6J5

Guys I've been off air for at least 6 years now and out of date with current goings-on, I offer no excuses, but still with the Khorns and Heresy IIs ! No doubt this is a question already floggd to death and boring to some but bear with me. I've seen in some very old threads the type 'E mod' ( showing a multi-tap T2A transformer) involving a tap change change and the addition of a 11 ohm resistor across the auto tranformer. Being so simple I take it that the E crossover is a HI design ? Obviously this can not be done on a H-II XO becuase it does not have the multitap transformer and it also has an LC tweeter filter. Is the HIII XO a bona fide upgrade compatible with the II drivers?

This will test your deeper knowledge of khorns.. How straight forward is access to a khorn woofer for inspection or removal? Any pics welcome. Is this standard in all models regardless of year? Are new woofers compatible with older horns mechanically e.g. mountng holes ? George

Which caps are you talking about replacing ? I've restored several 299B 299C and 380s. The coupling caps are easy but remember, in those amps and early hifi days, Scott used a lot of ceramic caps in the scratch/rumble/loudness filters and some for coupling as well - too many to contemplate changing all of them. I've used Audin & Ansar metalised polypropylene ( & some orange drops) for all the coupling/tone control and some polysteyrene in the filters but have not replaced all of them. Mylar is trade name for polyester which is so so. Mica is not quite an audio cap. Low k ceramics, as used by Scott, are not bad they are very low loss - so best not to change them as they last a long time perhaps indefinitly. Unlike .. the power supply multi-section electrolytics are a big problem (unless you can get them in the USA) but chances are you will have to install replacement caps inside the chassis and leave originals in place for cosmetic reasons. I'd like to use Cerafine or Balck gates in there if cost was no object. George Use the 299 with Heresys for TV sound

Never seen a black Khorn any pics ? George

By golly all interesting stuff but cool it down guys..they are only speakers .. good ones. As I said before I have '01 La Scalas and they seem to deliver the goods - sure, xo caps looked cheap before I changed them all to Jensen PIOs (albeit Al Klap does not like them) and came in cardboard boxes rather than wooden crates and the manual was even a cheaper two page leaflet not to talk about internal wire quality which was also replaced quickly - but then again I've never heard the older horns long enough to compare. The '72s were demo'ed with mediocre equipement so did not sound as good as my LaScalas but I have to give the old ladies of 72 the benefit of the doubt. Metal vs. composite mid horns was a favorite thread some time back so let's not touch that one unless you must enlighten me with things other than rope caulk. Interesting though ,all said, that some of you would still rather take the safer route and go for the newer generation khorns something I was originally inclined to do - but I must listen to opinions. George

'72 khorn 2

'72 Khorn

Thanks Tom looks like these 72s are something I've some pics. George

These k series '72 Khorns are type K-B-WO would be pleased to know the deeper meaning of this. George

Some would say its just subjective prejudice. But caps do add color : dielectric absorption has been one explanation, dielectric non-linearity an other etc. but neither one can explain all effects its similar to claims that different wires sound different - and they do.. two good amps can sound verty different, two good CD players sound different, carbon vs. metal film resitors sound different it goes on and on. Clearly science has not yet found the yardstick to measure these effects that the human ear can. PIO caps and the better metal foil/polyprop caps seem to rule. George

Dylanl e-mail me I will send you A & AA schematics .. George

Guys, thanks for your inputs .. I replaced all the plastic caps in my 01 LaScalas with pricy Jensen copper foil PIOs. Stock items looked pretty un-Klipsch worthy..also took out a varsitor (!) in tweeter path (I use moderate triode powers so..)Khorns use fuses instead - I would probably remove those too. All your comments on the progenitor AA xo are very informative. Interesting that threads in this BB some years ago praised the AL-3 as a good upgrade as well Al Klappenbanger?? derivatives. In the AA the woofer net is a simple L low pass which was ugraded to an LC in the AL3/AK3 - can you enlight me on any subsequent views on this mod as well as on the added series LC trap across the tweeter in the new design? George

All your replies and reasurance are most appreciated, thanks ! Price of new Khorns in UK is around £6,000 /pair. LaScalas are about £4,000 /pair. To get the Khorns I would be selling or px'ing the La Scalas which is infact another option just open to me. Another pair of Khorns (a dealer's late 90s ex-demos in Light Oak )have just cropped up for £3,250 with a possibility of a part exchange. This would solve any concerns over driver age ( John I have taken your advise on this so it worries me less now ..) Interesting to note that spares are plentiful for older drivers at least in the USA. So guys: which would you go for the late 90's khorns or the vintage 72's ? I might be able to get the price of the Oiled Walnut '72s down some but by how much to tip the balance I don't know.. George Current kit : La Scalas REL Strata III sub Conrad Johnson PV AL10, MV55 ( triode connected) Sony 7777 (CD/SACD) vinyl: Systemdek / Dynavector MCoil /RB300 arm (+ my own preamp) Other: Heresy II Scott 299B & 299C (used for tv sound)

thanks for all the positives regarding these k series khorns - I actually have 2001 La Scalas and seeking an upgrade. The negative I must tell you, is that as Khorns are like gold dust here, the owner wants £3,000 ( 3K quid) for them! now you see the reason for my interest in having confidence in the business end of things .. George

guys thanks for your replies so far .. as you can see I have too many questions in my mind : do know if the AA xo has been replaced with the new AK-3 to advantage? Would an M-55 driver fit the old metal horn throat? Do the old drivers use Alnico magnets? If the true vintage of these Khorns is '72 as Dave suggested the state of it's paper coned woofers concern me a bit so the next question is obvious: has the current carbon fiber 15" driver been used as a replacement? enough for now .. George