George Roland

I am selling a pair of 1977 Klipschorns, black, with consecutive serial numbers (10R248, 10R249.) These K-horns are structurally sound and play beautifully, but they are "cosmetically challenged". The grilles need to be replaced. One top hat has its back 4-5 inches (the area that fits in the corner) sawn off. Somewhere along the line, the shelf on which the top hat is set was replaced with particle board. They have numerous scratches, chips, dents, dings, veneer cracks, etc. These would be great candidates for a built-in installation where cosmetics don't matter, or for a veneerer/restorer to take on. I live in Meadville, PA right in the middle of a triangle betyween Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Cleveland. I am asking $1,500.00 for them. If no one on this forum is interested, they will go out for sale on e-Bay shortly. I may put up photos on the Web shortly, so if you're interested, check this thread later for the URL. Payment to be made in cash, prepaid postal money order or cashier's check. Buyer is responsible for picking them up. I do not have boxes for them. Sale is final--no refunds or exchanges. Thank you, George

Hi Joe, I had the Klipsch K-55V stock driver on the K-400 horn, the Altec 511B horn and the ALK Trachorn. I would say they performed better in that order. Either the 511B or the Trachorn outperformed the K400--less honky, smoother, greater detail. The difference between the 511B and the Trachorn was more subtle, but I think the Trachorn was smoother and more detailed. I certainly thought it sounded better. I never damped the 511B horn but it was bolted securely to a baffle, which some say is all that is needed to eliminate any ringing. The 311-60s are, of course, coated with "aquaplas" dampening and a rap on them with a knuckle produces a dead thunk--no bell-like ringing. I had heard that Altec drivers were better than the K-55V. I managed to listen to a friend's Altec Model 19s, and did think the mids were smoother and more detailed than anything I heard from the K-55V on ANY horn, so I set out to find substitute mids. The 311-60 horns and 290-16K drivers are good down to 300Hz, so they mate well with the 400Hz cutoff of the K-horn's bass bin. To answer your question directly, I found the Altec 311-60, 290-16K combination far better than ANYTHING I heard before. The mids were smoother, revealed more detail, seemed better dispersed (less honky) and more relaxed. They had a big, open, generous sound. The lower part of the mids provided cleaner upper bass, someting I didn't expect, but it was certainly noticable! For me, the acid test in sound reproduction is upper strings (violins) at loud volume and the human voice--opera singers, choruses, etc. Acoustic music. Here the 311-60, 290-16K combo was clearly superior. Well recorded violins maintained the slightly gritty texture of a rosined bow on strings and the sounds of those strings were separated and distinct, not homogenized together into a steely screech. Background singers' voices were not lost in the mix, solo voices were smoother and more natural. Articulation of words--consonants--were very clean. In complex instrumental passages, like a Mahler symphony where the soundscape is huge, the delicacy of inner instrumental voices, the ability to hear deeper and more cleanly into the mix, the ability to distinguish what instrument is playing, was noticably improvedr. I really liked what I heard a LOT better! Based on my experience, I would encourage you to try some different mids. It's a worthwhile pursuit. I would like to have been able to compare a 311-90 horn to the 311-60, but I have not seen a pair for sale recently. Several respondents, who had experience with both horns, told me they thought the 311-60 was better in a narrow room. That is my situation, so I deciede to try them until 311-90s might be available for comparison. What aspects of your K-horns' mids are you not satisfied with? Best, George

Boy, I sure hope this works out for you! I've had a couple of sellers on e-Bay lately answer all my questions promptly before the sale, then afterwards, nothing. No tracking number, no contact. I would send an e-Mail every few days after the first week went by asking for at least a tracking number...nada. Then the packages arrived with the goods well packed and aas descrbed. If the seller had good feedback on audiogon before, it may work out. Good luck! George

Hi, I am offering these drivers on e-Bay in a no reserve auction with a starting price of $50.00. Auction number 190137592922. If you have been looking for a pair of these to try as a midrange driver, this is a real nice pair. George Roland

Thanks, Jeremy. BTW, do you happen to know what the horizontal and vertical dispersion figures are for the wooden horns about which you just posted? George

Hi Guys, I'll try to post a picture with this reply. Nothing fancy...things just sitting on top of the bass bin just now. Duke--my room is 24' x 14' x 8'. The k-horns are on the short wall 'cause that's the only place I have corners for them, so the bass bins' centers are ca. 10.5 ' apart. I am between 16' and 20' away when listening. Because of the axes involved, I rotate the top endspeakers towards the outer walls of the room, so that, from where I'm sitting, I am pretty much staring right down the bore of the mid horns. I hope this is evident in the photo if I can get it to upload. Thanks, George

