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What Crossover For Eliptrac Khorns? (Pics)


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is the ALK universal a good compromise - not too complex/eating up power but also gentle slopes/lower order (same thing?) and constant impedance?

The Universal is a good compromise, it works well for all kinds of music and amplifiers.

I have used several of these crossovers as well, and I always go back to my ALK's.

ALK builds quality, his networks hold their value, and his work is top notch.

Craig 73

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Well I'd imagine the K55 is an entirely different animal mounted to the eliptrac horn just like it is to the ALK trachorn. The driver picks up some series output when relieved of the 5/8" diameter long throat of the K400 horn. I honestly have a hard time believing you can listen to it without fatigue with a stock network. When I switched to the ALK trachorn/K55 it sounded like a boom box to me all mid range and no balance until I adjusted my ALK Jr mid horn output down by like 6db (can't swear to the actual amount). My wife even commented that it sound god aweful until I achieved some balance.

I'd imagine if low powered SET is the end goal for amplification an original simple type A with values adjusted to reduce the mid horn output back in balance with the base bin and tweeter would be the best avenue. I also will add to not scimp on the capacitors use Jensen PIO...they cost big bucks but will give you more of what PWK voiced the Type A to give you. But keep in mind this would be taking for granted that you plan to stay with the K55 and SET amps forever... if you end up playing with different mid drivers or higher powered amps in the future you would most likely be better off with something that would allow easy adjustment of those mid drivers and wth higher powered amps the power loss from more complicated redesigned networks would be of no concern.

My favorite crossover is the ALK Jr "with super premuim compacitors installed" and yes I've tried them all (and I mean all). But to be honest all the others had your normal bargain priced Solens or Sonicaps so the comparisons were not completely fair. Extreme slope to me sound detached at the crossover points (especially bass to mid) I did not like them at all.

My 2 cents for what its worth.

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Thanks for the replies Dean, NOSValves, Craig and Bruce. TheKhorns are surprisingly listenable with Eliptrac and stock AK-2s. I'm not dis-satisfied with the sound now. The eliptracs alone made a worthwhile improvement - much less of that "cupped hands" sound. Just looking for the next step given that my caps are probably out of spec. Are the ALK jr. still available new? Don't see them on Al's site.

What do you think of Crites A4500 with Crites tweeters?

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I might consider replacing the autoformer with one from BEC and adjust it for the new horn/driver combo. I might also change the woofer crossover to the AK-3 capacitor value (replace the 140µF with 100µF).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why are the tweeters in a vertical position?

Just in case you might be wondering, the T35 version of the tweeter shows better polars if mounted horizontally (i.e., normal) position:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/3/894477/T35A%2520EDS.pdf

Thanks to speakerfritz for posting this in another thread.

Another T35 data sheet provided by Gil McDermott:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/3/895557/T35A%20University%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf

Chris

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Hmmm, when I asked eliptrac Dave why they were mounted vertically
he said that was the way it should have been done in the first place.
In any case I'll be trying them this way, on baffles "time aligned"
sitting on top and I'm sure other ways both vertically and horizontally.



Back on topic, I probably won't be soldering in parts myself. Thanks
for the suggestions djk. These shaky old hands haven't held a
soldering iron in years. Anyone tried the North Reading Engineering
crossovers or Greg's own networks from Volti Audio?

Thanks for the compliment EZ-Rhino. They do look good with that curvaceous eliptrac don't they.

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Hey EZ-Rhino. I can certainly recommend the Eliptrac not only for looks but sound. It is much more open sounding and less "cupped hands" than the stock squawker. I have Dave's adapter and the stock K55 compression driver. How do you like the Universal and the Crites tweeter? What differences do you notice from stock?

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I was planning to do the mods one at a time but it didn't work out that way.[:D] I put in the crossovers, tweeters and I installed pipe insulation on the horizontal & vertical seal points. The overall improvement blew me away but I don't know how much each mod is responsible for this.

96880.jpg

96881.jpg

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The room is about 25 X 30-feet with 25-foot cathedral ceilings.

65835.jpg

The equipment is 70's & 80's vintage Yamaha gear. CX-800 Preamp, B6 Power Amp, T80 Tuner, CDX-5000 CD Player & YP-D8 Turntable.

97953.jpg

The Klipschorns fill the large space nicely. Since the mods, I have noticed a more clear & defined sound stage and very tight & improved bass response. I credit the pipe insulation for most of the bass improvement, a trick I learned on this forum by the way.

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  • 1 month later...

Both of you who posted images of the speakers -- they look really nice. To what others have so accurately described, particularly about more simple networks with low powered SET amps (I use the type A...for the most part) as well, I would suggest a change of cable that connects the mid/hi and low pass sections of your new crossovers with fresh. It appears there may be some oxidation with the original, which could be improved with simple 16 AWG lamp cord/speaker cable. It doesn't need to be anything extravagant for such short lengths. I agree with what Craig says about the Jensen PIO capacitors. I've used them in some amp circuits to very good success -- but they aren't cheap. Dean makes a good point about the swamping resistor, particulalrly when you don't have much power to spare. I preferred to the very simple type A with all my single ended amps, but I'm sure you'll be happy with what you have chosen.

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Why are the tweeters in a vertical position?

Just in case you might be wondering, the T35 version of the tweeter shows better polars if mounted horizontally (i.e., normal) position:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/3/894477/T35A%2520EDS.pdf

Thanks to speakerfritz for posting this in another thread.

Another T35 data sheet provided by Gil McDermott:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/3/895557/T35A%20University%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf

Chris

I guess I'm not understanding this. Both of those data sheets show the T35A mounted vertical, and the horizontal dispersion better than the vertical as freq. goes up. This is also the NORMAL orientation according to EV.

Bruce

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One of those plots must be in error, they are not even similar.

Of the two, I would tend to believe the second one.

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/3/895557/T35A%20University%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf

The polars at 3.15Khz and 4Khz lead me to believe the long axis of the horn was horizontal, there is no way the horn could produce those polars with the long axis vertical. The test orientation was not specified (although is was in the first document).

There is not much difference above 6Khz, but, when mounted behind the front baffle it will work better with the long axis vertical (as the slot will diffract). When mounted flush (as in the newest version or with the 'Z' brackets) it looks like it would work better with the long axis horizontal.

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One of those plots must be in error, they are not even similar.

The text indicates that the second article that you highlighted above is tested without baffle, while the first referenced article is tested with a 2 ft x 2 ft baffle in front of the horn.

The text indicates "vertical axis" in both articles as the long axis of the horn. This would say to me that my original reading of the first article was off by 90 degrees.

Chris

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