Cut-Throat

I have this gorgeous pair of Klipsch Belles in Standard Oak with Black Grills. Am I nuts to want to completely tear down and Re-finish these to a Light Oak with Cane Colored Grill Cloth??

CarD, Here is my advice. I needed to replace the diaphrams on my tweeters on my Belles a few months ago also. I located the replacement parts from a company on the Web called Simply Speakers in Florida. The diaphrams were around $24. I called Simply Speakers and they they were very responsive. They offered to do the replacement and test the tweeters for me for about $40 a piece. I had the tweeters apart and noticed how fragile the diaphrams and the little wire. Also the polarity was not well marked or obvious. I decided for the extra few bucks, it was worth it for me to have simple speakers do it correctly. They turned around my tweeters in about 2 weeks. Just to let you know that I am not afraid to sling Solder, I have built SET Monoblocks, Push- Pull Amplifiers, Tube Pre-amps and A couple of pairs of speakers. The small little wires in the tweeters made me think that I had a better than even chance of damaging the diaphrams. _ Not worth it! I have no affiliation with Simply Speakers. - Just a satisified Customer. Good Luck whichever direction you choose!

HDBR, I picked up the book that you recommended at the library. By Michael Dresdner on Wood Finishing. It does seem to have a lot of info in there. I was a little disappointed that it never seems to mention veneer specifically. I would guess that stripping Veneer may be a little different? - Also I was looking for some info on repairing Veneer. Anyway, since everyone here will be dealing with Veneer on their Klipsch Speakers, are there any special concerns for Veneer? Or is there a section in the Book for Veneer and I missed it? Thanks,

NOS440, I would not think that the seller of this auction is a scammer at all. The item only went for $127.50 - Just not worth it!

Hi, I was interested in this also. I got a picture from Trey Cannon at Klipsch and the stuff looked a bit unruly and hard to put on. If fact Trey told me that it was very difficult to get it straight. What you could do if you wanted authentic cane is to go to a woodworkers shop, where they have cane supplies to weave for chair sets etc. You could actually weave a grill like they do for chair seats. This would truly be authentic cane. Or - what I'll probably do is find a tan, rough looking cloth and use it for ease of use. - It may even look better - But that would be in the eyes of the beholder.

Over $7800 and the Reserve is Still not Met!!

HDBRbuilder, BTW - What does the HDBR stand for? Question - In your post you made it sound like the Belles really displaced the Cornwall Sales more than the LaScala. It seems like I see a lot more LaScala's for Sale than the Belles. Were the Belles selling more than the LaScalas? Thanks,

Hi, A post by HDBR Builder earlier this month explained the exotic woods pretty well. BTW - Do you have any pictures of your KHorns that you could post. - I'd like to see them! ****************************************************************** in 7 years, I saw maybe 5 pairs in Teak, 15 in ebony...6 or 7 in zebrawood...cherry was not very common(although it has had a recent run in popularity...for now at least...but for some reason the trend in it at this time is to have lots of sapmarks or "sugar-lines" showing...something no self-respecting classic furnituremaker ever wanted in his final result!!)...the vast majority of speakers with exotic veneers were of rosewood...a couple of hundred pairs or so while I was there...BTW...cherry isn't an exotic...it is a native. We have lots of native "black cherry" on our land. Pearwood is a pretty thing...but exceedingly rare in furniture applications, I am sad to say! I also like Sassafras wood, black locust(very hard!!!), pecan, and even hickory veneers! We did up a pair or two k-horns out of pecan while I was there...quite beautiful!! Now that a bit of recently cut blight resistant native American chestnut is slowly becoming available, I would love to see some out of it!! NO...the blight didn't get em all...and a couple of decades ago it was "discovered" that there were a few stands of them around that had naturally been blight resistant...and the AFA(American Forestry Assoc.) began offering up nuts from these for planting...YES....one of the most beautiful woods to ever grace the forests of North America is on the way back!!!!!! Thank God!! Rosewood is probably the most popular of the exotics because it can be beautiful and still go with a variety of room decor...without ever being overly "loud" like zebrawood is. Ebony tends to be so damned dark leaning towards black, that one may as well just get black speakers!! LOL! BTW...the favorite wood for k-horns among the employees was always rosewood!! We hated working with it...those splinters really hurt!!...but we all loved the results!! ****************************************************************

Rudy, The reason that you can't see the pictures is that the website that was hosting them has probably folded or the pictures were deleted. This post was made over 1 year ago. Stuff just doesn't hang qround that long.