Hi Jeremy, Thank you so much for posting these pictures and description of your construction process on these beautiful horns. You did a great job on them! I just posted a follow-up on my Altec 290--16K drivers which were mated with an Altec 311-60 horn for a new mid-range setup for my k-horns. Your work makes the whole process of calculating and plotting the curves through building the horns more comprehensible, and I am inspired by it. I am sure many others will benefit from the detail and photos you have provided. Keep us posted as your research continues! George Roland

I write to follow-up on my inquiries about the Altec 290-16K drivers and suitable horns to mix with them for a "new" midrange for my k-horns. Here's the story. The 290s arrived in good shape and working, but one of them had a serious rattle in it when shaken. The Tangerine phase plug had popped out of position, perhaps during shipping. GPA told me they used Loctite No. 422 adhesive to mount these, so after a few days' wait, my tiny bottle of this particular super glue arrived. The service documents online showed how to disassemble, and service these units, and I was very impressed with the build quality of these huge, heavy drivers. I cleaned out the gaps and with the cement in hand, reinstalled the phase plug. This worked out fine and the phase plug was once again secure. I found a pair of Altec 311-60 horns on e-Bay which I scored. At a tad over $500.00, they were a bit steep in cost, but were in excellent shape. They arrived last night. I was so excited, I could not wait to hook them up. With the big weather-proofing "cans" removed from the back of the drivers, they fit on top of the k-horns nicely. I am using Bob Crites' network and tweeters in my setup so I hooked that all up to the "new" midrange and fired them up. I have not done extensive listening, but initial impressions were very good. While my ALK Trachorns were certainly a big improvement over the K400s, they were bested by this new combination. They are more open, sweeter and much more detailed. I could hear deeper and with greater clarity into the mix of sounds I auditioned. Upper bass has improved, honkiness is lessened, dispersion is better and the sound is just better in every way. I would certainly recommend this tweak to anyone contemplating it. This driver and horn combo are well worth seeking out. Thanks to all on this forum who have responded with good will and much helpful information to my many naive inquiries over the last year since I got my k-horns. It's been fun! George

Hi, I write with some questions about Altec compression drivers. I bought a pair of 290-16K drivers because they were rated down to 300Hz rather than the 288 variety that are rated at 500Hz. Near as I can tell, the 288 drivers are far more popular and costly. The 288-16G has the alnico magnet and a 3-slot phasing plug. The 288-16K has a ferrite magnet and tangerine phasing plug. I would be interested to hear discussion from those who know these drivers well, particularly used as a K-horn squawker. Are alnico magnets better than ferrite magnets? If so why? Is the radial phase plug preferable to the tangerine? If so, why? Are the 288 drivers better than the 290 for music reproduction, even on a K-horn where the bass extends only to 400Hz? If so, why? Thanks, George

I have been listening to the JoLida for a couple days now, and there's no question it is superior to my other unit, a Harman-Kardon HD7600. The HD7600 is somewhat old now, but was a decent CD Player in its day. The JoLida unit basically has much greater detail. That is the most obvious difference. In congested musical passages, the instruments in the mix stand out with more individuality. Timbres are more detailed so it is easier to tell what instruments are playing. It is less shrill. It is very solid and well built too. I have a Rotel CD player coming in a day or two. It'll be fun to compare all three. George

Hey, Thanks to everyone who responded. Problem has been solved, so no need for further action. I have a copy! Thanks again, George

If what you're looking for is the Toccata and Fugue in D min., BWV 565, I can heartily recommend Telarc CD-80088 with Michael Murray as organist. The sound is first rate and the performance is good. The bass on this CD is a woofer test for sure! George

I just bought a used Jolida JD-100 tube CD player, but the guy from whom I bought it was unable, at the last minute, to find the user's guide. I e-mailed Jolida a few days ago to see if they'd give/sell me one, but have received no reply. Do any of you have one you don't need or would be willing to Xerox the pages for me for a reasonable sum? Many thanks, George

