Tell me about Karlson speakers

What to do with this cabinet

  • Find an original mate

    Votes: 7 36.8%
  • Build a mate

    Votes: 10 52.6%
  • Send it to someone with tin ears

    Votes: 2 10.5%

  • Total voters
    19
RJ cabinet for 15". The board the driver is mounted on is about 1" back from the oddly shaped cut in the front of the cabinet. It's slightly narrower too so the sound that comes off the back of the cone comes around the sides of that board, then out the opening in the front.
 

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I guess in some way the Karlson is similar to the RJ, but I actually don't think the HF horn is as obscured with the RJ design. (Not that I feel that's a big of a deal as most here seem to think it is based on my Stephens/Karlson experience) I really need to load one of my Stephens into that RJ to see what it sounds like. I am curious ....as the cabinet volume would appear to be -way- too small for the driver.
 
I am kind of late finding this blog because I just now started thinking what I might do with my two Karlson 15" systems. Anyway, I built my first Karlson in the mid-fifties while in high school. I bought and mounted a University 315 that had a concentric tweeter. In 1960 when I had returned to Kansas from 3 years in the Navy Band, I bought (since I wanted stereo) another Karlson 15 from a friend who had built it. I didn't want to get a second 315 because of the issues many of you have. Instead, I bought the components used in the Altec "Voice of the Theater". That included: one 803B woofer, two 802D HF drivers, two 511B horns, and two N-500D cross-overs at 500 HZ. On the University 315 speaker, I disconnected the leads to its tweeter so that it would function only as a woofer. I set the horns, with their driver attached, on top of the enclosure. While studying Music Ed in college, I started a business recording concerts and recitals. Since I had played trumpet in large dance bands for many years, I enjoyed playing Big Band recordings on this speaker system now in stereo. I might add more stuff about this system later if you want But now I need some sleep.
JoeHos
 
I guess that you could call it that. I think the design idea was to design a port that had the effect of a horn flare. From 1966 when I started teaching at Berklee in Boston, I was recording all the concerts and recitals. About a year later, I had all my equipment shipped to me including the two Karlsons. Before Berklee built their Performance Center, large concerts took place in local concert halls. I used to record the concerts using my Crown 2 track, 2 U-47s plus other mics and I would place the Karlsons on the edges of the stage powered by a Mac 240. They sounded smooth, strong, and natural defining the term Sound Reinforcement.
 
I'll have to add pix when I get home later today,
but my friend Wilfredo should be bringing me some Karlson cabinets from hammr7 later today (from the AK party at ehoove's place).
 
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I've recently installed some Knight kn-615hc drivers in some K15 cabinets and really like what I'm hearing. I'm powering them with a se 6v6, they don't need much power. I'm becoming a fan of Karlsons.
 
I'll have to add pix when I get home later today, but my friend Wilfredo should be bringing me som Karlson cabinets from hammr7 later today (from the AK party at ehoove's place)
Congrats, what drivers are you going to use with them?
 
Here is a picture hammr7 sent of the Karlson cabinets -
the cutout is for 12 inch drivers, and yes, there are backs for the cabinets ...

I have a pair of JBL 2214 woofers I will probably try in them first ...
I have a pair of blonde wood cabinets they are currently in that I use as pedestals and "helper woofers"
for a pair of UREI 809As that sit on top of them as "front Mains" in the TV room.
(I have another pair of 809As as side surrounds in that room)
I also have a 3rd pair of spare UREI drivers, meant to be backups for the UREI 809As,
and spare crossovers that are "supposed" to be for them (but look nothing like the crossovers actually in the 809As ...)
The UREI 809A drivers are cool - basically a JBL 2214 12" woofer with a concentric horn on the front and a JBL compression driver that screws onto the back.


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I have some K15's with old Philips full range drivers and Altec 811 horns on top. I think I have 802 drivers on the horns. VERY sweet sound with a modest Hafler 200 amplifier (modified.)
I like the Karlsons a lot.
 
Here is a picture hammr7 sent of the Karlson cabinets -
the cutout is for 12 inch drivers, and yes, there are backs for the cabinets ...

I have a pair of JBL 2214 woofers I will probably try in them first ...
I have a pair of blonde wood cabinets they are currently in that I use as pedestals and "helper woofers"
for a pair of UREI 809As that sit on top of them as "front Mains" in the TV room.
(I have another pair of 809As as side surrounds in that room)
I also have a 3rd pair of spare UREI drivers, meant to be backups for the UREI 809As,
and spare crossovers that are "supposed" to be for them (but look nothing like the crossovers actually in the 809As ...)
The UREI 809A drivers are cool - basically a JBL 2214 12" woofer with a concentric horn on the front and a JBL compression driver that screws onto the back.


