• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

My first ever speaker find: KLH Model Fives

knarfor

knarfor

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I'm new to speakers and audio. My interest was piqued when I recently inherited some vintage equipment. I'm proud to report that today, I made my first find. :banana:

I was driving down the street on my way home when something caught my attention at the side of the road. Next to someone's garbage cans on a pile of trash bags was a pair of speakers.

I decided to turn around and check them out. Turns out they are a pair of KLH Model 5 (Five) speakers. The finish of the cabinets are damaged on the top (someone put their drinks on them), but the drivers are flawless.

8629129901_5c512ce6f9_z.jpg

8629130451_132c4f9475_z.jpg


I plugged them in, and they sound great, with the exception of the tweeters. They sound a little...off. I'm assuming the crossovers need to be recapped.

Any wisdom on these speakers? Did I find something worth keeping? Advice on recapping? Anyone know what the finish is on the cabinets?

Thanks!
 
Register to hide this ad
Nice find! Those are among the mostly highly regarded KLH. I think it's safe to say that pretty much all KLH speakers benefit from a recap. There are threads here about how to do that, or you could take them to a speaker tech if you don't want to go the DIY route. I've found that Howard's Restore-a-Finish and Feed-n-Wax works well on speaker cabinets. It's pretty easy to do.
 
montrecott said:
Nice find! Those are among the mostly highly regarded KLH. I think it's safe to say that pretty much all KLH speakers benefit from a recap. There are threads here about how to do that, or you could take them to a speaker tech if you don't want to go the DIY route. I've found that Howard's Restore-a-Finish and Feed-n-Wax works well on speaker cabinets. It's pretty easy to do.
Click to expand...

Congratulations. :banana:
+1 on the recap. My 5's improved immensely after recapping and re-sealing the cloth surrounds. Vintage AR on Ebay has the correct cloth surround sealant. It's a substance that is lightly spread with a brush on the surrounds. Usually with speakers such as the AR's and KLH's that are 40 years old the original surround sealer is no longer there so the surrounds become porous and can allow air leakage.
The 5's were KLH's competition to the AR3a which to this day is a very highly regarded speaker. While I have not heard AR3a's, there are some who would say that the 5's hold there own to the AR's quite well. You've got a nice but not too difficult project in front of you. Enjoy!:thmbsp:
 
Nice find! Ditto on the recap to bring the tweeters back online. I had a pair of model 17's that sounded terrible until the new caps were installed. Redoping the surrounds helped too, but not as much as the new caps did.

Good luck on your rebuild. Come back and post pics of your progress. We would love to see them.
 
Congrats on an excellent find! As everyone above has stated the crossove caps should definitely be replaced. The capacitors that KLH originally used weren't very good when new and they have a very high failure rate at this point which causes the tweeters to stop working.

Lots of people look around for years to find a set of those, to just find them in the trash on the curb is some very good luck!
 
You did VERY well for your first find!! Congratulations!!
As others have said they are very good speakers but you will need to recap them in order to bring out their best. The tweeters most likely are going bad as a result of issues with crossover but that is a known problem with this model. Once recapped the problem should be resolved. If you are handy with a soldering iron you can do the recap yourself but if not a local audio repair shop should be able to handle it for you for not much coin.

I can't tell from the photo but it does not appear that a full re-finish of the cabinets will be needed. Pick up a can of Howard's Restor-A-Finish and some 0000 grade steel wool. Both items should be available at Home Depot or your local hardware store. Used properly you should be able to remove the water ring marks as well as minor scratches. I have used this method on all of my vintage speaker cabinets and it works miracles.

Welcome to AK and the world of vintage audio!
 
These are next on my KLH list, as well as the 23's.

Great find! I have model 6's & 17's. I've resealed the woofer surrounds on both, replaced the caps in the 6's. Currently the 17's work perfectly, but a recap is in the future.

