Jump to content

1966 H700 Rebuild


MickShrimpton

Recommended Posts

Hi Everyone - I'm new here to this forum but not to the Klipsch line of loudspeakers. Maybe I will do a separate intro post and list off my collection.

 

Onto the reason for this thread.

 

My newest acquisition is a set of 1966 H700's. They were bundled by the seller with a mismatched set of Heresy I's. I originally went to go look at the Heresy's and while I was there he asked if I wanted to see one more set, and like any one of us would say I said "definitely". Once I saw these beauties I knew I had to have them, I asked what he wanted for them and he said if I took the other set he would thrown these in for and extra $100. SOLD

 

One speaker is in amazing shape and the other is meh. The one looks like it has possible water damage judging by the seeming water mark and staining on the front cloth. Luckily that looks like the extent of the damage as the woofer and crossover have no visible signs of damage or corrosion. 

 

I hooked these up and they sounded terrible, I immediately knew something was up. When I opened them up, I immediately knew why they sounded like crap. Why someone would do this to these speakers baffles me... 😢 they took out the tweeters and mids and replaced them with some cheap no name paper cone junk. The replacements weren't even in line with the cutouts. And while they were at it they hot glued everything in place and made a mess. The pics will better explain. I am just happy the EV K-22's were left untouched and look to be in amazing shape. They sure are some beautiful looking woofers!!!

 

That being said these guys are screaming for a rebuild to bring them back to their original glory.

 

From what I could find online these should have came with K-77 tweeters and K-55V mids w/ K700 horns. **I do have wanted ads in the Garage Sale section for each if anyone has some for sale.** I figure this thread will give a story as to why I am searching for these.

 

I have reached out to Crites and have been messaging with Michael about my options should I choose to go with Crites.

 

I am thinking I want to stay with the K-55-V / Atlas PD-5VH for the mids and go with the Crites CT125 tweeters for the improved higher end response.

 

Crossovers are another story. The stamp on the crossover plate looks like it says 4RC. I cannot seem to find anything online about this H700 crossover. Would this be considered a Type C?? If anyone with more info on these can chime in please do. Michael over at Crites is looking into these but I haven't heard anything back yet on this type of crossover.

 

Anyway, that's the story with these, and be forewarned this will be a slow moving rebuild but I will keep this thread up to date with progress to hopefully help out others should they choose to do the same.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this novel of a post! 😃

IMG_8536.JPEG

IMG_8538.JPEG

Edited by MickShrimpton
Corrected year from 1965 to 1966 in subject and body.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MickShrimpton said:

 

From what I could find online these should have came with K-77 tweeters and K-55V mids w/ K700 horns.

 

if you want to keep the Authentic character of the H 700------you would need the Original K-55V  with the push pin terminals and the K77 Alnico round magnet -

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MickShrimpton said:

Hi Everyone - I'm new here to this forum but not to the Klipsch line of loudspeakers. Maybe I will do a separate intro post and list off my collection.

 

Onto the reason for this thread.

 

My newest acquisition is a set of 1965 H700's.

 

These speakers were built in 1966 -so the 131st  and 132 nd Heresy H700 ever built

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, RandyH said:

These speakers were built in 1966 -so the 131st  and 132 nd Heresy H700 ever built

 

Thanks for that, I corrected the subject to 1966.

 

17 minutes ago, RandyH said:

if you want to keep the Authentic character of the H 700------you would need the Original K-55V  with the push pin terminals and the K77 Alnico round magnet -

 

This is something I have debated in my head since getting these. Part of me wants to just get these going as fast as I can and enjoy them. I did find some square driver K77's here in the garage sale forum that I might buy just to get them going. But I do understand keeping these authentic, they might sit longer going that route... and having a pair of Klipsch sitting dormant has been driving me nuts 😅

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, MickShrimpton said:

 

Thanks for that, I corrected the subject to 1966.

 

 

This is something I have debated in my head since getting these. Part of me wants to just get these going as fast as I can and enjoy them. I did find some square driver K77's here in the garage sale forum that I might buy just to get them going. But I do understand keeping these authentic, they might sit longer going that route... and having a pair of Klipsch sitting dormant has been driving me nuts 😅

these H-700 cabinets are shorter than a Heresy cabinet , you would have to make sure that there is enough room to fit the K-77M square magnet , since the magnet is larger than the round   K-77 Alnico magnet EV  T-35  -

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, RandyH said:

these H-700 cabinets are shorter than a Heresy cabinet , you would have to make sure that there is enough room to fit the K-77M square magnet , since the Ferrite  magnet is larger than the round   K-77 Alnico magnet EV  T-35  -

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to some awesome members on this forum I was able to source a pair of K77 tweeters and a pair of K-53-K mids to get these things going. Thanks @RickD and @justonemore

 

I also bought some K700 cast horns for when I eventually find some K-55 drivers to do these things right and keep their original character.

 

Will update once I get these drivers in. Hoping the crossovers have held up over the years.

 

Actually has anyone heard of the "4RC" crossovers that are in here? Are these considered Type C crossovers? I heard back from Michael at Crites and he stated he hadn't had any experience with this type of crossover and for me to just buy some new Type E's. I would rather keep these and rebuild if needed. Problem is I can't find anything about them. Pics can be seen above on my post #4.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I´m being a bit silly now; everytime i read stories about one of you guys finding some old Klipsch speakers and fixing them up, i get a  bit jealous. Sometimes i wish it were so easy to find some here in Germany. Here, if older stuff turns up and even if it´s almost junk, people still demand ridiculous sums for them.

 

But it´s always interesting and fun to read and gives me ideas.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, AndreG. said:

I´m being a bit silly now; everytime i read stories about one of you guys finding some old Klipsch speakers and fixing them up, i get a  bit jealous. Sometimes i wish it were so easy to find some here in Germany. Here, if older stuff turns up and even if it´s almost junk, people still demand ridiculous sums for them.

 

But it´s always interesting and fun to read and gives me ideas.

 

They are definitely hard to come by in my area as well. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time for these. Seems it was meant to be in this case and ended up making a friend with the guy that sold these to me. I love this hobby and the connections you make sometimes are even better than the gear involved. Hang in there Andre, something will eventually come your way. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update 8.30.2021

 

Got some parts in the mail last week and had the time to install the tweeters and mid squawkers.  I did have to modify the mid K701 horns a tad to make them fit in the H700 setup. What I did was use a K700 horn as a template and Dremel out a piece of the flange. Pic attached for reference. This allowed it to clear the K77 tweeter flange. Fit like a glove.

 

I also removed the original fabric and plan on cleaning it before re attaching to the motor board. I have also been pondering the idea of having some replacement grill covers made and attaching the original cloth to those so they can be removable. These H700's look amazing with the covers on as well as off, those K22 EV woofers are so pretty. For the meantime I am going to run them as is without covers.

 

After the drivers were installed. I buttoned everything up. Now mind you I did not seal the cabinets or drivers. I put them back together as they would have come from the factory and boy they sound sooooooo flat. No bass whatsoever and they don't have that soundstage that my other pair of Heresy I's have. That's my comparison by the way, It's night and day. I am chalking that up to the crossovers needing a recap and the cabinet not being sealed up. I have a PE order in for some gasketing foam and caulk, new Solen 2uF caps and screws. I am hoping after all of that these things come to life. 

 

If anyone has other suggestions on how to improve the sounds please let me know.

 

Stay tuned.

IMG_9018.JPEG

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...