KLH Model 5 vs Model 6

[johnnyboy70]

I'm giving my cherished KLH Model 6's a rest for now. A audio friend of mine just loaned me his Model 5's and I'm blown away. Didn't realize it would sound too different. A lot more lush IMO. I guess it has something to do with being a three way of course. I'm surprised the Model 6's get all the attention and not much on the 5.

 

[mfhale]

The Six was sold for a LONG time, so there are lots of them out there. I suspect that's one reason the Five gets less attention.

In addition to the mids, the Five's woofer is quite a bit more robust. Add the bigger cabinet and you're getting more bass as well.

 

[johnnyboy70]

The Six was sold for a LONG time, so there are lots of them out there. I suspect that's one reason the Five gets less attention.

In addition to the mids, the Five's woofer is quite a bit more robust. Add the bigger cabinet and you're getting more bass as well.

Do you know what year the Model 5's were made? Guessing 68? Before Kloss went onto Advent. Not the most efficient speaker

 

[day67]

Enjoy them! .......and when you change out again to the 6's you won't be dissapointed either. The 5's are wonderfull. The midrange drivers seem to me to be a little weak. Wish they were more aggressive. The woofers are deceiving. A drop in fit to a model 6! Same size is what I mean, only the 5's have a larger magnet (and likely other specs). Great speakers!

 

[audiojones]

Do you know what year the Model 5's were made? Guessing 68? Before Kloss went onto Advent. Not the most efficient speaker

'67 to '73 IIRC. Great speakers, but very expensive when new. The Six was a great value for the dollar and sold like hotcakes, also as mentioned was around longer than the Five. Another unsung hero in the KLH lineup is the Model Twenty-Three which is basically an upscale version of the Model Six, and it's KLH's best two way speaker. Same woofer and tweeter as the Model Five, slightly larger cabinet. Tremendous bass response and clear, smooth and natural sounding mids and highs.

 

[Wolverine]

I have not heard 6's but I am a big fan of 5's. I have a near mint pair that I had the X-over's rebuilt because they had gone bad and the tweeters were not working. Even without the tweeters working I had heard enough of the 5's to let go of my OLA's.

It seems there was a little break in period for the new crossovers but now they are just a great sounding speaker. All areas are very smooth and they can handle all types of music.

 

[mfhale]

... Even without the tweeters working I had heard enough of the 5's to let go of my OLA's.

I had a similar experience with my Model Six. Once I re-capped them, my NLAs and Polk Monitor 10s went away.

As an experiment, I replaced the original woofers with Model Five woofers - bad idea. The bass is now overwhelming.

 

[icenine]

I have a very beat up orphan Model Five in my garage patiently waitng for its' partner...the tweeter does not work but when I tested it I could still tell how nice a speaker this is....seems almost West Coast sounding but perhaps the dead tweet was causing me to think thus

 

[awise1961]

I have both the Model 5's and 6's (as well as 12's) and like them both.
The three way Model 5's image better overall and I agree that their bass response is very good indeed.
Mine are totally restored using Dayton 1% caps and new wire wound resistors.
I also silver soldered all of the wire to wire connections instead of the cheap plastic wire nuts that KLH used.

Al. Wise

 

[johnnyboy70]

I'm a huge Henry Kloss fan. Think all my speakers are mostly Advent and KLH. So all you guys think that the Model 5 is superior speaker to the OLA's? Just curious as I love my OLA. Got them paired with my Sansui amp. Maybe I'll swap them out for awhile. I'm driving the Model 5's with a Sansui 9090db. I'm sure it would like some tube power

 

[day67]

mfhale, Ah ha! I wondered about that. The thought crossed my mind more than once to swap out the woofers but I never did.

 

[HTHMAN]

Do you know what year the Model 5's were made? Guessing 68? Before Kloss went onto Advent. Not the most efficient speaker

From my research, both were introduced in 1958, but they continued the 6's for about 15 years. Quite a speaker for the price and it spurred many wannabe copiers.

 

[audiojones]

From my research, both were introduced in 1958, but they continued the 6's for about 15 years. Quite a speaker for the price and it spurred many wannabe copiers.

Actually the Model Five from the 50's was a completely different speaker with the same model number. Not sure why they felt compelled to use the same number again since they have nothing in common with each other.

 

[Wolverine]

I'm a huge Henry Kloss fan. Think all my speakers are mostly Advent and KLH. So all you guys think that the Model 5 is superior speaker to the OLA's? Just curious as I love my OLA. Got them paired with my Sansui amp. Maybe I'll swap them out for awhile. I'm driving the Model 5's with a Sansui 9090db. I'm sure it would like some tube power

Your personal preference is what matters most. I thought the OLA's had slightly better bass but the 5's did everything else a bit better. Some speakers match better with different sources so it is never a bad idea to switch things around just to see if you find better synergy.

 

[jlovda]

OK, I am not a member of the OLA club. What are OLA's?

 

[Wolverine]

OK, I am not a member of the OLA club. What are OLA's?

Original Large Advents which are slightly different than NLA's or New Large Advents.

 

[HTHMAN]

Actually the Model Five from the 50's was a completely different speaker with the same model number. Not sure why they felt compelled to use the same number again since they have nothing in common with each other.

I stand corrected. You are right. The later 5's were from 1968-72. 3-way with 12" woofer.

 

[SimplySound]

OK, I am not a member of the OLA club. What are OLA's?

I'm guessing "Original Large Advents"?

I have a pair of Model 32's that I've had since I was a teenager (guess that says how old I am). I'm looking at some Model 5's now and might take a plunge.

Couple picts of the 32's.... pretty much all original except I redid the grill cloth way back when.

 

[ymarko]

KLH Model Five 1968-72. $470 at that time. I think they are TOTL (Top of the Line).
Walnut veneer cabinets (very beautiful front bevel, much more beautiful then other KLH speakers).
3-way, 12” woofer (11" nominal), two 5" mids & a 3" tweet. 75 RMS/90 watts peak. 8 ohms impedance. 86dB @ 1 watt.

Should be much less common then 2-way KLH Six (for the reason already mentioned).

The only one thing that puzzle me is why eBay values of KLH 5 (and 6) do not reflect their quality? They should be highly collectible, but I don't see much demand.

 

[rmeade]

The only one thing that puzzle me is why eBay values of KLH 5 (and 6) do not reflect their quality? They should be highly collectible, but I don't see much demand.

My guess is that the number of people that fondly remember KLH as offering quality products (back in the day) is small. This is just a matter of the demographics of the baby boom generation. KLH stepped out of the market (offering quality products) when Kloss and his team moved on (by 1969 -72). The other product lines that demand a premium today (Dynaco, JBL as examples) grew into (mass market) prominence in the mid to late 70s ... when the baby-boom generation came to maturity.

It is all about the numbers.

I do not have tubes, but have read here time and again that KLH speakers excel when they are powered by tubes. So there might be a real technology performance issue.