deschutes100 Posted December 10, 2002 Share Posted December 10, 2002 This is my first posting. I have a "pair" of 1959 circa Klipschhorns. I'm interested in finding out what I have in terms of rarity and or worth. I need to find a way to replace the folded horn,tweeter and crossover for one side. (It is missing) I do have both bass cabinets and one complete horn/tweeter and crossover assembly for one side. They have original factory labels on the cabinets and everything works. What I have sounds great, minus the missing horn/tweeter. How do I start? I've been to ebay for some info. but am new to this forum. Does anyone have any advice/info. The model info. are as follows: Type K351 Syle B Serial 1404 and 1405 Feb. 3rd, 1959 With W5.33 network Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOZ Posted December 10, 2002 Share Posted December 10, 2002 Can you get some pics for us??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted December 10, 2002 Share Posted December 10, 2002 Yes, please send pictures. I suspect that the midrange horn you have is a K-5. It has a piece of cast metal at the throat (small end) and the bigger end is made of plywood sides and top and bottom of dished fiberboard. Sometimes these show up on e-bay. But they are rare. The tweeter may be a University unit. This is very tough to find a duplicate for. Again, pictures will help us determine what you're trying to match. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deschutes100 Posted December 10, 2002 Author Share Posted December 10, 2002 Thanks for the interest. I'm going to post photos by the weedend at this forum. The horn is the laminated/bent wood type. The tweeter is mounted vertically on a wood support. I used to build Martin Logan speakers while at KU in Lawrence,KS and was at one time an audiophile on a low budget. I found these Klipsch at a building remodel,and was asked to help lift them into the dumpster. Needless to say I offered to "haul" them away for free, but never could find the missing horn/tweeter top cabinet to one side. I did have them hooked up for a while but I'm not convinced the crossover(s)were working properly, however the individual speakers/horns work fine. Anyway, photos to follow, I have the side grillcloths for the bass cabinets but nothing for the horn section. I appreciate any resource info. about trying to buy/rebuild the missing components.. Thanks again. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 I have a pair of 59 khorns . They came with the ev t35 /university mid/ trusonic bass. I have seen 2 pairs of the early midhorns lens and l one lone one on ebay in the last year. so keep looking. The early khorns to many sound the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 Welcome aboard, Jeff. You've come to the right place for answers. You say you got these Khorns out of a dumpster???? Holy toledo. First, the 'folding horn' is contained within the bass bin. From your description, it sounds like you are not missing the 'folding horn', but rather the mid-range horn and driver. Not to worry, there are options. I suggest that you get 2 Altec Lansing 511b sectoral horns for your midrange horns. I replaced the wood/fiberglass horns on my '54's with these. They are almost identical in physical size and sonic characteristics, but are more solid and enduring. They can be aquired fairly cheap on e-bay, usually to the tune of about $100 - $150/pair. They sound fantastic. I would further wager that your midrange driver is the University SAHF. Generally speaking, these were paired up with the wood/fiberglass mid-horns throughout the 50's. On a personal note, I find that the 511b/SAHF combo is the sweetest, clearest and robust midrange pairing commonly used. Others on this board will probably disagree, this is simply what sounds best to my ears. Lots of members find that the stock K55V midrange driver paired with the 511b is very acceptable, I find this pairing to be slightly lacking in both clarity and robustness compared to the SAHF. Slightly. The SAHF can be aquired on e-bay as well, though lately it has skyrocketed in price from about $20/per this time last year to upwards of $100/per. If indeed you have a SAHF in your existing 'top section', you would only need buy one. In any case, you would want to have like drivers in both speakers. Tweeter-wise, you could have the University 4401, but '59 was pretty much after the cutover to the K77. This era's K77's were made by EV, EV marketed this tweeter as the T35. T35's are all over e-bay for reasonable $$. Likewise, University 4401's are still cheap on e-bay, usually less than $40, but you have to be patient and wait for one to come up. I believe a viable option to be the University HF-206. The HF-206 was University's 'hi-end' tweeter of that era. Equal in efficiency to the 4401, but the 4401 starts to roll off at 15K cycles, whereas the HF-206 is suppose to go to 'beyond audibility', whatever that means. I have several of both flavors and to be honest, I can't tell the difference sonically. The HF-206 has a magnet structure that is about twice that of the 4401. You can still order grillcloth directly from Klipsch, and it is very reasonable. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Jeff- I don't have any advice for you on your speakers, but when were you at KU? As you can tell, I was there 87-92. Amazing if you basically rescued those K-horns from the dumpster. That may be the best bargain any of us board members has run into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deschutes100 Posted December 12, 2002 Author Share Posted December 12, 2002 I was there from 83 to 89. All the Danning Manning years plus a couple. I'm in Portland,Oregon now. I found the speakers here in Portland. I have already got some good input from others on the forum. This is a great resource. I hope to keep everyone updated about the rebuilding process of these great speakers. I know I have some work ahead of me. I also havent upgraded my other components of my system for awhile. (marriage,kids time etc.) However, I have been seeing a few old Phase Linear amps on E-bay that would work great with the klipschorns when they are rebuilt. These speakers have the old wood formed horns and it will be a challenge to find one to use so they will match. Someone suggested buying these aftermarket replacements, but I would love to find a single from Hope,AK or an auction site. I have seen a single cornerhorn for sale at e-bay, but didnt get it. Its hard to ship 150lbs. in heavy freight. Anyway, thanks for the note. Go Jayhawks!!! I got to see preseason KU vs. Oregon here a week ago. Great game, but we lost. Talk to you soon. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 That was a fantastic save. As far as worth, it all depends on condition and, like anything else, who wants them at the time you are selling. I believe there was a superb matching set of Khorns from the early or mid 1950s on eBay earlier this year that didn't go for any more than a more recent model. I'm thinking it was around $2500??? Sometimes people find bargains locally instead of on eBay, someone recently got a pair for $900, but a typical very good deal would be $1500. Khorns are expensive things to collect! Someone can give you a better idea on worth once you post pictures. If they look rough, they aren't worth as much as if they look pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Phase Linear amps do NOT mate well with Klipschorns. Nor do any other bruiser SS amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Ahh....that's where they went. I just left Portland after misplacing my spare pair of vintage Khorns. Awfully decent of you to rescue them for me....... Not flying? Can't blame a bloke for trying..... 511's are NOT aftermarket replacements!! I think they've been around for just about the same length of time as the wooden/fiberglass horns and are still in production today. I recall my father showing me an early 60's article highlighting the use of Khorns as the studio monitor of choice for sound engineers in SF, and how they felt the 'achilles heel' was the mid-horn for it's tendency to delaminate fairly quickly (depending on use) and then emit a fiberglass 'clacking' noise. The resolution of choice was to replace the horn with the 511b as it has identical sonic characteristics but didn't clack. Both are 500 cycle horns possessing virtually identical physical dimensions as well. You cannot find a closer match and the 511 will last forever. If you do find a wooden horn, especially one where you have to purchase 'hearing unheard', like on e-bay, beware the delam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted December 14, 2002 Share Posted December 14, 2002 Im preety sure the klipsch horn that tended to fall apart was the early pre 50 horn, not the ones used in the 50,s and early 60,s. I have 4 klipschorns from 51 to 59 and all horns are still mint. I also have never heard a "clack out of them". Still i think in stock form the early khorns sounds very good. the altec horns or better yet the western electric sound great to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 21, 2002 Share Posted December 21, 2002 Seriously, look into low wattage 2A3 SET amps. Save yourself the 10 iterations and expense of buying and selling. Just go Welborne or Wright and you'll be pleased as punch. That's what PWK used to voice these babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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