DizRotus

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! I expect that Tom is on the road by now. We'll talk by phone in a few hours to coordinate the pickup at 1:00 PM in beautiful downtown Ferndale, MI. I look forward to meeting him. He's already demonstrated a fondness for Klipsch and hockey, as well as a sense of humor. Using Marian Hossa Redwings jerseys (sweaters to our neighbors to the north--and south, if you live in Detroit, which is north of Windsor, Ontario) to pad the load is a stroke of genius. The exchange will be documented with photos.

Let's hope that part of getting his life together mentioned in the "CTP's back" thread includes getting squared with debts owed to Forum members, especially one from the Netherlands. It'd be nice, but don't hold your breath.

Greg, I too am curious about the lack of mirror imaging. Can the squawker and tweeter be easily flipped within the top hat of one to produce a mirrror image of the other?

My older son (recently returned from Afghanistan via Germany) is exploring ways to get from Detroit to Chicago O'Hare the last weekend of July. He has to fly from O'Hare to Raleigh to get to Fort Bragg. The U.S. Army pays for Chicago to Raleigh. Getting to Chcago is his responsibility. The Megabus.com site shows express (less than 5 hrs.) trips from Grand Circus Park in Detroit to Union Station in Chicago for $14.00. That seems almost too good to be true. Does anyone here have experience using Megabus? Any opinions,whether positive or negative, would be appreciated. It's so much less expensive than flying or Amtrak, that it's tempting to a veteran on a tight budget.

This morning I was receiving"timeouts" when trying to access posts. It seems OK now.

Assuming you're referring to the EV T-35/K-77 tweeter, it's my understanding that the dispersion is marginally better with the long dimension oriented vertically. PWK is said to have oriented the tweeter with the long dimension in the horizontal plane for reasons of manufacturing simplicity and economics; not for sonic superiority. I would place the tweeters in the vertical orientation with one on the left of the squawker horn in one speaker and in mirror image on the other speaker. That way, you could experiment to decide if you prefer having the tweeters on the inside or the outside of the squawker horns.

Tom, Check your email. We all know that Michael Colter and the rest of the Forum members can't get too many photos. I'll bring a camera to the delivery/collection of the Khorns and document the process. While Tom is enduring the boredom of the Ohio Turnpike, as he returns to that town that temporarily holds the Stanley Cup, I'll post photos in this thread.

Tom, Have you left yet? If not, when do you plan to hit the road? I know you indicated that you don't need to "audition" them, but I will try to have them playable when you arrive. It won't delay your departure. We'll be able to quickly load and protect them for your trip back, unless it's actually raining at the time. If it's not too late. The suggestions regarding renting an enclosed van or trailer are worthy of consideration. I'm looking forward to meeting you on Monday.

Tom- I agree completely with Sheltie Dave. Nevertheless, I would start with a replacement 4401 to start with "original" and then put them both aside for safe keeping to be replaced by Bob's tweeters to actually enjoy the speakers. I'm not certain if the substitution of the Crites' tweeters would require a modification or replacement of the xovers.

Dee, it's a good thing it doesn't say "barn." He gets touchy about that.

Apparently no one's faniliar with the book. A look at Amazon.com indicates the book is new and only available in hardcover, so it's unlikely many have read it, with the possible exception of Gil, who seems to read and save everything audio.

ditto

Has anyone here read this book? The interview on NPR's Talk Of The Nation was brief but interesting. He touched upon the digital versus analog issue, a topics that's debated here regularly. Apparently, the book goes into greater detail about many audio topics.

