Belleman Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hello folks here at the Klipsch forum. Hope this newbie can drop in and join in on the vintage Klipsch fun. I picked my name here cause, well...I just snagged me a pair of pristine clean 1975 Klipsch Belles. Oh yeah!! (doing best end zone dance) The audio gods truly smiled upon me this time around. One will see such speakers on E Pay and the like but of course they are a million miles away and just typically to expensive to get. I watch my local craigslist though and dream. We are only a city of about a million so our craigslist doesn't always produce much in the way of fun audio stuff. Regardless I would look and look and look every night. Well as I was scrolling down and what did I see but this fellow selling his grandfathers 1975 Klipsch Belles. PERK! I immediately contacted the guy and to make a long story short, I went over to see them. They are mint guys! MINT! I was getting real sticky in the pants over this one I tell ya. These had been run all their lives on some Mac tube amps that this guys brother managed to get his hands on after grandpa's passing. For the past year they didn't get much use and the guy wanted to get the big ole box's outta his nicely decorated home. Hmmm OK let me help ya with this one LOL Best of all on this deal, I am trading out services equal to about 1,800 from my company. I'm liken it I tell ya. He had them hooked up to a lil solid scrape receiver and I listened to see if all the drivers were going. Sadly one of the tweeters was not but its my understanding that maybe Bob here can help me with this. I'm thinking also that I'll build me a new xover network for them both based on info from the ALK site. I'm brushing in broad strokes here but from what I have been reading on this site it sure seems like y'all are very helpful and can set me on the right path if I'm not already. I plan on driving these with 845 SET mono blocks. I can't wait to get them fully restored because I know they will sound saawwweeeet. Anyway, just wanted to pop in, say hi and see if I could make a few friends and contribute in some way to this site. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hello, Sounds like patience paid off here,your gonna love them espcially with tubes.Congrats! BTW,Welcome to the forum.There are some great people here,we dont always agree but that is half the fun.Also the knowledge base here is incredible. So you want to play,how deep is your pocketbook lol because after you read some of the mods here things get very tempting. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Where's the PICS!!!? Congratulations. The tweeter won't be much to fix, and then just listen to them for a while and get used to them. Then start the fixin' up. Don't empty your wallet all at once, just enjoy. You will want to eventually get the crossovers updated/refreshed/replaced, and the options are many. Just take your time. Sounds like you have been infected. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 congrats...nothing like jumping in with BOTH feet, eh??? Welcome to the club as well... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thanks gents, appreciate the positive vibes. Yeah, I'm gonna merely fix the tweeter for now and then just listen to them. I don't have the funds to do much else and my wonderful wife is being very understanding about these monsters. I don't want to push my luck here. So what is my best direction for tweeter repair? Would that be Bob here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 More pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 aaaannnnnd more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 and of course the label... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Belleman, Welcome to the Klipsch forum. Send me an email about the tweeter. Bob Crites bobcrites@centurytel.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Excellent find Belleman! I know you say you don't have much funds right now for upgrades, but I would suggest contacting Bob not only about the tweeter, but also getting direct replacement caps for the networks. I am 99.9% sure that the caps are well out of spec by now being that they are from 1975, and they do not cost much at all and are easy as pie to replace. Just my 2 cents. [] Oh yeah, and welcome to the club! [8-|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thanks for the .02 cents chops! And I'm 99.9% sure that you are absolutely right about the caps in the networks. It's something I certainly plan on doing once I get past this tweeter thing and my wife gets used to these disrupting her house. Sure appreciate all your input!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Congrats on the Belle's and welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me Loves Khorns Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hey, I'm new here too. I have put stuff on other threads about my opinion on upgrades, but... I just had new crossovers and tweeters put into my Khorns over the weekend. The difference was phenominal. Think about doing that. It really is a bargain and the outcome is, WOW. Call BEC, he can give you more info. Welcome from another newbee, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thanks Paul....Yup, I'll be doing the tweeters and upgrading some caps right away rest assured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Congratulations and welcome to the madness. You're starting with a pretty advanced model, one that is no longer manufactured. I'd get the tweeter repaired/replaced and just enjoy them for a bit. Make a careful study of the modifications that can be made to the Klipsch engineering before plunging headfirst into the abyss of 'upgradeitis'. You will be amazed at the sound you will hear from even these 30 years old beasts. There is plenty of time for changes later. Don't be in such a rush to tear apart your new toys. