[Something interesting I found in MY garage]

A Fun Fact to Know and Tell...

In the old days, there was no set standard for the shape of the groove in records (there was no set speed, either, but that's another story.) Each manufacturer used his own. To insure the needle - usually from a cactus - would make good contact with the groove no matter what the cross section, the record manufacturers would put abrasives in the first few run in grooves to sand the needle into the proper shape. The down side was you had to replace the needle after every play or risk damaging the record. Steel needles would last a little longer - that's why the Goldentone people were so proud about getting "3 to 5 plays" out of each one.

Old time audiophiles (yes, there were some) generally felt the cactus needles sounded better. Some things never change.

Needles were made by the millions. You probably shouldn't plan on using your find as the down payment on a new pair of Jubilees...

Capt'n Bob

[Shorthorn woofers]

They are the "TV" fronts. (The other ones-my "parts machines" -are "kit-bashed" and look very rough.) I vaguely remember seeing one of the TV stand Shorthorns, but I can't remember for the life of me where. The problem with using one for a center channel is you'd need a corner in the center to put it in.

I don't know about the midrange horn, although the lower crossover points in the Heresy horn (700 hz) or the Cornwall (600 hz) (I think) are probably improvements. In any event, I'm sure there's a reason the Klipsch people stopped using the 1000 hz horn.

Capt'n Bob

[Shorthorn woofers]

No, they're the taller ones. It's kind of surprising the Shorthorn is a little light on bass. If you decide to try an Altec 604 Super-Duplex, make sure it will fit. The 604 is almost a foot deep and there may not be room front-to-back for it. You also might need to put an additional gasket on the front of the speaker frame so the cone doesn't rattle against the cabinet during long excursions. I tried a pair of Altec 515s in mine and had to do that. (For the record, the 515s didn't work especially well. They seemed to go deeper than the stock 15-wks, but either because the 16 ohm impedance caused problems, or they just weren't as efficient as the 4 ohm Electro-Voices, a fair amount of equalization was required to bring everything into balance.)

Capt'n Bob

[Need help on RARE Cornwalls]

On page 119 of the Klipsch biography by Maureen Barrett and Michael Klementovitch, Mr. Klipsch is quoted saying "The original Cornwall used a slot in the back like the Rebel for the bass reflex port." So I guess they're out there somewhere.

Thanks for the information,

Capt'n Bob

[Shorthorn woofers]

I'm currently working on spiffing up a pair of 1960 Shorthorns. Although they have consecutive serial numbers, they have different woofers and tweeters. Both woofers are Electro-Voice 15wks, with the one piece woofer cone and surrounds. However the magnet on one is humongous, while the other is much smaller and has a metal can over it with the chrome "bow-tie."

My second option is a pair of "Klipsch" woofers with phenolic accordion surrounds. They are apparently Electro-Voice "bow-tie" 15wks as well, but are painted grey instead of EV purple, and have the "PWK" logo on the dust caps instead of the usual "EV."

So my question is - is there a pecking order for the woofers in these things? Should I change out the drivers or just leave them where they've been for forty years? Should I keep sailing the ebay waves for the elusive Stephens-Trusonic woofers? (I thought I'd found an Electro-Voice match on ebay, but hadn't counted on "Vlad the Impaler" working for UPS...) This wouldn't be an issue, but the two drivers do sound a little different.

Anyway, I thought this might be a fun topic to throw open to the forum and see what you folks had to say on the subject.

Thanks in advance,

Capt'n Bob

[Need help on RARE Cornwalls]

Okay, I'm a little lost now. What exactly is the difference between a "Cornwall" and a "Cornwall II?" I have a pair of Cornwalls I bought new in 1974, which would make them 6 years newer than the Cornwall IIs mentioned here or the one which just showed up on ebay. Mine have the vertical horns and dual ports in a mirror image. (I'd take one apart to find out what the crossovers are, but I'm feeling a little indolent today.)

Thanks

Capt'n Bob

[You Guys See These Old Beauties ???????]

Well, I thought I'd give it a shot, and bid on what appears to be the entire 1959 Klipsch product line. Didn't even think of how they'd get from Arizona to Missouri ... just kept picturing that Cornwall flanked by my matching Shorthorns.

I didn't place the high bid, though. Something about a house payment.

"The saddest words of tongue or pen

Are these ... it might have been."

