greg928gts

Builder, I really hesitate to bring this up, but I just have to. Could a greater output of lower frequencies be achieved from the khorns with a woofer driver capable of slightly greater excursions and increased power handling, coupled with more clean power and a digital parametric equalizer? I believe the notes below 35hz are there, just rolled off. Where as the trade off in your assessment of the K43 was a decrease in low frequencies, the trade off in my example above would be lower efficiency. But who cares, if you're able to equalize with accuracy and supply enough clean power at the same time. I know, . . . purity, efficiency, pure design, PWK, and all that. But for me, it's about what I hear and feel. I truly believe my world, my tastes, and even my mood on occasion is quite different from what PWK had in mind 50 years ago when he developed the khorn. I know, . . .you can't change physics, . . . I got all that. BUT I WANT MORE! While I'm baited into trying various subwoofers to compensate for what I feel is a lack of low end in my system, I'm dissatisfied with how they integrate with the khorns. Why not work to increase the output of the khorn to take the place of what I'm trying to get from a separate subwoofer? The only cost is more power, less efficiency. The end result could be a marked increase in low frequency output, integrated sound, and my own satisfaction to really feel the bass the way I want to. The trick is finding something that has SLIGHTLY more output than the K33 or K43(I've not noticed a difference between the two, I have sets of both), and is only SLIGHTLY less efficient. I realize I may need to double up on the woofer gasket to pull the driver away from the mounting board so that the surround doesn't slap against the board. Greg

I got the Rosewood veneer today and WOW, beautiful stuff. I only peeked in the box to look at the inside of the roll, didn't want to take it out yet, but I think this could be very nice!

Someday I'll get a picture of mine on this forum. It went through the dryer about 20 years ago and got just burned enough to make wavy brown edges around the outside, leaving the lettering in the center untouched. It's custom, cool, and appropriate! Greg

LOL. Greg

Well what was the K43 used for then? Is there a life expectancy of a K33 driver in a Khorn? Should I take them out and inpspect them? What about the wiring and connections, can improvements be made there? Thanks Builder. Greg

Doesn't anyone out there have a line on Bulls**t buttons? I would like to buy some. Greg

Anyone ever play around with different woofer drivers in the Khorn? How about you Builder? What would you think of the K43 instead of the K33? I have a pair of K43's just hanging around. I just figure in 20+ years that someone may have improved on the driver performance a little. Of course there's all kinds of very nice woofers being manufactured right now, but I know it takes a very efficient and relatively light weight magnet and motor assembly to work properly in the Khorn. All the same, is there an improvement that could be made here? Greg

I've heard it takes forever and a day to get service from Klipsch on something like this, so I've not called them. Greg

Thanks for sharing the details, it sounds like a nice method of oiling. I think I'll try a couple of different methods on some of the scrap pieces of veneer. Greg

I've decided to re-veneer my Khorns. You might consider that option. The sides and top of the La Scalas are very easy rectangles. You'd have to finish the front edges of the plywood. You might consider another option for the inside of the bass horn,like painting them black, or making custom grille cloth covers. Hope this helps.

If memory serves me correctly, the industrial two-piece La Scalas had a handle on one side of the upper unit. I don't remember a handle on the bottom unit. The upper unit was angled on both sides, following the shape of the mid horn. A lot of them had the fiberglass mesh coating, painted black, with the aluminum angle trim on all edges. Many that were permanently installed in a commercial application had the rough spray texture without the aluminum trim. I'm pretty sure these had a heavy duty driver in the bass cabinet, K-43. They had recessed banana plugs for connections. Nice speakers. That's all I can remember. I once split a pair of La Scalas, fiberglassed them, painted them, installed aluminum trim, had Klipsch logo stickers made, put handles in them, and then traded them in to my dealer for a pair of Khorns that I still own. Greg