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Def Leper Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 You're getting great advice here. Bob Crites really helped me out with my 'garage sale' Cornwalls. I had one bad midrange diaphragm and the original crossovers. Bob rebuilt the crossovers to bring them back to original condition and sent a replacement diaphragm. You can always tweek later if you find something in the sound you don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Congratulations on your new speakers! I know that you will enjoy them. Michael has encouraged moderation in your plans to upgrade etc. I whole-heartedly agree with him. Certainly having a tweeter fixed is in order, or getting some new Solen (or whatever) caps and swapping them into your crossovers is appropriate. But you may want to then simply listen to your speakers and limit yourself to tweaking their position in the room etc. But by all means, listen, listen, listen. It is easy to do things that will make the system sound "different". However, it is sometimes difficult to discern whether the "difference" is actually an improvement. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Yes Tom, that is my point exactly. If and When you do decide to repair, modify,or upgrade capacitors or entire crossover networks, I think it's nice to have a good 'feel' for your Klipsch speakers first. Then - modify one- put them side by side- send them a mono signal at exactly the same volume- and LISTEN FOR YOURSELF what the difference is. Use several different sources over several days if necessary. Go ahead, give it a GOOD LISTEN! Then either return to factory parts or continue with the refurbishment. I won't say which I preferred in my single upgrade thus far but it was quite evident what the best solution was. (BEC didn't get his AA/A's returned to him, did he?) Everyone should listen for himself as our ears, rooms, and listening preferences differ. Anyone in the business of giving advice, engineering or manufacturing these modifications surely wouldn't begrudge you this. I'm not poo-pooing the idea of new or refurbished crossovers. What I'm not advocating is the rushed wholesale replacement of entire crossover networks without a thorough in-home listening test. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleman Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 Thanks Michael No longer manufactured but excellent no doubt. Anything less and I'm not sure I would have been happy. I've been living with nice MTM monitors with amazing highs from Raven ribbon tweeters. But they lacked the large woofer dynamics that really makes music just work. After hearing Bruce Edgar's stuff I REALLY wanted his Titans but the bank for that just isn't going to happen for a long time. My wife also is NOT happy about the large monster type of speaker as our home is smaller. She doesn't understand the requirements and the need. But I will have her understanding when I get these puppies tuned up and some of her favorite vinyl playing through the tube mono blocks. Oh yeah, she will understand real quick... Gonna fix the tweeters, listen a while while I read and read and read to find out what is my next best move for them. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and great info!!!! I'm gonna have me some fun, fun, fun in this forum I can tell ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundbound Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 Belleman, Do I see some musical instruments in the background of one of your speaker photos? I'm betting you play some of them. After you get your tweeter fixed record some of your live music and play it back through your Belles. You'll know exactly what it's suppose to sound like. You'll find out just how good they are! I have a good friend down my street who can play just about any instrument very well and owns many. He's very gifted in all areas of music. I go down to his house, he jams and records it unto CD. He usually lays down the bass track, drums, then guitar. He basically has a recording studio. I could not even begin to guess how much his equipment and instruments are valued at. We'll bring the CD to my house and listen to his just live performance still fresh in our minds and play it through my Klipschorns. It's like being back down at his house again with the live dynamics! It's a lot of fun. Main point being, is it live or Klipsch? Also, I bet a little oil will make those Beautiful Belles of yours shine up even sweeter. They look real nice! You did good and will get a lot of enjoyment out of them for years to come. Bob Crites is the man to deal with. I have dealt with him and found him to be first class in all areas. He really knows Klipsch speakers, his prices are very low and his stuff top notch! Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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