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Shorthorn Help


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Hi,

I have recently purchased two Klipsch Shorthorns. They were a kit with uninstalled walnut top, side grill assembly and original front grill cloth, but has no front grill frame. My question is to anyone who owns or is familiar with the Shorthorn: What are the dimensions of the front grill frame? I have a picture of a Shorthorn in PWK's book, but I need some information on the size in case Klipsch can not manufacture it for me. Also, I need to know how to attach it. The motor board screws to the body of the speaker from the outside, so I am not sure how a decorative frame would attch since the rest of the speaker is sealed.

Also, the motor board was factory cut for a K77 tweeter horn and a k1000 mid horn with a 12" woofer. The speakers currently have 12" EV full range speakers, but I would like to upgrade to the K-Ortho 3 way version. I have the drivers, but I do not have the K1000 or crossover schematic. So, as you can tell I need a lot of info. about these speakers.

I do want to finish the speakers to their original condition, because the pieces that I have are in absolute mint condition. So, if anyone knows where I can find a K1000 horn or crossover schematic, or assembly instructions PLEASE let me know.

Your help is greatly appreciated,

JR

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Congratulations on your purchase! I'm sure you'll be happy with them.

I'll go home and get the measurments for the "tv" fronts off mine and post them here tomorrow for you. The attachment process is pretty involved - at least on mine. It's been a while since I've looked, but as I recall, the sides are attached to the top with angle-irons, and the fronts are attached the to the sides the same way. Then long woodscrews are sunk through the back of the cabinet, through the motorboard and into the fronts. But I'll check on that too.

The K-1000 horn with the University driver shows up on e-bay from time to time. So do the crossovers. I've got an extra pair of each right now, so you might be in luck, if I can convince myself I'm never going to get around to finishing the Shorthorn kits I've got.

The hole on the motorboard is the right size for a 15" woofer. The smaller cutout helps "load" the driver, I've been told.

What woofers are you planning on using? Make sure they have an extra-thick gasket on the front, or they will smack against the front of the cabinet with a sound guaranteed to make you sit upright.

Capt'n Bob

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Capt'n Bob Thanks!

Actually, I have a complete set of drivers from a pair of Cornwalls that I was thinking about using. I have an old copy of a 1963 price sheet that shows that the Shorthorn could be ordered with a K77, K55V w/ K600 horn, and a 15" woofer, well those are the same as the Cornwall. Only thing is, the motor board is pre-cut to handle a K1000, so I am looking for a K1000 so I will not have to modify the Shorthorns at all. (The K600 horn is wider than a K1000) So, if you can talk yourself out of those components, I would be most interested!

The top of my Shorthorn cabinet has 5 or so pre-drilled screw holes to mount the top, although the top has no pre-drilled holes to line up. The side grills have L bracket to attach to the side of the cabinet, much like a K-Horn.

Did you say you had another kit?

Thank you so much for any help you can give me!

JR

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JR -

Try going to http://www.hifilit.com/hifilit/Klipsch/1957l.jpg

you will see dimensions for both Shorthorn styles. The model S was available in kits, and is probably what you have. I have model S Shorthorns and can help with dimensions, but not with components.

I agree with Capt'nBob on many things. The hole in the motor board is smaller than the woofer. I have 15" Tru-Sonics, but the factory hole is closer to 10" to "load" the woofer.

The motor board is screwed through the front into the top, sides, and bottom of the cabinets. The grill frame is screwed from the back of the motor board into the sides of the grill frame.

The grill frame is 25 1/2" wide and 36" tall. The top rail is 2 1/2" tall and mitered to the stiles which taper. The stiles are 2 1/2" wide at the top miter, and 4" wide at the bottom miter. The bottom rail is 4" tall, not including the additional 2" of legs.

Good luck with your project.

Chris

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Mungkiman,

Thanks for the information. How far from the floor is the "cut out" portion of the base of the frame? How wide are the "feet" on the corners?

Thanks for the description of how the face frame mounts, but I have a question: If the frame screws to the motor board from the inside, how do you screw the motor board to the enclosure if it attaches from the outside? My enclosure is entirely sealed except for the motor baord which is detachable from the outside.

What drivers are in your Shorthorns?

