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hi. i just bought a pair of 1995 vintage k-horns & have a few questions on getting the best performance from them. they are all original with no mods, so far. they have the ak-3 x-overs & k55-m mid drivers. the original paperwork mentions some backer boards that i think are already installed, but it mentions a neoprene seal that helps the backs of the speaker seal to the walls. that is missing, so what is the best way to seal these to the walls? some kind of foam or rubber strips i assume? anyone have pictures of the original seals installed? after about 1 hour of listening & resolving a loose main wire to the tops i am impressed by their shear volume & they sound pretty good but i am noticing a overpowering midrange, dare i say somewhat harsh. i have heard that term before about the mids. the highs sound nice. what is an "easy" way to help calm the mids a bit? if that is possible to do without major upgrades or mods. any other tips or tricks or room mods owners of these have used to make them sound even better would be appreciated. they are hooked up to mid-level components right now, but i have a little better quality amps i want to try. nothing exotic. i will post another topic in the 2-ch section for suggestions on how to use the components i have now.

7500? more like $9000 for a pair today.

...along with a very harsh midrange presentation.For those unfamiliar with horns it's not like a leaking rear chamber cover simply does so, without any consequence. They are pneumatic devices. Like a flute or a sax, covering or un-covering a hole will change the tuning big time. When the K55M rear cover seal breaks loose, and / or the driver o-ring is leaking because it's hard as a rock, the entire assembly will sound like sh*t. whats the easiest way to improve the mid horn for this model? i do notice a slight "harshness" that im not used to, my fortes are smooth as silk compared to these. i figured it was mainly due to the k-horns size in my small basement, they are right in your face when seated on the couch. the back cover is good, not loose. if the rear magnet is/was a little loose does that mean the o-ring is probably bad? will replaceing that make a difference in the sound? i was able to turn the magnet on one of them, it was much looser than the other one. noticed this on my old epic cf-4's too. snugged it up & had no issues.

i was thinking about that, seen new gaskets on bob's site for very cheap. might look into them down the road. fingers crossed for now that the loose wire was the problem.

are these upgraded tweets or just stock replacements? do they fit/work for k-horns?

yes, apparently the ak-3 x-overs have all soldered connections, same at the mid & tweets. just emailed bob & he said the k55-v diaphram will work with a minor mod to make it fit so thats good news.... however the even better news is that i think i just figured out the problem. the wires that hook the tops to the main connectors on the lowers came loose. the stock banana style push in connectors seem to have lost their "springy-ness" & almost fall out of the connector. so after some bass heavy mid volume playing, the neg terminal pushes out making poor connection & that created the crackling noise. kind of like if you barely get the speaker wire connected on a normal type speaker hook up. once i pushed them back in the noise is gone... for a few minutes untill it pushes itself back out. i may try to expand the prongs on the connector or just cut em off & use bare wire. very relieved it wasnt a blown mid driver... they arent cheap. so i will do some listening & evaluating on them & im sure i will have many more questions in the near future. thanks for the input.

i just checked crites site & doesnt look like the k55-m diaphrams are available, have to modify a k55-v one. which i will do if needed. will look for a used one too... anyone happen to have a single or pair of k55-m diaphrams? munkiman: no connections to tighten on these... all connections are soldered.

hi. just bought a pair of 1995 vintage k-horns in oiled walnut. they are in excellent shape overall & bought from the original owner. BUT, i seem to have an issue now that they are home & hooked up. at mid-higher volume levels i am getting a crackling from one of the mids, like its partially blown. i listened to them briefly to make sure all drivers worked & they sounded fine but when i turn them up a little, which i didnt do when auditioning them i get the fart/crackle noise. this is the k55m driver with ak-3 crossovers. can anyone tell me what my options are to fix this? does klipsch sell new diaphrams for the k55-m midhorn, or do i have to find a used one. what about crites mids? any info would be much apreciated. also as a side note, the driver threads onto the horn & it was a little loose compared to the other one, i gently tightened it down but it still makes the noise. only at higher volume levels but nothing extreme, pushing maybe 5-7 watts per the level meters on my onkyo m-504. far from pushing them. thanks.

