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1986 AK-2 K-horns new to me.


Escoffee

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4 hours ago, Escoffee said:

I was able to take some measurements (in room, no idea if a traditional 3' center measurement would work with this design) to see how they are interacting with the room, not surprised with the results vs listening impressions.  I have a cap kit from JEM I will try first, but may look at an ak-2 to ak-3 upgrade to hopefully level out that midrange.

 

the Changes to the AK-3  mids driver attenuation is  4dB instead of 6dB   , you could simply  use  a T-2A and change  taps without any  modifications to the AK-2  woofer capacitor  .

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You won't be able to get -4dB with a T2A. You will need to find an old pair of T4A's, or buy a pair of 3636 autotransformers from Crites. You would also need to change the 4mH coil in parallel with the K-55, to a 5mH.

 

The new capacitors will bring some of the highs back, so you should probably do that before rendering final judgement on what you are hearing.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Crankysoldermeister said:

...or buy a pair of 3636 autotransformers from Crites. You would also need to change the 4mH coil in parallel with the K-55, to a 5mH.

 

I mentioned in another thread that it appears Klipsch liked to have around 3mh inductance across the K-55M, hence the different parallel inductor values for the T4A and T5A.  Seems to me that, in order to get the same 3mh using a 3636, one would need to use a 3.5mh inductor in parallel with taps 0-3 of the 3636???  I measure 20mh between taps 0-3 on my 3636.  
 

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On 6/21/2022 at 9:52 AM, EpicKlipschFan said:

why do the caps need to be replaced?  ive read a few members here state these mylar caps never go bad... :unsure:

... that got me wondering about the caps in my Khorns AK4 (from the Klipsch upgrade kit) ... I think I was told they would last a very long time .. does anybody know what kind they are and their approximate life?

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2 hours ago, Khornukopia said:

@Escoffee, I have one other pair of AK-2s that will need new caps some day. Can you post a picture of the JEM kit?

 

14 minutes ago, 001 said:
  2 hours ago, Khornukopia said:

picture of the JEM kit?

....Jim  (412) 401-6915  , theaudioroom@verizon.net 

 

I was asking Escoffee because I want to see the kit he received. @001, you may feel free to post pictures of kits you have bought and installed.

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On 6/22/2022 at 6:41 PM, garyrc said:

… I think I was told they would last a very long time. Does anybody know what kind they are and their approximate life?


Metallized Polyester. I’m sure those will be fine for another 20 years or so. 
 

AK-5 is an AK-4 with a tweak to account for the sealed backs. At least that’s what Mark Kaufman told me. 

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On 6/26/2022 at 12:36 PM, Khornukopia said:

 

 

I was asking Escoffee because I want to see the kit he received. @001, you may feel free to post pictures of kits you have bought and installed.

Sorry about the delay. Been tied up with other things and haven’t had a chance to work on these. 
 

here’s a pic of the kit. I was hesitant to post as I think its a great service jem provides, having done all the leg work to locate the parts and ensure they’re to spec with Roy.  He shipped same day and I had them in 2 more in hand.

35256B62-0587-43B1-A351-F79CDDF7A63A.jpeg

D3F0C655-1B92-4CF5-BCAA-9A6E52015A13.jpeg

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@Escoffee et al.

 

I would suggest some double sided tape between the caps and the mounts.  @Dave A and @Crankysoldermeister got me thinking about this in a couple of their threads. It eliminates the the waistbanding and indentations associated with this technique. Another benefit of the tape is the zipties don’t need to be as tight.

 

You’ll need to have the ziptie eyelet pretty much where it’s final resting place is before dropping the tape on as it will stick it too. I had spares but your kit is probably specific. 

 

And if I haven’t mentioned it yet, leave the leads as long as they come to keep as much of the heat from the soldering iron from smoking the guts of those JEMs (see what I did there?). I think most recommend a 40 watt iron? 

 

Looking forward to hearing your impressions, at your convenience. The only thing I get when I’m in a hurry is frustrated. 

 

 

 

76C4A235-8CB2-4942-9B9C-66B49921B7C9.jpeg

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I'm a little surprised that Klipsch authorized the use of electrolytic capacitors to replace the original film capacitors across the woofer.  I believe Michael Crites did the same thing on the AK-3 he sells.  Good to know!

 

 

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