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Just got a pair of '92 Klipschornsand they sound much better than my '78 Klipschorns and even paid less money for them


allsmiles

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I just got a pair of '92 Klipschorns. They have a better high end than my '78 Klipschorns. Is the AK-3 a better crossover than the AA crossover. Maybe it is just my imagination. I can't believe I got the '92's cheaper than the '78's. I must have gotten a great deal on the '92's. The wiring and the connectios look so much more beefy. I have a feeling that I am destined to upgrade the AA crossovers in the '78's. I am also giving thought to the CT-125's replacement. Is there a way to upgrade the connectors on the Klipschorns ???

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The AA crossovers could benefit from at least a rebuild. Most of the capacitors will be out of spec at least for ESR by now.

The voicing is somewhat different between the AK-3 and the AA. The difference is not what I consider huge once you have the AAs working back to spec, but the AK-3 does run the tweeter slightly "forward" compared to the AA.

Bob Crites

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Smiles,

The AK-3 IS a better network than the AA, by far. The AK3 actually has a proper woofer lowpass filter. The Tweeter filter is also an extreme-slope filter as well. The AK-3 still misses the boat on several fronts in my book, but I think it's the best network Klipsch has put in the Khorn. To better it I would suggest my AP12-AK3 which actually utilizes its woofer filter so you don't have to pop the woofer hatch. Combine that with my ES5800, which is very siimilar to the AK3 tweeter filter but provides the needed other half of the "diplexer" and you have a good constant impedance network and a true bandpass for the squawker rather then running it all the way to 20K! This is what the other half of the ES5800 gives you.

Al K.

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allsmiles

find your user ID at the upper right corner nex tot "Signed in as "

Once you click on it you will see the signature box, update it, and select save.

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I haven't made a final decision about placement of the new 2. The new pair is still in the Suburban. I am waiting for a cool day to get them out. I have not tried tube amps yet. I have had a recommendation to go to tube amp. Originally I was going to have all 4 in the same room but now I am thinking about putting the newest pair in the Master Bedroom if I can get them up the stairs.

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allsmiles,

Congrats on your 92 Khorns. As you observe, the 92's sound better than the 78's. I find your question about the AK-3 crossover sound relative to the AA most fascinating. I know that I prefer the type A over AA, but I haven't had the opportunity to compare my beloved type A to AL-3.

At the moment, a reasonable comparison is not possible since your 78's sound quality would be considerably compromised by the aging 28 year old caps.

It would be easy enough to use fresh caps in your AA crossovers to restore them to factory spec and find out what they really soutnded like then. That would make for an excellent comparison with the AK-3. And if you really wanted to have some fun, IMO, take the zener diodes out of the AA circuit to make it a type A and see how sweet that is compared to the AL-3.

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BTW: The "A" network is also better than the "AA". The tweeter filter in the AA is a cluge. It's a bad design. It's strictly a tweeter protector filter. The tweeter filter in the A is 1st order (a single cap). You just can't get that simple of a filter wrong! The only drawback to the "A" is that it's filter skirts are so gradual that major amout of out of band singals get through the filter as you turn up trhe volume. First comes distortion and then tweeter damage follows. You really got to crank on it for a long time before you actually do damage though.

Al K.

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I know that I prefer the type A over AA, but I haven't had the opportunity to compare my beloved type A to AL-3.

I am with DD on this one. I use low powered tube amps and I do most of my listening at low levels. Among A, AA, DHA and Jr's, As are my favorite.

I will be building a pair of As with V-caps. I would also like to hear As with Jensens sometime in the near future (any Type As with Jensens for sale, anyone?[;)]).

Kudret

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The Type A is the only filter I've heard that gives that 'all there' quality to the sound at low volumes. As far as actual sound goes -- it's my favorite too. Al is right though -- the speakers completely fall apart when you jack on the volume control. The nice thing about the filter is that things sound so good at the lower volumes you normally don't feel the need to shake the rafters loose. If you sit 12 to 15 feet away and your room isn't on the large side -- she'll let the speakers do 100dB cleanly. Other networks definitely sound better in that territory though.

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Kudret,

People like the "A" networks best at low levels becasue of the low isolation between drivers. They let a lot of energy through to drivers that are not supposed to get energy. These multiple sources generate a kind of artificial ambience that sounds pleasing.

My advice is forget the Jensen paper capacitors. They are just old high-loss technology. All that is is resistive losses. They just absorb the highs! Put an L-Pad in your tweeter for far less money and you will have the same thing! A Jensen paper in oil cap will measure a quality factor of about 200. An average polypropylene cap will be over 2000! That is ten times lower losses!

BTW: If you really want the 1st order sound, DeanG can make you a much better one than the "A".

Al K.

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Thanks, Al. I will stick with v-caps then. I did not know the reason why As sound better, but to me they are like using no rubber.[:D]

BTW: If you really want the 1st order sound, DeanG can make you a much better one than the "A".

I am interested. What is it?

Kudret

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