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Layne Audio K55 "upgrades"?


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Those $70 k55 replacements are mighty tempting. The site says about their k55 clone:

" this driver is built more heavily and can take the low crossover point <~450Hz> of the larger Klipsch speakers without distorting. The original drivers should really never be run below 700Hz, as a result the lower midrange lacks detail and can be quite distorted, especially at higher volume levels. Our new driver has usable response down to 400Hz , and is rated at 120w RMS crossed over as low as 500Hz. "

Should the k55 not be run so low, or is this marketing fluff? Thoughts? Experiences? Help!

------------------

Gabe

'83 La Scala birch raw

'93 Chorus II black

'94 Forte II oak oil

'93 kg3.2 oak oil

KSW-15

Ksw-200

SW-8

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99% chance of the driver being sold as a K55 replacement is the Gollehon 4660. Its a good driver, a solid 60W phenolic design. The -10dB specs are 400~12Khz, SPL 107dB (meaningless without the Di of the test horn), 120W (peak, I'm sure), 8 ohms. The woofer sold as a K33 upgrade? Bogus, I'm sure. Claims it has 15hz lower resonance. If the Qts and Vas were the same the efficency would have to be 7.3dB less (No goes with the cube of Fs), even if you doubled Vas (possible), it would still be 4.3dB less efficent (No directly proportional to Vas), cut the Qes to 60% (huge loss of x-max), it would still be 2.1dB less efficent (No inversely proportional to Qes). This describes a JBL Paragon woofer. However, the woofer back volume needs to be about twice what is available in the Klipschorn. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

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So I am correct then in assuming that the K55m I have will indeed play down to the crossover point without the horrid distortion the Layne site says I'll get?

------------------

Gabe

'83 La Scala birch raw

'93 Chorus II black

'94 Forte II oak oil

'93 kg3.2 oak oil

KSW-15

Ksw-200

SW-8

This message has been edited by killerbee_vr6 on 07-23-2002 at 08:31 PM

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Remember that certain distortion harmonics are difficult to distinguish from the actual signal unless there is a non-distorting reference to go from. I like my La Scalas more than any other speakers I have owned, but I would spend $150 to eliminate distortion if possible.

------------------

Gabe

'83 La Scala birch raw

'93 Chorus II black

'94 Forte II oak oil

'93 kg3.2 oak oil

KSW-15

Ksw-200

SW-8

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I ordered a pair of those drivers from Layne last week. They should be here tomorrow. I was willing to throw $150 at the system just to see if Layne knows anything. I am also looking into a pair of the Woofers with the idea of increasing the rear chamber volume and then porting the rear chamber, similar to the big Altec's.

KB, I see that you are in Wanlut Creek. Aftier I get thme installed, you might think of coming down to SJ for a listen. I also have La Scalas.

J Norvell

This message has been edited by jnorv on 07-23-2002 at 10:16 PM

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"I don't find anything on Google about Gollehon. I'd like to learn more. Any ideas?"

... Replacement Diaphragm (8ohm) Order# 5474 Replacement Diaphragm (16ohm) Order# 5475

PRO SYSTEMS 4660 MID DRIVER Thread On Pro System/Gollahan Type Phenolic Mid ...

http://www.martinsoundpro.com/PDF_files/compression_drivers.pdf

4660RD, Pro Systems, Diaphragm 8 ohm for 4660 2" vc. Used in Jim Donlop Talk

Box and many other speaker cabinets. http://www.speakerrepair.com/ocsdiaphragms.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=894476832

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=893859382

The larger pair are very much like a K5J

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My first impression of the Layne K 55 replacement is very good. It does seem to have a better response in the lower frequencies. I did have to adjust my ALK xovers from 3-0 (-7.9 db) to 3-x (-11.3 db). It will be interesting to see have they respond to a break-in period. I think I am glad that I did it. Will have to listen more and do a couple of swaps back to the originals.

I am also going to measure the resonance frequencies on them and the originnals to see if there is the difference that Layne claims

K-B, I am off to Chicago this weekend for the Chi-town horn fest. I will let you know my schedule next week so you can come by for a listen. I am here most every day.

Jim

This message has been edited by jnorv on 07-24-2002 at 10:47 PM

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