Capt'n Bob

p.s. or as a friend of mine amended:

"The saddest words you'll ever see

Are these: "It is ... but it hadn't ought to be!"

[CTS woofer owners : some help needed]

I've got a pair of Cornwalls (the decorator kind) I bought new in February of 1974. The woofers have never been reconed or repaired in any way. (The tweeters are another matter!) They have square magnets and dark blue surrounds.

While I've got some knowledgeable people's attention here, let me ask a question. I've noticed the cones and particularly the dust caps are turning brown, like they're sun-fading, although aside from an occasional outdoor use, they have not been exposed to sunlight. Is this a cause for alarm? I somehow don't think paint or Armor-All is the answer...

Thanks,

Capt' Bob

[Klipsch Antiquarians - Information, please!]

Thanks - I've got the book (much cheaper through Audio Classics than on ebay). The plans are for a Shorthorn. The speaker I'm after is similar, but about the size of a Heresy.

Great book, by the way. I wonder what ever happens to all those enormous built-in installations. My old Sunday school teacher had a friend (sounds like an urban legend already, doesnt it) who built mammoth FAS air couplers into the floor of his living room. He claimed it had enough bass to knock down a linebacker ... as long as you hit the right note.

Thanks again,

Capt'n Bob

[Klipsch Antiquarians - Information, please!]

I posted this topic a little while ago and got some helpful ideas, but I thought I'd come "back to the well" for some more.

Last month, I was helping set up a band (Farshid Etniko - if you're in the St. Louis area, and like world music I recommend them highly) for the radio station I work for, and noticed their bass player wheeling up a small folded horn. I mentioned "you don't see many Klipsch Rebels anymore." The bass player got all excited and said he'd bought the cabinet at a yard sale for $5 and really liked the sound, but that no one had been able to tell him anything about it at all. So I told him all I knew (built in the late forties to late fifties, lots of kit and home built versions, usually came with a University 1201 or EV SP-12b) and told him I would find out more for him.

So here I am, a supplicant at the fountain of knowledge in all things Klipsch. I've found pictures and plans for the Shorthorn, which is similar, but much larger. Does anyone have any more information about the Klipsch Rebel I can pass on to this guy?

Please and thank you.

Capt'n Bob

[Tangents and Shorthorns?]

The Shorthorn was, as you say, a rear loaded direct radiating corner horn, usually standing about three feet high and two feet or so across the front, although once in a while you'll come across one that's shorter and wider and designed to hold your Capehart or DuMont tv on top. (The idea was to run your television sound through the speaker and enjoy a sort of primeval home theatre.)

I'm still looking for more information about the Rebel, which was made in the late forties through the late fifties. It was another rear loaded corner horn, much smaller than the Shorthorn, and is usually found fitted with a University 1201 co-ax or an Electro-Voice SP-12b. You see a lot them that were kit or home built.

As you suggest,the Shorthorn and Rebel appear to have been supplanted in the Klipsch line by the Cornwall and Heresy, which had a wider market - they didn't need corners - and were probably easier to make.

The Tangent line was developed for sale overseas and in military PXs. (I was told that by a guy in a pawn shop trying to sell me a pair, so take that with as many grains of salt as necessary.)

Capt' Bob

[Newest member of Cornwall Collectors Club]

Welcome to the Club! I hope you enjoy your Cornwalls as much as I've enjoyed mine.

I've had to replace an embarrassingly large number of tweeter diaphrams on my Cornwalls and the LaScalas at the college where I used to teach. (Kids would blow the tweeter fuses, then wrap them in gum wrappers and jam them back in the fuse holders for another few minutes of high frequencies...) It's an easy fix if you're handy with a soldering iron.

I don't know how it is now, but it used to be the replacement diaphrams from Klipsch came already assembled on a new front plate, while the E-V part was simply the voice coil and diaphram, and you had to mount and align it yourself.

I've also heard the difference between the Klipsch K-77 and the E-V T-35 is the K-77s were tested at the Klipsch factory to meet a stiffer set of specifications. The ones which weren't "up to scratch" were sent back to Electro-Voice and presumably went out to the world as T-35s.

I bought my Cornwalls (CD-R)new in 1974 from the late lamented Music Box in Wellesley, MA. They too feature butt joints and appear to be made of pine plywood - complete with football plugs.

They still sound great, though.

