johnnyp

3dzapper, I didn't include Al's extreme-slope crossover because I assumed the tweeter filter it uses required the use of the extreme-slope bass and squawker filter also. I agree with your assessment of Model A tweeter filter too. Sounds good at low to moderate volume. Crank it a little and hello distortion. Oh, and thanks for your reply, Al.

Al K. A bunch of alternate filters for the tweeter horn for heritage model speakers have been discussed on this forum for several years now. Of course, it remains subjective as to which sounds best but can you prioritize the high freqency filters from best to worst? My guess is the following (best to worst): 1) ALK filter 2) modified A-A filter (replace second 2uF with 6uF, remove inductor screw) 3) modified A-A filter (add 1uF cap shunt as shown in pic above, inductor screw removed). 4) modified A-A filter (remove inductor screw) 5) A-A filter 6) A filter There are others but they mostly have additional components for tweeter protection. I am currently using filter #2 above. Is #3 a better alternative? Thanks,

You could ask your crossover questions on this forum. It might be more interesting and educational than a lot of OT rubbish which is published here lately. Just try to keep your questions focused to a specific question. For example: 56uF? 56uF represents a value of capacitance. To see how capacitors and inductors are used to shunt different frequencies in a simple crossover for a two-driver speaker, visit the following website and insert values of your own choosing: http://www.lalena.com/audio/calculator/xover/

I am not convinced those are K400's or K401's. Before bidding I suggest writing to the person and ask him to verify there is a Klipsch logo on the horn lenses. And what's with the black K55's? Is there a difference between a Klipsch k-55V and the Atlas driver (besides the soldered-terminal K-55 that had a special PWK phase plug)??

Klipschorns (nor any speaker) will not "wear out" under normal operating conditions. You do not need to periodically replace your drivers for improved sound. The ALK crossover upgrade you did will change the sound more than anything else except a change of music source. You should check your tweeter horns to make sure they are operating. If one driver is prone to failure in the Klipschorn, it would be the tweeter horn. The Hartsfield and the Klipschorn are both fully horn loaded but sound different. Some say the Hartsfield sounds better. You said "and to my mind the Kirsch is a better design than that classic Hartsfield". I am not convinced that this is true (for me). Please remember that you can acquire 15 pairs of Klipschorns (on eBay) for what you'll pay for those Hartsfields. Both of these speaker systems are super-sensitive to the electronics (or vacuum tubes) that power them. What kind of amp, preamp, cd, etc are you using with your Klipschorns?

Another audio great passed away yesterday - the inventor of digital audio recording. He lived 2 doors away when he invited me into his basement in 1978 to see his invention and listen to his first complete digital music recording on reel-to-reel computer tape. Little did I know I was getting an advance look into the future. Not one to seek riches or fame, most here will not recognize his name or know who to thank for bringing them countless hours of pleasure and joy. http://www.legacy.com/saltlaketribune/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=1772606

Go to www.alkeng.com and look for the Klipsch logo or search the archives for "universal transformer". Either option will yield an address and a phone number for a company in Texas that has what you want. You need part #3619.

HDBRBuilder: Excellent "Make or Buy" analysis. I have seen less-complete analysis in the aerospace industry. You forgot to add the alcohol tab and the repair of work room walls when one embeds tools in walls in frustration. Mopar Dave: John Warren is a contributor here on the Klipsch BB and has constructed a bunch of pairs of Khorn bass bins. I believe he recalculated dimensions to use 3/4" plywood in places where the factory did not. He is fastidious in his work evidenced by the photos he posted of his Khorn bass bin buildup. He described a special wood glue he concocted and listed the recipe. Don't forget the Speakerlab plans indicate a 6" x 13" baffle plate slot and PWK later changed to a 3" x 13" slot. If you can recover this info by searching the archives it will be worth the effort. I suggest searching by "John Warren" and/or keywords "animal" and "glue". Tom Mobley: Nice photos of your early Khorns. Looks like you have all wood squawkers. Are those silver-colored drivers in the bass bin Jensen or Stephens Tru-sonic? The back reflectors on both of your bass bins (the boards that sit closet to the "Vee" of the wall) appear irregular in the photos but it's hard to determine. Did you alter them in some way?

