GWSmith

Photos shows the magnet AND original diaphragms together BEFORE new installation...

Here is a SIDEshot of the original...

Here is a photo of the ORIGINAL diaphragm assembly circa 1968 !

The removal of the K-55-v front driver cover begins...

This photo shows the voicecoil detail with flex wires...

The new K-55-V diaphragm ...

Shown here, all the toys `unwrapped' []

The Crites CT-125's as unpackaged...

How the parts were packaged (newspaper removed)...

Ok gang.. Here we GO! This was my project last Wednesday evening - Sept. 12th At my door a box of K'Horn `improvements' []

GREAT NEWS! Last evening (Wed. 12th) a package arrived at my door from Bob Crites filled with K'Horn goodies!! I will have photos as promised for you later this evening, please stand by [] Regards, Gary

Hello Colterphoto... Thanks for comment on that 2600 ! WOW, you had an Odyssey of fame huh ? Too bad you didn't keep that. Where did you get it and when? I know, I have sold some things that I should have not. BUT, I DO have some things that I WON'T sell. Happily, I can say that I own a few keyboards that I bought brand new back in the day and they sit here in near new condition. Some used on the road (had to train that road crew to handle with care or else!) while others stayed at home.. Bought new back in 1978, a Korg MS-20 and matching SQ-10 ! I am amazed how much these are going for these days on eBay... I had a 2nd MS-20, bought about a year later, but sold that in the early 80ies. Another major purchase in 1979 is a Yamaha CS-60. This was very expensive back then, I paid $2400! The CS-80 was out of my price range, but these were the first polyphonics I had ever played. I auditioned the CS-80 back in 1977 while visiting friends in CA, and it was what sold me on the CS-60 a couple years later. It sits in storage at our shop on an upper floor. I have not seen it since around 1991, I hope it still plays []... There is more vintage here in the keyboard suite. But, I'll keep this short. I will conclude with ,,,, DID try a brand new ARP AXE around the time when they first came out. It was very interesting, but with only a that single oscillator, I decided not to buy it, they didn't have an Odyssey in the showroom. Really always wanted a MiniMoog, but again too expensive. Thats when I turned to Korg and bought a MaxiKorg K3, about as close to the Mini as I could get for around $850 back in 1976, my first synth! Can you tell me more about your relation with Klipsch? We have never talked, but I believe you have the most postings I have ever seen !!!! Take care, Gary

Hello Synthfreek! Thanks for the compliment on the 2600... No, I don't have a 2500.. [] Well, this one belonged recently to a professor from a local college of note. He was the head of the electronic music/compositional classes there. He bought it brand new in 1971 because the college had just bought one and he really liked it as a tool for teaching (one of its MAIN functions and design). I met this man a couple years ago through another good friend who works at another college in the music dept. also. So, after getting hooked up and getting an invite to his home to take a look at the ARP, he decided to let me take it for the summer and try it out. Mind you, it was sitting closed up in the case under his piano collecting dust! Well, I took it home for the summer, NEVER had the chance or time to try the thing!!! But, I wanted to get it back to him in the fall. He insisted that I hold on to it a little longer and try to make time to check it out.. Later he sent me an email offering me first crack at buying it. The price was VERY low and I went for it in a second [] It just needed to be cleaned up a bit, but it as you say didn't need much and the Tolex had only a very few small nicks here and there that I simply used adhesive to ment back together the little flaps. There ARE a couple issues with it, like, a continuous SUSTAIN even with the keyboard disconnected! I went through every jack on the front panel with contact lube, but its still there, the ADSR is over ridden somehow and has no effect. Also, the keyboard needs the bushing upgrade which is available for around $50. Other then that, its in GREAT tune and doesn't need any calibration there.... lucky, thats a LONG process of tweaking according to the ARP tuning schedule that came with it. The owners manual is in new condition. We can chat more about vintage stuff anytime. You can email me, or chat here I guess. I will tell you this little tale.. I just came back from Ashville N.C. and brought my Voyager to Moog personally! I had the memory AND the touch response upgrades. I got photos of the engineer doing the work and also a short video too [] Its my 3rd year in a row going down there to hang out. There will also be a surprise at some point on the Moog website concerning a symposium I headed at our state college! Just waiting for the marketing people to work it out with the webmasters at their shop. OH! I noticed your long list of equipment. You may have seen my other post about the 1968 K'Horn photos??? How do the MK III's sound? Did you rebuild or modify? Well, I am about to have FIVE Dynaco MK III amps !!! I have been told they are a great amp and will work well with the K'Horns. I would rebuild two of them to factory spec I think, but, thats for a future project. I have NEWS about my K'Horns also, but I will save that for my new posting elsewhere in this forum. Again. let me know about the MK III... I want to try my Adcom 545 next however. Great meeting you, Gary

