KLF 20 vs KLF 30 (now with pics!)

[t-man]

I seem to remember some around here give preference to the KLF 20 over the larger KLF 30. Why would that be? Something about the crossover differences?

[moray james]

If you are planning to upgrade the crossovers you will find that the inductor values used in the KLF 20 will be much more affordable compared to the inductor values used in the KLF 30. The values in the KLF 20 are smaller and so will be less expensive. I guess that how much air you want or need to push will be the ultimate factor in any decission one way or the other. Hope this helps best regards Moray James.

[t-man]

Interesting....

I just acquired a nice pair of 20s but haven't listened to them yet. Only 1 pair can stay, so either these or my 30s have to go.

[t-man]

Did some A/B testing. At first, the 20s sounded terrible, but then I swapped their locations in my room, and the 20's sounded better than the 30s. In the end, I had to remove the 2nd pair from the room for the listening tests, so no A-B comparisons without some time in between (:

I think I like the 30s better for that "slam" factor, but I really like the 20s, too. I am keeping the 20s simply because they are quite a bit smaller and fit in my room better. They are also in absolute PERFECT MINT condition (nicest speakers I've ever owned), and my 30s are not quite as nice. Wish I could keep them both, but can't do it. Getting these 20's was like purchasing new speakers - They even came in the original plastic, foam, and mint boxes!!!!

[moray james]

T-man: given you room and speaker location you might waant to consider a little surgery. I removed both front and back baffles so I could re mount them (adhesive issues) and while I was in there I braced the cabinet and switched the vents from the rear to the front. You dont need to chop the baffles as I did you can simply remove the vents from the back and install caps and cut fresh holes for the vents in the front. Your bass will be much better for it in your situation. I think that if you swap the vents and install some additional braces your KLF 20 will out rock the KLF30`s.

You might also want to do a little work on the KLF 20 mid horns. While this horn is to me a better mid horn that that in the Forte ll it is a much thinner mould you can see the walls of the horn are about half the thickness of the horn walls in the Forte ll mid horn. I am installing some plastic tube cut in half to make C-channels with which to stiffen the side wals of the KLF 20 mid horn. I will also be applying a layer of duct seal to remove any ring remaining in the horn after modification. After that you have the option of all Ti diaphragms, start with the tweeters first it`s only $60.00 for the pair to replace the stock poly tweeter diaphragms in the KLF 20. The Poly diaphragms are no where close to the phenolic used in the Forte and other Heritage and they really need to go, you will be very pleased with the new Ti diaphragms. Here is a link with some pictures of the KLF 20 I worked on this past summer. They sound great now. Best regards and congratulations on a fine find Moray James.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=372783

PS: if you do go inside to do some brace work install some strapping 3/4 square fir around the baffles front and back. You will likely have to remove some of the hot melt glue used on the baffles as you want to glue tothe wood sides top and bottom. If you use a quality pl type adhesive that will actuall stick to Melamine then you will never have to worry about your baffles comming loose. I have two pair of KLF 20 and both had loose baffles. Something to consider.

[Fish]

Nice 20s, and nice pics.I've had an eye out for 30s for a long time, never found the right deal.My 20s look just like those ,it's good to know I have not been missing out on too much.

[t-man]

Thanks for the tips. I actually pulled one of the top woofers to look inside. I was surprised at the lack of any internal bracing. The 30s do have an internal bridge in the middle part of the cabinet. It would be hard for me to break apart this mint set and modify it at this point. Sure, the Ti tweeters are an easy/reversable mod, but breaking out the baffles and relocating the ports? Perhaps if I find I have issues with the cabinet later on (:

My KG 5.5s had a front port. I fail to understand why Klipsch insists on rear porting these types of speakers instead of locating them on the front. Does the air movement stretch out the fabric on the grills or something??? I never noticed any movement or trouble with my 5.5s in this regard. Is there some other benefit of having the ports in the rear????

[moray james]

Both sets of my KLF 20 came with three horizontal braces as stock. Vents need more room to breath than a passive would. Front vents are a better option than having vents on the rear firing into a closely spaced wall. I did say that you do not have to remove the baffles to re position the vents. Nor do the baffles have to be removed to address adhesive issues causing loose baffles. Here is an easy test you can try. Remove your tweeters and grip the baffle at the opening. With one hand on the top of the cabinet give the baffle a good tug. If the adhesive holding your baffles is ok there is no way you will be able to pull the baffle free of the cabinet. I did this with my first pair and the baffle easilly pulled out from the cabinet totally loose down to the second woofer. While you are inside you can use the heel of your hand to give a solid whack around the back baffle. You will hear if things are solid or loose. I see no reason not to make sure things are solid in your cabinets. Any of the things I have mentioned can be done without any impact on the mint condition of your speakers so long as you use reasonable care. Without testing you may not know if they are as mint as you hope they are. The added brace work that I did had a signicant affect on the bass weight and impact of the speaker. I do not consider this to be negative in any way or aspect. Enjoy your speakers they are one of the really fine speakers Klipsch has made. Best regards Moray James.

[t-man]

Moray,

Any good ideas what material to use to block the rear ports if I relocate them? FYI: I have 1-2 feet between my speakers and back wall (even though the photos don't show this).

[moray james]

Well pictures can be deceiving, somwhere between 1 -2 feet ought to be ok but front mounted is better and offers more flexibility when positioning. You can block the old vent holes with something as basic as a simple piece of wood or you coud make some disks out of MDF. One disk to fit the hole with a second thinner top disk to act as a cap then paint them black . You can either glue them into place or secure them from the inside with screws if you want to be able to put the vents back at some later time at which point you can transfer the caps from the back holes to the front. Check to make sure that your baffles are secure as I said both of my pairs were comming apart. Note that the adhesive issues is only with the adhesive used to secure the Melamine veneered baffles, the rest of the cabinet uses a different adhesive and there is no issue with the cabinet at all. Best of luck and best regards Moray James.