minn_male42, "the old carver amps have absolutely no connection with the carver professional referenced here.... bob carver sold his company name to the phoenix gold corporation in 1996 i used to own a carver tfm-25 amp...." Please elaborate on the old Carver sound vs. the new. Did you like your tfm-25? I've read nothing but positive about Carver's ZR series amps but I can't bring myself to invest in one because the 1.5M amp was a total disappointment to me (lifeless and undynamic). Unlike Colin, I found it painful to crank up the volume. I find it difficult to believe that another flea-weight amp with a Carver nametag won't be a big dissapointment. The most exciting amp I ever heard with a pair of Khorns was a BGW750. The BGW was extremely dynamic - a real kick in the chest every time. It was the only amp I could listen to khorns for almost an hour at volume levels where I couldn't hear myself scream (amazingly, 20 years later my hearing is better than most of my associates). The BGW750 weighs 65lbs+. (remind me agian what your carver weighs?) BGW750 (other BGW amps are not as good) can be had for a song on eBay. I was thinking about getting another BGW750 until I found reviews about the Carver ZR.

"...So this weekend I took one run of cat5, heated the ends to strip the casing..." This is not the correct procedure to strip Cat5 wire. When you heated it, you created excess copper oxidation as well as contaminated the copper with nasty burning plastic fumes. I don't even heat enameled magnet wire to strip it. You have to strip wire the old-fashioned way, except for litz wire. I've never tried CAT5 for speaker wire so even if you terminate it correctly you still might not like it.

From download from Al Klappenberger's website: Universal Transformer #3619 P.O. Box 1300 Wylie, TX 75098 972 442 2231 voice 972 442 2233 fax I think they are about $26.00 ea + shipping. Equivalent to the Klipschorn autotransformer. To disable the zener diode protection network one need not clip any wires. Simply loosen the screw on the terminal strip where it is connected and remove the wire.

John Warren: Thanks for sharing your measurements of your K-33. I've always wondered which set of T/S parameters were correct. Gil & others: Is the general theory that in a given enclosure, the driver with higher "Q" (other parameters equal) will reproduce lower frequencies more efficiency?

LoveofMusic, The squealing noise from your Cornwall Tweeter could indicate a loose connection - especially if the sqealing is intermittant. Find the crossover network, tighten every screw, resolder all connections.

Keep in mind that the frequency plots posted were of the K-55 variations mounted to an Altec 511b horn lens, not a K-400/401. Does not this driver/horn combo require an adaptor? It was interesting, however, to note that the 9khz "bump" remains in this combo too.

D-MAN, From your first post pertaining to this thread: "...I have experimented with other drivers, and found the 6x13 in throat to be the best for other 8 ohm drivers; they tend to be far more punchy and efficient than the K33..." With which other drivers did you experiment? Did you try them with the 3" x 13" restrictor slot or only the "6 x 13"?

For a LS, there is no equivalent to the K-33 in the Eminence Delta, Kappa, or Kilomax Series. The only reasonable alternative from Eminence as a replacement for the k-33 is the 15" Magnum LF which is twice as expensive.

Thanks for all the info, John. I look forward to some photos when you can make them available. -jp

John Warren: I totally agree with your assessment of the T-35. It sounds decent until one turns up the volume, then it starts spitting. Do you use the JBL 2404H as an upgrade to the T-35 in any of the Klipschorns you fabricate? Do you mount them above the squawker or laterally? I think you use an upgraded A-A crossover. Do the JBLs' work without crossover modification? Are there any other tweeter alternatives?

I would probably go with a bike lube called "Tri-Flow". I wouldn't use graphite on a turntable. Sometimes I lubricate small joints and surfaces with a little lube on a clean pin or needle. Don't know if Tri-Flow is a good lube for non-metallic surfaces. Holy Cow, John Warren , that lube may be the best but it ain't cheap: http://www.tedpella.com/vacuum_html/grease.htm

Thanks for the photos of the two tweeter horns, John. There has been considerable discussion in the past about the proper orientation of the EV T-35. I think it was decided that it was preferable to orient the longer axis vertically. For some reason Klipsch mounted it sideways in most of their applications. Is the JBL 2404 shown in your photo oriented correctly?

