KHorn Questions

[Tubes Horns and Buds]

I am finally getting my first pair of KHorns. I am very excited, obviously. They are in beautiful shape and are oiled oaks from what I believe to be the mid-eighties. I am purchasing the speakers from an older gentleman who can't move the speakers to check the serial numbers. He did tell me that the units have metal horns as opposed to the newer plastic ones. I have agreed to pay $1,700 for a pair in 8 out of 10 condition which seems like a pretty fair deal considering the condition and prices I have seen on eBay and AGon.

A few questions:

How have the KHorn design changed since the 70s in terms of crossovers, drivers, cabinet materials? Also, what years or periods produced the best KHorns. I have read on a couple forums that some prfered the mid 70's and am curious if there is anything to that claim.

Will my 16x18x9 room be adequate for these.

I am going to use my Fortes as rears and pick up a center. What would you suggest as a center. I was thinking about a Belle. I will be driving the 2 channel with a 7 WPC Cary 300B SET and HT with Sunfire 5 channel.

Thanks for your help.

[lynnm]

Congratulations!!

The price is right and your 16x18x9 room should be adequate for those speakers.If they are mid eighties vintage they will likely have the AA crossover or perhaps the AL.

The AA is preferred to the AL by many here. I cannot comment beyond that noting that that seems to be the concensus here as I have no experience with the AL.

My 1982s came with AA's which I converted to A's. I prefer the sound of the Type A to the AA but the sonic change is so small that the improvement may only exist in my head.

Before making a modification to your xovers live with them for a while.

The only mods I would immediately make in your situation would be to damp the K400 midhorn with Dynamat or Butyl Rubber tape and buy some foam pipe insulation to staple to the tailboard to ensure a tight seal into the corners for the bass bin.

[Tubes Horns and Buds]

Thanks for the info Lynnm. These should give me years of enjoyment.

Once I get the serial numbers, is it easy to determine the crossover type from Klipsch?

And id there a specific forum for important mods on the Khorns. I am sure I will enjoy them for a while and then look to make them as good as they can possibly be. I will look into the mod you suggested down the road for sure.

Thanks again.

[Daddy Dee]

Congrats on the Khorns and welcome to the forum. That's a fine price, too.

The crossover type is printed on a metal plate/strip that's stapled to the edge of the plywood crossover base.

[WMcD]

Congrats on the purchase. You'll be very happy.

For more info, please allow me to suggest you go to the search function of the forum and specifically to technical questions. Then search for "article". I've put up many articles. They make for enjoyable reading. The one from VTV is the most informative about history.

We here have had a fair amount of traffic over the years with people wondering about whether one year or the other is better and whether the most recent factory update, costing several thousand dollars, is worthwhile.

I point out that some people have very good things to say about the earliest versions. So I, somewhat as a wag, say that if you've got a version in the middle, you can go modern or retro to get the best results. Or maybe in the middle is the best of both or neither. Smile.

The grass is always greener, everyone wants to hot rod. One of our buddies here says, Your Milage May Vary. All true.

Gil

[Tubes Horns and Buds]

Thanks for the warm welcome and great info guys.

I will definitely check out the technical info.

Gil, great points. I look forward to some good reading and years of enjoyment.

Cheers.

[PrestonTom]

Congrats on getting the K-Horns. I have a pair of about the same vintage, I know you will enjoy them. Many folks will be giving you advice, may I take my turn now.

As you probably already know, the cabinets really must be positioned in the corners of the room. If your situation makes that difficult, there are a number of threads regarding the construction of a "false corner". I am pointing this out, perhaps redundantly, since positioning them in the corners (hopefully with the the listening chair forming the vertex of a 90deg angle) will have the most profound impact. All other tweaks will be secondary to this one.

Enjoy your new K-Horns and let us know how you like them.

-Tom

[sunnysal]

great price and they should work well in that room if you use the long wall and you have good corners(though they do like big spaces), when you get them home post here the serial numbers and the type of crossover and the members can give you more specific feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of your particular klipschorns. belles and cornwalls seem to be the favorites around here for center channel duty...regards, tony

[scott0527]

Congratulations. I've got a set of early 80's Oak Khorns with cane grills. I absolutely love them. Definitely spend some time with the SEARCH feature in 2-Channel, Updates and Modifications and the Home Theater forums. Just about everything you need to know can be found there. They'll probably sound sweet even with old crossovers, no mods and imperfect placement. But with a little knowledge from the forum and the right setup, they're unbelievable!

[Tubes Horns and Buds]

Thanks all. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about anything. Except for maybe the birth of my son, no wait, that was fear.

Another question, does anyone know of a good source for sound-proofing material? I am finishing the attic in my new home and I have a feeling that will be very important.

[Tubes Horns and Buds]

Thanks all. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about anything. Except for maybe the birth of my son, no wait, that was fear.

Another question, does anyone know of a good source for sound-proofing material? I am finishing the attic in my new home and I have a feeling that will be very important.

[WMcD]

It is not clear what you mean by sound proofing.

Some use the term to cover sound isolation and keeping the wonderful music away from people in the next room, or downstairs.

In other contexts it is control of echos, room modes and, generally, the influence of the room on what we hear.

In any event you will like the Dope from Hope which I posted in Technical Questions on 2/5/05. Print them out and read while listening to the K-Horns.

One of the DfH describes polycylinders. They are a matter of acoustic control rather than soundproofing.

Let me suggest, "The Master Handbook of Acoustics". Larger Borders stores carry it and any Borders can order it. It is about $40. I found one older version in the local (Chicago) public library. It is the most readable and informative text on the matters which interest you.

It describes polycylinders and stuffing them with fiberglass. There is a heck of lot more.

All of this will keep you busy for a long, long time.

- - - -

I was being a bit of a wizenheimer (sp) about crossovers. It is though true that PWK preferred the most simple, that being the A type. Then he suggested shorting out the inductor in the bass circuit. That left two capacitors and the autotransformer.

On the other hand, the newest upgrade is very complex and expensive. This was done after PWK passed away. People like it and the good engineers at Klipsch wouldn't have produced it if it did not have great merit.

= = = =

I trust you'll get a great deal of enjoyment out of the projects. Some people think it is geeky and a waste of time and money.

I say it makes more sense than less geeky and socially acceptable macho duck hunting. There you need the gun and ammo, the dog and kennel, the boat and motor, the truck and the trailer for the boat, getting up before dawn; and all you wind up with is a poor little old dead duck.

K-Horns make more sense to me; even if I get hate mail from duck hunters. Smile.

Gil