Mighty Favog Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Someone that works in my building showed me a Facebook friend of his. She posted that she has a K-Horn built in the 1940's that her grandfather helped build. She said she also needs some repair work done to it in the Cincinnati/Northern KY area. Until I find her on FB, I can think of a ton of questions about it: who her grandfather was, s/n of the unit, what repairs does it need, etc. For now, I just know her (probably married) name is Laura Dolan and still lives in the Cincinnati area. When I find out more, I'm tempted to contact Jim Hunter to see what he can find out about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Here is the lady's reply from FB: Hey Tom! I will get these questions answered from my dad. This speaker was built before Kilpsch production started so it likely won't have a serial number. Noone in the family is quite clear on how this all went down, but I do know the plans were given to my grandpa before Paul Klipsch went into the war. My grandfather and Paul were likely friends or colleagues of some sort, he wasn't an employee. My grandfather (Bill Busse) lived in Kansas City, MO - he was instrumental in creating the first CB radio communication for police cars and also the first radios at Laguardia Airport in NY. He also brushed elbows with Nikola Tesla when he was very young - something to do with bouncing radio signals off the Ionosphere to get them across the ocean. I'm not 100% confident in any of my facts here, that's just what gets tossed around the family. My dad is afraid he may have blown something in the speaker, it breaks up when he turns it up loud. Thrilled to connect with you, we are excited to find someone knowledgable on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Chad, can I get this moved to "Ask the Historian", please? Thanks dtel! Here's the FB thread:https://www.facebook.com/lbdolan?hc_ref=NEWSFEED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 6, 2017 Moderators Share Posted June 6, 2017 There you go Mr Favog, moved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsosdrummer Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Looks like a JBL 2440 or 2482 on the horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 17 hours ago, Mighty Favog said: Oh wow! That appears to be in great shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 I was messaging the owner last night and it appears everything still works. Initially they said the sound would "break up" when it was turned up. Turns out it was connected to a phono-pre out (answered that question). But, I'm really hoping Jim Hunter will see the message I sent to him and look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 5 hours ago, Mighty Favog said: I was messaging the owner last night and it appears everything still works. Initially they said the sound would "break up" when it was turned up. Turns out it was connected to a phono-pre out (answered that question). But, I'm really hoping Jim Hunter will see the message I sent to him and look into it. I sent it to him. It looks like the original Klipschhorn w X-5 horn. 5th image top row. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 That is an exciting find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 5 minutes ago, seti said: That is an exciting find. The owner did offer for me to come take a tour of it. It's about 15-miles from my house. He said he has the plans his father and PWK were working on for prototypes just before Paul went into the war. I'd love to see Paul's and the owner's father's name on those plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 14 minutes ago, Mighty Favog said: The owner did offer for me to come take a tour of it. It's about 15-miles from my house. He said he has the plans his father and PWK were working on for prototypes just before Paul went into the war. I'd love to see Paul's and the owner's father's name on those plans. Just speechless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Here's some more pics she just sent me with her narrative to go with them: So my dad thinks the connection was made by Howard Hughes (who was associated with TWA, my grandfather was high up on the chain of command at TWA) The plans we have are not as exciting as I thought...It's a copy of a copy of the plans my grandfather gave to his Kansas City friend that my dad received in the mail in the 80s. These do look identical to what's shown on the Klipsch website. So...does Klipsch have any association with Howard Hughes. My dad suspects that's he missing link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsosdrummer Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Clearly not a JBL on the tweeter, (Shows you what I know!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Looks museum worthy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Copy or not, if the plans have a date and PWK's name, that would be of historical significance I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 I just heard from Jim Hunter and he's gonna look at the thread when he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 I went and looked at it last night, delightful people. The bass bin has NO access panel to the woofer and I didn't feel right with trying to take the bin apart. The HF horn feels like it might be made of Masonite, not sure. The HF driver is a Jensen Model 1. I took a bunch of hi-res pics and e-mailed them to Jim Hunter. The owners also have a letter from PWK to the (builder's) son from 1979. That letter, alone, has convinced Jim that this unit is the real McCoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Yes, this appears to be one of several that friends of PWK built with his permission (and encouragement). The date must be after 1945 since the HF horn was not designed until late that year. The owner's "family legend" says that this is one of 5 built at the time. I cannot confirm, but it is not out of the question at all. We are currently working on acquisition of another prototype built by the guy that suggested to PWK that he should design a cheaper line of speakers that resulted in the Rebel series. It appears that this guy made the original wooden pattern (we have it) for molding the curved portions of the K-5. Stuff seems to be coming out of the woodwork recently! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 On 6/15/2017 at 11:45 AM, Mighty Favog said: I went and looked at it last night, delightful people. The bass bin has NO access panel to the woofer and I didn't feel right with trying to take the bin apart. The HF horn feels like it might be made of Masonite, not sure. It could easily be laid-up fiberglass, too (or something like that)....or even bakelite. Have you ever seen the old brown coffee mugs, cereal bowls or milk glasses the Army used in the mess halls back in the 1950's-1970's? They look like they are laid up fiberglass, but the resin was something different...but they were woven-fiber-reinforced...relatively light in weight and tough as nails. Whatever that stuff is called, in the 1940's and early 1950's it was pretty popular to use for molding stuff....even for do-it-yourself projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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