Thanks Builder. It almost sounds like if I use a laquer, that brush applying a greater number of coats that are thinned down a little might work best. But if not laquer, what type of oil finish would you recommend? Also, what about the oil dullness that I've seen on my hardwood trim? I would really like the grain to jump out, almost 3d like. Thanks for the warning on the splinters, I've done my fair share of surgery on myself, so I know what you mean. Greg

Thanks Builder and Gil, I will take your advice. Builder, how much oil could be in 1/16" veneer? Is it enough to be a problem with laquer? Would it be the same problem with Urethane? I also like a finish that's in the wood instead of on top. In the homes I build, we use Watco Danish oil on all the interior hardwood trim. I've noticed that the oil finish actually dulls the grain of certain woods like maple and birch. On Oak, the oil first sinks into the grain and then bleeds out for a long time and many wipe downs before we get it all off. I'm leaning towards a harder, sealed type finish rather than oil for these reasons. But I always welcome input. Thanks, Greg

I'm no expert on this, but a dealer I spoke with said that the only problem they're having with DLP is that the blacks aren't quite as black as on the LCD. Maybe they've fixed that now. Also, I was told that DLP's can work in brighter conditions than the LCD. LCD looks best when it's dark in the room, and can be completely washed out with just a little light from a window. DLP's are generally lower priced. I'm going to go DLP when the time comes. Greg

Yea, I did jump on that deal. I didn't know the guy when I saw the equipment for sale on line, but after emailing and talking to him on the phone I felt comfortable with the equipment. He says the C28 is blowing 1 amp fuses, so the stuff's not perfect, will need a little work. But all in all . . .!! I would say on the value of the equipment listed above, that a dealer like Audio Classics can command more for the equipment than an individual. My estimates on value are really for an individual and what they can reasonably expect to get on the open market right now. Greg

Actually, what I was asking originally was if anyone had any for sale. I would like to buy a few. Greg

I'm sure there are people on this board that can tell the story a lot better than I can. But as I understand it; One day long ago, Paul Klipsch had a salesman make a call to his office trying to tell all about a great new speaker that he had. To Paul, this was just another inefficient, inaccurate, boring box with mediocre drivers installed in it. Well I guess the salesman persisted, Paul got pissed, and told him his speakers, all of the other box speakers being built out there, and the theories behind them were nothing but "bull****". So adamant that this "message" needed to be spread, he used his network of dealers (at that time only selling the Heritage series)to distribute the message with bright yellow round pins that they could hand out to their customers and other salesmen that came calling. Written on the pin in small, understated, black olde-english print was the word "Bull****". Paul Klipsch was known to be a little eccentric and outspoken. For me, at the age of 16, the bull**** button, worn proudly at any time or any place, was the perfect symbol to represent my feelings about the superiority of Klipsch speakers vs. the JBL's, Advents, Bose, Radio Shack, etc... flooding the market with boring box speakers all of which needed a 100 times more power to produce the same volume level as the Klipsch, and didn't even come close to the sound quality either. I used to have all kinds of the buttons, but I ended up giving them all away, or leaving them on the counters of audio stores, or I lost them. I used to own a t-shirt that on the front said "I Own Klipsch" and on the back said "Beware of Bose, Distortion Kills"! I can't count how many times I got kicked out of the local Bose dealers store! Those were the days. So I don't know if everyone can relate to how I and others from that "Heritage only" generation felt over the years as we watched the Klipsch company turn from a small, independent, proud company, producing a very unique product like no other in the world, to one that is competing with all the other boring box speaker manufacturers for who can come out with the greatest number of black tower speakers aimed at getting more market share? But it saddens me. I think we need a bull**** button re-issue. Greg

I got the NBL wood backed veneer, not the paper backed. They are recommending a solvent based contact cement and then scraping with a piece of hardwood to set the veneer. Then a light sanding with a random orbit sander up to about 180 grit and a clear finish. They said that sanding finer than that would tend to close the grain more, make it too smooth for the finish to penetrate. I would love to use a laquer finish. I don't really understand the difference between laquer and polyurethane in terms of application and durability, but I know the laquer tends to show the grain through more and I love the look of my Klipsch 3.1's with black laquer. I plan to try the veneer out on some pieces of birch plywood first to get the hang of it, but I have a lot of confidence in my abilities. Thanks for the input. Greg

