AR4x vs KLH 17

[gbroot]

I'm beginning to drool here a bit.

I did this with my big White Van speakers and my DA PS-10's. Together they are awesome. The WV's have a ton of bass, but the mids and highs are ok. The DA's are a bit shy on the base but the mids and high's are incredible.

I have a pair of big ol Kabuki Sansui speakers in storage. 17" woofs. They throw out bass like crazy. Boomy bass that is. Not the deep, refined KLH bass. They only have so so mids and highs. I might drag them out this weekend and match them up with the 17's just for fun.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

The AR 4 is a superb choice for tube amplifier and lower power SS users.

 

[mtlmn1971]

The 17's have a very unique mid range that is hard to explain... paired with a speaker that has great bass extension they together become a unit that is butter on bread!:thmbsp:

I bought the 23's and 17's from the same person. Had to replace the Caps, and one tweeter and doped the surrounds and you are not kidding. My favorite setup of all. I just love how they compliment each other.

Hope you enjoy those 17's!!

 

[gbroot]

I bought the 23's and 17's from the same person. Had to replace the Caps, and one tweeter and doped the surrounds and you are not kidding. My favorite setup of all. I just love how they compliment each other.

Hope you enjoy those 17's!!

I've tried stacking my 17's with both the 5's,6's, and 23's. They stack fabulously with the 2 way 6's and 23's. When stacked with the 5's the mids are overwhelming because the 5's are a 3 way.

 

[CT Jim]

I didn't see where size was one of the determining factors?? Anyway, I use 17s as the main spks in my office/den, and I also have two sets of 4Xs. I have not listened to the 4s for a year, but I recently received a set of new pots and some sealant from vintage ar so i can rebuild one set and compare them rebuilt/not rebuilt. I plan on selling both anyway, but the rebuilding and restoring the cabs and replacing the grille cloth is relaxing. I will say the set of 4s I have in my shop sound pretty good with a Sherwood 100w rms receiver....much better than a low powered Fisher I moved to the greenhouse.... It's not that the 4s are bad, but the balance of size and woofer obviously makes an impact on the output. I feel the 4s need a lot of balls behind them to sound really good.

That's it....17s win!!!!! My .02

 

[GD70]

I've tried stacking my 17's with both the 5's,6's, and 23's. They stack fabulously with the 2 way 6's and 23's. When stacked with the 5's the mids are overwhelming because the 5's are a 3 way.

When I ran the WV's & PS-10's they were connected to my receiver's A & B terminals, so I could pick which pair to listen to.

When you stacked your 17's & 6's, were yours connected the same way, or in parallel or series connections?

 

[GD70]

I didn't see where size was one of the determining factors?? Anyway, I use 17s as the main spks in my office/den, and I also have two sets of 4Xs. I have not listened to the 4s for a year, but I recently received a set of new pots and some sealant from vintage ar so i can rebuild one set and compare them rebuilt/not rebuilt. I plan on selling both anyway, but the rebuilding and restoring the cabs and replacing the grille cloth is relaxing. I will say the set of 4s I have in my shop sound pretty good with a Sherwood 100w rms receiver....much better than a low powered Fisher I moved to the greenhouse.... It's not that the 4s are bad, but the balance of size and woofer obviously makes an impact on the output. I feel the 4s need a lot of balls behind them to sound really good.

That's it....17s win!!!!! My .02

Size doesn't matter to much for me. That is the speakers.

 

[gbroot]

When I ran the WV's & PS-10's they were connected to my receiver's A & B terminals, so I could pick which pair to listen to.

When you stacked your 17's & 6's, were yours connected the same way, or in parallel or series connections?

My Pioneer Quad can run 4 sets. As long as I run A Front, A Rear impedance remains at 8ohm as front and rears run on separate amplifiers. If I stacked them A-B Front or A-B Rear then impedence goes to 4ohm and the receiver runs hotter especially at levels I like to listen at! This receiver kicks A.. compared to some of the modern surround receivers I have tried.

 

[jgscott]

The AR's recapped would play some things that the 17 would not, IMO.

 

[BloFish]

Love my AR's

 

[Oerets]

I've had both the 4 and 17's. Now the key word is had!




Barney

 

[GD70]

I've had both the 4 and 17's. Now the key word is had!




Barney

Not all speakers sound good to all people.

 

[Oerets]

Not all speakers sound good to all people.

I'm big fan of KLH and AR models that use a tweeter not a speaker more suited as a mid.



Barney

 

[GD70]

The AR's recapped would play some things that the 17 would not, IMO.

Give me an example.

 

[wiredbecker]

Thanks to Zilch we have a ballpark on what you can expect from a KLH 17:

as compared to a AR4x:

The KLH 17 appears to have boosted mids and the highs drop off pretty aggressively at around 11kHz.

The AR4x have a few massive holes in the frequency response just below 300Hz and again at 400 and 600Hz. It does however have a lot more high frequency extension than the KLH 17--continuing up to around 16 or 17kHz is my guess.

Having had both, I'd go with the AR4x and a cheapo powered subwoofer that can play up 125Hz and call it a day.

 

[wiredbecker]

We're having fun now!

 

[gbroot]

Thanks to Zilch we have a ballpark on what you can expect from a KLH 17:

as compared to a AR4x:

The KLH 17 appears to have boosted mids and the highs drop off pretty aggressively at around 11kHz.

The AR4x have a few massive holes in the frequency response just below 300Hz and again at 400 and 600Hz. It does however have a lot more high frequency extension than the KLH 17--continuing up to around 16 or 17kHz is my guess.

Having had both, I'd go with the AR4x and a cheapo powered subwoofer that can play up 125Hz and call it a day.

KLH's are all known for rolled off highs..that's what gives them the KLH sound! Just having fun! Seriously though for my hearing, due to chronic tinnitus, speakers that have a rolled off high are more to my liking. I can listen for long amounts of time without an increase in the ringing. Speakers with crisp, sharp highs I enjoy but for a very short period of time as the added highs contribute to the tinnitus and fatigue very quickly.

 

[GD70]

Those graphs are interesting. I'm waiting for more pics from the seller. I'm leaning towards the 17's, but may possibly grab both.

 

[JohnVF]

Charts aside, in practice the 4x sounded considerably more boxy and nasally than the 17 here. I don't think most ARs of that vintage age as well as the KLH ones so what a graph of one gets you, may be totally different depending on the condition of another. Restored, however, totally different bag of tricks.

But I was and still am a bit of a KLH fanboy and big time "I don't get it" on the AR front. Haven't heard a vintage AR that I didn't think sounded like it had a blanket over it.

 

[GD70]

If I grab both I can always flip the AR's if I don't like them.
I think though I would replace the caps on both and resealed the woofer surrounds on the 17's before making a decision.