In crossovers, I've tried summing multiple capacitors in parallel to get the desired value and did not like what I heard. Now I limit it to (2) max. If you've got a 6uf and a 7uf that is close enough. You can add the 2uF quick enough and see if you like/notice the change. I have not tried the ALK but converted my AA to a single 2.2 cap on the tweeter which I much prefer.

It appears that you may already been on the path to a solution. I am not familiar with the K-57 mid driver. The problem you described is one that has appeared on this board many moons ago only it was a similiar problem with a K-55v mid driver. This was long ago and the Klipsch BB has been redesigned since then and most of the stuff in the archives was lost. All that good info gleaned from the early years on this board has been lost forever. What a shame. Oh, back to the subject. The complaint was from someone who said their driver crackles like dust caught in a stylus on a phonograph, especially noticeable during piano passages. There were 2 solutions, both of them involved disassembling the driver. The first solution was to dissassemble the driver and use cellophane tape to clean the gap where the coil of the diaphragm fits. Sometimes, iron dust created during a machining process during mfg of the driver disloges from the magnet and gets trapped in the gap. A riding condition is created as the coil on the diaphragm moves in the gap. The second solution was to disassemble the driver and examine the lint "sound absorber" that is found in the back chamber. Sometimes, loose hairs come off the lint and start vibrating on the diaphragm. The soution is to remove the loose hairs and repack the lint in the back chamber. I have used this procedure myself to solve this problem. Back in the good old days, Klipsch would swap a bad driver for free and you didn't have to worry. I'll bet that policy died when The Legend himself stopped running the company.

Avidfan, I have the Speakerlab fiberglass horns (K-400 taper replicas) and had the same complaints as you. When I turned up the volume, the distortion increased geometrically. I put my hand on the fiberglass (about 6" from the mouth), they "bounced" excessively as the volume was increased. A little mortite or rope caulk isn't going to help. To solve the problem requires a little work. I have reinforced the horn by wrapping the narrow part of the horn with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. This was very easy but a little messy. While the resin was still wet, I wrapped a long length of #14 magnet wire tightly around the horn (like filament winding) beginning where the driver mounts for about 10" - 12". The wet resin oozed between the wire and when it was dry it was very strong and rigid (I am not set up to post a photo, sorry). I attached 3/4" x 1 1/2" wood blocks to the horns using screws and epoxy resin, about 5 inches from the horn mouth. The blocks are located on the horn top and bottom surfaces (4 places) . I was careful to make sure the screws did not penetrate to the horn inner surfaces. I used the blocks as attachment points where I secured the horn to the inside portions of top and bottom surfaces of the upper cabinet using additional wood braces. My squawkers are now securely attached to the cabinet at 3 places. I will add a 4th attachment point, near where the driver mounts (similar the the Khorn). The results were fabulous. The horn does not vibrate or "bounce" regardless of volume level. I think these glass horns actually sound smoother than the cast AL K-400's my brother used in the same room. Gil, Thanks for the info on the Speakerlab SK. I always thought the SK's weak link was the crossover they used. They claimed their bass units could extinguish a candle. At one time, their squawker driver was advertised as filled with "ferrofluid" (whatever that is?). All the industry Khorn copycats ("Speakerlab SK" , "Speaker Factory Romao", etc) ceased production when PWK & company pressed them for patent violations. I would like to follow-up on your discussion of khorn bass driver, QTS, and fequency response but I save (or start) that in another thread.

Much Thanks, Al K. Things are clearer for me now. T2A = "apple", 3619 = "apple", T4A = "orange". I hope to make a pair of Model "A" crossovers this summer using 3619s. Tubelion: I thought the T4A was exclusive to the Heresy crossover, not the the Model "A" or "A-A" crossover? Perhaps you have discussed your project on another thread which I overlooked?

Al, Now I am confused. And just when I thought I was beginning to understand. The goal: Construct a replica of the Klipsch Model "A" crossover using the 3619 autotransformer in place of the T2A. Can it be done without a swamping resistor? Or, if no swamping resistor is used, would the 12-13uF series cap have to be changed to some other value to maintain the 400 Hz crossover frequency? I thought the purpose of the swamping resistor in your crossover design was to present the amplifier with a "uniform" 8 ohm load? The change in resistance required a change in series capacitance (13uF => 40uF). Are you saying a swamping resistor must be used with the 3619 to replicate the resistance of the T2A in order to use the 12-13uF series cap?