Endo

Thanks to all for the responses. Ordinarily, I set a very high threshold for modifying a proven design---this is something I typically avoid. In this case, I have been living without a horn loaded, low-frequency cabinet because of the needed space. My wife and I share an 800 sq. ft home. Bring anything through the door and a game of Tetris immediately begins, followed by several OSHA violations. I played around with different locations for the coffee-table-sub, before I gave up and thought about un-folding the cabinet. If I can pull this off, the speaker will sit against the long wall of a room, under a window, and will be built like a bench to match the surrounding cabinets. Its part of a larger remodel project. Thanks, again for all the input.

One more tip, for what its worth... I learned this method from a fine-piano technician: Get a black, lacquer pen--the kind that shakes with a ball inside (like a miniature spray paint can). Then use some scrap to practice with the pen and learn how to control the flow. When you're ready, with an absorbent rag in one hand and the pen in the other, use the pen to dab the damaged area and then immediately follow-up with the cloth, wiping any excess away before it dries. For a anything in black, lacquer finish (like a lot of older pianos--and some new ones) this is a great fix. Lacquer blends with itself beautifully--the fresh layer dissolving into the original layer--and the quick wipe takes care of the "overlap" on the "high ground" around the damage... its a conservative approach.

Soooooo cool that happened... and good, too; imagine if someone else had come along looking for a cheap pair of speakers and then (carelessly) threw them in the back of the car (not knowing what they had) before abusing them for the next 10 years. These Fortés found a good home, and a responsible steward of their care. Win-win.

For what its worth, PWK made shorthorns for a while (pics below). I don't know if they meet your criteria, but I'm curious to know more. It might be good to know these are 'out there'; you never know what's around-the-CORNER (!)

Beautiful! I bet they sound great. Love the setup! [ I thought it might be nice to have your picture here on the forum... ]

Hello, All I am building an existing design for the Eminence LAB 12 Professional (aka: tapped horn for LAB 12; Claude J1 calls it his "coffee table sub"). QUESTION: Can I "unfold" this design without altering the performance? In other words, if I am careful about maintaining fundamentals like: overall horn length; internal volume; sectional areas at throat, mouth and points between... can I take one of the folds out without hindering performance? The only thing I can think of--is the internal pressure might change due to a 'straighter' run (?) and that the driver might behave differently as a result? Pictures of the original plan and also what I'm suggesting:

Thanks for the comment. Not finding much on Fc... From what I gather, seems the baseline frequency (Fs) shifts upward when the driver is mounted in an enclosure of any kind (including horns?)? So, is it fair to say the Fc is simply an adjustment that happens with cabinets? Now, I am wondering what the Fc is for a Klipschorn? I am about to build a dedicated low-frequency cabinet (my first time at this) so, I'm naturally curious. I'll start a new thread.

[Insert thread hijack warning, here] Clearly, I'm missing something here--trying to learn about this stuff. If they aren't horns, what are they (?)

Jim, the story is told of the Rolling Stones delivering their mobile studio to Hope (late 70s/early 80's) in order to have a pair of Belles installed by the factory. Can you speak to this–and do you happen to have any photos of the installation? Thanks, Endo

no affiliation. Central Missouri... https://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/d/warsaw-1972-klipschorn/6931998466.html

I am willing to bet this guy laid groundwork for the needed relationships... approaching corporate with a formal request, nicely asking for a tour (maybe an agreement of some kind?). Perhaps if you wrote a letter to the "right" people, explaining your background and intentions--you might get similar access (or better). Edit: I came back and re-read this – tone is ambiguous: might sound to some like I'm being mean-spirited (did not mean to be). My intent was to make a helpful suggestion. I recall, back in the '70s... some guy in NYC walked around the streets with a tape recorder slung over his shoulder--a complete poser--telling women he was writing a book about sex, what women want (or something like that... it was false pretense). Anyway, my point being the microphone/intro got complete strangers to open up, divulging personal stories; people who normally would have never considered sharing with a complete stranger. Crazy. I think his decision to write a book came later; anyway... we're all creatures of human nature. [Aside: I do not condone willful deceit]

I think this very cool, considering it was among the original performance requirements--along with efficiency and distortion. The spirit of PWK continues to reverberate in the Universe.

How might this type of thread be different if it were happening during an age of real men? EDIT: I'm being serious.

I drink boxed wine, roll my bike through stop signs, and disapprove of children having unsupervised access to MP3s.

The way I read this, the author's point isn't that general agreement exists among listeners–but, rather, agreement exists between accepted specifications and their resulting sound quality; in other words, the specifications and the sound quality for other elements in the chain are, generally speaking, not at odds with each other the way they sometimes can be with power amps (the premise of the article).

Would that be "long term reliability" ... or the other thing?

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Is there anything to this idea of break-in, ... Do fresh new caps get better with use?--I don't know about this.

I am in no-way knowledgeable (trying to learn), but ran across a cap comparison that's seems pretty exhaustive... Its largely subjective material--but having such a wide range of product lines reviewed in a single place, with some semblance of consistent baseline across the spectrum creates a kind of utility, I think, even though one may disagree with some of the content. The panelists also make a distinction between power and network applications, and complimentary pairings, which I found helpful. Here it is: http://www.laventure.net/tourist/caps.htm#AAA

Don't see this everyday. Looks like a time saver for those exploring new driver configurations. Thought someone here might be interested. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Pioneer-SF-850-Electronic-Crossover-Network-Untested-As-Is/303151428509?hash=item46953bb39d:g:jmkAAOSwq8tc1vxC

^^ There was an early II, and a much later II -- similar nomenclature, different variants, and decades apart from each other. [Edit] It was an "Ask the Historian" post (5/17) that clarified this for me.

Well, the new 2uF and 5uF AudioCap PPT Thetas are in, the boards look like this: I've been listening to them for three days: First, comparing one channel w/updates against the other without (my amp lets me play either channel through both L and R). Then, with both boards updated, I compared the CWs against the Belles (done simply to satisfy my curiosity as to their differences). At this point, I feel pretty confident in saying @geoff. was on-target about my particular situation. Thanks, again to all who helped me navigate through this.

For the purpose of checking higher frequency compression drivers, I have found that it helps to have a rag of some kind (t-shirt?) that you can stuff into the horns (especially the tweeter horn). In my experience, this makes confirming the tweeters easier, more apparent. (This may be something that applies only to geriatrics, like me)

Big white cap with blue ends, just like DaMuffinMan's here:

Thank you, all, for the thoughtful responses. Yesterday, I ordered Audiocap PPT Thetas (at Deang's suggestion). I'll be replacing the 2uF and 5uf, leaving the large (Aerovox?) caps in place (these large caps each measured 67.2uF, and I've read they're spec'd at 68uF ? – not sure I have that right, but I think so... ). This forum is a great resource – Thanks again, to all the good natured folks willing to share their experience. I intend to follow-up, once the results are in.