Capt'n Bob

[Klipsch Rebel]

Thanks, folks. The website wasn't very helpful, with no picture and a brief description saying the Rebels were made from 1949 to 1958 out of plywood and "are still owned and listened to by Klipsch fans around the world" - seemingly along with everything else Klipsch has stopped making. (It did however, straighten me out on the differences between the Rebel, Rebel 4, and Rebel 7, which, despite the names were completely different designs.)

The plans would be most helpful if they are for a Rebel; I've already come up with a set of Shorthorn plans, thanks.

Thanks again for your time

Capt'n Bob

[Klipsch Rebel]

Ahoy, any Klipsch antiquarians out there. I'm looking for any information, dates of production, plans and so forth for the Klipsch Rebel or Rebel 7 - not the sub & sat combination but the rear loaded corner horn from the 1950s. They're about the size of a Heresy - much smaller than the EV Aristocrat. The ones I've seen have usually been loaded with a University 1201 12" co-ax or the ubiquitous Electro-Voice SB-12b and resemble a Shorthorn left in the dryer too long.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Capt'n Bob

[Klipsch theater stack, how to power?]

My word, just how loud are you planning to go? Such a system could easily cause pretty nasty hearing problems - not to mention having your neighbors organizing a necktie party for you. But I digress...

Ordinarily in a sound reinforcement system like this, you would need to tri-amp i.e. get one amplifier channel devoted to each cabinet. This requires getting an electronic crossover which will go between your mixer and the amplifiers. You will also need to find out what the crossover frequencies are - set them too high and you won't get the best sound, too low and you may blow out the speakers in the upper two cabinets.

I've seen electronic crossovers built into mixers, but they were always designed to work with a specific speaker - such as an Altec 1220 board with a 500 hertz crossover to drive Voice of the Theaters.

One option would be to invest in a six channel home theater amp, although I can't say I've seen any which look "industrial" enough for the use you're suggesting.

A second is to do what you were suggesting - find out the crossover points and get passive crossovers designed for them. The problem here is you will sacrifice some sound quality and ultimate volume levels. You may encounter balancing problems as well - one of the three cabinets may go louder than the others at a given volume setting on your amp.

If it was me, and I wasn't starting a band, I'd be inclined to invest in Klipschorns with a sub, or, if your loft doesn't have corners, four LaScalas and some subs. Stack the LaScalas with the top ones upside down so the tweeters are together. "C" clamp the cabinets in back so the top one doesn't "walk" off. Put 3/4 amp fast blow fuses on the tweeters. This will probably sound better, go as loud as you need for any civilized purposes, and not take up so much real estate in your loft.

Good Luck

Capt'n Bob

[Pro Line LaScala's & Volume Frustration]

Check to make sure the cd player is plugged into a line level input. There should be a switch or level control somewhere on each channel. It may be called a pad, or "mic-line" or something like that. If all else fails, look into a gadget called a "direct insertion box," - "direct box" or "D.I." for short. They are expensive, but should get the job done.

[Scala VS. Cornwalls]

Blow a LaScala woofer? I've seen it done and it wasn't pretty. When I was working at a college, someone (a student, perhaps?) turned on the theatre sound system in the wrong order, ending with the Radford preamp. I noticed the next day things seemed a little "shrill," shall we say. After taking the speaker apart - the access port was on the top, under the squawker - I found a woofer with the paper torn completely around the surround, and again about an inch out from the dust cap, with four or five radial tears and a few chunks about the size of quarters blown completely off and resting on the floor of the box. I never tried to find out who the miscreant was. I figured that, for someone who had endured a turn on thump that loud, anything I did would be anti-climactic.

p.s. This was the good old days, when the warranty was "Any repairs, within reason." Klipsch fixed the woofer for free!

[Worst speakers you've owned?]

Brace yourself, Mr. Albright. I believe Dixie Hi-Fi has transmogrified itself into ... (gasp!) Circut City.

[Worst speakers you've owned?]

Would that be the motto shared by the small yellow buttons and the back of the lost, lamented "Klipschirt?"

[Worst speakers you've owned?]

The worst speakers I've ever owned, eh. That's a poser. Probably the worst speakers I've ever had afflict my sound system were Bose 901-IVs (I borrowed a pair while afflicted with morbid curiosity.)

Back to the question ... probably a pair of home-built Karlson couplers loaded with Oxford woofers and "?" tweeters. Of course, there were the AR-3as. Or the JBLs with the 14" co-axes jammed into ridiculously small cabinets. I could go on, but this is getting embarassing...