JEM Performance

To all interested buyers: Have no fear buying these speakers. They are indeed the real deal, near mint, matched pair. They have been re-capped with the correct factory authorized Klipsch capacitors and the original phenolic tweeter diaphragms are included in the sale. seabreeze is my brother and I was present at The Listening Post in Pittsburgh when he purchased them new in 1986. Jim JEM Performance Audio

All of the recent Heritage models have a lacquer finish. The only care is to dry dust them as needed - no oils or sprays!

So we don't give honest answers here on the Klipsch forum? Really?? I have over 46 years of experience with the Heritage speakers and I always give honest answers as do other forum members.

Dean, you owe me a pizza. I've been telling you about these drivers for some time now and I didn't need a graph to verify what my ears were telling me. LOL The graph should also dispel the rumor that the old K-55V phenolic diaphragms get hard with age causing then not play to specification and need to be replaced. I think the old K-55V did quite well against the brand new driver. Thanks Mike for doing the measuring. Hopefully it puts this topic to rest.

That's messing around with speakers. Sorry for the typo.

The K-55V driver is beaming? Really? And PWK didn't realize that all the way from 1963 up till 1980 when the nested phase plug was put into production? Come on. Collapsing verticals of the K-400 are not the reason the K-55V goes to 6K. If that were true, the current PD5VH would go to 6K on the K-400 and it doesn't. Don't believe? Here's a simple test that requires sophisticated test equipment - your ears. Oh, you also need a pair of Klipschorns or LaScalas. Place a good original K-55V in one speaker and place a K-55-X (PD5VH) in the other. Disconnect the tweeters. Feed a mono source to the speakers and compare what you hear. If you can't hear that the K-55V is obviously playing higher frequencies than the current version of the PD5VH, you shouldn't be nessing around with loudspeakers.

Hello Tony and welcome to the forum! I have done several of these up-grades. Klipsch provides a detailed instruction sheet to install the up-grade kit as well. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. My web address is jemperformanceaudio.com which lists all of my contact information.

Can we get something corrected here? Dean is not the authorized dealer for Klipsch capacitors. Dean is authorized by Klipsch to build new vintage Klipsch balancing networks to Klipsch specifications. Dean also installs new capacitors in some of the vintage speakers that use pc board networks. My company, JEM Performance Audio, is authorized by Klipsch to offer replacement capacitor kits for the vintage Heritage speakers. I also install the kits if need be in the hard wired networks. Dean and I offer services that keep the vintage Heritage speakers operating as Klipsch intended. These arguments about capacitors here on the forum are ridiculous. We have available the correct parts to build and service Klipsch vintage balancing networks and yet we have those that insist on nit-picking 40+ year old capacitor specifications. Those capacitors are old, they are degrading and who cares how much life is left in them? If you want your speaker operating at peak performance, replace the capacitors with the genuine replacement part and your speaker will sound as it was intended to sound for another 40 years. The kits are not that expensive and once installed, you probably won't have to worry about them again in your lifetime. Why wait for the inevitable degrading that is already taking place to get worse? I think some common sense is in order.

Currently Yamaha and U-Turn Audio

Yes, that's correct

Yes, as long as available at Klipsch

I'm here.

Jim from JEM Performance Audio. Seems like I need to offer some information about what I do and why I do it with regards to Klipsch Heritage speakers. The capacitors I sell are approved by Klipsch engineering. I met personally with Roy Delgado over a year ago and discussed Klipsch crossovers in depth. Roy took the time to explain the differences in capacitor design and how they react in a network. My desire was to keep the vintage Klipsch models operating as PWK designed them to sound. This all came about because I had changed the caps in my Klipschorns to the most recommended and advertised capacitors in Klipsch land. My Klipschorns were not the same after I changed the caps for sure - but not in a good way. What changed? First the bass was peaked out, the tweeter was way too bright and the midrange had no life to it. It no longer sounded like a Klipschorn should; the realism was gone. I brought this to Roy's attention and he immediately smiled and proceeded to explain what was happening. You have to use the correct type of capacitor to maintain the specs of the network as designed by Klipsch. I know there are those out there that will disagree about this but I can tell you that once I installed the caps Roy recommended, the Klipschorns became totally balanced, the bass was smooth and the midrange open and detailed. I knew others would appreciate having their Klipsch speakers performing as they should, and together Roy and I put together the authorized network repair center. I only repair Klipsch speakers to factory specifications using authorized factory approved parts. Your speakers remain a genuine Klipsch product and will perform just as PWK intended. No modifications, no BULLS**T. So you are probably wondering why should I believe this guy and how does he know what a Klipsch speaker should sound like? Some background - I have used Klipsch speakers since the 1970s professionally and personally. I experienced the Klipsch industrial series products in live sound reinforcement. I used Klipsch speakers exclusively in both of my professional recording studios. I personally own Klipschorns, LaScalas, Cornwalls, Heresy Is, IIs, and industrial Heresy stage monitors. So you see I do know what a Klipsch speaker should sound like. We have Roy to thank for getting the correct parts available to keep our vintage pieces of audio history alive and well. I don't have much time to respond to questions via this forum but I can be reached during normal business hours at theaudioroom@verizon.net or by phone - 412-401-6915.