JCturboT Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Guys, Looking at a pair of Klipschorns at this momment and the owner gave me this serial # 010495066.Any idea as to the date of production?My guess is around 1995. If so is this wood or partical board? Does this year offer a good crossover network? Thanks! Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Tenth day of the year, 1994. Last four numerics are Serial Number (5066). Wes ------------------ "KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted March 16, 2002 Author Share Posted March 16, 2002 Thanks SS-anyone with Klipschorns know if this year is made of wood or partical board? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 I believe the Klipschorns have always been made with high-grade plywood. I have a piece of one from the shop floor that I picked up during a tour of the plant last year. Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arco Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Yes, its plywood all right and to me it looked soft and cheap when I first saw it. Nothing to do with the hard high quality plywood used for building boats... And then, I read a story about someone who actually rebuilt the speakers (not an easy job at all!) using this marine spec plywood. Result: The sound was not as good as before. Apparently they didn't cut corners at Klipsch regarding the choice of materials. Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Jeff, if you're looking at Khorns, you're welcome to come on over and give mine a listen if you'd like. Bring your CD's ... The crossovers are set to match the driver. A lot of us on the board have gone with Al K's upgrades; I have them on all my speakers (exc. for the Heresies) and love them. Klipsch uses 8-ply Baltic Birch plywood I believe. My woodworking father-in-law says it's very strong and has wonderful qualities. Basically, it's a great selection for building speaker cabinets. It's expensive but has a certain sonic quality. People talk about the Klipschorn sound; I believe that the wood is a big part of it. Particle board or MDF is good for some things but it has too much glue to "sing". ------------------ If you don't like what is coming out, you wouldn't like what is going in." -PWK- --------------------- TWO-CHANNEL SYSTEM AES AE-25 "Superamp" AES AE-3 Pre-amp New Tube 4000 CD Player 1976 Klipschorns (ALK'ed) HOME THEATER Klipsch 1968 ALK Cornwall "II"s (LF/RF) ALK Belle Klipsch (Center) Klipsch Heresy (RR/LR) Klipsch KSW-12 sub Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Cornwalls) Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Heresy's) Denon AVR-4800 Toshiba SD-3109 DVD This message has been edited by Chris Robinson on 03-16-2002 at 05:47 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Chris, while it is true that Klipsch uses a quality approach to building Klipschorns... they are made with a combination of high quality plywood and MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). Acoustically, MDF has many desirable properties... particle board does not. MDF particles are like grains of sand compared to the rough pieces and "holidays" (voids) that are found in lower grades of plywood and particle board. Check the specs under K-horns, you will find that is the way K-Horns are made today... and for some time. But sing... they do and then some! -HornEd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 My homemade Heresey clone experiement was with .75 inch thick birch plywood. I do not use them right now they are used for backyard parties. Pretty solid construction and the wood is nice to look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCturboT Posted March 16, 2002 Author Share Posted March 16, 2002 Thanks for all the replies guys-still don't know if I'm gonna take the plunge yet.As of right now I have 8,yes 8 speakers in my possesion although 2 are outdoor.Another problem I have is one of the speakers cannot be mounted flush with the wall (Cast iron baseboard heat) so I don't know if I'll get all the sound that the mighty Klipschorn can deliver. Anyone have any idea what X-over network is in these early 1994 models?I would love to get a set of ALK crossovers but I really don't have the funds for these. Chris-I REALLY do want to give your system a listen to.If I go for this deal we'll have to make plans and give your system a look-see. I actually wanted to get a set of Klipschorns in some type of exotic wood (zebra,cherry,mahogany)but after seeing how yours came out it gave me the idea to get a set of Birch (which these are)and refinish them later. These particular 'horns are finished in Walnut Oil #17 and have less than 25 hours playing time on them and are suppose to be in excellent condition according to the original owner. Any thoughts? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted March 16, 2002 Share Posted March 16, 2002 Birch plywood is made with very close attention paid to the joins of adjacent plies so that they are closely fitted and sonically gap free. Constant density is key to good speaker material. Common particle board has sporadic sonic density and us not recommended. Medium Density Fiberboard is probably the most uniform density material of all. If you chose to use it (as I have) you are advised to wear a mask, and have a shop vac handy to suck up the fine dust that is all that remains from the kerfs. It is has truly remarkable audio qualities, is a good ecological choice, and costs less than $20 a 4' x 8' 3/4" sheet. In my experience, Klipsch uses a fine grade of MDF. -HornEd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Chris, What happened with the HF81 problem? Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 JC Turbo T... get 'em, you'll love 'em. I don't remember when they started putting in the AK3 x-overs, I have them in mine. Al's crossovers seem to be closer to being on par with the AK3's IMHO. In regard to the baseboard heat, it is very easy to construct (or have constructed) small "false walls" to capture the big K-horn sound. In fact, Paul W. Klipsch has been using them in his own home for years. The plans were published in the "Dope from Hope" and has been put on this Forum several times. Hope this helps you enter the Klipsch-Beyond-Legends World. -HornEd PS: I just edited the Klipsch designation to the correct AK-3... thanks Q-man, I was on the road in the motor home and typed AC-3 in error. ------------------ HORNED'S EIGHT THEATRICAL LEGENDS, FIVE+ MUSICAL HERITAGES & A ROADIE... SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE "THEATER OF THE MIND"... KLF-30's: Left Main, Center Main, Right Main KLF C7's: L & R Front Effects on 5' sand filled columns KLF-30's: Left Surround, Rear