KLH Model One(s) and Janszen 1-30(s)

RxDx

Speaker collector
Subscriber
I've been watching this auction for a month. It even came up on
CL, because they were stored about twenty minutes from me. I
couldn't believe no one mentioned it.

So I finally pulled the trigger. There are some issues right off the
bat. One of the tweeters needs some electrical work. That isn't a
shadow on the transformer on the right- it's a burn mark. The
grilles need some help. But I'm stoked.

One of these is serial number 002, presumably the second
production speaker KLH built. It looks handmade, even to the
ID plate on the back.

So now the refurb begins. I'm really curious to see how these
will sound against the AR3a. Call me Mr. Bass Extension :)

klh1.jpg klh2.jpg klh3.jpg klh4.jpg
 
The big Kahuna. 85 lbs and 4.5 cu ft. Pretty inefficient, I'm finding,
but it puts sonic pressure in the room at 18hz. Nothing else I have gets
within 10hz. Looking forward to getting the Janszens online.
 
I have an industrial pair. Black cabinets & metal grills over the woofers instead of cloth. Oddly, they dont have the 'shelf' for the tweeter arrays. The arrays just sit on top. Unlucky me, i have mismatch arrays. One klh array & one electrostat array. Been searching for a match of either since purchasing them. I wonder if mine were used for sound reinforcement in a theater or music venue. I miised an auction for some z600's recently (could've ripped the stats out). Are yours the ones that were for sale near maryland...or maybe virginia? I started to jump on em...but xmas isn't being light on my pockets.
 
Yep, the U version came w/o the shelf.

Yes, these were/are in Virginia. Thanks for letting me at them :)
 
Might as well post these here. I haven't seen these instructions
anywhere else.

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docs (1).jpg
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I will note that the terminal plate on the back of speaker 002 is pictured at the
top. It is not the same as the diagram shown in page four of the brochure.
 
Wow......beats the orphan klh 6 i used to have - serial # 0066

That is a museum piece...incredible !

Hopefully its just a lead wire that got burned out.....
 
What a find! Like finding dinosaur bones! What's the serial number on the 2nd cab?
Those deserve a complete restoration, museum pieces indeed!

I'll be following this project!

Congrats, Glenn
 
Yep, the U version came w/o the shelf.

Yes, these were/are in Virginia. Thanks for letting me at them :)

Your're welcome, buddy! The guy had them listed cheaper once before and the auction ran out. I bet someone clued him in on what he had, because the second time around they were a couple hundred more (more accurately priced for what they are).

Thanks for the info. It's hard to find any info on these. The 'net runs you around in circles with the same couple of good links.

I'll be following with interest to how yours come out. Your efforts should inspire me to pull mine out of the corner :)

Oh yeah..keep the pics coming as you go through them!
 
Wow......beats the orphan klh 6 i used to have - serial # 0066

That is a museum piece...incredible !

Hopefully its just a lead wire that got burned out.....

If you mean the Janszen, no it's components. I'm busy digging through 10 years of hit-and-miss comments re: repair. It's just a little above my comfort zone presently, but I'm not ready to dig into these yet. I'm still diggin' the woofers. They positively move the rafters at volume. I recorded 120 db at one point, and that's not all they have.


What a find! Like finding dinosaur bones! What's the serial number on the 2nd cab?
Those deserve a complete restoration, museum pieces indeed!

I'll be following this project!

Congrats, Glenn

Thank you! I want to do that kind of resto. Fortunately, the cabinets are solid and have very little exposed finished areas. The sides are veneered, but they're painted black.

The second cabinet is serial 659.


Your're welcome, buddy! The guy had them listed cheaper once before and the auction ran out. I bet someone clued him in on what he had, because the second time around they were a couple hundred more (more accurately priced for what they are).

Thanks for the info. It's hard to find any info on these. The 'net runs you around in circles with the same couple of good links.

I'll be following with interest to how yours come out. Your efforts should inspire me to pull mine out of the corner :)

Oh yeah..keep the pics coming as you go through them!

Nice guy (not being sarcastic). He had them listed at $375 on ebay, but wouldn't go quite that low in person. Whatever. I'm comfortable with the price. These are already the, or one of the, centerpieces of my collection.

