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Another KLH 25 Console - rare version?

I just looked at the console and saw there's no jack for headphones/MP3. The hole is there, there's just nothing inside. Would you happen to know where can I get that piece? And there's no needle for the turntable. Would I better off just getting another KLH turntable that's functioning?
 
I guess the short answer to that question is that they just offered different styles to suit different tastes.

The carved version you mention was called "Fruitwood" and it actually was not just a different style but a different wood. It was a lighter more yellowish brown color. But that wood and style was popular in the late 60s early 70s. It doesn't feel like a typical KLH style to me, but in reality I think they sold far more of the Fruitwood then the Walnut or Contemporary.

The Model 25 was KLHs brief foray into the console space, it was toward the end of the console era but HH Scott and Fisher had ventured in to try and dominate the high end of the space and I guess KLH decided to test the compact (but not cheap) part of the market. I think it sounds quite remarkable for it's compact size, but I think KLH had actually already started to change people's ideas about what a stereo set should be so I guess this was there one and only console model.

I'm attaching the two pages from the 1967 Radio Shack catalog that described the unit and the only magazine ad I have seen for this model.


060.jpg 061.jpg 201372.jpg
 
P.S. The contemporary styled console here is my favorite aesthetically. A note: Fisher Radio began their life building radio phono consoles when they were founded as Philharmonic Radio in the 1930's. So, Fisher from their post WW II founding was a console company before they built separates as standalone items.
 
I have a little project ahead of me. The stereo system itself mostly. Hopefully it's a lot of little fixes and nothing major. But in the end, well worth it. Since again, I only paid $2.00 for it.
I found an ad. It might have already been posted on this thread.
 

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VinylRevival said:
I just looked at the console and saw there's no jack for headphones/MP3. The hole is there, there's just nothing inside. Would you happen to know where can I get that piece? And there's no needle for the turntable. Would I better off just getting another KLH turntable that's functioning?
Click to expand...

Are you sure it's an empty hole? The headphone jack is the old style 1/4" headphone style, that was the size back then, newer ones are 1/8" jacks, the adapter are pretty easy to find, you can find them on ebay if you search for "1/4 headphone adapter." I'm a little confused by your saying "headphones/MP3" are you looking for an input jack for an MP3 player?

As far as the needle goes - they are easy to find, it is a Pickering AT2 cartridge, you can find new needles on ebay if you search for "KLH Needle"

Replacement turntables are no longer made, but if yours is not working you can find a used Garrard turntable that should fit. But the original turntable can probably be lubricated and brought back to full service.
 
droh said:
Are you sure it's an empty hole? The headphone jack is the old style 1/4" headphone style, that was the size back then, newer ones are 1/8" jacks, the adapter are pretty easy to find, you can find them on ebay if you search for "1/4 headphone adapter." I'm a little confused by your saying "headphones/MP3" are you looking for an input jack for an MP3 player?

As far as the needle goes - they are easy to find, it is a Pickering AT2 cartridge, you can find new needles on ebay if you search for "KLH Needle"

Replacement turntables are no longer made, but if yours is not working you can find a used Garrard turntable that should fit. But the original turntable can probably be lubricated and brought back to full service.
Click to expand...
Ahhh, yes, the old size Jack. It's been a while lol. I did slide the particle board partition out and put my finger at the bottom of the jack hole and there's nothing there. I could see the top of my finger. Now I have to admit, I'm not the best at the mechanics of stereos. I know a lot about the music that they play, but not about the functioning of them, so bear with me.
 
VinylRevival said:
Ahhh, yes, the old size Jack. It's been a while lol. I did slide the particle board partition out and put my finger at the bottom of the jack hole and there's nothing there. I could see the top of my finger. Now I have to admit, I'm not the best at the mechanics of stereos. I know a lot about the music that they play, but not about the functioning of them, so bear with me.
Click to expand...