At this site: http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-4333A-PROFESSIONAL-MONITORS_W0QQitemZ230149050500QQihZ013QQcategoryZ50597QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem are listed a pair of JBL 4333A speakers. My understanding is that these are the "studio version" of the JBL L300 Summit, but the model numbers of the drivers vary and do not look like those for the L300. (I know the pro versions had different model numbers, but I don't know if these are correct for the 4333 or if some parts have been swaped out or altered.) Anyone know? Thanks, George

djk, Thank you for this detailed explanation. It is very helpful. George

I reference this to Altec 290-16Ks that I have just acquired, but these are pretty "generic" questions. In looking over Altec's info sheet on multicellular horns, I see that there are "horns", "throats" and "adapters". For example, the 1505B horn is shown connected to one Y-shaped 30172 throat and two 30546 adapters and 290 drivers. The next page is a multi-part diagram showing throats, adapters and drivers that can be assembled along with gasket specifications, horn dimensions, etc. If I am reading this correctly, the 290 driver, in a single driver configuration, is shown needing to be connected to a 30162, 30210 or 30166 throat. What would determine which of these throats one would choose? These three throats vary in depth from 4 1/2" to 7 1/2". Doesn't this effectively lengthen the horn? Does this not matter to the sound quality? Is the hole through this throat tapered like a horn or is it a pure cylindar? Another issue is that I see the horns recommended for the 288, 290 and 730 drivers referred to as being for "1.4 inch" drivers. To what "1.4 inch" does this refer? My 290's voice coil is ca. 2.8" in diam. and the opening of the screened section where the sound emerges is ca. 1 1/16" in diameter. It is nowhere near 1.4inch, which would be almost an inch and a half. Third question: if I wanted to make a 300Hz wooden tractrix horn for my 290, how would I know what the size and shape of the opening at the driver end of the horn should be? What about a throat?Many thanks, George

I believe these are 1.4" drivers. They are supposed to go down to 300Hz while the K-horn bass bin crosses over at 400 Hz. I assumed I should go for a horn with a 300 Hz cut-off. Wouldn't that be best? Thanks, George

My Altec 290-16K drivers arrived today from an e-Bay seller. These things are HUGE! I just tried them out, and the drivers seem to work fine. I'd like to try making a set of wooden tractrix horns for these to use as a squawker on my K-horns. Surely someone on this forum has done this already. Would you be willing to share your plans/dimensions and information? Many thanks, George

Thanks a lot for you reply. Do you have a large photo or two of your setup with the 311s you could post for the rest of us? George

Thanks for sending all the beautiful pictures...but how do they sound? George

Q-man, Glad to learn these parts are still available. Did this combo of driver and horn end your speaker tweaking days because you are so happy with it or because you are out of money!? I've heard a lot about "ringing problems" with these horns. Has that been a problem for you? Did you do any damping to them? George

Yo! My K-horns have bass bin tops made by a previous owner. These are two thicknesses of 5/8 inch particle board painted black and crumbling around the edges. I want to make new tops. I have some 3/4 inch baltic birch plywood to build them from, but I need the exact dimensions of the pentagonal top. It would also be very helpful to know the exact distances the top extends out beyond the front and sides of the bass bin. If you have an intact top you would measure for me, and provide the dimensions, that would be much appreciated. Thanks, George

Krudet, I paid $168.24 + 60.00 s/h for them. There were a couple pairs on e-Bay with an 8 ohm rating that went for about that much around the same time. Good luck finding a suitable pair, and let me know how they work out for you. George

This may have been a dumb thing to do, chalk it up to an impulse buy, but I have been interested for some time in trying out some midrange drivers with my K-Horns other than the K-55V, so I picked up a pair of Altec 290 16K drivers on e-Bay. It will be a week or so before they get here, so in the meantime, I have a bunch of questions centering around what to do with them. [] I have NO experience with new midrange drivers, so please bear with some really naive questions. I have been to an Altec site, and I have the spec sheet on these drivers. Here are my initial questions-- 1. What kind of wiring issues are there? That is, how do I attach wires to use these drivers in an audio system, assuming I will not be using the transformers that come with them for sound reinforcement? 2. Is there an easy way to determine whether or not they work, like touching an AA battery to the connections? 3. How do I test the impedance and what is a useful range for these if they are working properly? (I do have a little RS digital meter.) 4. I assume these will have to be mated to horns that have a larger mouth area than the Trachorns or K-400s that came with my K-horns? djk suggested 805, 1005, 311-90. Any thoughts on these choices? 5. Finally can I use my current crossovers (Crites') to test these, and if not, what are my options? Many thanks, George

Thank you to all respondents for such well informed and set out explanations. There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum, it's a treat to participate in it. George Roland