mace Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Long time since I've been around here. A few years back I ended up going with a Scott 299 and Cornwalls (after SS and KLF-30's) and was quite satisfied for a couple of years. A while back I was getting the bug to change something. I was debating getting a new tube amp - was thinking tube pre-amp with a SS power amp. Had a few emails with Craig and decided to wait a bit. I ended up getting some '78 K-Horns instead (had, and still have, '77 Cornwalls). I'd be very close to 100% happy with them if I hadn't paid too much..... won't get into that now. I need to do a little work to whip these into shape. First, I want to start with the guts. These K-Horns had been apparantly stored somewhere as evidenced by the bird droppings in one of the squaker bins! D'oh. Plus, the crossover components are quick darkened (my Cornwall crossovers are shiny as new). Crossovers: Please look at the attached picture. Are there any components which should be replaced? I see that ALK, DeanG and BEC are into the X-over business. I can do the soldering but just need advice on what (if anything) should be replaced. Drivers: The drivers visually look OK and the woofer bin looked pristine on the inside (I removed the little door). However, if my theory is correct that my Cornwalls were better taken care of (no temperature extremes which the KHorns might have experienced) then then the drivers might be in better shape. I know that humidity and temp swings can distort, corrode things. Is there any sort of testing I could do? I have access to a tone generator, mic, waveform analyzer, voltmeter. Outside looks: For a later date. More on the Cornwall-KHorn comparison to come. Thanks much, Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Mace, You just need to replace the caps. Two 2 uF and one 13 uF on each crossover. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Congrats, Mace. After having done the Legend and Reference series, my Heritage experience started with Cornwalls and then progressed to Belles and finally to Klipschorns. In my opinion, you will enjoy your Klipschorns. Drivers? Absent determining that some of your drivers are not working, they should be fine. If you need any diaphram, Bob does that (BEC), and he does a nice job. Crossovers? Geez, those look like my old AAs from my 77 Belles. Lots of different advice about crossovers in here. Some say freshen up the capacitors to bring them up to spec first (BEC). Others suggest aftermarket improvements. I've done both. It depends on how loud you like to listen to your speakers and what preamps and amps you plan on running them with. If you listen to music at low to moderate volumes with tubes, I'd say that a freshened set of As (like your AAs but without the tweeter crap) from Bob would do you nicely. Or as Bob just posted, just freshen up your caps. If you also crave better performance at higher volumes (and the ability to attentuate the squawker horn)(and give you some flexibility with SS), then you might want to look up one of Al Klappenberger's aftermarket crossovers (www.alkeng.com). To my ears, Al's universal replacements are tough to beat (cost/performance ratio). But, at the minimum, freshen up your caps on your crossovers. Again, congrats. Listen to them and enjoy for awhile. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Mace, Is that cane grill cloth I see peeking through the board? Don't be shy, let's see 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Congrats on the Khorns and good luck with the restore. If you want to save money, DO NOT listen to a pair of Khorns with either Dean's or Al K's crossovers. You'll never be satisfied with stock again, refreshed or not. Might as well get those up to spec, see what you think and go from there. And yes, better pictures would be nice. Beat or not, we don't care.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 Thanks for the replies! I will get ahold of some caps and start from there. Here is a shot from the back, he was too shy to show his face... Crowbar was for prying off the bass bin door.... it was quite determined to stay on. I was extrememly careful and used a t-shirt around the tip of the bar and went very slowly and eventually it opened up. I don't think it had ever been opened before. Another question: The tag lists these as KC-BR. From the tribal knowledge I've gathered here these are Birch raw. However, they seem rather finished. Can I assume that they were not finished at Klipsch but by some previous owner? Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 The lowly woofer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I myself wouldn't give those drivers a second thought. I would however make sure all connections to each driver and to the crossovers are nice and snug. In fact on the terminal block of the crossover loosen and re-tighten them a few times this will make sure you clean off any oxidization that has formed at the connections. Crossovers.........you can do many things here but I would suggest you start small and just update the existing AA networks. I would highly suggest you use top quality audio grade caps. Since your going to do the work yourself why not splurge on the parts! Dean is enamored as of late with oil impregnated V-Caps www.v-cap.com. Like Bob informed you 1- 13uf and 2- 2uF per crossover is required. In case your not sure what is what the large metal canisters on your AA's are the caps. In the mean time hook them babies up and listen to them as is!! They will still sound darn good. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Dont forget to seal the tailboard to the corner with pipe foam,,,also seal top part of bass binn edge to wall to.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Congratulations on getting the BIG BOYS. Hey you live in my state too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 When taking off the bass woofer door, Its obvious that the finish was done after leaving the factory. THat portion would not be left un stained.....If front needs touch up, just leave alone for now & enjoy the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 LOL - I've been waiting for a pic of the fronts, but all I see are the backs/guts. How about some beauty shots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Nice Score that I hope you enjoy for many years. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Looks like raw birch with a finish on it. If you can still see the plys on the edges, they haven't been veneered. Looks like a stain was put on by a prior owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 They look like a very good buy, Mace. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Roland Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 What a great looking pair of K-horns! Congratulations on scoring these beauties! George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace Posted December 27, 2006 Author Share Posted December 27, 2006 I am enjoying the Klipschorns tremendously! Very nice. It must be said that they are a step up from the Cornwalls but not a quantum leap or anything. The Cornwalls really hold their own. The K-Horns seem brighter to me, more upper mid-range and tweeterage. The K-Horns bass is also different, and, according to my response curve measurements, a huge drop below 80 Hz. However, this could be listening position related... the bass sounds fuller a few meters back from where I normally listen. I'll have to see if the measurements are the same at that spot. Replacement Sonicaps are on order from Bob which I'll drop into the AA networks. Will this help tame/smooth out the upper ranges? I'm using a Scott 299A revII tube amp (given a very nice go over by Craig). My typical listening levels are 95 dB max, mostly below 85 dB. Once in a great while I'll crank it up a bit more. So, I'd say low to moderate listening levels are the norm, so I'll stick with freshened up AA networks for now. Thanks for the input! When the caps get installed I'll clean up all connections, thanks Craig. Sealing with tube insulation has been done... I did that to one speaker almost right away.. I can't do the other one because of our Christmas tree! To my ears, when comparing just that speaker before and after I couldn't hear much of a difference. It seems the response curve didn't change much either... 2 dB or so which is within the measurement error with the RS meter IMHO. <a href="http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/845856.aspx">See my other thread</a> for discussion on the merits of the RS SPL meter... I haven't jumped into the rope caulk on the squaker yet.. I think I'll stay away from that for a while. There was a good post from HDBRBuilder on how to test for squaker ring which I'll maybe do someday. Cane grill cloth? I really don't know.... can anyone tell what type of grills these have? Yes, the K-Horns are still a bit shy.... Thanks much, Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Mace! You are playing peek-a-boo with your pictures. How about some full frontal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 I suggest after the holidays you beg or borrow a high powered amp and blow that Xmas tree out of the way LOL!! Mace no thanks ever required!! But thanks [] Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsched with Yamahas Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Yup, they look like cane grills to me.....[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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