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Klipschorn SN 175


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 Hello,

I recently purchased this Klipschorn. From my research I was able to find out the production year and finish type. Can you help with the rest of the information? What is "Style 7" and what does the "34" in front of the finish code mean? Also, where do I turn to find out if there is more info. in the log book from that year. Also, at the bottom, is written "2 Feb.  50  W". Could this be when it was sold? Any information is greatly appreciated.  

 

 

Thanks,

Johnies-l1600.jpgs-l1600.jpgs-l1600.jpgs-l1600.jpgs-l1600.jpg

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37 minutes ago, johknow4@gmail.com said:

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum.  Tom @kuisis might be a useful resource.  He has two circa 50s Khorns, plus he’s a nice guy . . . . for a Penguins lover. 😉

 

I've taken the liberty of attaching photos of one of Tom's Khorns.  The photos were taken prior to his purchase.  Note the thickness of the Tophat top.  It's similar to yours.  IIRC, this was not purchased as a Decorator.

 

left B.JPG

left C.JPG

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This Khorn appears to be newer than yours.  Upon closer inspection, the label says, "FINISH: Raw."  This might have been purchased as a decorator and finished after it left Hope, which could explain the thinner material.

 

(6) left label.JPG

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10 hours ago, johknow4@gmail.com said:

 Hello,

I recently purchased this Klipschorn. From my research I was able to find out the production year and finish type. Can you help with the rest of the information? What is "Style 7" and what does the "34" in front of the finish code mean? Also, where do I turn to find out if there is more info. in the log book from that year. Also, at the bottom, is written "2 Feb.  50  W". Could this be when it was sold? Any information is greatly appreciated.  

 

 

Thanks,

Johnies-l1600.jpg

 

OK, JRH has not yet responded to you, so here is what I KNOW...PWK, himself, made up an oblique drawing of what later became known as the "B-Style" Klipschorn...and IIRC, that drawing actually had "style 7" written near the bottom of the drawing page, in his own hand....but maybe slightly after the fact of the drawing itself.  I looked thru my computer files for a pic of the drawing,  but cannot find it!  So maybe I never saved it?....even though I intended to do so.  ALSO, IIRC, the date PWK put on that drawing is in 1949, I THINK!  I had difficulty reading THAT!  SO, if the drawing WAS dated 1949, then you may well have one of the earliest made in "Style 7" since yours was completed in early 1950!...maybe by Harold Wright? See below for the later designations of the styles in the pic I have attached.

 

As for the finish: I presume that FL stands for "furniture laquer"...and most likely the "34" is the stain used prior to laquer being applied...or a combination of "Black walnut" and stain?  Yours appear to be black walnut on the finely-veneered panels.  

 

WHY Klipsch used the thinner 1/2" thick  veneered panels is beyond me, because in his drawing the proportions seem to point MORE towards the panels being 3/4" instead!  It could just have been due to an "availability" issue early on!...which was corrected when that issue ended.

 

There is the possibility that the woofer bass bin was purchased prior to the top-hat section, and when that top hat section was bought, the original owner decided to get a base model and  get it finished out in walnut...I have no idea, though!  

 

Does the top-hat portion have a tag in it somewhere?

 

@JRH should easily be able to clarify things, when he checks this posting out!

993393430_Khornstyles.thumb.jpg.9585d0caaaaef5c0fe483a8fc026fa38.jpg  

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175 was shipped to Joe Minor at Berkeley Custom Electronics on 1/4/1950.  However, it was previously utilized in a PWK speech at the Dallas IRE meeting December 8-11, 1949.  It is mahogany and a style 7.

PWK Drawing 490328 B style.jpg

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15 hours ago, JRH said:

175 was shipped to Joe Minor at Berkeley Custom Electronics on 1/4/1950.  However, it was previously utilized in a PWK speech at the Dallas IRE meeting December 8-11, 1949.  It is mahogany and a style 7.

PWK Drawing 490328 B style.jpg

 

I spent many happy hours at Joe Minor's Berkeley Custom Electronics, first as a high school student, and for the next 18 years or so.  Everyone who worked there was an engineer, as was Joe.  Outstanding ones were Don Helmholtz, who later helped start Pro-Audio Electronics in Oakland, then held forth at Resistance Repair in Berkeley (resistance having a double meaning -- consider the locale), and John Curl, later the wizard of Parasound.   Joe Minor had the utmost respect for PWK, and believed that recording studios might have been making better recordings than they knew, because Klipschorns tended to revel more quality in a given recording than the speakers the studios used.

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On 5/21/2019 at 11:26 AM, JRH said:

175 was shipped to Joe Minor at Berkeley Custom Electronics on 1/4/1950.  However, it was previously utilized in a PWK speech at the Dallas IRE meeting December 8-11, 1949.  It is mahogany and a style 7.

PWK Drawing 490328 B style.jpg

Jim,

I have received the Loudspeaker referred to in your post. The side panel is indeed labeled SN 175. However the very bottom of the speaker is labeled, in pencil,174. Also the K5 horn has the number 174  written on the lower corner of the label. Is there a reason that the SN would have been changed or is this a labeling error? Is there info available for 174? 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Johnie

 
 

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