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Probably first of several Khorn update questions.....


jimjimbo

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A small bit of background....As some of you may know (and most don't...), I recently acquired a pair of 1985 Khorns, all stock, with AK-2 crossovers.  All drivers are good.  I have never owned Khorns before, but have owned, and do own, quite a number of other Heritage speakers.  So, I'll be looking for recommendations for incremental improvements to my new acquisition.. I do not plan on spending a crazy amount of money to "upgrade" these, but as everyone does, I'm looking for the best bang for the buck.....

 

My immediate plans, and related questions...(and I can read schematics and do my own soldering)

 

1.  Update the crossovers

 

     A.  Everything I've read so far recommends replacing the AK-2 with the AK-3 or AK-4.  I take it that this is probably worthwhile, but would there be a significant difference in putting a new crossover configuration in place, versus simply update the the existing AK-2 with new, good quality caps?

 

 

2.  Driver changes

 

    A.  Khorns currently have K55M's, and square K77's, and I would assume K33's (although I haven't looked at them yet) 

         I do have a spare pair of K55V's.  Worthwhile to swap those in?

         Also have availability of Dave Harris Fastlane Elliptrac HF tweeters....another worthwhile swap?

         Have a pair of Eminence Kappa 15C woofers....again, worth the effort?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help and guidance.

 

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The first thing i would change is the crossover, i have not heard all the options out there but say the AK-2 is the least pleasant sounding of all that i have heard.

 

Remove the woofer hatch and make sure the woofer screws are tight, you should have a roll of gasket tape on hand as the old gasket on the driver access panel has most likely turned to mush by now.

 

Change one thing at a time and really listen for a while so you can get a better perspective on how the sound differs rather than switching a bunch of components at once.

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The biggest single improvement you can make is to time align the drivers.  I spent a lot of money over the years on amps, crossovers, horns, and drivers. Get a good EV or Ashley digital crossover and you will leap ahead of all these other "improvements."  

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A small bit of background....As some of you may know (and most don't...), I recently acquired a pair of 1985 Khorns, all stock, with AK-2 crossovers. All drivers are good. I have never owned Khorns before, but have owned, and do own, quite a number of other Heritage speakers.

 

So, I'll be looking for recommendations for incremental improvements to my new acquisition..

 

I do not plan on spending a crazy amount of money to "upgrade" these, but as everyone does, I'm looking for the best bang for the buck.....

 

Jimbo, you could have written this thread for me almost word-for-word except that I have 1978 AA crossovers in my Khorns.  I am also mulling over and researching economical changes and will do my own soldering. 

 

Do you mind if I piggy-back on your thread looking over your shoulder?  I think a lot of what others suggest for you will work for me as well.

 

My purpose in making changes is two-fold:

 

1.  I hear specific things in the speaker I don't like that I would like to change.

 

2.  I really have fun just experimenting and learning, this is the more important part of upgrading for me.  I will make my changes one speaker at at time and then spend a lot of time listening.

Edited by wvu80
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The AK-5 comes as an upgrade kit. It includes new drivers with the crossovers. Not inexpensive by any stretch (uses K-55-X/PD5-VH and K-77-D. The K-77-D is NOT the same as the K-77-M. You'd be looking at $2000.

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=36280

Yikes, $2K....thanks, but nope.

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 Buy a set of Gregs V-Trach mid horns and adapters and call it a day.   That's the only real "wow" improvement you're going to get short of 5 watt and up listening. Don't waste you money on a slightly better driver that you will never hear from that old horn. Of course a set of Super AA's from Dean with the Audio Cap capacitors would be worth the coin, if not, just pick up a set of AA's from Bob and you're all set.

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first off, congrats

i recommend don't do anything for awhile and just sit back and enjoy. you won't believe how real they sound

and when you save up some coin call Dean and get you some you know what made just for your taste

Edited by Budman
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I'm taking a break for a while - I hurt too bad and don't really have the time to build. Making people wait six months for their product is unacceptable. I'm too expensive anyways - everyone wants cheap.

The AK-2 is kind of interesting - Klipsch decided to give everyone's ears a break and knocked another 3dB off of the squawker's output.

Unless you listen really loud, or have a room the size of barn, you really don't need the bigger driver.

I would start by removing ALL of that nasty Monster cable and recapping the networks. Use tin annealed copper coated wire, which you can get from partsexpress (or the nicer 15 AWG Supra from Madisound).

Next step would be adding a pair of Dave's Trachorns for the Klipschorn. Dave's horns are built much better than Greg's.

Next up, a pair of John Allen's A-55-G drivers.

