Who made the Drivers for the Speakerlab K's

[Frzninvt]

Did Speakerlab manufacture their own drivers for their Khorn clone or did they source them from EV or other manufacturer's?

I am going to look at a local pair of Speakerlab K's today at noon and I am curious as to who made the drivers for these things. I am also wondering if they could be outfitted with Klipsch drivers. I think I can get them really cheap and if the cabinets are nice I just may do so even though I have no real use or place for them.

Anyone know anything about them?

I found a little info on audioreview.com, some came with EV drivers and some with Speakerlab. One of the posters stated the Speakerlab drivers were better performer's than the EV's. He said the tweeters were better, but to stay away from the cone drivers. Any comments.

[3dzapper]

Most of the Speakerlab corner horns I have seen are equipped with square magnet 15" K-33 clones which are most likely made by Emminence, Atlas squaker drivers similiar to K-55s and EV T-350s. Since these were customer built, many from the plans alone, the individual's driver selection might be different.

Rick

[Frzninvt]

I would crap if they had the EV T350's in them, don't those sell for big money? I guess I'll find out in a few hours.

[3dzapper]

OhOh, one too many Os.( T-35 is more like it. Probably the ones PWK sent back to EV because they didn't pass his muster. Remember , PWK didn't talk too kindly about cheap Khorn copies. He didn't think that they measured up sonically with the genuine article and could give the real Khorn a bad name in the marketplace.

Rick

[DizRotus]

My '75 vintage Speakerlab Sk-Horns (4 used in mobile DJ bisiness) had woofers that looked like Eminence, but might have been manufacured by Speakerlab, the squawker drivers were Atlas (as were Klipsch) and the tweeters were EV T-35 (as were Klipsch). Nevertheless, Speakerlab used different drivers in various combinations at various times. It's difficult to predict what you might find.

[Marvel]

It's highly unlikely that they made their own. Most just sourced their drivers from a major player.

Marvel

[TBrennan]

Marvel----Woofers seem pretty easy to make, all the parts; cones, frames, surounds etc. can (or could) be bought from suppliers.

A few years ago I was in a little speaker business in Knoxville and the fella showed me his operation for making woofs.

[Frzninvt]

Well guess what, they had the equivalent of the EV T-350's in them! It looks like a much bigger T-35, I think it was the HD350 from the label on the back? The midrange driver looks identical to the spring terminal K-55V so it must be an Atlas driver. The horn is cast aluminum and it has 350 on it which I assume is the cutoff frequency.

I did not open the woofer bins but they probably have the W1508S woofers in them that look identical to the K-33 with the square magnets from what I have seen. I bought them and loaded them up in my minivan. I got them for a very good price I think.

They sounded good, deep bass response even though they were not sealed into corners.

[DizRotus]

Are they 4 ohm or 8 ohm? Do they use L-pads?

[Frzninvt]

They are 8 ohms, and yes there are L-pads to trim the midrange and the tweeter. There are also diodes in place on the tweeter L-Pad as they are required to protect the tweeter. I put my ear to all the drivers and they are working correctly.

[DizRotus]

At the right price theyre a bargain.

I used my four SKs (8 ohm, two per side powered by Dynaco ST-400) to deafen adolescents all over greater <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Detroit in 1975 and 1976.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

How about posting a picture when you get a chance?

I never had a chance to do a direct A/B comparison to real Khorns. Since you also have the genuine article, I'd be interested in your opinion after you've had a chance to listen to the clones for a while.

[Mark Hardy]

"At the right price theyre a bargain."

Isn't that true for pretty much everything? (with the possible exception of a used Yugo)

;-)

[D-MAN]

Speakerlab made them inhouse (way back when). They were 8 Ohms. They were therefore NOT a K33 knockoff. I know because I had some.

I also had a buddy that worked there for years.

DM

[mungkiman]

The midrange driver could be Atlas PD-4V, a much different animal than the PD-5VH.

Chris

[dodger]

----------------

On 4/27/2005 4:44:22 PM mungkiman wrote:

The midrange driver could be Atlas PD-4V, a much different animal than the PD-5VH.

Chris

----------------

PD-4V, PD-5V were not that far apart. PD-5VH definitely.

[WMcD]

Bruce Edgar had some harsh words for the Speakerlab woofer he tested. I saw one, can't tell if it was the same type, put probably so. It had a small magnet and a U shaped structure in the magnet area. So at least some of them were hardly equivalent to the K-33.

A buddy has a pair of SK. The tweeter is very much smaller than the T-35, though I understand a T-35 was an extra cost option. His has switched resistors instead of an L-Pad. A schematic I have for the SK show L-Pads.

The comments about PWK reject tweeters might be true. A long time ago I bought some T-35s from a catalog. They did not have any EV trademarks. My worry was that EV didn't even like them. OTOH, they tested about as well, or so, as some of the T-35 curves I've seen here.

I wouldn't put the SK on a par with the real McCoy. OTOH it has a lot in common.

Gil

[D-MAN]

I am referring to the driver used in the SK circa late 70's-early 80's. The examples that I've seen and owned in the past were superior performers, and I wish I had some today.

They had rather large square magnets (MUCH larger than the current K33E) and were 8 Ohm.

I have never read anything by Edgar where he wasn't bad-mouthing something or somebody if he couldn't make money from it.

Check out Fzninvt's post in General about the SK's that he picked up.

DM

[DizRotus]

----------------

On <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />4/27/2005 6:53:07 PM William F. Gil McDermott wrote: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I wouldn't put the SK on a par with the real McCoy. OTOH it has a lot in common.

Gil

----------------

I agree that they werent as good as the real McCoy, but at less than $400 each (1975) with free shipping, they were perfect for my purposes. Even PWK agreed (the one time I met and spoke with him) that it was better that I subject knock-offs to such abuse rather than his speakers.

The tweeters in my four SKs were definitely EV T-35s.

Using 300 watts /channel (into 4 ohms) of SS Dynaco power to play those four 8 ohm speakers at ear bleed levels earned me membership in the tweeter diaphragm of the week club. EV was kind enough to allow me to have an open account. Id fry a tweeter or two each week. A Monday telephone call to EV in Buchanan, Michigan would have the diaphragm(s) at my door by Thursday, along with an invoice for approximately $11.00/diaphragm.

[WMcD]

Here I have another debate with Q-Man. Smile.

The woofer I saw did not have a big magnet. Note I've been careful about what everyone is talking about. We may well not have seen or tested the same model.

I must defend Bruce Edgar. I met him once for an hour or so and have read his many articles. In my view his opinions were based on what he saw as the technical merits of the various subject matters.

E.g. the bass drivers he tested had Qts up around 1.0, to my memory. Dr. Small supported strong motor structures having low Q and he was following suit. I myself think that while low Q drivers are good for HF response, in theory, they are overdamped and this gets in the way of LF. It seems to me that is why PWK used something more moderate like the K-33.

It is true that Edgar makes his own horn systems these days (not then), and may have some strong opinions on how things should be done. I don't have any information which would lead to an inference that Edgar's reports of technical shortcomings were motivated by any commercial interests.

Gil

[TBrennan]

DM---Evidently you haven't read much by Edgar.