Are these Klipschorns?... i got a funny feeling. Picture

[rad500cad]

I'm inquireing about some Khorns forsale (not a member). I've asked for serial number and pictures, they can not find any tages on the backs and are sending ipone pics (the useual blurry ones)

The (blury) pic of the front has a pattern like oak or walnut, they say they have the useual small scratches and dents nothing mager. (Life is like a box of chocolates)

Another pic of the back, a little clearer, to me it sure looks like mdf there is no grain or small knots in the wood and long glue runs (slopy).

Next pic of back, there is a k55v (round cover on the driver) can't make out the tweeter BUT the tweeter is mounted beside the mid horn sideways like the Speakerlabs.

They said the only numbers they could find are type b that was another very blurry pic of the crossover.

The crossover is also mounted in the center directly under the mid driver.

I'm thinking somebody took a set of cornwalls apart and put it into a speakerlab cabinet because the type b crossover was not used in khorns or am i wrong.

Any help desifering this would help my desision to buy them.

I don't know how to include the pics from my email.

Thanks

[JJkizak]

It would be nice if you posted the pictures.

JJK

[Daddy Dee]

pics would indeed be helpful.

[HudsonValleyNoah]

Right click on the picture in the email and save it somewhere that you can find it while using the directions below (in blue....)

I don't know how to include the pics from my email.

Thanks

[rad500cad]

Before i posted i clicked preview, only what i type here shows, no picture in it. So i'll try it anyway.

[WMcD]

I'd say, certainly not.

The two drivers and crossover look to be Klipsch. We can't see much of the mid horn.

The tweeter to the side is something which Speakerlab did for its "SK" version. PWK never did. So it is very likely a home built with some Klipsch components.

What we can see of the bass horn does not quite make sense as even a Klipsch bass horn copy, And it looks like MDF.

I wouldn't buy them except for parts.

WMcD

[DizRotus]

I'd say, certainly not.

The two drivers and crossover look to be Klipsch. We can't see much of the mid horn.

The tweeter to the side is something which Speakerlab did for its "SK" version. PWK never did. So it is very likely a home built with some Klipsch components.

What we can see of the bass horn does not quite make sense as even a Klipsch bass horn copy, And it looks like MDF.

I wouldn't buy them except for parts.

WMcD

+1

[colterphoto1]

makes great fire wood

[rad500cad]

I just thought of something... couldn't most of the parts inside be used to build a Cornscala. That's if i can buy these so called Khorns for say $200, they are asking 2,600 obo [:|] at the estate sale.

Thanks, Ben.

[DizRotus]

Sort of . . . .

As has been previously noted, it's difficult to confirm the tweeters and squawker horns. It's impossible to know what the woofers are.

IMO, they aren't worth $2,600, and might not be worth even $200 --but that's unlikely.

Keep us posted please.

[seti]

Do you have anymore pics?

[rad500cad]

She told me the numbers on the mid are k55v and the tweeter is k77 the crossover is type b she didn't want to start taking it apart to look at the woofer. the lower cabinets are mdf.

hmmm... a bon fire lets see... hot dogs, marshmelows, hot chocolate, warm up the winter day and keep somebody else from being suckered into thinking that these are the real thing.

If these are still around the next time i drive down there (only a 5 hour drive) i'll see if i can get them for parts.

Thank you everyone for your replies, it helps to keep me from second guessing.

[seti]

As they say in Hope "that ain't Klipsch".

[Daddy Dee]

OK. Type B crossover comes from a Cornwall. I guess the seller is sure it's a type B. The crossover is definitely Klipsch, but can't read the label on the side. Maybe someone can recognize the crossover from the pic. It's vintage for sure. Not sure if that is a K400 horn in the top hat. Can't look inside one right now, but don't think the K400 has that many screws on the side. The length looks right. If it's not a K400 could be a speakerlab. K55 and K77 are definitely Klipsch.

As has already been observed, there is no way these are Klipsch factory cabs. However, I would add that they could be competently built home brew clones. The side panels on the bass bins look like they are finished nicely. The bass bins could be built right.

I think acquiring them is a proposition that merits consideration. Don't know what to advise to offer on price, though. The asking price is completely unrealistic for what they are. That price would be about right for some REALLY nice Khorns.

Thanks for posting. Interesting gear here. Wish I was close by. Would love to take a look and listen to the beasts.

[WMcD]

Looking at the second picture, I misread the first one. It could well be a Klipsch type bass unit. The first upside down picture made it look to me like what is the tailboard sealled off the bass unit. The second picture seems to show it as a functioning tailboard with a baseboard cut-out (justa smidge of this in the picture) and over to the left there might be a hatch sealed off with clear RTV.

Like I said, the tweeter is placed to the side which is typical of Speakerlab SK.

There were several different versions of Speakerlab SK kits over the years. Some used MDF,some used fir. Some used a metal midrange and others composite. Some had a dinky tweeter some had an EV unit, or copy.

Some SK crossovers used pots which were mounted opposite the side tweeter. Others used three position switches on the back of the crossover plate. None used autotransformers, like PWK advocated. (But in a footnote to one of his articles he backtracked a bit saying that autotransformers were not needed on horn systems. I don't have that before me. Mabye someone else does.)

SK cabinets were available with and without veneer options.

While not sure, it may have been possible to buy an SK mid horn as an individual part.

My guess is that what we see is the product of a builder who obtained Klipsch drivers and put the into an SK box. He might have even cut them from SK plans.

Of course the B crossover would have the wrong crossover freqs but even that could have been modified.

We don't know about the woofer. Maybe it came from the same Cornwall as the B crossover..

It is not worth as much as a real K-Horn on the market in monetary value..

OTOH, if carefully built, there is no reason to think it doesn't fairly duplicate the sound of a real K-Horn (except for the side placement of the tweeter).

This is a little peeve I have as a home builder and is OT. As much as PWK questioned the QC of home builders and copiers, I don't see why there can not be substantial equivalence in critical areas of construction and therefore performance.

WMcD

.

[DizRotus]

To follow up Gil's comments above, it could well be a "Khorn" built from Speakerlab plans using Cornwall guts. If that were true and it was expertly made, it still is not worth $2,600.

I owned 4 factory built SKhorns in the 70s. They were plywood with Atlas/350 metal squawker and EV T-35 tweeters. They were as close to a real Khorn as a clone got, but they wouldn't be worth $2,600/pair today.

As has been said, the squawker horn doesn't look like a K-400 or the Speakerlab 350 (virtually identical). Regarding the side tweeter placement with vertical orientation, some argue it's actually better. The EV T-35 was designed for that orientation. PWK's decision to place it in a horizontal orientation is said to have been an economic engineering decision. It didn't make a "dime's worth of difference" in the performance, but it saved in the cost of construction to not make left or right Khorns, depending on tweeter placement.