Can you say Bull**** in this forum? I figure if PWK did, then it's o.k. for us! Also, I figure since the newbies at the Klipsch company, IN MY OPINION, turned around and committed the "heresy" of producing bull**** speakers for the Circuit City crowd, then I have every right to throw that word right back at them. Anyone have any bull**** buttons for sale? I only have 1 left. It's a pretty cool one though, it went through the dryer one time about 20 years ago, and came out still mostly yellow, with brown blotches all over it. Appropriate don't you think? Greg

I think I found a pretty good deal. I'm just about to purchase a C28, MC2100, and a MR77 for $500. It's an older guy who bought this equipment new in 1971. He told me that with his turntable and speakers included, the whole system cost $8700, as much as a new Caddy in 1971! I thought that was pretty cool. He's had it all these years and is finally upgrading his system. He's very sentimental about the system and wants to see somebody get it and enjoy it like he has. I certainly will like having the MR77, and I'll probably have another use for the amp and pre in another system. Can't have too many systems in the house! I would say the C28 is realistically worth about $450 unless you have the wood case, manual, original receipt, and it's MINT, then as much as $700. The MC2100 is a great amp, durable, powerful, simple; worth about $500, maybe $600 in MINT. The MR77 is still a sought after piece by collectors, although the MR78 is more so. I'd say worth about $650, or $800 MINT. All of these pieces are readily available now, but may be more valuable in the future, who knows? Hope this info helps. Greg

I ordered my veneer for my upcoming project to re-veneer my Khorns. I have a pair of 1981 khorns that came through birch raw, and finished by Mr. L. Cheapo. I purchased 2 sheets, 4' x 8' of sequence matched Rosewood veneer from Tapeease.com. With the edge cutting tool, 2 roller covers, and shipping, the total was about $350.00. I'm planning to do a little custom work to the tops as well. I'll take photos of the project as I go. Any tips from anyone before I start? I'm going to strip them down completely, separate the tops, take off the grill cloth, and make custom 2 x 4 stands that hold them at the proper height for working on the fronts, flat in front of me. This way I can walk all the way around to work on them. Any tips on finishing before I get to that point? I am a housebuilder and woodworker by trade, so I think I have the skills for this project, but I've never done veneer before. I know enough to have help when I set the veneer! With contact cement, there's no going back! Greg

Anyone know of a good source for new grille cloth? I'm specifically looking for a light beige color, tweed. Greg

I have the AA network, the K-55-V mids, and the K-77-M Tweets. Thanks for the feedback. I've been to the website and also contacted Al and got a price of $500 for the pair (reasonable I think). But I'm always looking for more opinions and observations. I'm surprised nobody's jumped on the E.Q. comment I made, considering all the negative comments towards E.Q.ing that come from so many audiophiles. The ALK's seem like the type of upgrade that many audiophiles seek and with the adjustable mid . . . seems like tonal tampering to me! Greg

Sounds like it would be a real nice upgrade for my 1981 Khorns. I can't help but notice a lot of people on this board have ALK'd Khorns. Are there any cons besides spending the dough? I like the fact that the mid level is adjustable . . . isn't this a form of equalization?

I appreciate all the advice on what might have been wrong with the sound of my Khorns. As it turned out, it wasn't the Khorns at all. As soon as I changed the batteries in my hearing aid, the sound came back good as new! Just kidding. I did figure out what was going on. I just had my McIntosh MC2200 cleaned, but the volume knobs were still not working properly. I turned everything on today and at first it sounded just like I remembered it, very open, full, dynamic, and a bit sharp. Then, as I was listening, the sound almost faded, moved back toward the wall, and got thin sounding. I wiggled wires and tried to figure out what was going on, and when I moved the volume knobs I realized.