chacodude Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I bought my pair of KG5.5 speakers new. They have been relegated to HT for most of their life, but always suspected they could be "more" than they were as stock. After years of playing with my other system(s) for 2 channel, finally settled down long enough to give these guys some of the spotlight. Read a lot of posts and asked a few questions, but read that the titanium diaphragms were a major change for these speakers. I bought a pair from Bob Crites and then started researching Crossover material yet again. This time I decided to just let Bob build a pair for me. What did it do for the sonics? WOW! Night and Day is understatement. The Crossovers alone were drastic, but I really wasn't prepared for the tweeter mods. I still have the Klipsch "flavor", but the sound coming from this pair of speakers doesn't sound anywhere near the old pair that I was so used to! Unbelievable. The reviews and modders were right, this was improvement by many times over and worth every single penny. With the Titanium diaphragms the tweeters are reaching into ribbon type performance. Not only is it better by 200% for detail, the highs are just "smooth" now. Gone is the harshness I had before. I'm sure that the burned in crossovers went a long, long way to help in that department as well. Neither of the changes turned out to be subtle by a long shot. My Wife was speechless when I turned on the music after she watched me change out the Tweeter internals (which is super easy by the way). If you have KG5.5's (or other in series), give this economical mod set a shot. I wasn't about to sell these speakers, but they really earn keep now. Now I'm kicking myself for not having done this years sooner. It was worth the wait and I find myself in front of these speakers again daily now. Bob is first class to deal with. I'm really glad that I was fortunate to have crossed paths, talked over ideas, and done business with him. He really knows his stuff ! The good guys like Bob are few and far between. If you are on the fence, just get busy. Life is too short to wait around, and too short to listen when it could be this much greater everytime the disk spins! No way I could go back to stock now. Andrew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I second your findings. I guess I didn't notice quite as much of a difference with the crossover network as I did with the titanium diaphragms. There was definitely a difference with the crossovers, but the titanium diaphragms brought the speakers up to a new level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 My Wife was speechless ... I guess that was worth it all by itself.Just kidding really. When my older son had given me a pair of HIIs, we switched out the JBL 4311s. The wifey liked them a lot, even though the JBLS weren't slouches. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dubay Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Well chacodude I guess you are going to get me off my duff and get me moving. I have been living with a pair of KG5.5s bought new as my two channel speakers since the early 90's. I have enjoyed the sound of these speakers over the years and they will continue to be my main upstairs speakers. They are now driven by a pair of MK IIIs from Kevin at Dynakit and provide me much joy. I have been considering these upgrades for some time, but this summer I'm going to pull the trigger on Ti diaphrams and crossovers. I have built several cross overs and would like to do the cross overs myself. I would consider two ways to address the cross overs: buy a rebuild kit and replace the components on the existing cross over, or buy the components and make new cross overs. Which would you suggest? Bob C any suggestions? Only problem is I just started on a Cornscala project for the basement system yesterday, made the template for the DIY wood horn I will be building. The Cornscala's still need Crites woofers (cast), and cross overs. The plan is to do the wood horns this summer, then complete the cabinets this fall. So I guess the diaphrams and cross overs can be a mid summer project. I'm envious of a spouse that appreciates HF audio, my wife does not understand my passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacodude Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Thanks for all of the comments! Definitely overachieved in the Wife Dept. here. She puts up with most all of my non-sense and all I can attribute it to is one of the universe mysteries! Funny, she says she can't hear the difference like I can but she's always the first to point out noticing something. I'm not about to ruin it for her. Just glad she likes music let alone the gear changes. Yes, Mike...you are on the right path. I've loved my KG 5.5's and never ever thought about ridding myself of them. Sure there are better speakers, but the bang for the buck on these (even bought new) was just phenomenal IMHO. If you want to build your own crossover, there isn't much to it. The schematic is available readily too. Would reccomend using your own board and mounting in the floor like Bob's do. The original board is rinky-dink. I was pretty unimpressed. For what it was it's amazing it sounded that good! The upgrades are definitely a big improvement even before burn-in. Add the Ti tweeters and you'll be wondering whose speakers are in your house. Thinking the Cornscala will be my next project. Not as replacement for the KG's but for 2-channel audio only. My KG's are hooked up to the HT setup in 2 channel. It's a crime to leave the KG5.5's stock knowing what I know now! The Cornscalas do beckon...strongly! I'll be really interested in hearing your progress on the project.Have fun! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacodude Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 Fast forward to late 2015: STILL enjoying this pair of speakers. They started out as a decent speaker but upgraded to better than RF7. And still eye-balling Cornscala ideas...but haven't jumped that shark just yet. Powered by 2A3 amps (PWK's favorite). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkane Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Now were talkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Fast forward to late 2015: STILL enjoying this pair of speakers. They started out as a decent speaker but upgraded to better than RF7. And still eye-balling Cornscala ideas...but haven't jumped that shark just yet. Powered by 2A3 amps (PWK's favorite). Interesting you revived this. I recently did the ti tweeters on my KG 5.5 and am looking to get new caps for the x-overs soon as well. How big of a difference did you notice with new crossovers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) take a look at the Bob Crites Cornscala"D" type. Better horns better driver. Two ways integrate over a shorter physical distance than a three way can. Larger horn results in superiour polar control at lower frequencies. I have ot heard this speaker but I expect that it is an excellent design. If you are within driving range of Bob it would be well worth your while to pay Bob a visit and have a listen. Here is a link; http://www.critesspeakers.com/cornscala.html Edited September 11, 2015 by moray james Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacodude Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Fast forward to late 2015: STILL enjoying this pair of speakers. They started out as a decent speaker but upgraded to better than RF7. And still eye-balling Cornscala ideas...but haven't jumped that shark just yet. Powered by 2A3 amps (PWK's favorite). Interesting you revived this. I recently did the ti tweeters on my KG 5.5 and am looking to get new caps for the x-overs soon as well. How big of a difference did you notice with new crossovers? The crossovers smoothed everything out. The Ti is quite sensitive and more ribbon like in many ways. The oem crossover did a great job considering, but quality caps and inductor are worth the upgrade. I may bypass my tweeter cap (currently Sonicap) with a Mundorf Silver before long. Then there is the debate over a dampening of the horn with sealant material similar to dynamat ($20 vs $80). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacodude Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 take a look at the Bob Crites Cornscala"D" type. Better horns better driver. Two ways integrate over a shorter physical distance than a three way can. Larger horn results in superiour polar control at lower frequencies. I have ot heard this speaker but I expect that it is an excellent design. If you are within driving range of Bob it would be well worth your while to pay Bob a visit and have a listen. Here is a link; http://www.critesspeakers.com/cornscala.html Thanks for the input! I have been kicking around if I want to go 2 way vs 3 way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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