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Corner Horn Upgrade?


MN K-Horns

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Hello and greetings from yet another cold day in Minneapolis.

Wondering if anyone might be able to weigh in on the benefits of upgrading an old pair of Klipschorns.

I purchased these speakers (new) in April of 1978 and they still perform as they did 35+ years ago, however, over the course of time I've heard about upgrades to these speakers. Just wondering if there's anyone out there who has taken the plunge and could offer some thought on:

- what are the components of the upgrade?

- is the audible difference worth the money?

Many thanks,

Tom Lucas

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welcome Tom, how awesome was that purchase back in 78 i like to keep my suff with stock drivers and just upgrade the crossovers.

i'm on my 4th set of k-horns and the best recommendation from me to you is get ahold of DeanG here on the forum and try out his AA crossovers ( Crossover Roadshow ) for the price of shipping which is around $13 - $15 dollars with USPS. you get on his email list and someone will send them to you and when your done you send them to the next person. great way to compare your old with new before plunking down your hard earned cash.

http://www.aletheiaaudio.com/products.html

i went with 2 sets of the ALK's absolutely lovem

Edited by Budman
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MN K-horns,

Welcome to the Forums!

IMHO the squawker horn needs to go. And the caps in the crossovers probably need replacing at the least although as Budman has suggested trying out a very good complete crossover replacement for just the cost of shipping is a great way to go. Remember we're talking about minor improvements to a great loudspeaker. They tell me once you replace any of the original components its not really a Klipshorn anymore. And I say, Yeah its better. ;)

babadono

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You can't ask that question without giving us a budget. IMHO, the best option is to sell off the existing top end here (or store in attic), then buy a K402 with K1133. Get a DE 250 from B&C with a QSC horn like mine. Then buy a mini DSP Xover and tri-amp it (You can get a 2x8 for this or two 2x4's and a 12 V power supply at Radio Schack. You will get rid of the peaks in the horns, PEQ it flat to 32 Hz.. and TIME ALIGN everything for superior imaging. You can cross to the K402/1133 combo at an Amazing 300 Hz. for home use, which is where the Khorn bass starts to get a bit funky anyhow.

This will blow away any other mod you can come up with, IMHO. YMMV. If you want to go the cheap route, just replace all your capacitors with Dayton Polypropylenes from parts express.

Edited by ClaudeJ1
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Welcome to the forums. Don't spend any money yet...we'll get you to do that later. We like spending other peoples money. ;)

How old are you?

How much are you willing to spend to make changes to the KHorns?

Have they stayed in the same location all this time?

What are you expecting from any possible upgrades?

Bruce

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Update or replace your crossover depending what XO you're currently running. (some stock ones sound good some don't)

Add a horn sub to your system.

The K-402 is a great upgrade if you don't mind a big honker on top of your cabinets.

Honker indeed, but they are SO worth it. Also, the absolutely do NOT honk. Just the most spooky realistic female vocals you have ever heard.

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You can't ask that question without giving us a budget. IMHO, the best option is to sell off the existing top end here (or store in attic), then buy a K402 with K1133. Get a DE 250 from B&C with a QSC horn like mine. Then buy a mini DSP Xover and tri-amp it (You can get a 2x8 for this or two 2x4's and a 12 V power supply at Radio Schack. You will get rid of the peaks in the horns, PEQ it flat to 32 Hz.. and TIME ALIGN everything for superior imaging. You can cross to the K402/1133 combo at an Amazing 300 Hz. for home use, which is where the Khorn bass starts to get a bit funky anyhow.

This will blow away any other mod you can come up with, IMHO. YMMV. If you want to go the cheap route, just replace all your capacitors with Dayton Polypropylenes from parts express.

I don't doubt that this is a great setup, but kind of an extreme recommendation for someone poking around for a few upgrades don't you think?

People come here and ask for a speaker recommendation at about $1K and they are told to buy Jubilees so I guess this is normal here but yikes. Not rtrying to stir the soup or anything, but this just seems extreme (just a little ;) ).

Option B is new caps in his 35 year old AA networks.

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You can't ask that question without giving us a budget. IMHO, the best option is to sell off the existing top end here (or store in attic), then buy a K402 with K1133. Get a DE 250 from B&C with a QSC horn like mine. Then buy a mini DSP Xover and tri-amp it (You can get a 2x8 for this or two 2x4's and a 12 V power supply at Radio Schack. You will get rid of the peaks in the horns, PEQ it flat to 32 Hz.. and TIME ALIGN everything for superior imaging. You can cross to the K402/1133 combo at an Amazing 300 Hz. for home use, which is where the Khorn bass starts to get a bit funky anyhow.

This will blow away any other mod you can come up with, IMHO. YMMV. If you want to go the cheap route, just replace all your capacitors with Dayton Polypropylenes from parts express.

I don't doubt that this is a great setup, but kind of an extreme recommendation for someone poking around for a few upgrades don't you think?

