Guest " " Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 actually one of the dope-from-hope letters introduces the k-400 as an improvement over the horn used in the k-5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Wouldn't one have to put in new horns? And isn't $2700 a bit high for a VERY mis-matched pair with cabs that are allegedly not in good shape? I'm with you Lisa. I'm not drooling the least bit at $2700. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 It would be nice to have those mahogany cabs though. But I understand the m-7 finish is very dark. I'd want make them like rplace's which are stunning. I think Tom Mobley has M-7 finish on his but has been working to lighten them up? I'm still waiting to see the end of that project. Price is very high IMO. Different crossovers also? Gosh - there's an immediate investment right there. Then there's that funky grill cloth which might not float the boats of anyone who doesn't appreciate serious retro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 Yeah, they'll take a few $ to finish, but I'd sure like to have those wooden horns. This reminds me to call a friend in AZ who, when last we spoke, had been lusting for a pair of them. It seems to me one could sell the original University drivers and oddball tweeter and, if you shop right, replace them with better (more musical) alnico units and a matching T35 tweeter AND have some cash leftover. eBay the original stuff, which I'm sure would bring mega-$ if the seller's willing to ship overseas. As far as the crossovers go, I would guess they ought to be gone through anyway. You guys may be right; $2700 might be high. The lure of this old stuff for me, though, is making something so old sound so impressive, so I'd rather spend $2700 on these than on a newer pair in better shape with plastic horns or non-alnico drivers. But that's coming from a guy who's sold on the 300B SET curcuit, has interceonnects made from 1940's Western Electric cloth-jacket cables, etc... I dig the old stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 actually one of the dope-from-hope letters introduces the k-400 as an improvement over the horn used in the k-5. Someone probably also opined that the plastic horns, when introduced, were better than the metal ones, too, but your point is well-made. As far as collector's are concerned, though, dollars to donuts say these would command a higher price on the open market. Sadly, it's all academic to me... maybe I should ask if I can make payments on them (for myself)? I would seriously LOVE to have these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 BTW, there's a pair of ca. 1973 K-horns in Minneapolis on CL for $1900 if anyone's interested: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ele/155368838.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Someone probably also opined that the plastic horns, when introduced, were better than the metal ones, too, but your point is well-made. As far as collector's are concerned, though, dollars to donuts say these would command a higher price on the open market. Sadly, it's all academic to me... maybe I should ask if I can make payments on them (for myself)? I would seriously LOVE to have these things. The wood horns are sweet. As are those clear plastic Klipschorn name plates. The crapped up cabs and the ugly grill cloth scare me though. And I am one that usually appreciates the finer details of collecting original condition hi-fi gear. But I can't get past the pink grill cloth. Man, if you love 'em, you must find a way to get them! Can't you sell some of that 300B stuff to raise the dough. You probably have $2K worth of those tubes sitting around right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 [Man, if you love 'em, you must find a way to get them! Can't you sell some of that 300B stuff to raise the dough. You probably have $2K worth of those tubes sitting around right? Ha ha.. yeah right! I saved for ages to buy that amp, and the tubes are just run-of-the-mill Electro-Harmonix 300B's (2 of them). The kicker is that the guy who has them told me he'd trade a pair of Altecs with the fretwork grilles (Santiagos?) for them, and I had a pair of those (minus the grilles, but otherwise complete and near mint) that I had passed along a year or so before finding these K-horns. Stupid thing is, I have known of these speakers for ~10 years now. I could have made payment and had them by now! I really don't have the room for them, to be honest. I mean, literally, the room, as in the architectural size necessary to make them "bloom." My listening room is tiny (relative to these speakers, anyway). What I wouldn't give to hear these bi-amped with my 300B amp on the top-end and a decent 50WPC or so ss amp on the bottom. Yikes. I had a pair of Altec VOTs set up like that and heavily damped (to the tube of about 350lbs of speaker EACH!). Those things sang. Boy, do I miss them. They were trimmed in African bloodwood and had custom boxed for the 511 horns, which had the vertical fins cut out of them. The old green 802 drivers... oh, those were sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvette6769 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Often singles like these will sell for far less than $2,700.00 on eBay, like the 1953 that sold for $700 last November and the 1957 model that only bid to $404 in February and the other 1957 Klipschorn that only bid to 201.50 in January this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 Often singles like these will sell for far less than $2,700.00 on eBay, like the 1953 that sold for $700 last November and the 1957 model that only bid to $404 in February and the other 1957 Klipschorn that only bid to 201.50 in January this year. Wow... maybe I'll wait it out for some to appear elsewhere and try to steal a set that way! Did they sell at those amounts, or were they just bid to those amounts? I am convinced that someday I'll find a pair of these in the corner of a junk shop someday... kinda like when I found a McIntosh MC75 for $10 at an army suplus store (!) or a pair of JBL L36 cabinets with D131's, 075's, and crossovers, all mint, for $50 at a stereo shop (trade in special), etc... My brother scored a pair of Mac MC30's near mint, a Scott tube preamp, Ampex tube reel to reel, Thorens TT, and Karlson cabinets with University coaxial 15's in them for less than $20 total at an estate auction in IN. He sold that stuff off and damn near paid for a new roof on his house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvette6769 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 By the way, there is a single 1952 Klipsch K-5-J horn and tweeter assembly for sale on eBay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9727533347 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 With EBay, price is determined by the classic supply/demand curve, and there is a VERY small market to fuel demand in this case. This set will be a project, and only retains one of the three major factors in aiding vintage Khorn value - they do have original stock parts, tho not matching. They are not cosmetically all there, they have no special story tied to PWK, and the buyer probably would need to source matching guts to have a decent stereo match. The K5-J wood/fiberglass tophat is peakier than the modern version, falls off rapidly past 15Khz, and really is not 'a cat's meow' on the collectible scale, unless you are completing a vintage Khorn. All in all, I would fork at the $800 - 900 range on a good day, with room at the house and the wife with a new set of earrings already in hand. I think a pair like Tom Mobley's could fetch $2700 - but he has gone through them and made them perfect - and he picked them up for $1000 BIN off Ebay. The market could easily prove me wrong, but outside ten or so people in the US, a vintage project set of Khorns would be as welcome as a skunk in the house at almost 3K. Most folks struggle to get that for a perfect set of five year old Khorns that need nothing. I wish your friend luck on his sale, but the market is pretty soft at that elevation for these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 They sure bring back that tour through the Museum last year[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscmc1 Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 Thanks for all the input, guys (and gals!). I will pass along the word that $2700 is on the optimistic side; maybe he'll fold and I can get them on the cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvette6769 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Then again on the ridiculous side of things (at the cunning price of $$3,499.99 BIN - as opposed to $3500 which everyone would associate with $3500), there is the single 1954 eBay auction http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9724852467 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Yup. He's been trying to sell that thing at that crazy price for what seems like a year now. There was a single that sold for $475ish recently on Ebay. Walnut. I thought it would sell for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 He should put 'em up on eBay, $1 opening bid, no reserve, and let the market decide. Stop dickin' around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvette6769 Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 He should put 'em up on eBay, $1 opening bid, no reserve, and let the market decide. Stop dickin' around.[][][Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 fini said 'dickin' [][:$][^o)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Then again on the ridiculous side of things (at the cunning price of $$3,499.99 BIN - as opposed to $3500 which everyone would associate with $3500), there is the single 1954 eBay auction http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9724852467 that's what we in the biz call a 'cunning stunt'![][8-|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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