Rectilinear Highboys and KLH MODEL TWENTY-THREEs In da House!

The Twenty Three's will definitely benefit from the recap. The hugs are very good on them. Do the surrounds sealer, put on a favorite album or CD, crank it up, sit back and enjoy! Oh, is that a shit eating grin I see?


In what may be the slowest speaker restoration in history, I finally got around to recapping the crossovers in the KLH Model Twenty Threes tonight.

Here's the before (with the notorious Temple 4uF cap):

KLH_23_Crossover_Before.jpg


Here's the replacements:

KLH_23_Crossover_After.jpg


3.9uF ClarityCap PX bypassed with a 0.1uF Vishay-Roederstein MKP1837.

That has to be the simplest crossover I have ever recapped.

Too late to listen to them tonight. Gives me something to look forward to tomorrow.
 
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It's amazing how good these sound with such a simple crossover.
Let us know how they sound.
 
Looking good MCM. I was wondering what was taking so long on the 23's since they take about 30 mins to do.
 
Looking good MCM. I was wondering what was taking so long on the 23's since they take about 30 mins to do.

I moved twice in the 11 months since I got them, changed jobs, am working 6 days a week and have 6 other projects in the queue. So, I get to things when I can. At this point., I'm getting all the "inside" work (crossovers, refoaming woofers, etc.) done on half a dozen different pairs of speakers so I can start the "outside" work (refinishing cabinets, new grill cloth) when the weather turns nicer.

I typically sand down to bare veneer and apply a new finish, but these KLH Model Twenty Threes may be good candidates for some Howard's Restor-a-Finish. I may give it a try. If I don't like it., I can always sand it off and apply a new finish later.
 
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Pppffffftttttt... "slacker" ;)

In keeping with my "slacker" reputation, I FINALLY got around to installing a NOS Philips 2422 255 85002 midrange that even has the same date code as the defective original. Listening to them now and working my way through my reference standards: MoFi Supertramp - Crime of the Century, Boston - S/T with "Wally" in the deadwax. Spinning Steely Dan - Aja AB1006 now.

I have to say, even spaced relatively close, they image quite well. With all those tweeters and super tweeters plastered all over the front baffles, you'd think they would be a muddled mess, but they aren't. I think part of that may be those Philips mids that handle so much of the frequency spectrum n this design. I think if really anchors the stereo image and the tweeters and super tweeters just add a little space and shimmer to the highs.

I'll post more tonight, once I've had a chance to listen some more.
 
Ok, here's the details...

I swung by Ace Hardware on my way home and picked up a 2.8 oz. tube of GE Silicone II:

51Ogt1R8rTL._SL1000_.jpg


After reading terrible online reviews for less expensive "silconized" adhesives, I decided to spring for the $5.99 GE stuff.

The hardest part of replacing the midrange was removing the original. The original silicone did it's job and did it well. They weren't going anywhere! It took lots of cutting away of the original white silicone adhesive and prying with an plastic automotive trim tool, but I finally broke it free.

I first glued the new driver to the front of the baffle:

Rectilinear_Mid_Replacement_Front.jpg


I let it cure overnight and then flipped over the baffle, soldered the lead wires to the new driver and then used the same white GE Silcone II to reattach the infamous 1 qt, deli container.:

Rectilinear_Mid_Replacment_Back.jpg


I'm currently listening to a 1970 UK pressing of Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water. Sounds great. These are fun speakers. Way undervalued on my local craigslist. I may have to keep these given how little they'd actually fetch locally. It would be hard to replace them with anything that sounds better for less than 2x what I could sell them for. Plus, they also look pretty cool.
 
I have to say, even spaced relatively close, they image quite well. With all those tweeters and super tweeters plastered all over the front baffles, you'd think they would be a muddled mess, but they aren't. I think part of that may be those Philips mids that handle so much of the frequency spectrum in this design. I think it really anchors the stereo image and the tweeters and super tweeters just add space and shimmer to the highs.

I’m no expert, but completely agree with this.
 
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