How different is the sound of early wood-horn Klipschorns and later versions?

[dnodee]

Say a pair of early ones locally and was wondering.

[CaptnBob]

The general impression I've had is that the wooden sectoral horn is a bit more natural sounding, but not as detailed or crisp as the later metal exponential horns. A lot of this may have to do with the quality of the University HA-SF driver as opposed to the later Atlas mushroom K-55.

A lot of folks like the sound of the earlier Tru-Sonic, Electro-Voice or Jensen woofers over the later K types too.

One area to watch for is the tweeter. Early Klipschorns used a University tweeter which PWK referred to as "sad." He was right. The EV T-35 - aggrandized by Klipsch as the K-77 - is a much better unit, at least after the mid-fifties redesign. It's relatively easy to swap them out.

Also, figure on spending some money to "freshen up" the crossovers. Some of the components will change value over time and will not let the speaker develop its full potential.

On second thought, early Klipschorns are terrible and should be avoided at all costs and exactly where did you say these were?[]

[Guest " "]

In the dope from hope k-400 article, the new k-400 horn was considered a major break through.

The article puts a lot of emphasis on improved lower mid-range, while reporting that a higher upper bandwidth was reached as well.

Looking forward to more details about these k-horns.

[Parrot]

Give us more details on the early ones you saw, Dean. A very early matched PAIR is a great find. Most sold as singles.

[TheEvan]

We babysat a lovely pair of early Khorns in piano black for a few years. They were 1955 and 1957, if memory serves. When the owners finally got the right house and picked up their speakers (along with their Mac 225/C22) I HAD to replace them, of course. I ended up with '77's. Immediately apparent was the improved bass on the newer set. The mids were a mixed bag: more clarity and definition, less smooth. The highs were more extended on the 77's as well. Both were wonderful, but for me the 77's won out. No telling what the results might have been were the crossovers freshened on the old pair.

[triceratops]

Dean,

This is an excellent question. Last year I purchased a second set of Klipschorns (1977's I think) for the expressed purpose of doing a shootout with my 1960 Khorns. I am still putting some finishing touches on the listening room, but when it's done I'm hoping to do some listening tests this winter.

I know that forum member Khorn51 thinks highly of the old wooden/composite mid horns. I also really like them aesthetically! Also there is no ringing with them at all, so no caulking to do (although some disagree with caulking the metal horns anyway).

It should be noted that whatever sonic advantages the metal horns may or may not have, they were much easier to manufacture than the wood/composite horns. I think the change was absolutely necessary for Klipsch to start making some larger numbers of Khorns by the mid 1960s.

Also note that anything on Khorns can be changed or updated relatively easily and just as easily changed back. If you prefer the sound of metal horns, a motorboard could be installed very easily along with some metal mid horns into any early Klipschorn.

On the other hand, it would be nearly impossible to find and install a set of wood/composite horns in a later set of Klipschorns. So I don't see any real negatives to having a matched early set of Klipschorns. And forum members will argue for crossover upgrades no matter what vintage of used Klipsch you have!

If you have your eye on the 1962 mahogany Khorns in NY talked about in another thread, they already have the EV K-77 tweeter so no upgrade needed there. I think those Khorns are a steal. I would love to buy them, but since I already have two pairs of Khorns (and a single) that would be very hard to justify. I can tell you if they were in my backyard I would not be able to resist--they are so beautiful and super rare!

Best in horns,

triceratops

[dnodee]

It's been a little while, but I think I've hammered out a deal with the owner of these. I gave him a deposit and will be picking them up sometime this week. I'll give details as I get them.