x4 or 5 on keeping the quartets, your initial price is a little high compared to what these sell for. there is a pair close to me with upgraded capacitors in the crossover for $350 obo & thats about average for ebay on these too. i see the fortes & the big chorus go for $500-$750 on ebay. so for the money you would get out of them i say keep them, nothing else new will compare in the ~$400 range. if you plan to use them with the tv as part of a home theater system, find a good used center like was suggested & then look for a used receiver, no need to go seperates as any home theater receiver can be 2ch by just turning off the surround mode. alll current 5.1 reveivers have standard stereo mode & most decent brands will sound excellent for music or movies. persoanlly i prefer onkyo, they are the best bang for the buck IMO. look for the 600-800 series, such as a 805 or 605 if you want hdmi pass through, otherwise any of the slightly older units like 777 or 676 are very good units with about 80-100 wats per channel to all channels & sound great in stereo mode pushing klipsch speakers. also dont forget for a correct 5.1 or 7.1 theater set up you need to have rear/surround speakers, those can be anything from klipsch 2.5 series to the newer gold woofer dual tweeter ones like the rs-3 or rs-35, not a perfect match for tweeters etc but for surrounds they will be just fine. keep the quartets & they sound great in stock form, upgrades are only if you dont like the sound or get the "bug" that many of us here have. klipsch knew what they were doing with these older heritage series speakers.

thanks, yep yours was what i read about it being caustic & like actual soap. i will save the MOS for my kitchen cabinets. looks like BLO or some good lemon oil is what i will use.

thanks guys, will look into the BLO & lemon oil. but didnt i read somewhere that murphys oil soap is one of the worst things for this type of wood? thought i read someone said its ok for laquered or varnished types of wood but on anything else it will soak into its not suggested.

no opinions? is this in the wrong category?? was it something i said???

thanks for the quick replies. they definantly dont need to be sanded or refinished, the stain is just about perfect. just want to maintain them the best i can as i plan to keep them for a very long time. they are my first set of the heritage line & im blown away by the sound they produce on just a basic 90wpc onkyo receiver. where do i get lemon oil? just a standard brand sold at walmart? or is it something special? my other klipsch are the clear coated type, oak kg 5.5 or cf-4 in black satin. just wipe em off with a damp cloth & they are good to go!

i have a set of OW fortes (oiled walnut) bought from the original owner & they have never been oiled or sprayed with anything, just wiped off from time to time. what is the best way to care for these types of finishes? i have read about linseed oil but want to be sure of the best product or procedure. they look like new with no signs of drying or fading. thanks

hi, first post here on the forums but been lurking for awhile... i just sold my pair of epic cf-4 version 2 & im looking for some expert or novice opinions on them as i cant seem to find anything on the epics when i do a forum search. i'm a long time klipsch owner & audio junkie. i own some kg 5.5's & original fortes along with a rotating collection of solid state gear, my keeper amps though are dual adcom 555ii & a rotel rb-990 & a onkyo m504. the epics sounded great when i had them in rotation but spent most their 15 year time with me stored in their boxes. i just sold them & am considering selling the kg's to help fund a k-horn purchase im considering. ironically i sold the epics mainly due to the size & non use, but i'm ok with stuffing some k-horns in my space limited basement. i've wanted a pair since i fist heard them when i was a teenager 20+ years ago & now have an opportunity to buy a pair for a good price. so... i'm looking for some opinions on the epics in general since i'm having some sellers remourse. but also would like opinions comparing them to the k-horns of mid 80's to late 90's vintage. i know there should really be no comparison but i have heard people say the early version cf-4's were the next best thing to the big heritage series line. will it be a worthwhile trade up to the k-horns? they will be hooked to my adcoms, possibly bridged mono since i have 2 555's or might go with the rotel amp as it seems to be much more musical in the low to mid volume range compared to the adcoms. i have a wide range of taste in music but listen to mainly classic rock & some newer stuff too & am always open to all kinds of recordings & plan to expand my collection to jazz, classical, oldies etc etc. thanks in advance for any input y'all can provide.

hi. i have a pair of series 2 in black for a good price. but im in iowa so shipping could be a concern. let me know if interested. thanks.