KT66 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Can any one confirm that the older 55-v driver is compatible with the more modern mid 90's khorn horn & xo. The 55-v has a grey bell cover ->> AlNiCo ?? k700 horn on offer too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 There should be no question about compatability of the K-55-V with the K-700. Here is the flyer for an old Heresy which shows them used together. As you may know there were several versions of the K-55-V. One has "push on" automotive type terminals. The other has solder terminals. The latter uses a two piece phase plug which is supposed to be a bit better. The -V is actually a rebranded Atlas driver. Best, Gil Heresy I Flyer.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT66 Posted February 18, 2006 Author Share Posted February 18, 2006 Gil I'm a bit confused, will the 55-v fit my '93 khorn horn - not a Heresy II horn or will the 55-v fit both horns? My 1993 Khorn mid drivers are ferrite so i'm considering the 55-v.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 The K-55-V is an Alnico made by Atlas. The K-55-M is a ferrite (or sometimes called ceramic) made by Electro-Voice. These both have the same type of spin-on throat coupling which is a short length of 1 1/8 inch threaded pipe. The K-400 (metal) and K-401 (plastic composite) (used in K-Horn), K-500 and K-501 (used in Belle), K-600 (used in Cornwall), and K-700 (used in Heresy (I) all will take the K-55 of any vintage. So the -V will fit on your K-Horn midrange. The 1 1/8 inch coupling is very much a standard and thus drivers by other manufacturers will fit on those horns. Further, those Klipsch drivers will fit on many non-Klipsch horns, e.g. the EV SM-120. I don't know very much about the Heresy II except what I see in the sales flyer. It uses a K-53-K driver but the flyer does not say anything specific about the horn or method of mounting. My guess is that it is not a 1 1/8 inch spin-on coupling but, rather is a plastic type bolt on. So the K-55 type will not work there. Someone on the forum can tell us with some certainty. There is still the question about whether crossovers used in old and newer K-Horns are compatable with the K-55-V and K-55-M. It is my understanding that the characteristics of the various crossovers and midrange drivers are similar enough that there will be little or no problem. Best, Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 K-53-K is indeed a bolt-on flange mount. The K-52-H is the same thing with a screw mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT66 Posted February 18, 2006 Author Share Posted February 18, 2006 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5868747790&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:UK:1 many thanks for that Gil. above link shows the thing on a Heresy horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 That's an early K-55-V on a K-700 horn using the industry standard screw-on mount. It will work in any Heresy I, K-horn, Belle, La Scala, Cornwall and maybe some of the Rebels and Shorthorns and with crossover changes in a Heresy 1.5 (~'82 to ~'86 models). The Heresy II used a different horn AND driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT66 Posted February 19, 2006 Author Share Posted February 19, 2006 Are the type AK-2 xo frequencies optimum for this older driver that used the older type AA xo ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 No. The AK-2 network is optimized for the K-55M driver, the K-55M driver also runs ~1.5db hotter than the K-55V you would lose midrange output if you ran the K-55V with the AK-2 network. Stick with the K-55M's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 I'm not so sure losing 1.5dB through the middle is a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 KT, There is much discussion over the years hear about favorite, and disfavored, crossovers. Much of it actually goes to the tweeter circuit. Of course this is all good natrured and I wouldn't want to make any enemes. It would be interesting to see the measured effects of all the different drivers and crossovers in an anechoic chamber. I've never seen it. Maybe the factory has, but they are not talking. A lot of crew experiments and some of those have strong opinions on the results. Please let us know what you find. FYI there are two contenders for the title of most sophisticated crossovers. One is ALK's Extreme Slope. You can build those yourself, or order from Al K.. The other is the AK-4 from the factory. No schematic is available and you pay big money. I like to point out that PWK liked the A type crossover of his own design. It is minimalist. In the midrange there is just one cap and the autotransformer. He bypasses the inductor in the woofer. The tweeter crossover is just a 2 uF cap. I do this to be mischevious! So, what is the sloop? Smile, Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorcoll Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 I have tried for many time the K55-V and the K55-M in my Khorns (with the AK-2) and definitely the K55-M is to prefer (without any doubt). So I have modified my other Khorns (AA xo) with the AK-3 and the K55-M and them sound fabulous now. Stay with the K55-M. Lorenzo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT66 Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 Interesting to hear that the newer 55-M drivers are to be preferred over the older 55-V. Somewhere in these threads, going back a while, vintage drivers were deemed more desirable on the grounds of quality and/or sonic performance or just foundless nostalgia- hailing from those halcyon days before bean counters took over engineering decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 One thing to remember is that the K-55M is a discontinued driver and there is no diaphragm made for it now. The K-55V is still in current production as the Atlas PD-5VH and has diaphragms readily available. To repair a K-55M, one has to modify a K-55V diaphragm. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT66 Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 Sobering thought that unavailability of K-55M spares!! What are current Herriatge's using? backward compatible ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Currently using the K-55X which is the same as the K-55V. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 I'm sure the K-55-M diaphragms will be available from Klipsch for a while. The current line uses a K-55-X, aka Atlas PD5-VH; back to the future! I once had one pair of La Scalas with type AA networks and the late, 2-piece phase plug (that gives more output between 4.5k and 6k and thus flatter to 6k) and a later pair with Type AL networks and K-55-M drivers. We have debated the -V vs the -M for several years around here, like Gil says, I could use them interchangeably in my La Scalas with ALK networks. I did not notice much diference in balance between them. The Type AL crossover is flawed and part of this equation, but I prefer the 2-piece version of the K-55-V to the -Ms. This version of the -V is known by its solder-terminal connections. The -Ms MAY be smoother, but somehow did not sound as real to me. FWIW, I also have a tendancy to like the sound of the -V and Type AA since that is the configuration I first heard in K-horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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