Thanks,

JR

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Hi, JR,

My measurements are sustantially the same as Mungkiman's (mine appear to be 1/16" thinner, with a bottom rail of 6-1/2" and a 2-3/4" cutout). As I recall, the decorator panel is held on by screws going in from the back, through the motorboard, and into the front. I can't tell without disassembling the speaker to know for sure.

According to the plans, a 10-1/2" hole is right for "a 12", 15", or even 18" woofer."

I'm not sure how well the Cornwall woofers will work in the Shorthorns. All the Shorthorn woofers I've seen (all seven of them) had impedances in the 4 ohm range, and most Cornwall woofers are 8 ohms.

If Klipsch can't help you with the frame, there is a very good furniture shop near where I live. They could, I'm sure, make some duplicates off mine, if you are so inclined. They charge $40/hour, so you'd probably be looking at $80 or so plus shipping and wood costs. You'd want to get your own veneering done, so it would match your tops.

My Shorthorns have EV T-35s, the University drivers, and EV-15WKs. (The "K" denotes the 4 ohm version used in K-horns and their variants, I'm told.)

Capt'n Bob

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JR-

These Shorthorns have '58 Tru-Sonic 15" woofers, approved by Klipsch in '59, but rated for 16 Ohms. The mids are University SA-HF drivers, also rated at 16 Ohms, with K1000 horns. The tweeters are K-77. I didn't see the rated Ohms for the tweeters when last opened. The network is K-1000-5000-W.

All components have Klipsch K-Ortho 3-way "stickers".

The motor board is slightly wider than the angled cabinet sides. The screws for the grill frame go through the back of the motor board, but are also accessible from outside the cabinet. At the intersection of the sides to the motor board, the sides are notched out in three places. This allows access to the screw head outside of the "sealed" cabinet. The notches are (from the top) at 5", 18", and 31". Hope this helps. If the side grills are installed, remove them and you will know what I mean. If you don't have the notches, you may have to make them yourself. They are 1/2 of a 1/2" round hole and drilled on the angle perpendicular to the motorboard. Hope that's not too confusing.

My feet are 2 1/8" wide at the floor, leaving a 21 1/4" wide cutout that is (on mine) 2" tall. The bottom rail with legs is only 6" compared to 6 1/2" from Capt'n Bob.

My cabinet is not sealed however. The rear of the cabinet has a slit from top to bottom that is square edged, covered from the inside with wire screening, and 9/16ths of an inch wide. I don't know enough yet about Ohms and DC resistance, but that slot may be the difference between the impedance of woofers mentioned. The slit would also help me believe that Shorthorns were horn-loaded as argued by PWK himself, I'm told.

Good luck,

Chris

This message has been edited by mungkiman on 06-27-2002 at 06:48 PM

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Well, there goes my credibility. After reading John Albright's post above, I went home, pulled the back off one of my 1974 Cornwalls, and, by golly, he's right. It's a 4 ohm woofer. At least I'm smarter now than I was yesterday ...cwm13.gif

The fronts on my Shorthorns are held on the same way as Mungkiman's - half moon cut outs on the edge of the cabinet allowing wood screws to go through the motor-board and into the frame.

Capt'n Bob

p.s. According to my measurments, the Cornwall squawker horn with the driver is just a little too long to fit in a Shorthorn cabinet.

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Thanks for the measurements! You have been very helpful, I really appreciate you taking the time to measure up your speakers. I made a Cadd drawing of the frames last night from your measurements.

I do have just one more question, is the frame the same width all the way around? What I mean is, in the picture that I have it looks like the frame might be cut at a slight angle from the outside of the frame toward the grill. It might just be the angle of the picture. Oh, make that two questions, how do you attach your speaker wire? These have speaker wire running between the motor board and the enclosure, sandwiched in the weather stripping.

I am looking for some walnut locally, I will be cutting the frames myself (with the help of my father, who is an incredible woodworker), but thanks for the offer to take yours down to have copies made Capt'n Bob!!

I will post pictures when I have them completed. Capt'n Bob have you decided to part with those K1000 horns and Xovers? Let me know.

Thanks again everyone for all your help.

JR

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JR-

I'm not sure I understand your first question. The grill frame is the same width, top and bottom, front and back, 25 1/2". The outside of the frame is square while the inside of the frame is not.