Bob- When did PWK first use the T-35? It's interesting that the '54 speaker has the apparently retrofit T-35, whereas the newer '56 has the University 4401. Tom Kuisis has stated a desire to keep them original, which would probably mean replacing the existing T-35 with a 4401. I'm not trying to speak for him, but if it were my project, I'd pick your brain again (you helped me rejuvenate a pair of La Scalas for the local high school). I'd get another 4401 so that they could be returned to original easily at any time. Next I'd get a pair of your tweeters and sell the T-35. I'd use the upgrade to listen to music and have the 4401s for comparison and to be able to return them to original. The balancing networks (xovers) would be my first concern. I'd want to keep them original with the hand wound inductors on wooden spools, but I'd want the speakers to sound as good as possible. My inclination would be to have you make entirely new xovers to mate with the existing woofers and squawkers and Crites tweeters. I'd keep the original xovers and 4401s to be able to return everything to original. Would the xover change depending upon 4401, T-35 or Crites; Would you replace anything, such as capacitors, in the existing xovers, if they were going to be used; Would it make sense to try to use the existing xovers, rather than keep them in reserve; Do you need to confirm whether the woofers are Stephens, or something else, in order to maximize a replacement xover; Should Tom send you the existing xovers; Can 4401s be repaired (are they worth repairing); and What are your thoughts and suggestions regarding the somewhat competing interests of preserving history and/or enjoying music? All of the above presumes that you're familiar with the thread in Garage Sale: '54 & '56 Khorns $1,550 in Detroit SALE PENDING, about the speakers that Tom has agreed to purchase. If you're not, please check it out. I note that 4401s and T-35s are currently available on eBay, which is ususally the case. Again, I'd get another working 4401 as part of an original baseline and a pair of Crites as an upgrade. I'd not upgrade to T-35. Any suggestions regarding the squawker drivers, woofers or anything else about these antiques would be appreciated. Again, I'm asking these questions as if I were keeping these, which I'm not. If the questions or your responses scare Tom away from the responsibility of being a custodian of Klipsch history (serial #779 for Crite's sake), then he's not the right person for the job. I doubt he'll be dissuaded, and feel that he'll appreciate your input. As always, thank you for being such a valuable resource to the hobby and the Forum.

Seti- Are you sure it's a real Auburn? There was a very good looking Auburn Boat Tail Speedster reproduction that was built on a Ford chassis and had Ford V-8 power. The front suspension is a dead give away. Auburns did not have coil springs, Fords do.

If you missed this interview on NPR's Talk of The Nation, go to the web address below to hear the interview of Greg Milner about his book, Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Audio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105762127

Tom,. I'm glad you bought them. Without your approval, I would not have disclosed you as the buyer. If I were "restoring" these, I'd focus on the balancing networks at first. BEC (Bob Crites) and DeanG are good Forum resources to consult regarding balancing networks.

This post is merely to get the edited subject into the reply chain.

Gil said, " It just shows that consumer products eclipsed audiophile.products in a short time." I agree. That was my experience when the stereo produced by that cheesy Zenith Circle of Sound eclipsed my dad's high end mono system. It's also the phenomenon that let's pedestrian HT in a box systems displace SOTA 2-channel systems for HT playback. The commercial market for large footprint speakers, such as Khorns, Jubilee , etc., which don't attempt to ignore the laws of physics to reproduce low notes, seems to be insufficent to make them economically viable products for a large company. That will leave it to the DIY crowd and boutique fabricators to produce alternatives to the Bose cubes and the like. The whole 2-channel concept is being pushed aside by HT.

A sale is pending to a Forum member. Watch this space for further details.

Several people have expressed interest in the Khorns. There's a mild bidding war among the offers below asking price group, which is fine. I don't like it when Forum members attempt to bid above the asking price to out-bid each other. That won't happen. The first Forum member who agrees to the current asking price is the owner, irrespective of higher offers. Alternatively, at such time as the current owner accepts an "offer" below the current asking price, higher offers will not be accepted, unless the then pending sale were to fall through. They should be under new ownership soon.

Technologoy is not cooperating this morning. This was a redundant post to the one above until it was edited.

Michael, I knew you'd be able to and willing to offer valuable input. I never would've guessed that the camera equipment is potentially more valuable than the old Khorns. Speaking of which, several people have expressed interest in the Khorns. There's a mild bidding war among the offers below asking price group, which is fine. I don't like it when Forum members attempt to bid above the asking price to out bid each other. That won't happen. The first Forum member who agrees to the current asking price is the owner, irrespective of higher offers. They should be under new ownership soon.

Glenn, Fenderbender and Oldenough- I appreciate your useful input. Your info is consistent with early reports from my photographer nephew. Colter is yet to weigh in with an opinion. I'll display my ignorance regarding cameras in general and the Mamiya in particular. Is that a medium format? I know the Leica is 35mm, but what is the Mamiya? This is a surprise to me that the camera equipment is potentially worth more than the '54 & '56 Khorns. I know my friend will also be surprised. It still makes me ill to think that she was fleeced out of the McIntosh tube equipment that powered the speakers.

Frozen, It's not clear to me. Did he sell them for your eBay bid or did he try to get you to pay more? In any case, they look fantastic now.