New (to me) KLH Model 5 Pair
- Thread starter rmoreau61
- Start date
rmoreau61
Well-Known Member
I'm ready to open one up and look inside at the crossover - probably one evening this week. I've been distracted by a mountain of crushed stone and a mountain of mulch demanding all my attention to be spread around.... I did take the time to hook up one of my "cured surround" speakers to listen to side by side with an OLA. I realize it's not a fair competition since the 5 still has the old crossover and no fresh seal to the cabinet. Regardless, the sound is closer in quality than it was. Bass is still less pronounced than the OLA, but overall there seems to be a more uniform distribution of sound across the spectrum. The OLA has a pronounced high end and low end. I'm hoping the renovated crossover will extend the overall range of the 5 while maintaining response across the spectrum. The OLA is lacking something in the middle in comparison. Surprisingly, I can listen to music with one of each without being distracted - they work well together (OLA on left, 5 on right). Those cabinets are so well constructed! I've been staring at the backs of each side by side and the KLH is nicely crafted. The Advent is great, but the KLH is nicer.
gbroot
Super Member
Keep in mind that the "fresh seal" to the cabinet is actually a sealant that is brushed onto the cloth surrounds. After many years the old sealant evaporates and leaves those cloth surrounds porous and leaking air. I just put the sealer on the surrounds of some 6's I just purchased and recapped. What a night and day difference in the LF's!
rmoreau61
Well-Known Member
I did reseal the cloth surrounds (as well as the woofer dust caps) and this slowed the woofer rebound. I plan to use mortite to reseal the woofers to the cabinets after updating the crossovers. I figure that may improve the seal a bit more. I completely agree that the cloth surround seals were nonexistent. The woofer cones popped out with no resistance whatsoever after pushing them in.
Was able to reacquire a pair of 5's a few days ago, after selling a pair foolishly a year ago. I really like these speakers, and currently am rotating them with my Cornwall II's. They've been recapped by previous owner, but he never resealed/redoped, so I used Parts Express gasket tape on the woofer seal, holes in the mid box and back of speaker. It's been my experience that unless the tweeters are out, the biggest difference in sound is resealing/redoping. I've also found that my best response is keeping them on the floor without stands.
Won't be selling these anytime soon.
Won't be selling these anytime soon.
ssmith3046
Super Member
I bought a restored pair several years ago and them with a Harman Kardon A500 Integrated tube amp. A really great speaker.
rmoreau61
Well-Known Member
I've gone through several Model 5 restoration threads, but I'm getting some details here that I just don't recall coming across. This is turning into "devil is in the details thread."
So, to recap (ar ar):
What I've done:
- Vintage-AR Cloth surround sealant (aka secret elixir) thinly applied (after dusting clean) to:
- Woofer surround
- Woofer dust cap
- Midrange surrounds (but not the midrange dust caps!)
What I have yet to do:
- Gaskets around level controls
- Deoxit level control contacts
- Wire entry into sealed midrange internal enclosures
- Re-seat drivers with Mortite rope caulk upon reinstallation
More detail to be added upon inspection (ex. look out for dual caps):
- Service crossover network
Not an exhaustive list since cabinet cosmetics is good.
- New KLH emblems (I haven't decided on this - there's a stealth aspect to them being badgeless)
So, to recap (ar ar):
What I've done:
- Vintage-AR Cloth surround sealant (aka secret elixir) thinly applied (after dusting clean) to:
- Woofer surround
- Woofer dust cap
- Midrange surrounds (but not the midrange dust caps!)
What I have yet to do:
- Gaskets around level controls
- Deoxit level control contacts
- Wire entry into sealed midrange internal enclosures
- Re-seat drivers with Mortite rope caulk upon reinstallation
More detail to be added upon inspection (ex. look out for dual caps):
- Service crossover network
Not an exhaustive list since cabinet cosmetics is good.
- New KLH emblems (I haven't decided on this - there's a stealth aspect to them being badgeless)
I would recommend this instead of rope caulk for the gaskets:
https://www.parts-express.com/parts...source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla
I used it for the mid box wire holes and the back terminal panel.
https://www.parts-express.com/parts...source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla
I used it for the mid box wire holes and the back terminal panel.
rmoreau61
Well-Known Member
Interesting. The picture looks like a similar material to the original sealing foam used to manufacture. Is there a reason for preferring this over the Mortite? I ask only because I have that lifetime supply from doing the OLA's....
Interesting. The picture looks like a similar material to the original sealing foam used to manufacture. Is there a reason for preferring this over the Mortite? I ask only because I have that lifetime supply from doing the OLA's....
My experience has been the tape is much easier and cleaner to deal with then caulk. When caulk dries it can be a real pain to remove. But plenty of folks use rope caulk too, so i suppose if you have a ton of it lying around I can see why you would want to use it.
tyella
Super Member
I've been using DuctSeal. It is softer than the Moretite (unless my Moretite was "stale") so I don't worry as much about deforming the baskets when I screw them down.
That foam looks nice and clean. No sticky hands. Maybe when I'm 108 and run out of DuctSeal I'll give it a try.
That foam looks nice and clean. No sticky hands. Maybe when I'm 108 and run out of DuctSeal I'll give it a try.
Has anyone had a problem with stripped woofer screw holes. My AR-2ax's have T-nuts. My KLH Fives do not and the cabinets are made of compressed wood chips (whatever it's called). I would try the new gasket material noted above but I wonder how many times you can remove the woofers without destroying the holes.
I highly recommend using T-Nuts. I use them all the time when dealing with an MDF cabinet. I would rather do it as a preventive measure instead of having a problem during final assembly.
c5corvette
Well-Known Member
Yours are later Models Fives with the pcb xover and square woofer magnets. Mine with new caps:
The baffles are particle board. There's several ways to fix stripped screw holes. T-Nuts as mentioned. With those, you'll need to drill the holes large enough for the threaded shafts to fit and the little barbs to bite the back surface. Once seated, epoxy them around the edges where the flat and barbs are to the baffles. This will keep them seated.
If the screw holes are just a little stripped, drip a little epoxy into the holes. The board will absorb it and the hole surfaces will be hard and the screws will bite and stay tight.