Vinyl - can you take a picture of the jack location you are referring to? I just looked at my unit and it does not have a headphone jack, I never noticed that before. The Model 24 has one, but my 25 does not. So maybe what you are seeing is really just a hole?? Pictures would help.
 
Took the stereo/turntable unit out today and found this underneath it glued to the board that it was sitting on.
 

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VinylRevival said:
Here's a couple of pics
Click to expand...

That's interesting, you obviously do have a the headhone capability. The guts of the 25 seem to have followed the evolution of the 24, the early models did not have the headphone capability and had a shorter control panel, most of them also had the white knobs with the vinyl walnut inlay. Yours is a later model that has a control panel like the later Model 24. My unit is kind of in-between, it's the shorter control panel but it has the newer style knobs.
 
I guess they only made 2,500 of these. The number on the back plate of my unit is 2,334, which would explain what you said about later models. Pretty interesting following the evolution of these units.
 
VinylRevival said:
You can see that they changed the color of the turntable also. Yours looks like a grey and silver. My TT is white. I wonder what they first looked like. Any idea?
Click to expand...

The turntables on all the KLH models, except for the Model 35, were made by Garrard, they are essentially an OEM version of the Garrard model 3000. They had a custom version of the tonearms, a white base and KLH specific platter mats. The very first model to use the turntable was the Model 11, and the mat was black, later all the models got the white mat that you have, and toward the end of the run they switched to the gray mat that's on mine. The problem with the lighter mats is that whatever material they used to make them didn't age as well as the black rubber mats. So most of them have dried out to some extent, they are no longer very pliable and most have severe cracks. How does yours look?
 
droh said:
The turntables on all the KLH models, except for the Model 35, were made by Garrard, they are essentially an OEM version of the Garrard model 3000. They had a custom version of the tonearms, a white base and KLH specific platter mats. The very first model to use the turntable was the Model 11, and the mat was black, later all the models got the white mat that you have, and toward the end of the run they switched to the gray mat that's on mine. The problem with the lighter mats is that whatever material they used to make them didn't age as well as the black rubber mats. So most of them have dried out to some extent, they are no longer very pliable and most have severe cracks. How does yours look?
Click to expand...

Yes, now that you mention it, I did see one picture of a white mat that showed it cracked from age.

More great info!!!

Thanks,
Scott
 
They switched to that improved version of the 3000 changer in 1970. The mechanism on that one was improved a bit over the original version too. You can leave the overarm up and swung back on that version and the changer will not repeat over and over, it will just play once then shut off. The very early models that had the black platter mats also accepted standard 1/2" mount cartridges (though still supplied with a Pickering V-15), they didn't switch to the proprietary headshells until 1965 or 66.
 
droh said:
The turntables on all the KLH models, except for the Model 35, were made by Garrard, they are essentially an OEM version of the Garrard model 3000. They had a custom version of the tonearms, a white base and KLH specific platter mats. The very first model to use the turntable was the Model 11, and the mat was black, later all the models got the white mat that you have, and toward the end of the run they switched to the gray mat that's on mine. The problem with the lighter mats is that whatever material they used to make them didn't age as well as the black rubber mats. So most of them have dried out to some extent, they are no longer very pliable and most have severe cracks. How does yours look?
Click to expand...
Did you clean the speaker cover? Mine is a bit dirty. If you did, how did you do it and what did you use?

The picture I provided actually makes the cover look better than it really is.

Thanks,
Scott
 

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It's cleaning up nicely. The white rubber mat is in great shape. No dry rot at all.

I was wiping down the wood today with a slightly damp rag. I'll put some Murphy's Oil Soap on there tomorrow. I was cleaning the small brush nickel handles and the frame with the four legs. I noticed this yellow dried up stuff all over the metal. At first I thought someone liked tape and this was the residue from taping. Then I realized, it was dried nicotine!!! That was nasty! That stuff stuck to the metal like glue, literally. The old lady who had it from 1968 must have been a heavy smoker. UGH! : (
But it's all cleaned up now, 7 hours later.
 

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