Clipped and Shorn Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 Just out of curiosity I was wondering if anyone had ever tried changing their K-33 Cornwall woofers to other possibilities like a K-43 or other? Seems like some of the Altec woofers have stronger bass, so it got me wondering... then again the vintage preservation aspect may tend to inhibit such experimentation.... -C &S ------------------ Cornwalls currently upgrading to all tube components Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 Clipped---I've changed the top end on CWs but not the bottom, I think the woofer is the best thing about the speaker. It's not a fancy woof but it really works well. If you went to an Altec 416 or something you'd have to retune the box. www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 C&S...about two weeks ago, for an experiment, I replaced the K33's in my rear surround CW's with Stephens Trusonic 103LX2's.....just to see (or hear) mind you....I will NEVER take them out, except if I get another set of Khorns for the rears to replace the CW's, then I'll return the CW's to original and sell! OMG!!!! Talk about an improvement.... The curious thing is that although I replaced the rears only (the rest of the setup already have these vintage woofers), the effect is 'felt' roomwide and audibly, it sounds like I increased low bass up front, not behind. To where I had to turn down the sub to almost inaudible levels in order to maintain vision, as the bass was exciting my eyeballs to vibrate. The only reason I am leaving the sub on at all is for the ".1" of the 5.1 discrete, for sounds that are recorded only on that LFE channel. ------------------ Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Ed, Can u provide us with a link for purchasing the Trusonic woofers. Did you have to modify the cabinet to get them to fit? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 Trader.... The Stephens Trusonic link is....www.ebay.com Not trying to be a smart ***, but to my knowledge, that's the only game in town. I would estimate that I've seen no less than 10 103LX2's listed in the past year. I have purchased 4 of those, none for more than $70, the average being $50. Now it would appear that more people are clued in to it and I've seen them listed for as much as $200 apiece lately. One must exercise patience. Sooner or later, your deal will be there. Currently, there's a 103LX listed: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1374715261&rd=1 This gives you an idea of how it looks. However, this is the 103LX, not the 103LX2 unless the seller has errored in the listing. He certainly mistakenly listed it as a "105" rather than a "103", which it is. Recall that the LX"2" was the version specifically designed to reside and operate in the Klipsch speaker. It is a 4 ohm, 15 inch driver. Although there could be more, I have seen two distinct versions of this LX2. One, which looks identical to the one in this e-pay listing.....striking blue...the other has a cast basket that is 'brushed' in finish and sports a deep red -almost maroon - magnet. I have seen also that both the "Big Red" and the "Tru-Blue" have VC venting either through the center rear of the magnet assy, or through the dust cap. The one listed has the dust cap venting, the first I've seen on a 'blue'. Prior to knowing the diff between a LX and a LX2, I purchased a LX from e-bay. Being a 'blue' one that looked identical to the 2 blues that came factory stock on my Khorns, I mistakenly thought that this unit was the same. It was a 16 ohm driver just like the seller lists on this e-bay unit. I installed this LX in my center channel Belle in place of the K33 that was there. The sound, like any of the old heavy magnet deep 'golden era' speakers, was glorious. Shortly thereafter, I found out about the LX vs. LX2 thing and checked the DC resistence. It was/is around 5 ohms compared to the 3.6 ohms of all the LX2's I have. The LX remains in the Belle as it sounds great. One day perhaps I will swap it out with a 'proper' LX2 to see if there really is a diff but I think that in the case of the Belle, it is the throat size that compensates for the impedence. The Khorns that had LX2's and EV15WK's were built with 6" throat apertures, while the later models with K33's had 3" throats, I believe to compensate for less efficiency? Fit-wise, the bolt pattern is identical to the K33. Exactly identical. The CW's were naturally the easiest to swap out. Remove the back, remove the leads from the net, remove and replace the woofer via the four screws it attaches with and button 'er up. The last LX2 I 'gathered' from e-bay was just over a month ago. BIN for $69 in pristine condition. It now resides as the lynchpin in my center rear "Belle-traption'. ------------------ Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 You must have propitiated the proper gods, as I've been looking on e-pay for over a year for the Trusonics. Every time I find a pair, I'll bid, then watch in amazement as the price soars into the stratosphere. One thing I'd be really careful of when swapping an extremely heavy woofer like the 103 or 15WK for a merely heavy one like the K-33 is the danger of the speaker ripping the screws holding it in out of the wood. Those humongous magnets have a lot of leverage going on there. I'd at least double up the number of wood screws. Actually, carriage bolts would be even better - the Klipsch speakers I've seen which came with the big Trusonics or EVs (all eight of them, so this is hardly an exhaustive survey) used carriage bolts to hold the driver to the motor board. I've seen woofers that have pulled their lag screws out of the motorboards - it isn't pretty. Capt'n Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnorv Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 Klipsch uses T-nuts and machine screws to hold them in place. Plenty of strenght. J Norvell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 Yup C n B, I guess I have been quite lucky. One thing is I've just scored singles, never a pair at once. Seems to go up logrithmically when you try and 'pair up'. That latest one was freak luck. Seller had just listed it 20 minutes before my random daily perusal. I did not daly. The others did not specify LX2, but both had pics of the badge which clearly depicted....plus they were the 'big reds' in functional condition, but haggard looking by the pics. Those both had small rips and tears in the cones, but clearly stated no rubbing. I silicone sealer the rips and, as god is my witness, cannot tell a ripped and fixed from a non-ripped. Also, one I got because the seller listed it as a 'Stevens', but the 103LX part ferreted him out. BTW - the first one ever that I bought had some small tears. Nothing big, but I had it in my head that I needed to get it 'professionally repaired'. Huge mistake of the largest magnitute. The repair shop....reputable in the Sac CA area, absolutely botched the job. Could not get a like cone so attempted to sub. What a debaucle. Total loss. Never again. So now, I don't give a rats rumpus about looks. For the mostpart sealed up anyway. ------------------ Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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