HORN
Exponential Horn
WOOFER
K-33-E 15" Fiber-composite cone / folded horn-loaded
ENCLOSURE MATERIAL
Birch Plywood and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
ENCLOSURE TYPE
Fully horn-loaded
DIMENSIONS
35.625" x 30.125" x 18.75" (90.5 x 76.5 x 47.6 cm)
WEIGHT
125 lbs. (56.75 kg)
FINISHES
Walnut Lacquer, Mahogany Lacquer, Medium Oak Lacquer, Black Lacquer, and Unfinished Oak
BUILT FROM
1971