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Can you replace a K-55-V with a K-55-M on an AA?


JDJohnson

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You can but I would not advise doing so. K-55-M has trouble replacing a diaphragm, K-55-V does not. Soldered lug K-55-M not so on K-55-V but no resultant improvement of sound like there is with the K-55-V soldered lug. K-55-M has an annoying habit of having the plastic back side become a little loose which will cause a buzz you will catch grief over when trying to figure out what is wrong and the  K-55-V does not. I have given away or sold real cheap the K-55-M's I had because they are not as good for various reasons mentioned. When I was fixing up La Scalas I used parts just as though I were going to keep them for myself so the K-55-M's went bye bye.

 

  One other thing here. Talking with Bob Crite's son one day about new diaphragms. I had a set of K-55-V's that ohmed right but did not sound right. Apparently they have run across this too and the only cure is new diaphragms. Now I am a cheapskate and the idea I would have to spend half of the cost of new drivers to just replace diaphragms bothered me but I went ahead and did it. Solved the problem just fine, saved money and good to go for another 30 years I guess.

 

  You have recapped those old toasted capacitors, right?

 

  Also look into putting a mid brace in there between the dog house and sides to kill the cabinet resonance.

 

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You can use the K55M with the AA crossover. I have done it and liked it. But that was because I had a pair laying around.

There are better options, but if you have the 55M go ahead and use it. As Dave said, it will be hard to replace the diaphragm if it goes out.

As far as sounding better. I do believe the 55M is better than the push terminal single phase plug 55V. But either driver will be fairly old and the sound will probably be dictated by the abuse or lack of abuse for the past 25-30 years.

My K55Ms still sound nice.

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As others smarter than me have opined ^^^ "yes" the K-55M is a drop-in replacement for the V.

 

A few years ago my buddy @mustang guy dropped a pair in his La Scala's.  We A/B'd them against each other with pink noise.  They sounded different as in one was slightly higher pitched than the other one, I can't remember which was higher.  Not better or worse, just slightly different.  After both M's were installed I couldn't hear any difference in simple listening tests.  Both sounded good.

 

There is a dip in the frequency response between 4500 Hz and 6000 Hz on the V.  The M eliminates this dip.  In real life you can't hear any difference in playing music with the dip but my buddy wanted to plug the hole and that's why he bought the M's.  He felt better that he had a mid-driver which was technically better.

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Thank you MookieStl,

 

I soldered in new diaphragms in my K-55-V around fifteen years ago. They’ve not been abused. They should still be okay. I was considering replacing them with the solder type, but wondering if the K-55-M were better. I’m okay with how mine sound, but would consider upgrading for a reasonable low cost. 

 

I replaced the K-77 diaphragms then too and bought Bob Crites’s A/AA, so the caps are good. Michael Crites said the can caps in my crossovers are good for twenty years.

 

I’m building new tops for them now because I bought a decorator set years ago in rough cosmetic condition. I built tops for them then, but building a second set of tops now with changes, so I’m considering upgrading the mids and tweeters. I don’t want to spend a lot though. They sound good now.

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I've got a suggestion Mr. @soundbound.  I used to have 1978 LS's and 1979 Khorns with Type AA XO's.  The secret to better sound is not in the mid horn, but the tweeter.

 

If you've ever listened to the tweeter content by itself it only plays part of the sound, not a whole instrument.  A cymbal might have just the decay and not the attack.  The trumpet might have an overtone but not the entire trumpet sound.  Frankly I didn't care for this squeak and squawk sound.

 

I added a Crites A/4500 XO to the Khorn which threw more of the content to the tweeter crossing now at 4500 instead of 6000K.  I disconnected the K-77 and plugged in a B&C 250 compression driver mounted to a SEOS 12" waveguide.  I then placed it on top of the Khorn aligning the throat with the K-55V throat which served to time align them.

 

The sound was a magnitude better then the OEM K-77.  There were now whole instruments emanating from the tweeter.  The sound was luscious and sounded much better than stock IMO.  This tweeter and XO section cost around $450, parts available from Parts-express and the SEOS (highly recommended) from DIYsoundgroup.com.  I would suggest using the 10" SEOS waveguide, I used the 12" SEOS because I had one laying around.

 

1314365747_KhornSEOSrighttopview.thumb.JPG.d2effb3b6477f4782f252ccfdcec14f3.JPG

 

1492215419_KhornSEOSDNA-360.thumb.JPG.cb64b0461a7aedf6cea952cd5b6801af.JPG

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21 hours ago, soundbound said:

I have the the old K-55-V divers with the push pin connectors in my 1978 Klipschorns.

 

Can you replace a K-55-V with a K-55-M on an AA crossover? 

 

Will the more modern K-55-M sound better?

 

What’s the difference between the two?

I have the the old K-55-V divers with the push pin connectors in my 1978 Klipschorns. /   great driver , you can always install new diaphragms if they are  tired ---

Can you replace a K-55-V with a K-55-M on an AA crossover? ---yes

Will the more modern K-55-M sound better?  ---yes

What’s the difference between the two?   the K55M has the same sound as the dual phase plug k55V -

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1 hour ago, soundbound said:

the crossover and tweeter upgrade you did and recommend and will still be considering them after I build my new top cabinets. I’m sure the improvement is large.

 

Yeah I was just throwing that out there just for fun.  We all have discovered things, many by accident along our audio journey and we learn by passing our knowledge and experience to others.  Everything I know about Klipsch I got from the guys on this forum sharing their knowledge.

 

The SEOS waveguides I like are $23 each, the B&C drivers are a little over a hundred each.  I love the sound of the  AA XO and I would not hesitate to use it with the SEOS waveguide.

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On 11/17/2020 at 12:32 AM, soundbound said:

Can you replace a K-55-V with a K-55-M on an AA crossover? 

 

Will the more modern K-55-M sound better?

 

What’s the difference between the two?

Yes

Maybe

 

The K-55-M reaches 6kHz without relying on the collapsing verticals of the 401 to get there. The K-55-M also has some slightly increased output through parts of its response. Just think of the K-55-M as the ferrite magnet version of the solder lugged version of the K-55-V (AlNiCo). 

 

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