I'd suggest buying 2 jars of the sealant from vintage-ar, just so you have extra on hand. Searching for KLH's,, AR's starts to become an addiction once you have a set, so as you aquire additional pairs of speakers, you'll have the sealant on hand.

You have a great set that should look & sound great very easily!

Cheers, Glenn
 
I recently got a pair of Model 5's myself though I paid more than you! Very happy with mine after a recap and reseal of the woofer surrounds.
 
Very nice score. The KLH 5 has a following and they are pretty hard to find.
 
Isotonic said:
Very nice score. The KLH 5 has a following and they are pretty hard to find.
Click to expand...

I've been seeing them more on Ebay lately as they are more on the radar now probably due to us here at AK and the prices reflect it. For those of you doing internet searches on Model 5's, they are really really crappy speakers and you don't want them.:no:
 
gbroot said:
I've been seeing them more on Ebay lately as they are more on the radar now probably due to us here at AK and the prices reflect it. For those of you doing internet searches on Model 5's, they are really really crappy speakers and you don't want them.:no:
Click to expand...

Of course that was tongue in cheek humor. The 5's are a great speaker and are my favorites of all the speakers I currently own or have owned including my Norman Labs.
 
Thanks everyone! This is very exciting.

So it looks like I'm going to be refinishing the cabinet, recapping, and resealing. I'll definitely post photos here in this thread as I get going (which will be right away)!
 
knarfor said:
Thanks everyone! This is very exciting.

So it looks like I'm going to be refinishing the cabinet, recapping, and resealing. I'll definitely post photos here in this thread as I get going (which will be right away)!
Click to expand...

Check out the classicspeakers site. There's a fair amount of info on KLH speakers there as well.

Looking forward to seeing how your resto on these progresses.
 
Restoration Update #1

So... I have begun to restore the KLH Fives I found on the side of the road. So far, I have re-capped the crossovers. Here's a photo of the finished product, installed:

8645616283_31214ced42_z.jpg


I made sure to seal around the back plate of the crossover that way no air can escape. When I was re-installing the crossovers, I noticed that there was some hardened Mortite that used to seal the wire entry holes in the midrange part of the box. The stuff is hard as a rock, so I went ahead and replaced it.

8645616611_d229d266e9_z.jpg


I have dope for the surrounds on order from the Vintage AR shop on eBay (thanks GD70 for that tip). Until that gets here, I'm going to work on the cabinets.

Finally...

I have a question. The drivers in this unit have a thin foam seal that is placed behind them. You can see part of it sticking out behind the midrange drivers in the photo below. Would it be a good idea to replace that foam with some "duct seal"? That should form a better seal and damp any resonances, correct?

8645615877_348bc14f0f_z.jpg


Thanks, everyone, for your help!
 
knarfor said:
So... I have begun to restore the KLH Fives I found on the side of the road. So far, I have re-capped the crossovers. Here's a photo of the finished product, installed:

8645616283_31214ced42_z.jpg


I made sure to seal around the back plate of the crossover that way no air can escape. When I was re-installing the crossovers, I noticed that there was some hardened Mortite that used to seal the wire entry holes in the midrange part of the box. The stuff is hard as a rock, so I went ahead and replaced it.

8645616611_d229d266e9_z.jpg


I have dope for the surrounds on order from the Vintage AR shop on eBay (thanks GD70 for that tip). Until that gets here, I'm going to work on the cabinets.

Finally...

I have a question. The drivers in this unit have a thin foam seal that is placed behind them. You can see part of it sticking out behind the midrange drivers in the photo below. Would it be a good idea to replace that foam with some "duct seal"? That should form a better seal and damp any resonances, correct?

8645615877_348bc14f0f_z.jpg


Thanks, everyone, for your help!
Click to expand...

Remember to carefully apply a thin coat of the Vintage AR sealant on the midranges's surround too.Then you gently press on one midrange cone to see if the other one moves outward.

If it does than you got a pretty good seal.
 
That makes perfect sense Tetrode. Thank you. As it stands, pushing on one midrange has absolutely no effect on the other.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom