Crossman

Very nice build. I have two questions if you don't mind - 1. Which CNC system do you use? 2. The curved sides of the horn appear to be oak plywood or oak veneer covered and not bendable plywood. What exactly are they made of and how did you bend them? Thanks,

Are the Khorns new or vintage? If they are vintage - do they have the original networks and drivers? I bought a pair of 72 khorns two years ago, hooked them up and was appalled at the sound. I discovered that the tweeters were DOA and the networks were bad - the original oil based capacitors had leaked empty of oil. After replacing the tweeters and networks they sounded much better but not how I remembered from 35 years ago. I then again replaced the networks with ALK universals and the horns and horn drivers with Greg horns and BMS drivers and now they sound divine (in my opinion anyway - and my opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to the sound of my Khorns.)

Which crossover are you using with this driver and what is your bass cutoff frequency?

Is is true that klipshorns do not need an inductor for the bass bin since it tops out at 400hz? If so can one biamp a khorn and amp the bass bin without the need of any type of crossover?

dth31 - I couldn't agree with you more. You described the improvement exactly.

I also upgraded with Greg's V-Trac's and BMS drivers/ALK Universal's. Also like you, I thought they sounded great but the bass didn't have the punch that I like to hear. My solution was to built just the bass bin of a Bob Crites' Cornscala and use it as a subwoofer powered by a Dayton SA1000 with a ceiling of 275hz. The power on the Dayton is barely on and I get the punch I was looking for. If I listen to Brahms or Mahler I usually turn it off.

I agree 100%. If I had to remove the v-trac/2" BMS drivers, I would sell the speakers because I couldn't listen to them again.

I built a Bob Crites cornscala bass bin (post is somewhere) with a 15' woofer or you could build 1/2 of jc's dbb cornscala which would be lower and wider. I'm running this through a Dayton HPSA1000R Subwoofer amp. It sounds great.

I have a good HK amp running my Khorns for 2 channel stereo but I would like to get into SACD multichannel/surround using a pair of KSF 8.5s for satellites. I had a low end Pioneer 5.1 receiver (can't remember the model) which I got rid of because it had very little bass output and purchased my present HK amp. So......I would like a recommendation for a decent 5.1 receiver (under $500.00) which will allow my Khorns to sound good.

Amazon.com has a boatload of sacd's There is also: http://www.musicdirect.com/category/2?gclid=CPqhheHqyZoCFQKHxwodChww3Q

In the original DBB Cornscalla is there two layers of plywood between the bass bins?

Well, I guess that answers that question. Thanks.

Out of curiosity, you guys that use commercial active crossovers that have XLR connections - how do you wire the xlr connectors with speaker wire to go to your speakers? or amp? Maybe there is some intermediate connection?

jwc, I know this is an old thread but I am relatively new to the forum and this concept intrigued me. I would like to ask you a couple of questions if you don't mind. 1) You hinted in the thread that the angled back end as opposed to a square back changed the sound. What change, in your opinion, did it actually make? 2) The ports only go halfway up the height of the bass bin. Is the width of the ports the same as if they were under the woofer? Is the height of the two ports combined equal to the usual underneath port? 3) Would it adversly affect the sound if the two side ports were the full height of the bass bin but only half the width? Thanks, LC

Blues Brothers, "She Caught the Katy"

Before anyone starts hurling invectives my way, I just want to clarify that I am only intellectually (I use that word loosely) curious. My curiosity is: Why are the commercial crossovers (eg the Eminence brand sold by Parts Express at around $50.00) so cheap? Are they sold so cheap because they are cheap? Do they actually work as advertised? I currently have Alk crossovers. Before buying Al's kit I took his parts list and located every part and the price. The result - for a few dollars more I could just get the kit from Al and save myself a lot of headache. I don't know how you do it Al but thanks.

Yes, they sound great. If there is a hump it is beyond my listening skills.

Bob, you stated that the shelf extends back 9.5 inches. What effect would extending the shelf back farther produce? I made a bass bin per your CS dimensions for use as a subwoofer (bass reinforcement) to my Khorns but extended the shelf back to 18". I really like the way it sounds so I have not tinkered with it although I can easily change the shelf extension if it would sound better otherwise.

I wonder if anyone has bought a pair expecting 2" drivers and gotten PO'd about it. Must be a big problem to correct info on their website.

The below is part of the description given for a Heritage Khorn on the Klipsch website. It says "2 inch midrange" compression driver. Am I correct in thinking that this is not the same beast as the original Khorns up until the time that they were first discontinued? What type/brand of 2" midrange driver do they use? What type of mid horn? What type xover? Highly efficient: 105 dB 1W / 1M Fully horn-loaded, full range, three-way system with a patented folded-horn 15" woofer delivers powerful low frequencies 2” midrange and 1” tweeter compression drivers. Capable of extreme output levels with ultra low distortion and astonishing dynamic range Available in a high-quality Cherry, Walnut or Black Ash wood veneer finish

I am using the 0, 1 tap settings that you recommended in an email. Since I was essentially clueless about xovers prior to purchasing Khorns in January, I will have to do more research and study before experimenting with other setting.

I ordered the ALK kit and assembled it myself. The instructions were fairly straighforward. There were some parts changes that I didn't fully understand and some missing instructions (in my opinion) but I looked at pictures you had posted of the xovers and was able to replicate them without any problems. Buying the BMS drivers from Assistance Audio was a no-brainer. I purchased the 8 ohm model. As for the Beyma CP25's I got them from BMM audio for around $95.00 plus shipping http://www.bmm-electronics.com/Product.asp?Product_ID=109 . It took a few days longer to get them, but they arrived about the same time as the rest of the parts and I saved around $100.00. And yes, I just purchased the bare horns with motorboards. My original tophats are sitting in the floor. I basically just replicated your tophat by studying the pictures on your website. I made some changes, simplified a few things, and covered them with Bob Crites purchased Klipsch grill cloth I had left over from a previous project. The changes I made were not necessarily for the better but they seem to be more expedient to me. As stated earlier, they look the same from the outside and they are sturdy. After installing the first tophat I discovered some revisions that I needed to make which I incorporated into the second one, so in the next few days I will take the first tophat off to make those revisions and I will post some pictures to show the minor changes I made.

I just finished installing Greg's V-Trac horns this morning with BMS 4592 drivers, Beyma CP 25 tweeters and ALK universal xovers. After listening for a few hours off and on this afternoon and tonight (trying to avoid ear fatigue) I will have to say that my current configuration is a vast improvement over a stock Khorn. Gone is the thin midrange with its unwanted HF overtones (in my opinion). The audio is (for lack of better terms) much smoother, mellower, and easier on the ears. I was able to increase the volume quite a bit before any noticable pain. The bass even seems stronger and more clear. When I originally acquired my Khorns a few months ago, they did not live up to my expectations even after replacing all the drivers and refurbishing the networks. Anybody want to buy some slightly used drivers? Now they sound like the speakers I always thought Khorns should sound like. Nice work Greg. I would send a picture but they look just like a normal Khorn. No one can tell the difference unless you look in the back or listen to them. If anyone is planning to make a pilgrimage to Hope, AR send me an email and I'll invite you over. I live about 25 miles from the Klipsch factory.

Check out this thread. Look through all. Apparently there is a correlation between the size of the bass bin and the port height and length. Someone listed a link to a volume calculator. I used a 4" height inside a 24" x 24" cabinet and used the calculator to get the length. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/118117.aspx

What is the relationship? I have noticed in someone's pictures (can't remember who) that the shelf length was approximately half the distance of the cabinet depth. Also I think that I recall B Crites bass bin as being 24x24x24 with the port shelf being 4" high but I could be wrong. I thought that I was wrong once but I was mistaken. Crossman