This is very sad indeed! I learned it HERE on this form only moments ago. Its hard to believe that so many years have pasted since I had first heard of Joe and Weather Report back when I was just starting out with my first synthesizer in the mid 70ies )O: I am SO lucky to own one of the very same model synthesizers that he along with many others had helped to make famous, Joe had TWO of them, they both had names and one was wired to play in REVERSE !.. I will give my APR-2600 a hug in remembrance of Joe. The photo of this synthesizer serial # 175 built in 1971 and part of my vintage analog collection, is enclosed for your viewing... Sadly, Gary

Yes MaxG... To digress still further from the topic (sorry), I found some very interesting reading last night concerning Klipsch however, some nice photos of Paul including his detailed obit.. I did find a great site on Apogee speakers and some older reviews from the magazines still available for reading. They had a smaller model Krell amp shut down with the Scintella ! A larger model however, WAS up to the task. ON TOPIC.... Isn't the Mac MC-250 a great sounding SS amp which was designed to `model' a tube amp? I was watching those on eBay for a while, and they were bringing in around $500. All from here... ..Gary

Thanks Tom and NewMount for your input on the Adcom... I believe I will give it a try using my old Marantz 4140 preamp to drive it (Adcom 545).. The 545 is 100 watts per and I believe it will take a 2 ohm load.. Apogee Scintillas anyone?-- Oops, thats a 1 ohm load, yikes!! [] .Gary

Hello gang. Can I ask (as long as we're chatting about SS), if my Adcom 545 would work with my soon to be rebuilt 1968 K'Horns ? I saw mention that Adcom was tried but changed out in the end.... (Accuphase) Thanks, Gary

Hi there Harry. Thanks for those photos! I'll bet they make pretty good low end, seems like a large cabinet. What is the cubic footage of their interior space? Afterall, that cabinet is all about the bass [] Oh, what about the xovers, are they a Klipsch type? Show them ? Thanks again. ......Gary PS. Could not miss the Klipsch logo! []

Thanks HarryO... Everyone including yourself has been VERY kind concerning my little `restoration' on these K'Horns... Just wished I could get the grills a bit whiter, but alas, they are what they are [] Do you have photos of your speakers? I would love to see the project, also to get an idea of how they sound? Speaking of grills etc. I am still wondering if the white was a bit uncommon? I have not seen another pair quite like these as most grills are black or a deep brown color... Good going on Bob's CT-125's AND the cast frame woofers. We were just emailing each other and he described the lower resonance frequency from the cone of the new 1526 driver vs. the early style. HEY, I wonder if the model # means..............15" and 26Hz. ?? Bet I'm correct[] Ok, stay tuned, it won't be long now before these K'Horns are all fixed up and sounding as they should and you will all !! With reguards, Gary

Ok all....... Its OFFICIAL.... My tweeters are nearly dead (low gauss from aging Alnico magnets - as told by a Klipcsh techie on Friday) and after the listening test and finding a buzz in the left horn driver, I decided to replace everything! I contacted Bob C. and ordered up two CT-125's AND two K-55 diaphragms along with a pair of new coupling gaskets! They should be here on Wed. according to Bob. And I will begin yet ANOTHER series of photos of the proceedure for you all, or at least those who dare not try this alone (diaphragm replacement).. All from here for now .. .....Gary

Hey there TINEAR, welcome! Nice story by the way. You remind me of ME!, with my long and complete stories. Well, I am very new to the Klipsch sound as many around here have recently found, and you'll find the photos of my '68 K'Horn project elsewhere in this forum if you care to take a bit of time to paw through them [] I have dynamic speakers (Pinnacle) ready to go into my new theatre, but I have just setup section in my music room for the K'Horns. They suffer from old age in a few areas, but I am doing something about that very soon. New tweeters to replace the weakening original K-77's and since I just noticed a buzz from one of the mid horns, I decided to replace BOTH diaphragms with new OEM's.... I'll start a new topic on that deal with photos as soon as the parts arrive. Again, welcome on board! .Gary

I TOTALLY agree with Maxg here! I have what I call critical listening sessions. My former living place had a dedicated room that has was light free even during the day! Fully curtained and carpeted. I even made a special partition that was covered in the same material as the curtains (in front of the gear) and had cutouts in it where the IR for the remotes could get a signal through.........I didn't want me or my guests to be distracted by the displays. Lights out, total blackness even with eyes open - perfect! The performers in their space begin to take form in front of you [] My test STEREO recording is and still is a Delos recording of a certain state university wind orchestra of - Percy Grainger, if you have this, you know what I am talking about. For total bigness in soundstage, image and the original recording space, I have my Telarc SACD's.... Robert Spano with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra - the Vaughn Williams `Sea Symphony' is a must listen if you have SACD setup. If you have been keeping up with Telarc over the years, I don't have to tell you about the awards and breakthroughs this company is known for, and their genuine SACD recordings are first rate! Same goes for Mr. Spano ! There you have it moi - NEW to the stereo world of the K'Horns. .........Regards, Gary PS. My new home presently has a room already for the contractor to come in and begin work. I new theatre will be constucted - its exciting []

Nicely done Erland, nicely done! Did you pretty much leave the folded bass horn in tact and add the new front? Your mid horn looks very tall, wide yet shallow, what is it actually ? Looks like you are in a log home?? Ok, I just wrote Bob Crites and I am going to have to replace my old tweeters with the CT-125's as well, and midrange driver diaphragms need to be changed out! I discovered just this evening that my left K'Horn has a buzz in the mid horn. Took the driver off, hooked it back up while in the palm of my hand and played the same passage on the CD. Same noise coming directly from the mouth of the driver [:'(] Well, as a new owner of this early pair, I can say it will be nice to have some high end response coming from them soon! Warmly, Gary

Thanks Harry O and DeanG for your reply... Here is something for you... When I got home, I wanted to hear some of my Delos CD of Percy Grainger, a FANTASTIC CD I use for demonstrating a great sound stage. Well, I noticed a funny little buzz coming from the left speaker on one of the tracks of this CD with a solo horn in the beginning. One note of that instrument and the midrange horn was doing the `ZAZOO' act !!!! A sympathetic vibration in the driver indicating that its partially finished! Dean, it is here that I disconnected the K-55-V and listened to the tweeter by itself - this BEFORE reading your email []. The tweeter was working fine, again, a VERY diminished sound in volume, yet, still crystal clear highs are coming from it..........go figure. The K-55 is so much `bigger', it just hides the output from the K-77, or, what can be heard from it. Anyway, I had the K-55 in my hand and played the same passage. Sure enough, the K-55 is buzzing.. So, now I need to get it rebuilt, and if I am going to do that, guess I should do BOTH. To me, its like changing out headlights and such, in PAIRS at the same time I say. More thoughts ?? I was waiting to hear from Klipsch support today as I was looking into what they have for replacement K-77's... Well, I think I will write Bob and see what he has. The CT-125's ??? Thanks again, Gary

Hello Bob. GREAT, you got to see the photos and agree the wiring is fine. As you said, its probably not the the fault of corrosion on the terminal strip, as BOTH are behaving identically, but I WILL give those screws a tweak just in case - something I omitted doing while they were apart [:$]. I DID notice the little jumper wires from section to section..........you never know [] Ok on the tweeter change out suggestions. Are the FACTORY Klipsch `clones' the tweeter they are now using on the current Heritage series? Well, I will check into that. Else we can chat more about other alternatives as you suggest. Again, thanks always for your continued help! With regards, Gary PS. Are my K'Horns the ONLY ones on the forum with white grills? I have not seen another pair like these...just wondering. Perhaps many have replaced their grills that were originally white?.... Or, is it the color used on the earliest versions..?