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K43e Woofers in 1986 Corner Horns?


Toz

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Hi,

I've owned these since early nineties. They originally came from Magnolia HiFi in Seattle, WA. I'm the second owner. I opened the woofer doors the other day out of curiosity while I was cleaning up binding post contacts and such. I had been in there in the mid nineties when I upgraded from AK-2 to AK-3, using factory parts and instructions. At that time, I didn't notice that the LF drivers were K43 instead of K33.  All other drivers are what should be in these. These are factory equipped with separate hi and low freq fuses, so I doubt the woofers were blown and replaced. These were never abused either. The leads are soldered to the drivers just like factory. Maybe they came like this by mistake or special order? Maybe they were replaced who knows. Anyway they sound great to me. They are pretty solid sounding to 40hz. sound rolled off at 35hz, by 30 they are way down to a whisper. I understand that the K33 goes 10hz deeper, but that the K43 is the more articulate driver. I got that from reading up here, but most info is regarding use in La Scala.  Anyone have any experience with K43 in corner horns? 

Thanks, Mike

Edited by Toz
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I suppose it is possible that someone special ordered them that way, and of course it is also possible that someone replaced them and then re-soldered them in. Either way, since you really like them does it really matter? I would think that if you have the speakers properly placed that they would sound terrific.  Of course I have 43's in my LSI splits, and they are awesome.

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I was always under the impression that the K43 will handle more power but, at the expense of (not) digging down low (this reference is with respect to the LaScala since I've never heard of a K43 inside a Khorn)

 

I've got a pair of K33's that are waiting to go into a MWM bass cabinet (that they now put K43's in).  I'm using the K33's since they're less expensive and this is for messing around outdoors.

 

If you ever think you'd like to swap the 43's to 33's....  let me know.

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10 minutes ago, Coytee said:

I was always under the impression that the K43 will handle more power but, at the expense of (not) digging down low (this reference is with respect to the LaScala since I've never heard of a K43 inside a Khorn)

Same here, I think it was Claude who compared them both, with the same findings.

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I would switch them back to the k-33 personally as that was what suppose to be in there and you're probably missing some low end. Unless you're using the speakers outdoors at insane volumes I don't think you'll ever need the extra power handling the 43 offers.

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On 1/31/2017 at 2:13 PM, Toz said:

Hi,

I've owned these since early nineties. They originally came from Magnolia HiFi in Seattle, WA. I'm the second owner. I opened the woofer doors the other day out of curiosity while I was cleaning up binding post contacts and such. I had been in there in the mid nineties when I upgraded from AK-2 to AK-3, using factory parts and instructions. At that time, I didn't notice that the LF drivers were K43 instead of K33.  All other drivers are what should be in these. These are factory equipped with separate hi and low freq fuses, so I doubt the woofers were blown and replaced. These were never abused either. The leads are soldered to the drivers just like factory. Maybe they came like this by mistake or special order? Maybe they were replaced who knows. Anyway they sound great to me. They are pretty solid sounding to 40hz. sound rolled off at 35hz, by 30 they are way down to a whisper. I understand that the K33 goes 10hz deeper, but that the K43 is the more articulate driver. I got that from reading up here, but most info is regarding use in La Scala.  Anyone have any experience with K43 in corner horns? 

Thanks, Mike

During my journey with Klipschorns to MWM to my own Quarter Pie derivative, I discovered the superior midrange sound of the K-43 over the K-33, which was a good compromise driver, historically. The main reason the K-43 was created was to address the blown drivers in MWM woofer bins in commercial sound, which was a real problem in the evolution of higher power amplifiers in the 70's and persists today. The side benefit of the K-43's higher BL product is the response curve tilts towards the midrange while "thinning out the bass." Since I STRONGLY believe in using Subwoofers (especially full and tapped HORN subs) no matter what "full range" speaker you have, I think the K-43's sound better than K-33's in the Midrange ("Where we live"----PWK). This was measureble and easily audible in LaScalas.

 

So my advice is to keep the K-43's and add a good tapped or full horn subwoofer, which you can explore elsewhere on this forum. I would recommend a Xover point of about 60 Hz. or below, if possible.

 

 

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On 2/10/2017 at 7:47 AM, jjptkd said:

I would switch them back to the k-33 personally as that was what suppose to be in there and you're probably missing some low end. Unless you're using the speakers outdoors at insane volumes I don't think you'll ever need the extra power handling the 43 offers.

You might want to do this if you don't want to use a subwoofer like I suggested.

 

If you don't do it with Coytee, you can do it with me. I have a spare set of Square Magnet K-33 E's (the best of the various flavors of K-33's IMHO). I'll even pay shipping on both. PM me if you are interested.

 

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On 2/4/2017 at 3:44 PM, dtel said:

Same here, I think it was Claude who compared them both, with the same findings.

Yep, that was me. Good memory, you have.

 

I also found the Eminence Kappa 15C to be a great compromise between the K-33 and K-43 (all made by Eminence, of course). It has a 31 Hz. resonance, like the K-33, but also had about a 3-4 db higher output at 400 Hz. in my Hornresp model of a LaScala with K-33 vs. the Kappa 15C. I posted it on this forum as an inexpensive upgrade to a LaScala.

 

I'm pretty sure it would work fine in a Khorn also, but never modeled it since I went forth with MWM theater bins and Quarter Pies after owning Khorns and LaScalas for over 30 years.

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Well I tried the K-33's from my 1981 Cornwalls in the corner horns tonight. I used the stereophile test cd for test tones and listened to my regular jazz, blues stuff.  No measuring equipment, just my old musician ears. In my room and for my tastes, the bass extension was not appreciably improved with the K-33's. They both had useful output down at the 31.5Hz 1/2 octave warble tone. 50Hz seemed slightly stronger with the K-33's. I did think everything coming out of the folded horn section sounded less articulate. I anticipated the articulation difference, but not that the 33 didn't seem to dig lower than the 43, at least in my room with my set up. I put the K-43's back in and think they sound better.  I appreciate all the help and the offers, thanks,

Mike

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Good for you! It say it all the time, try it out for yourself and make your own determination of what sounds best. It is possible though that you're so use to what the 43's sound like that it has been imprinted in your brain as to what it is "suppose to" sound like. I'd recommend leaving the 33's in for at least a few days to let your ears adjust to the new sound before making any definitive conclusions though.

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