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New 1986 Klipschorn Owner, Cheap Tweaks?


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Congrats on the Khorns. They load the room with big sound, don't they! Main thing, enjoy!

At their age, it is pretty likely that the capacitors have drifted off spec. Replacing them with fresh caps is about as close as one can come to restoring to factory spec, which is a very good sound.

Good news is that since Klipsch does not use really high dollar parts in it's factory crossovers, capacitors that approximate original equipment does not have to be an expensive proposition.

there are other things that could be done without breaking the bank, but this would be first priority among them, IMO.

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Thanks for the message! I was was under the impression that they're weren't any electrolytic caps in crossover, but I could be wrong. I haven't opened up the bass horn to see what's inside. I keep reading that there are better crossovers, but I'm not sure if I could modify my AK2.

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my first speakers i ever bought Rat Shack Mach 1's back in the late 70's and the first set of klipsch speakers i ever bought K-horns ( 1986 cherry oil )back in 1990

Congrats, very nice

86 k-horns should have K-401's

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Thanks! The Khorns certainly dwarf the mighty Mach Ones! Nope, there are K400 in mine. I pulled them out to clean. Perhaps the last of production? There are certificates that date the cabinets as 1986 models. Are the horn differences audible? Should I wrap the metal horns?

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K400 is cast metal while K401 is cast resin same horn different material that's all. Some like metal some don't. I expect if you did a survey the K401 resin would come out on top though. That said many folks lose the K400/401 and opt for a better mid horn all together and or driver with a number moving to large format three inch diaphragm 2 inch exit drivers. I just got a set of EV DH1A drivers and can see now why people like the large format drivers. I am not using the DH1A with a Khorn but with an Epic series CF3. No doubt bigger is better.

In response to your question switching out your current K77 to Bob C's CT125 is a very nice upgrade and not expensive, uses the exact same horn profile but with a phase plug and a much better driver. Some folks have gone to large format and a horn like the EV HP960 and such for a two way approach. but that is not what would fall under the cheap and easy mod catagory and I nention it to give you some idea of the scope of mods people here have done. Good luck and have fun what ever you decide to do. Best regards Moray James.

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Ah, I definitely need to do the foam pipe tweak! I think that and wrapping the horn in the above mentioned material, will be next on my tweaks list. I now understand that my K400 horn is the same size as current production, but made of metal instead. I don't plan to seek out the current 401 version; I think damping mine will surely suffice. I currently own some large 2" format horns and drivers from EV, but my girlfriend prefers the looks of the Klipschorn tophat, not a monstrous ABS horn sitting on top. I'd like to keep these Klipschorns, not Frankensteins ;-). I'd love to plop my big white while EV horns on top, but it ain't happening. I happen to like the Klipschorn sound, even with the older horns. I'm not in a hurry to lose the K77s, although the Crites sound like a good tweeter. I probably already own some variation of his tweeters, made by Foster instead of Eminence. I'm curious about crossover changes.... What's can I do with my AK2? Thanks for the great input!

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1/16" thick Dynamat on your horn body is easier cleaner and much nicer to handel than rope caulk not to mention the Dynamat seems more effective to me. As I said the horn of the CT125 is the exact same profile as the T35/K77 and the CT125 does sound very good at least worth your time to audition if you want to keep thing close to home and as close to original while improving the quality of the sound.Please post as you work your way into the project it is always interesting to see how these things unfold. Best regards Moray James.

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I'll second the vote for the CT125s. They go quite a bit higher in the frequency range than the stock K-77s, plus being new, they will likely match each other better than your old K-77s. My La Scalas were 32 years old when I got them, and there was a 1-2 dB difference in output between the two original tweeters.

Replacing them with a pair of CT125s improved both the sound and the stereo imaging.

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Where can I buy Dynamat? I looked at Lowes for similar material, the closest I found was plumber's putty before I had to head home. Is this different than Moretite? I'm interested in the Crites tweeters, perhaps I'll try a pair at some point when funds are available.

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you can buy dynamat on line or at automotive speed /custom shops, there are also similar products such as hush mat used in the the auto sound business. Rope Caulk for the most part has air drying oil in it and it will harden over time. Duct Seal which is used in HVAC and also electrical applications does not harden, both types of products are however messy to use when conpared to dynamat. Hope this helps. Best regards Moray James.

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