Effects, Right Surround Twin SVS CS-Ultra SubTower, Samson Megawatt Amp KLIPSCH SPEAKER SUPPORT SYSTEMS: Bass friendly, oversized, glove-leather LazyBoy Recliners. Mitsubishi RPHD1080i 65", Yamaha RX-V3000 Receiver Toshiba Pro Scan 6200, Toshiba Pro 6-head SVHS W808 Upscale Monster Cables and Interconnects CHANNELING THE MUSIC EXPERIENCE FROM 2 TO 6! '97 Klipschorn - Mains, '99 Klipsch Belle - Center, '83 Cornwall - Surrounds, '93 Academy - Rear Effects Walnut w/ Cane Grilles. Final Amps, etc. to be determined after long discussions with Klipsch Forum Members. THE MOVEABLE (EAR) FEAST... Klipsched Class "A" Motorhome... an acoustics challenge in 8' x 30'... vandalized... but soon to be "On the Road Again!"s>This message has been edited by HornEd on 03-17-2002 at 09:26 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 There are two types of plywood, veneer-core and lumber-core. veneer-core is 3, 5, 7, 9, or 14-plys glues together to form the board, lumber-core is 3 or 5-ply. the thickness of the board determines the number of plys used. the type of glue that is used to bond the plys determines its classification (technically water proof Type-I, fully waterproof Type-II, water resistant Type-III). based on tonnage, Canada supplies most of the plywood to the USA. Canadian plywood is stamped "Product of Canada". When you buy plywood look closely at the edges and look for inconsistencies in the ply patterns. Plywood from Russia is full of defects, the edges are "filled" to hide large voids in the plys. MDF has higher density than plywood, it is better material for loudspeaker enclosures than Fir or Birch plywood. it is a challenge to cut, need carbide and solid setup. the dust is extremely fine. one other thing- 12mm and 18mm plywood are sold as 1/2" and 3/4", respectively. Make sure that you know what thickness you are buying. For most jobs its no big deal, but if you are building a Klipschorn, it makes a big difference. This message has been edited by John Warren on 03-17-2002 at 07:22 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Jazman ... the HF-81 project is #1 on my to-do list. Have my ubiquitous father-in-law staying with us now until Wednesday, and there is the ever-present 2 year old who is velcroed to my side when he's not sleeping. Nevertheless, plan to trouble-shoot it during his naptime today. Hopefully it's just a loose connection or something. Otherwise, I'll have to find a technician to go through it since I really don't have the time, tools and expertise to do properly myself. Went by Home Depot yesterday and bought the paints and brass goo to clean it up before putting it back together. So .... hopefully we'll have it cleaned up, buttoned up and operating before week's end. Am heading to Hilton Head this coming Friday and wanted to take it along with me to give to the bro. Will sneak a review in beforehand, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Jeff, sorry about the errors I made in my commentary above regarding MDF and all. HornEd and JW set me straight quickly enough I just commented what I thought was true having had the Khorns apart (except for the bass bin of course) for three months. I didn't see one piece of MDF in the process, but maybe that was because (1) I couldn't see it buried in the ***'y, or (2) the older versions (mine are '76's) didn't incorporate it. Anyway, auditioning offer still stands. You can call me at work if you like (800-922-7667 x224). ------------------ If you don't like what is coming out, you wouldn't like what is going in." -PWK- --------------------- TWO-CHANNEL SYSTEM AES AE-25 "Superamp" AES AE-3 Pre-amp New Tube 4000 CD Player 1976 Klipschorns (ALK'ed) HOME THEATER Klipsch 1968 ALK Cornwall "II"s (LF/RF) ALK Belle Klipsch (Center) Klipsch Heresy (RR/LR) Klipsch KSW-12 sub Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Cornwalls) Sonic Frontiers Anthem AMP1 (driving Heresy's) Denon AVR-4800 Toshiba SD-3109 DVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 They should have the AK-3 networks in them. With the AK-3's you won't need AL's network. They ane very close. With any of Klipsch's other networks, Al's would be an improvement. Q. ------------------ Q-Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Q-The AL-3 is similar to the AK-3 except for the woofer capacitor and the tweeter clipping circuit. Also the Klipschorn response curves measured by Trey using both the AK-3 and Al's network show similar performance. Al uses better components so the resultant losses associated with the chokes and caps might be a little lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Chris, Seems weird to post this with the Khorns question but, on the HF81, check your "Function Sel" to make sure you're not on the "Amp1" or "Amp 2" setting instead of "Normal". I had posted this with your original troubleshooting question and is more likely the problem. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Gee, I really don't want to defend the Russians, but... The 40 or so 5' x 5' sheets of Russian baltic birch I've used over the last year were just fine. In fact, it is great stuff. I ran into no voids. All core plys appear to have been plugged per specification. There was no filling on the edges. Face veneer generally greatly exceeded minimum specification for grade. IMHO baltic birch plywood, whether from Russia, or any of the other baltic countries that make it, is great stuff for building speakers, furniture, cabinets, etc. It is an excellent substrate for veneer. All plies are birch, making it much denser than American "birch" plywood which has a core of other wood. Also, core plys are plugged, making it much more consistent. Except for a few other types of plywood, like "Appleply", most plywood has voids and core plys that are not the same as the face veneer. MDF is a bit better sonically, but not so good structurally. Does anyone know for a fact that Klipsch used baltic birch in any of their speakers? It doesn't seem so to me, at least for Heresys. All 8 of mine appear to be made out of American plywood. The plys are thicker and fewer for the same panel thickness than all the baltic birch I have seen. FWIW American 1/2" plywood is not 1/2" thick, not is American 3/4" plywood 3/4" thick. More like 15/32" and 23/32", nomimally. And it varies a bit on either side of that for various reasons, as does metric plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKlipsch Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 mdeneen, How about Anna Kournikova? Not any defects there that are apparent. This message has been edited by MacKlipsch on 03-17-2002 at 01:06 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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