KLH Owners...5 or 6?

Cathead45

Member
Has anyone done a side by side between a model 5 vs. model 6? I have a pair of 5s and a chance to get a very nice pair of 6s (not cheap). Your opinion is appreciated.
 
Owned both for several years, and even ran them side by side in my workshop for a year.

The Fives are still here, in a secondary system. The Sixes were sold to a friend. Both were refinished, new grills and cloth on the Sixes. Both were recapped, with resealed woofer surrounds and new gaskets on all drivers.

They sound different, with the Fives going lower and having a fuller sound, while the Sixes had a punchier sound. Both are quite enjoyable.

I did not really choose to sell one vs the other; my friend just kept pestering me about the Sixes, we are slowly thinning our possessions in preparation for a downsizing of our home, and I have more systems and speakers than I will be able to use after we move to smaller quarters.

So, I let them go. They were fun, and I enjoyed making them look and sound like new again, but no regrets. My tastes have moved to more modern speakers over the past 5 years or so.

If pressed, I would probably say that I preferred the Fives, but not by much. The Sixes do seem to have a slightly cleaner, more linear sound. With some recordings, the Fives can get just a bit congested sounding...but their low end and better power handling make up for this.

Note that if you end up seeking Sixes, the first versions are very difficult to work on, due to the permanently-fixed, basket-less woofer.
 
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Fives will better take advantage of higher end upstream components. Just more to it.
 
Definitely the Model Fives over the Sixes. I'd choose the Model Twenty-Three over the Sixes as well. Owned and compared all of them at the same time, liked the Six but found it a little harsh in the upper midrange. Twenty-Three was very smooth and had a great midrange presence without tending towards harshness (plus great bass extension). Fives do all of that and more with better high frequency response. That's not to say the Six is disagreeable, it's quite nice but the Model Five is a better sounding speaker overall IMO. The Model Twenty-Three is by far my favorite KLH two way speaker FWIW. I still have my Fives, never letting them go again. I had to let the Twenty-Threes go due to space limitations but if I had the room I'd buy another pair.
 
The 5's were my favorite of KLH's dynamic speakers before I got a set of 12's. And I agree that the 23's are the best of their 2-way offerings. I've owned 5's, 6's, 12's, 17's, 20's, 23's and 33's.

Dave
 
Thanks for the input. Based on much valued information I think I will pass on the 6's at this point. My 5's did sound wonderful and are sitting in the closet while our local speaker guru is recapping the crossovers. I sealed the cloth surrounds and removed the corks and filled the holes with putty and put aluminum duct tape over that to keep things in place between the mids and the main compartments. I also removed the foam gaskets and used rope putty to seal all the speakers. After the crossovers get put back I will rope seal the woofers. I have a pair of mint model 17's that I have been using and have come to enjoy the sound albeit somewhat short on the lows but the highs are nice. I have them sitting on a pair of Jensen 3-P/3 four ways that have a low end that dips deep. They make an enjoyable pair while I patiently wait. Thanks again.
 
I agree with the prevailing opinions Model 6 - very good; Model 23 a little better; Model 5 -best of the three. I would be happy to live with any of the three.
 
I'm with everyone else on this one. I still have the Fives and Six's. Twenty Three's were sold only because of the sentimental history to my Sixs. I loved all three and could live with any of the three and be happy.
 
My everyday speakers are AR 3a's, but I have a nice pair of restored Five's, and today rotated them in. I'm happy to say that they are every bit as enjoyable as my 3a's. A little less bass response(but still great), but a little more air on top. And they match up really well the McIntosh MC2105 amp. All in all, an extremely enjoyable listen.

I have 2 pairs of early, untouched Model Six's that I haven't used in awhile, and plan to get them into the mix also.
 
I agree with the above opinions.
Eye appeal, I think the 23's are the best looking then the 5's.
Just sayin........
 
I agree with the above opinions.
Eye appeal, I think the 23's are the best looking then the 5's.
Just sayin........

For whatever reasons I could never get the 23's to sound as good as the Six's or 5's. I had high expectations of them being the "Six on steroids" as I'd heard so many times but it never panned out for me. But yes they do look nice.
 
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