jhoak Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 So I had a pretty rough set of 75 HWOs. The original idea was that I would sand them down and refinish them. I was going to need all new front edge banding. As it turned out the walnut veneer was too far gone to salvage. I had a good bit of oak veneer left over from the Cornscala project so they’re going from HWOs to HOOs. Here’s the progress so far. All of the veneer is on and they have had their first sanding, the motor-boards have been resprayed, new grill frames cut, and new back panels cut and painted. I have also completed the crossovers. They’re a BEC design called the E/4500. Basically a Type-E crossover with an additional coil to roll of the K-55s and bring the CT125s in at 4500Hz. Here’s the pictures: Yet to do is line the cabinets with an asphalt based damping material, oil the cabinets, build the grills and put them back together. I’m getting pretty anxious to hear them. They’ll set up in the guest room and driven by a really nice Marantz 2270. For sources there are a Dual 1249 & Shure M97xE, an old Sony CD changer and a Revox A-77 R2R. Should make for a pretty sweet little “vintage” system all said and done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Beauty job! Love the look of your stands. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 They look great!![Y]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thanks!!! Well I can't stand it. Me being the way I am I'm going to put them back together and listen to them for a while before applying finish to them. I'll post an interior shot and maybe an assembled shot once I have them closer to playing. Now... Where did I put that box of Heresy parts? HMMM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehusky Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 They look gorgous. Please post your comments after you have had a chance to listen to them. I am in awe, sadly have very limited wood working knowledge, can pound a hammer that's about it. Enjoy! All the best, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thank you very much. I've enjoyed working on them. At this time they have been reassembled although not yet "finished" and are back in the guest room making music. How about some more photos? First we have an interior shot, an assembled shot, and a backside shot. Yea... I know BORING!!! I happen to have 3 different pairs of badges. I am asking for opinions on which ones I should use for the final version of these Heresys. Feel free to chime in with what you think would look the best. The grills are going to be black. And finally we have them set up and singing in the guest room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panacea Engineering Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Looks like a pair of candidates for Watco Natural............... When applied right it provides the perfect finish, IMO.....[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I am a sucker for the Pie Badges second choice would be the black rectangular Klipsch. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Jeff, As nice as the Heresys are[Y], those stands are kick.[H] You never seem to amaze me of your woodworking prowess. Great project, great progress. I will eventually get around to finishing my HBR's, or sub the job out to you.[] Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thanks!!! True confession time... The stands were built WAY on the cheap. They're not oak at all. They're actually MDF. I glued up scrap MDF strips, cut them down to 2.5" X 2.5" legs and then veneered them with scrap oak veneer. The only cost was a couple of pieces of 3/4" oak doweling and a few felt pads. It's at times amazing what one can do with LOTS of time an NO money. All of the venner used on the Heresys was left over from the Cornscala project. Unlike the Cornscalas the Heresys are not wrap around "book matched" but they still look pretty good. I did learn a lesson from the project. As far as I can tell the 1975 version of 3/4" and the 2011 version differ by almost 1/8". I ended up having to cut edge banding as the commercial version of 3/4" edge banding wasn't even close to being wide enough. Go figure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 +1 on the stands and the Watco Natural! Very nice work! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 very nice work , love the veneer and the stands- very smart setup. but 55M in a Heresy? Are those original? Not sure Klipsch ever did that combo, thought they went from K55V to K52 when the horns switched out from K700 to K701 (with the add-on snoot adapter for part of a year). Just asking.. Any network changes or just parts swap for modern components? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Why K-55Ms? Because I had them. They were originally in my La Scalas. When I sold the La Scalas I gave the buyer the option of the 55Ms or 55Vs. He chose the Vs. I swapped them back and forth several times in the LSs and preferred the Ms to the Vs but there was really very little difference between them. As for the crossover it's a pretty straight forward Type-E with the tweeter cap changed to 4mH and the addition of a 160uH coil in the squawker - line. Bob calls them E/4500. The original plan was to use the Selenium D-250X at squawker duty. I built the crossovers to that they could easily be swapped back and forth and listened for several days with each in place. In the end the K-55Ms were preferred. Yesterday I took the Marantz out and put in a little 15w Chinese EL84 integrated amp. I was VERY impressed with what I heard. I spun my copy of GnR Chinese Democracy and sat there saying “WOW just WOW” to no one in particular. I could easily live with this combo as my main system in a smaller room. Could still stand a subwoofer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angusruler Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 very nice.....clear finish...light grill fabric....copper badges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Well after a LOT of experimentation I finally came up with a Watco oil "recipe" that gives me a color that I really like. So far only one stand is oiled but I hope to have everything with the first coat by the end of the day. The one on the left (DUH!) is the one that has had the oil applied. For the curious the custom color is equal parts Watco Natural, Dark Walnut, Golden Oak and Cherry. OK... Well that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it was going to. Here they are with the first coat of oil applied. All additional coats (2 or 3) will be Watco Natural with a light sanding (600 grit) or steel wool between coats. Oh... I changed the badges too. Still deciding on that aspect. Next up is the new grills and some general touch up. It's been fun...[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Those look fantastic. I love the color, very nice. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 but 55M in a Heresy I have two pairs of industrials with M's. Not saying it's OEM, but anything is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Those look fantastic. I love the color, very nice. Thanks!!! I liked the color so well that I just finished oiling the plinth on my Pro-Ject 1.2 which I recently veneered with the same blend. So far it looks very good. I'll take a few pictures once the finishing gets a little further along. It'll get a bit better finish all said and done but 55M in a Heresy I have two pairs of industrials with M's. Not saying it's OEM, but anything is possible. The question is "why not?" I know that Klipsch did not produce Heresys with K-55Ms. I'm OK with that. They spec and sound so much like K-55Vs that there is really no difference between them I'm not after "historical authenticity" here. I just want a pair of nice looking and more importantly good sounding speakers. Oh... And NOT spend a butt-load of $$ that I don't have in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sefferdog Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Those look very nice Jeff, great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Those look very nice Jeff, great job! Thanks Wade!!! I think the Heresys were tucked away in a closet when you were here. You know... One of those "someday" projects. So how are your Cornscalas coming along? I've been watching for a pictorial about the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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