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I would think that the Karlsons would work well as "helper woofers". Karlsons can have excellent mid-bass and they play low enough for my enjoyment. I really like the look of your current cabinets, I'd love to find a pair like that around here.

Please post a follow up with how you use the Karlsons, should be a fun project. You have some nice options to try.
 
When I got the UREI 809A speakers, I liked the sound but they are a bit lacking in bottom end - basically, they were meant to be sofit mounted
in a studio and that's not happening in our house. So, I have a friend thats a pro audio guy with many years experience with JBL and UREI,
and his thought was to set up "helper woofers" to get the UREIs up off the floor and add some bottom:

"12mh chokes are on that page (Madisound) - scroll down. $30ea for sidewinders. I prefer the steel laminate core over the powdered ferrite because you can screw them down to the cabinet walls without worry. My stuff gets "ahem" moved around with attitude at times. It goes in series with the helper woofer, fini. It will raise the system 3db since power output is much greater in the lower octaves ( basic physics ) and you now have TWO cones, not one. Look at the published specs for the (JBL) 4430 / 4435."

So, even tho I have a JBL 4461 (18 pro sub) in that room, adding the helper woofers on the front mains really improved the sound for music, TV and movies ...

I can move the chokes and the 2214 woofers into the karlson cabinets and see what they do ...

(They are home now - out of the way next to a pair of JBL L212s, and Von Schweikert VR-4s)
Size is 23" wide by 18" deep by 35" tall (including a 2" or 3" plinth/riser).

Karlsons_3907.jpg
 
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Spent a little time with the cabinets today. Gently eased off the front molding and removed the brown-gold speaker cloth.
Wanted to see what the wood was like underneath - it may be ripe for danish oil on the Karlson front panels (seem bare now) -
sort of accentuate a two tone style that I've seen on other Karlson Kabs .
Or may just install a more modern speaker cloth - but that gold thread brown cloth is so 60's ... (its intact if I want to reuse it!).

I wiped them down with Orange oil because the wood sides and top were VERY dry ...
The overshiney look will settle down in a few days

Karlson-noCloth-3908.jpg

Also, I wanted to see what possibilities I have for mounting a 12 inch driver in each.
Maybe drill through the angle panel and use some pem-nuts to install some long screws
from the other side and extend out through them as threaded posts,
and use nuts and washers to facilitate rear mounting my 2214s to try them out -
I have 8 of these fixtures from another project - I just need screws to fit, washers and nuts.


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Ordered some speaker cups from Parts Express via Amazon ($10/pr) - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MOZGQOS/
Hopefully get them in a couple days and mount them on the bottom inside the plinth ... there are some small holes cut into the cabinet bottoms
but I'll enlarge them with drill and dremel to fit the cups. And hopefully over the holiday weekend I'll get a chance to move the JBL 2214s and inductors into the cabinets and try them out in the TV room - pedestals under the UREIs
 
Thursday I got some mounting hardware and a can of Minwax Pecan finish to protect the
unstained, unprotected plywood of the Karlson Panels and the woofer mounting panel.
Friday afternoon I carried the blonde wood cabinets upstairs, opened one of them up and removed one of the woofers,
then mounted it in one of the Karlson Kabs. I still need to drill the base and install the speaker terminal cups,
but I wanted to see the results with the JBL 2214 woofer installed.

I did some measurements in the Surround room and it looks like
I'll need to move the Salamander cabinet a couple inches to the left
to give a good fit for the wider Karlson Cabinets.
What looks like a gradient in the wood is just the morning light pattern in that room.

Got to mail some EL34 russian tubes to Supercool, then have Dim Sum with Emma,
but with rain expected, I'll do more work this afternoon ...

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All the hardware has now been moved to the Karlson Kabs - cut in a pair of JBL connector cups, the choke and the JBL 2214 woofers.
Plugged some other drilled holes probably for loose wires - and sealed the cabs as best I could, then screwed the backs on.
Cabinets got REAL Heavy with those JBLs inside - got to get Emma to help me carry them downstairs,
hook them up with jumpers to the UREIs, and see how they work with tonight's movie ... "Assasin's Creed" via Netflix Bluray disc.
More info once they are in place and in use!

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