Yes - these are beautiful. Does anyone know what kind of grill cloth these have? - They don't look like the Cane Cloth to me - Something Else?

1. What Heritage speakers have you owned, currently own, or want to own? Currently own '87 Belles 2. What was your age when you first purchased a Heritage series loudspeaker? 51 3. What is your current age? 51 4. Why did you choose Heritage loudspeakers over another Klipsch model? I love Vintage Beauty. 5. If you currently own some Heritage loudspeakers, and could purchase some more Klipsch speakers(new or used), which ones would you purchase? Why? Klipschorns - But I'd have to have a new house with a dedicated listening room with dedicated corners. I like there sound 6. Do you think the upcoming Jubilee should become part of the "Heritage" line, since it was also designed by PWK? Not familar with it - so I don't know.

Hi Guy, What would be your recommeded Parts list and supplier for the type "A" cossover? - I'm a going to build them myself. Thanks,

Tubelion, Nice Work! - Where did you get your parts? - Especially the Transformer. Thanks

Sorry Malcom, I own Solid State, Push-Pull Tubes, Hybrid tubes and SET Tube Amps. All of the tube amps do things that the solid state amps cannot do in terms of listening enjoyment. These are the facts and if you ever care to spend a weekend with a good tube amp and listen to them music carefully, there will be no going back for you. Tube rolling is not a hassle, not mandatory, and is basically pure fun!

Does anyone know of a good source of high quality spade connectors that will fit in the standard Klipsch crossover barrier strip? I am going to make up some speaker cables. Thanks,

Hi, Welcome to the wonderful world of tubes. You will not find yourself maintaining the amp near as much as the Air Force gear. I mess around with my audio tube gear mostly because I want to, not because I need to. I spend time in the Navy 30 years ago with tube gear from WWII and it also needed constant attention. With that said tube gear is like a fine Red Cabernet. Spend a Weekend listening to SS amp and the tube amp, then you will know. Sorry, I can't help you with the schematic!

OK Mobile - Got the schematic and Layout Pic. Do you have have a recommended parts list? Brand of caps, Inductors etc.? Thanks,

Randy, My crossovers looked "positively frightening" Huh? Do you think I should build the "A" type ones? Where could I get a parts list and a schematic and layout? Thanks,

I am trying to find some Cane Grill CLoth for my Belle Speakers. Does anybody have a good color photo of a speaker that shows the Cane Grill Cloth well? Thanks

Tom, Yes, I have always marveled at this 'wire thing' myself. Especially when you are building an amp and solder a 22 gauge wire to the RCA connect and see the Rattlesnake like interconnects on the outside along with connectors that could pull a car out of a ditch.

I am thinking of replacing the Grill Cloth on my Klipsch Belles with the Light Tan - Cane Grill cloth material. I contacted Klipsch and they do not have that color any more. Does anyone have a source of this Cane Grill Cloth? Also how many Square yards would I need for a pair of Belles? Thanks,

I had got a pair of Klipsch Belles about 3 weeks ago. The tweeters were shot. Cabinets Nice! I got them replaced today - What a difference a pair of tweeters make! The tweeters were repaired by Simply Speakers in Florida. They turned around my tweeters in about two weeks and for about $80 they replaced the diaphrams and tested the tweeters and shipped them back to me. They sell the diaphrams for around $24 apiece, but for the $80 a pair, If figured I'd let the experts do it. I have built speakers, amps, and pre-amps but I took one look at those flimsy diaphrams and wires and realized I was better off letting someone do this that had done it before. They do good work and are very responsive. They returned my call the same day. I have no affiliation with them other than being a satisfied customer. I highly recommend them! They have a great website - search for Simply Speakers in Florida.

Hi Jazman, My Belles are 1987 vintage. I have no idea what kind of caps are in the crossover.

Hey Jazman, I see you have the Belle's. I have recently aquired a pair with type AB crossovers. What crossovers do yours have? And what would you think would be optimal? Thanks,

Fred, How do you know if you need 16 ohm diaphrams or not? Thanks,