The input wires from the networks connect to a binding post inside the cabinet that allows for speaker wire to be hooked to the same post externally. You could make what you needed, but I'm sure a local electronics store could help.

Chris

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Mungkiman,

What I meant by width of the frame is, it appears to be 3/4" walnut, is the entire frame 3/4" or does the frame taper? Thank you again for the other measurements, all I need now is to find some walnut that will match the tops. The lumber I found locally is very dark.

My Cornwall uses a terminal block for a speaker connection, I was wondering if that was the way these should be also.

Are there any model numbers or codes stamped into your enclosures? Mine do not have a Klipsch sticker on them or any markings that would suggest their age.

Thanks again,

JR

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The frame doesn't taper. It has a uniform thickness of 3/4". It also appears to be veneered rather than solid hardwood for at least some of the pieces. I can see the veneer from the top and bottom of the frame rails, but the stiles (verticals) might be solid wood. The terminal blocks for wiring should be what you need.

The enclosures both have labels:

Model: S.WO - 15

Serial: 993/994

With model 5 - 22 networks (K-1000-5000-W)

They were tested and inspected Dec. 14th, 1959.

Good luck!

This message has been edited by mungkiman on 07-01-2002 at 08:13 PM

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My Shorthorn fronts appear to be 3/4" lumber core all around with a walnut veneer. The edges are painted brown - according to an old pricelist, veneering the edges was an extra-cost option.

Anyone here have an idea on what a fair price would be for a pair of the midrange horns and K-1000-5000-W crossovers? (Yes, I may be sinking into the dark realm of speaker ghouldom.)

Capt'n Bobcwm31.gif

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Interesting ... the serial numbers on my Shorthorns (at least on the one I could turn around easily) is 1001 - the other, I think is 1002. Both are SWL-15s, and were tested and inspected on January 14, 1960. This could kind of narrow down when Klipsch went from the Stephens woofers like Mungkiman's to the EV 15-WKs mine have - unless of course someone swapped out either set of woofers somewhere along the line.

It also gives one an idea on how many Shorthorns were produced in a month ...

Capt'n Bob

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Hi Capt'n Bob and Mungkiman,

I have completed the construction of the Shorthorn frames, I am now trying to match the color to the top piece. Maybe this weekend I will have it matched and install the grill cloth. I will post a few pictures when I have it completely assembled.

Thanks again for all of your help! Capt'n Bob let me know about those drivers, I'm getting close.

JR

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My Shorthorn kits don't have any dates on them either, but the individual drivers do. The cabinets themselves carry just a rather blurry rubber stamping on some of the larger panels identifying it as a "Klipsch Shorthorn Kit."

Capt'n Bobcwm15.gif

This message has been edited by Capt'nBob on 07-10-2002 at 02:06 PM

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Are your woofers attached with screws from the back side, or are they attached with a machine screw and nut? My SH have screws and nuts holding the EV 12" that is currently installed. When I attach the 15" woofer there will be 4 holes in the cabinet from the previous driver. Will I need to fill these holes?

Thanks,

JR

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On the finished Shorthorns the woofers are held on by carriage bolts. The kits use hex-head machine screws. I'd used the carriage bolts, as they won't make bumps in your grill cloth. I sure wouldn't use wood screws-the weight of a 15-wk or Trusonic or even a K-33 would rip them right out of the motorboard.

I don't know if the holes would affect performance, but why take chances? Fill them with Plastic Wood or other filler. HDBR might have some good ideas on the best way to do this.

Sounds like your project is coming right along!

Capt'n Bob cwm15.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Guys,

Just an update, the Shorthorn grill frames are made and oiled! I plan to install the grill cloth this weekend and assemble the rest of the cabinet. I do have one question (hard to believe I know), under the cutout portion of the front grill frame the bottom front of the cabinet is visible, including the screws. Is this part of the cabinet supposed to be painted or consealed somehow? It looks pretty funny. Also, is the grill cloth attached to the frame or the body of the speaker?

Capt'n Bob, when I take the cabinet body apart to install the drivers and new weather stripping, I will remove the inserts and send to you.

Thanks again for all your help, if all goes well I will post pics next week!

JR

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