People come here and ask for a speaker recommendation at about $1K and they are told to buy Jubilees so I guess this is normal here but yikes. Not rtrying to stir the soup or anything, but this just seems extreme (just a little ;) ).

Option B is new caps in his 35 year old AA networks.

You, sir, presume too much and appear to be long on opinion and short on complete reading skills.

First thing I mentioned was BUDGET consideration. Then I presented both extremes, the last one being "replace all your capacitors with Dayton Polypropylenes" at the low end of the economic scale. I have put my time and money where my mouth is and done both extremes and everything in between to get to the "great setup" you say you don't doubt, but seem bent on making your unnecessary comment on.

On my presumption comment. I have learned that people will spend money on things they VALUE, regardless of their socio-economic status. I have always worked with used gear on a limited budget, putting in "sweat equity" rather than spend too much cash (diminishing returns is alive and well in Audio). Back in Jr. High, I spent paper route money on used EV SRO woofers in a big cab, so I was a member of the 1% club as defined by PWK when I was 14 and my life changed after hearing Khorns for the first time. I got a bank loan to buy brand new Khorns when I got my first real job out of college (1977).

So while I understand the well intentioned spirit of your comment, it's just YOUR opinion and not necessarily that of others who may want to take the "short cut" which I proposed after 6 years of "beyond Khorns" evolution, experience, and wasted time and money. I had the same setup as PWK himself for 30 years, until I hooked up with Klipsch chief engineer and decided HT was in my future.

BTW, a Jubilee IS a Klipschorn, it's the new improved 50th anniversary "decorator" model, roughly the modern equivalent of my old KCBR's.

Edited by ClaudeJ1
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Update or replace your crossover depending what XO you're currently running. (some stock ones sound good some don't)

Add a horn sub to your system.

The K-402 is a great upgrade if you don't mind a big honker on top of your cabinets.

Honker indeed, but they are SO worth it. Also, the absolutely do NOT honk. Just the most spooky realistic female vocals you have ever heard.

No honk from these horns, they do sound spectacular.

I was referring more to the horn size in general.

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You, sir, presume too much and appear to be long on opinion and short on complete reading skills.
That observation applies to most of us here.

For what its worth I'll throw in my suggestion. Look at Fastlane's horns with new drivers. http://mysite.verizon.net/res12il11/id106.html

As was said earlier there are so many things you can do it will make your head spin. Maybe someone would create a concise order of impact to cost list.

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Crossovers for sure. Then go from there.

JJK

Best answer imo, there is always time to make other changes, get use to what an updated crossover will do first.

I do like the big honkers also

Edited by dtel
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To all of you who were kind enough to respond to my request for thoughts on upgrading my 1978 K-Horns:

First and Foremost: THANKS for all of your thoughts and recommendations!

Here's what I've learned:

1. What a passionate group you are! The pride you take in your gear is obvious; it's also refreshing that each of you have put together a different set of components to maximize your personal listening pleasure.

2. Having had the corner horns for 35 years and watching the initial impression of friends, neighbors and guests as they saw and heard the K-Horns for the first time allowed me to think I was one of the 1%. Clearly I am not. I'm running these speakers with another set of small Klipsh Tangent 30's, a 15" Klipsch sub and an old Pioneer Reference Amp. Even though I really don't know any of you, I do hope that the makeup of my system has not made any of you ill.

3. I'm a retired military officer without a working knowledge or appreciation for things such as:

- Caps (just what are these Mr. TigerwoodKhorns?)

- DE-250's

- PEQ's

- Dayton Poly replacements

- Etc, etc.

4. My first passion lies with old corvettes and Harley's so my budget for any speaker upgrade--hold on guys, this is where I'll probably disappoint 50% of you--has to be measured against my ongoing 65 vet restoration.

5. All that being said, most of you do think I should contact "Dean" for a demo (as a minimum) of new crossovers. Wish I knew more about what that $700-$1000 will buy me but I do love the idea of trying before buying.

Thanks again guys. I wish we lived on the same neighborhood (can you imagine pooling our equipment together for a block party)!

All the best,

Tom Lucas

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You, sir, presume too much and appear to be long on opinion and short on complete reading skills.
That observation applies to most of us here.

For what its worth I'll throw in my suggestion. Look at Fastlane's horns with new drivers. http://mysite.verizon.net/res12il11/id106.html

As was said earlier there are so many things you can do it will make your head spin. Maybe someone would create a concise order of impact to cost list.

I heard his 400 horns with Golden Jube bottoms at Panacea's place about 1 1/2 years ago and they do really sound good.

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Even though I really don't know any of you, I do hope that the makeup of my system has not made any of you ill. 3. I'm a retired military officer without a working knowledge or appreciation for things such as: - Caps (just what are these Mr. TigerwoodKhorns?)

ILL are you crazy.........OK sorry I should have said " Oh you must be kidding" or something nicer....Your doing great, especially with all the other cool hobbies.

Welcome, and when he said caps he was talking about the capacitors in the crossover, they get out of spec when they age, not unlike like most of us.

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