I'm on the fence about tweeters. I like the phenolic sound signature.

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The first thing i would change is the crossover, i have not heard all the options out there but say the AK-2 is the least pleasant sounding of all that i have heard.

 

Remove the woofer hatch and make sure the woofer screws are tight, you should have a roll of gasket tape on hand as the old gasket on the driver access panel has most likely turned to mush by now.

 

Change one thing at a time and really listen for a while so you can get a better perspective on how the sound differs rather than switching a bunch of components at once.

Jason, I'm at the tail end of updating the caps on my AK-3 equipped 1990 K-Horns and am gathering the courage to open the woofer hatch.

What type of gasket tape do you recommend ? - neoprene sponge, polyethylene foam, PVC foam - there are so many different types and your post is the first reference I have found to any type of gasket on the woofer hatch.

 

Jimjimbo, I got a capacitor upgrade kit from Bob Crites and on his recommendation two gaskets for the K55 Horn and a barrier terminal strip so that the leads to the speakers didn't hang off the crossover components. Bob also recommended I replace the Monster cable leads as they may have deteriorated with age - he was being diplomatic, the cable had gone a clerpy green and the plastic insulation was sticky.

 

And the results so far.... It's like the K-Horns had a thick blanket over them and someone just pulled it off ! Sparkling sound, better imaging - very different sound.

Edited by Wirrunna
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The first thing i would change is the crossover, i have not heard all the options out there but say the AK-2 is the least pleasant sounding of all that i have heard.

 

Remove the woofer hatch and make sure the woofer screws are tight, you should have a roll of gasket tape on hand as the old gasket on the driver access panel has most likely turned to mush by now.

 

Change one thing at a time and really listen for a while so you can get a better perspective on how the sound differs rather than switching a bunch of components at once.

Jason, I'm at the tail end of updating the caps on my AK-3 equipped 1990 K-Horns and am gathering the courage to open the woofer hatch.

What type of gasket tape do you recommend ? - neoprene sponge, polyethylene foam, PVC foam - there are so many different types and your post is the first reference I have found to any type of gasket on the woofer hatch.

 

Jimjimbo, I got a capacitor upgrade kit from Bob Crites and on his recommendation two gaskets for the K55 Horn and a barrier terminal strip so that the leads to the speakers didn't hang off the crossover components. Bob also recommended I replace the Monster cable leads as they may have deteriorated with age - he was being diplomatic, the cable had gone a clerpy green and the plastic insulation was sticky.

 

And the results so far.... It's like the K-Horns had a thick blanket over them and someone just pulled it off ! Sparkling sound, better imaging - very different sound.

 

 

I too was apprehensive the first time I opened my Khorn bass bin hatches. My Khorns are older than yours but my hatch seals stayed in tact and are still pliable. In fact I have opened them several times and still have both of the originals in place. I carefully and slowly pry them open and have had no problems. It's probably a good idea to have some backups just in case. :D

Edited by Mancave Man
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jimjimbo, you are going to have to open that woofer hatch one day so I'm clearing the surprises out of the way.

 

my hatch seals stayed in tact and are still pliable. In fact I have opened them several times and still have both of the originals in place.

 

Mancave Man, thank you for your reply. What is the hatch seal made from and do you lie the bass bins down on their front when you open the hatch ?

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jimjimbo, you are going to have to open that woofer hatch one day so I'm clearing the surprises out of the way.

 

 

 

my hatch seals stayed in tact and are still pliable. In fact I have opened them several times and still have both of the originals in place.

 

Mancave Man, thank you for your reply. What is the hatch seal made from and do you lie the bass bins down on their front when you open the hatch ?

Not sure what they're made of. They are thin gray strips. i left mine standing.Here's a picture of the seal.

96879.jpg

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jimjimbo, you are going to have to open that woofer hatch one day so I'm clearing the surprises out of the way.

my hatch seals stayed in tact and are still pliable. In fact I have opened them several times and still have both of the originals in place.

Mancave Man, thank you for your reply. What is the hatch seal made from and do you lie the bass bins down on their front when you open the hatch ?

That's cool, I know what to expect… I've opened lots of woofer hatches in my day!

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Jim, I was following the thread in which you were talking about looking at some KHorns. I take it you got 'em. Congratulations.

I listened to mine stock for 20+ years, but have made many changes in the last about 4 years. Updated crossover caps, then new crossovers. New midrange horn and driver. New tweeter horn and driver. Next is active crossover and seperate triamp setup. They sound really good now, but they sounded good stock. Enjoy :)

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