nategr8d8

Hi Tom! I would like a pair also! nategr8d8@yahoo.com or 847-608-4660 Thanks Nate

The first 50 Khorns were produced from the mid 1940's on. Klipsch was a small privately held and fledgling company that had no real financial leverage with suppliers to maintain specific component inventory. The market was competitive and sometimes any vendor inventory that could possibly be available to Klipsch was consumed by those with large procurement contracts or that made volume purchases. A tough market for Paul but he was a survivor. So they tried to use what was best and available to build those early horns. I really don't think that the customers at the time were on the large part willing or technically ready to choose their componentry. But I am sure there were a few. The difference now is that they are a multimillion dollar company held by investors who have vendors who are willing to build whatever they want if a volume purchase is there. Klipsch has a vast array of off the shelf parts. The plans although prototype, have obviously drawn for the speaker cabinets, and most likely, the short list of components has been identified. Many most likely off the shelf. This could be done in one slick series of Klipsch part-recommended kits to the consumer in a relatively short period of time that appeal to audiophiles in all price ranges. Bring your own enclosure materials and Klipsch provides the rest. Hmmm.. Jubilees in 3/4" Acrylic!

If you look at any industrial horn driver in either the public address or Hi-fi field developed in the 50's and 60's they will most likely have a screen to prevent foreign objects from entering the driver. This space is especially attractive to insects. The last thing that you need are spiders, wasps or flies nesting next to the delicate diaphragms. They tend to be very crunchy, messy and are difficult to remove without dissassembly of the driver. As far as the question on the screen impeding sound: As long as the screen does not resonate to any harmonics and maintains its original shape it is sonically invisible at audible levels. You will notice that the screens are domed on the K-55-V's. If they are puhed in use a dental pick or a solder pick to carefully pull them out. If necessary remove them and push them back out. I use a socket the size of the screen flange and a small machinist hammer to tap them back in.

While we are waiting for the Jubilee to come to the home market how about a different approach. Jubilee for sale in a limited basic, intermediate and custom kit form shipped with a returnable camera, test cd, audio analyzer(or software loaded onto a pc utilizing the OEM microphone) and instructions from Klipsch. You take a picture of your your completed system, test it for 30 days and return the results to Klipsch R+D(in the case of the PC they are emailed daily). For participation in this program you have access to the R+D components and can choose the ones you want to keep for your system prior to general release of the product. This way Klipsch can offset some of the R+D costs, some unusal possibly reproducible design variants will be documented for manufacture, all the tech freaks can have it now, and the limited systems from this endeavor become unique collector items that may some day become part of the Klipsch museum. They might even go as far as issue R+D serial numbers. It was not so long ago that laboratory systems for public consumption were part of the hi-fi domain. JMHO

I always use postal money orders. This way you let the US Postal Inspector go after them. Tax dollars at work. I stay away from Paypal since they were in a huge lawsuit a while back for keeping a minimum balance off of your credit card and investing it for their own gains Ebay requires Names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers (only to verify users with dynamic IP addresses for their email system) to start an account. This guy has to have a trail. Contact Ebay and get hot! The longer you wait the colder the trail gets!

Sideview.....

The mouth of the beast!

Well if you love the 805B's you will love the Western Electric 15A horns. This one is on Ebay for a "Buy it now" of over $17,000.00. Put this one in the living room and find out if your wife really loves you! Regards

Actually I have always wondered if anyone ever thought about building khorns out of the 3/4" acrylic that goes by brand names of plexiglass, etc. If the inside was fogged with a satin spray of clearcoat a blacklight or anyone one of the aftermarket neon tubes would make them glow like crazy. A lot of the competition automotive audio people are building subwoofer bins out of this stuff. What I have seen at a few car shows is incredible. The sound pressure alone excedes anything that a Khorn could produce. Also the seams if glued properly and polished are invisible.

So I guess the real question is..How much do the commercial Jubilee's cost? Has anyone inquired? Can Joe Normal off the street just go ahead and buy a pair. Or is procuring them one of those secret handshake and hop on one leg deals?

As we used to say in the military "everyone gets cut in a knife fight, including the spectators"

Thanks John! I have pulled quite a bit of information off the web including the original patent documents from the USPTO site. I will attempt to access the other documents which should be easily available living in the Chicago area. Thanks for the input on using hide glue. I have seen so many articles referring to construction with yellow glue and RTV sealant which I personally disagree with. I know that no RTV is needed for your cabinets after viewing the impeccable mitre joints and bracing. But in departing from the norm I think that for this project I will use one of the new poly glues. I have been using it in the restoration of the 100 year old house I am in and find it to be pretty impressive. It is sandable, stainable and since it will be inside the cabinet UV deterioration will not be an issue. It is a relief to know that I do not need to be specific on the horn diaphrams. After partaking in the bidding on Ebay and calling Klipsch tomorrow for pricing on the K-400's and the K-33-E's I may find out that aftermarket is the way to go. Well wish me luck. I plan on having these done prior to Christmas (need some joyful noise in the house!). Thanks again and best regards, Nathan McCracken

Hi John! I noticed your post and the awesome job that you did on your speaker cabinets. I picked up what look to be the speakerlab k plans and are planning to build my own Khorns. There are quite a few modifications on yours more closely tying them to the Khorn design. I already have the k-77-M's and the K-55-V's and am planning to build the ALKeng crossovers with plans they have on the site. I have several questions although while being presumptious am hoping that you may have some answers or can possibly vector me to the appropriate source. 1. I was planning to use Finnish birch plywood (voidless) but cannot find boards with dimensions over 24" X 30". Do you know of a source or have you had great success with any other materials? 2. Is there anyone who builds a comparable substitute for the K-400 horn diaphram or should I just get it direct form Klipsch. 3. Do you know where I can obtain a better set of plans describing the construction of a Khorn? The ones I have now are close but not quite right on. 4. Do you know what the proper methodology for attachment of the woofer access door? Thanks, Nathan McCracken