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1953 Klipschorn Pair


TDL

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Hi All. This is my first post. I just purchased a pair of 1953 Mahagony Klipschorns - SN 426 (July 24 1953) and SN 490 (Aug 24 1953). I'm really excited. I knew little about the technical details of these, but thanks to these forums, I've learned a lot.  Thanks to all the members who have contributed. I'll try not to repeat any questions that have already been answered. 

 

First, I'd like to ask the historian if there is any history available for these specific Khorns. 

 

Second, does anyone know what kind/color of paint to use if I want to touch up the edges. Its pretty obvious what needs work in the pictures I'll post. It's a very dark brown. 

 

I'd also like to get some member opinions.  I intend these speakers to be my daily drivers, so I want the best sound quality. However, I also want to make sure I can return them to stock condition as they currently are.  My plan is to:

 

Change tweeters to Jensen RP302 and keep the originals.  

Keep the University Mid drivers

Change the July Khorn to a 103-LX2 woofer to match the August one. 

Swap crossovers with new ones and store (or display) the originals.  

 

Thoughts?

 

-T

 

 

 

IMG_3089.JPEG

IMG_3088.JPEG

Edited by TDL
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JEM sells capacitor kits to those who want to DIY.

 

I repair, recap, and build. I maintain my own Klipsch OEM inventory of parts.

 

Some pictures of the networks would be helpful. You might consider leaving them intact, and just letting me build some replacements. 
 

Thanks,

Dean

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1 hour ago, wuzzzer said:

Non-Klipsch modifications are discouraged and not up for discussion on the forum.

There is a company called JEM Performance Audio and also forum member @Deang who are Klipsch authorized to rebuild crossovers.

Sorry for braking etiquette. I guess most of the posts I've read were older...

 

Anyway, I've already ordered some crossover replacements and will keep the originals as they are. I won't discuss details here per the rules, and I will keep JEM and Dean in mind for future needs or if these don't work out. I'm happy to post some pictures of the original crossovers when I have them out of the speakers if anyone is interested.  I'm also still curious if there is any history available. 

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8 minutes ago, TDL said:

Sorry for braking etiquette. I guess most of the posts I've read were older...

 

Anyway, I've already ordered some crossover replacements and will keep the originals as they are. I won't discuss details here per the rules, and I will keep JEM and Dean in mind for future needs or if these don't work out. I'm happy to post some pictures of the original crossovers when I have them out of the speakers if anyone is interested.  I'm also still curious if there is any history available. 

 

It's definitely a newer change to the forum.  Previously modifications, upgrades, etc were discussed quite a bit but things kind of got out of hand, arguing, etc and since Klipsch themselves own this forum they decided to shut down that kind of discussion.

 

Definitely stick around, there's tons to learn here and it's pretty awesome that you have a couple great examples of very early Klipsch history!

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10 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

 

It's definitely a newer change to the forum.  Previously modifications, upgrades, etc were discussed quite a bit but things kind of got out of hand, arguing, etc and since Klipsch themselves own this forum they decided to shut down that kind of discussion.

 

Definitely stick around, there's tons to learn here and it's pretty awesome that you have a couple great examples of very early Klipsch history!

Makes sense. There's nothing better than adults arguing over subjective opinions :).

 

I'm happy to stick around and learn about the history. I also want to do my part to preserve it. Actually, preservation was one of my main goals in posting here. I wanted to make sure that anything I do to the speakers is both reversible and consistent with PWK's philosophy - I know there were some supply chain limitations in the 1950s that may have led Paul to settle on using a "sad" part, so maybe he'd have built it a little differently if it were possible? 

 

 

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426 shipped to K.L.A Labs.  490 went to Sterling Radio Products Co. of Houston.  426 had the Stephens P-52 LX woofer, University SAHF mid, and University 4401 tweeter.  490 had the same mid and tweet, but with a Stephens 103 LX2 woofer.  Interesting that both shipments included a Rebel.  

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8 minutes ago, JRH said:

426 shipped to K.L.A Labs.  490 went to Sterling Radio Products Co. of Houston.  426 had the Stephens P-52 LX woofer, University SAHF mid, and University 4401 tweeter.  490 had the same mid and tweet, but with a Stephens 103 LX2 woofer.  Interesting that both shipments included a Rebel.  

Thanks for the info.  The drivers in these now are just as described and I believe original. 

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As promised, pictures of the original crossovers.

 

From what I can gather, they're K500/5000 with 15uf (3x5 in parallel) and 1uf capacitors and 5MH, 5MH, 0.5MH inductors.  Seems to match the schematic that was floating around on the forums a while back. 16ohm input. 

 

The one from SN 490 (August 1953) has a replacement 1uf capacitor (I have the original). It's too big, but it works. Otherwise, they may be all original. They work, but the sound quality and coherence seem to ebb and flow, which I'm betting is from old caps. Simple things like a single instrument or voice sound great, but they start to sound messy when the music gets more complicated. Regardless, given their age, I'm impressed to get anything at all. 

IMG_2869.jpeg

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Just now, TDL said:

As promised, pictures of the original crossovers.

 

From what I can gather, they're K500/5000 with 15uf (3x5 in parallel) and 1uf capacitors and 5MH, 5MH, 0.5MH inductors.  Seems to match the schematic that was floating around on the forums a while back. 16ohm input. 

 

The one from SN 490 (August 1953) has a replacement 1uf capacitor (I have the original). It's too big, but it works. Otherwise, they may be all original. They work, but the sound quality and coherence seem to ebb and flow, which I'm betting is from old caps. Simple things like a single instrument or voice sound great, but they start to sound messy when the music gets more complicated. Regardless, given their age, I'm impressed to get anything at all. 

IMG_2869.jpeg

 

IMG_2868.jpeg

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