I hear you about the dearth of information. I only saw one other pair (suip), and he posted 9 years ago.

So, on that note, a few more visual aids.



Here are the grilles. The second picture is the slot the grilles slide into, up
from the bottom. They were then stapled, glued AND nailed in. I had to
hurt the second one to get it out. Both probably have to be rebuilt anyway,
since the fabric has shrunk just enough that they won't cover the frames.

grilles.jpg
grille_slot.jpg



Here's the schematic, and a shot of the terminal plate in 002- no components
at all. The plate on the back is a confused mess. But the effect is that each
woofer can be driven individually on this box. #659 doesn't allow bi-amping.
But that would be an easy modification.

schematic.jpg
002_terminal_plate.jpg



Here's #002 open.

002_open.jpg



This is #659 and the tweeters. Enjoy!
659.jpg
 
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What condition is the surround sealer in? They may benefit from a reseal as almost all KLH woofers need to be resealed after all these years.
 
Hadn't gotten to that, thanks. The surrounds seem to be in quite
good shape. They aren't dry, but not sticky. The cones don't have
that totally-sealed-in-the-box response, though, when I push them
in. So I'll be tightening up the cabinet joints, speaker mounting,
and surrounds.
 
Some updates:

Some required mobility. The slot for the grill can be seen on the right.

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Strange finish. Sides are painted black apparently, but the paint comes off with little
more than rubbing. The long scratch came with the purchase. The bigger area was
scraped off with a fingernail. I know what I'd like to do, but I'm not sure how much
effort it's going to take.

scratch3.jpg
 
Yeah, the wheels will come in handy! Still waiting for some in-depth listening impressions from ya too.

Just curious...have you run into any other audio enthusiast in the area (I'm in waldorf, md)? It would be cool to get some sort of community going around these parts. I talk about my 'obsession' with the guys at work & they're like, "I got some Bose speakers that sound good"...lol....I guess Bose and portable bluetooth speakers are good enough for them :)
 
Listening impressions:

If this is Kloss' first effort after leaving AR, then it's got to be some kind
of response to the AR1. I don't have 1s, but I do have two pair of AR3a,
and one pair has the older, AR3 cloth surround woofers (with, of course,
the newer 3a mids and tweets).

All this to say there are passages on music I currently play- have heard
many times- where the depth of bass is startling. However, it's not boomy,
at least in their current position (3 feet out from the wall). And they will get
really loud without any effort at all, which means no distortion that I can
hear. The sound is tight all the way to the bottom- no apparent bloom. It
will take more time to try other room placements. I'd like to compare them
directly to the 3a, but that may not happen right away. The 3as are in the
next room, mounted at the ceiling.

ceiling2.jpg

I think the KLHs go a little deeper than the 3a, but I haven't
listened enough yet to really tell. They are definitely less efficient than the
AR3a, 2ax, and 2 (and anything else newer- OLAdvent, KLH Model Four,
etc). All of those I can compare directly, since they're in the same room.

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Visible in this shot are some Stromberg mids and tweets I set up
while I'm preparing to work over the Janszens. More to come.
 
re: other enthusiasts: I've been pretty much on my own here. Most of
my speakers have come through thrift stores. The KLH Fours were in
N. Carolina, and two pair of ARs were on Craigslist. So I'm not much
help...

My wife is like "I live with a guy who collects speakers". Most of my other
friends think "That's nice..." :) and are indeed happy with the phone
speaker or the car stereo.
 
Quite a collection there!
Reminds me of my cave! I did thin the herd a bit as it was getting to be too much, not enough room!
My problem, I'm always scanning for speakers!
 
I hear ya. I scan, too, but the herd is going to thin out from here.
I'm pretty much done with sub-10" speakers. More likely I'll just
be replacing by upgrading :)
 
Thanks for the instructions RxDx, I've got a pair of model two's and this is great to see. Your model one's are fantastic and well worth giving the full treatment. I've been doing some research on the one, two's and threes also, from what I've seen the one's came out in May/June of 1957 and the two's and three's in August of 1957. Most info you read on the net says 1958. By the way, what serial #'s are your Janszen 130.
 
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