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are these KLH model 9 speakers worth 4 grand?

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Well, I think they may well be worth it but I suspect I'll be a majority of one. Ones needing restoration last time I tracked them was about $400 per pair. The new JansZen company I understand can do repairs but I am not sure what his charge is. Some years ago there was an ex-KLH employee who was on the the KLH Nine line and had bought all the remaining parts from KLH. He was charging $1,500 per pair to go through and do a complete restoration but, he dropped off the ends of the earth by the time I decided to get mine done. Hence, if the company is charging near that amount, and you can verify the repairs/restoration back to someone who knows what he was doing, the price might be worth it. Especially if both pair were done to the same level so the sound was the same.

A weak point on many Nines is the base that loosened over time. The seller mentions his are tight so I suspect he may either have done his research quite well or is more knowledgable than Joe average flipper.

I will admit that if I were in the area, he and I would be meeting.

USal caveat, not associated with the sale in any way, etc. etc.
 
i saw them...they are completely redone...and yes hearing is believing...my tech buddy has and can re-do these as well as quad esl's.. very grueling to do the klh's due to the fact that the electrolytics are dampened by tar... messy and time consuming.
 
I never heard a pair. I wish I could. he says he will ship if you find your own shipping company. maybe if he dropps them off at a ups store you can have them pack them for you. and pay to have them shipped. a set was listed not long ago if you look and they didnt sell for $1500 but they didn't look as nice.
 
These will never survive shipping if boxed at a UPS or similar store. The panels are not that rigid and will twist 9 ways to hades. To ship, you'd need to build a wood shipping frame to secure the panels. When new, they were in very heavy cardboard shipping containers that weighed more than the panels and delivered via KLH delivery trucks if within a reasonable distance. This was at a time when notices such as fragile, do not place anything on top, do not lean, etc. was respected by the shipping companies.

The cost is not so much the speakers as the restoration costs. These have a power supply that is potted and has to be melted and cleaned before anything can be done to it and this is messy and very time consuming. As the potting is for weight, when completed, it needs to be potted. The wiring, if the speakers were not operated within the specifications many times is brittle and the speakers need rewiring. Replacement panels are a problem. The tweeters are JansZen and can be sourced to the hyrids for donors but the mid/bass panels were custom. The gent in Boston whom I spoke to had both NOS NIB tweeters and mid/bass panels but said that IHO when the mid/bass units were gone, that was it as he did not think that they could be rebuilt. I'm not sure why not but again a bit time consuming so not cheap.

If I were to look for a usable set, the $2k mark for a restored pair does not sound unreasonable. If original, I'd probably not go above $500 even for a mint pair as even if working, the voltages in the PS would be more likely than not off and it is a ticking time bomb for a restoration.

My last pair, that I owned since new when they gave out I laid aside and ended up with the Bozaks as replacements. I finally found a member here who aprreciated them and I gave the pair to him. He now has I think 3 pair in operation so he'd have a good idea of the work and costs to bring back.
 
JBM1976 said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Two-Pair-KLH-Mo...ptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item53de107347

it is a set of 4 speakers. I have sticker shock but then again they were like 3 grand a pair back in the 60's
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If I did not have a double pair they would already be gone.

If you want a nice sounding speaker system they are hard to beat at any price.

You don't want a "fixer upper" or "needs just a little work" set of these as the cost to repair is usually more than they are worth.

.
 
You guys didn't take time to read the auction description, did you? The guy knows his stuff and the speakers reportedly work great. Plus, he refuses to ship them, which means that they won't have to get ruined by a shipping company.

If I had enough moolah... *sigh*
 
tmad40blue said:
You guys didn't take time to read the auction description, did you? The guy knows his stuff and the speakers reportedly work great.
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Yep, which is why I said that if I did not already own a double pair they would be gone (as in.... be in my house by now).

$4k for a refurbished double pair is a good price. Not a steal and not over priced either.

From what I can remember this is around what I paid for my double pair over 30 years ago.
 
From my fogged memory I think the price for my 1st pair back in the golden oldy days $2,100 and the last time listed in the KLH price sheet they were $3k special order only. I had a customer order 2 pair and after waiting a year finally KLH admitted it was not going to do any more production runs. Fortunately the customer was understanding and took a set of McIntosh ML-4s.

As an employee of a KLH dealer I got a break so could afford the sets I owned but otherwise I'd never have been able to. It was like buying an automobile. In fact VWs Beetles and Subarus were less expensive.
 
Double Nines were one of those systems I remember reading about back in the day but never actually hearing. Later on, early issues of TAS devoted some space to the Nines. Wish I could hear them now!
 
Yes

To put a figure to one thing that Brian pointed out, accounting for inflation, if the Nine were being built today, the original $2,100 price per pair would be in the $15,000 range.

I hope it is okay for me to say that I have known for most of my life one of the members of the team that did the restoration, and am sure he would not tolerate anything less than excellence.

Although the speakers are listed as "pickup only", there are transport options for those without the time to drive a van to the Boston area that should come in under $1000 nationwide, less for smaller distances. House movers and semi-idle furniture company delivery fleets can handle these without damage. Also, specialty shipping companies like Craters and Freighters can pick them up, build a crate, and ship them by truck.

I have no financial interest or other involvement in the referenced restoration or sale, but sure do like seeing continued interest in my father's speaker developments.
 
ztatic said:
Yes

To put a figure to one thing that Brian pointed out, accounting for inflation, if the Nine were being built today, the original $2,100 price per pair would be in the $15,000 range.

I hope it is okay for me to say that I have known for most of my life one of the members of the team that did the restoration, and am sure he would not tolerate anything less than excellence.

Although the speakers are listed as "pickup only", there are transport options for those without the time to drive a van to the Boston area that should come in under $1000 nationwide, less for smaller distances. House movers and semi-idle furniture company delivery fleets can handle these without damage. Also, specialty shipping companies like Craters and Freighters can pick them up, build a crate, and ship them by truck.

I have no financial interest or other involvement in the referenced restoration or sale, but sure do like seeing continued interest in my father's speaker developments.
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Hi David,
I remember the wonderful interaction with you when I was restoring my nines in 2011. The two pair are back and doing well. Still have that magic imaging and wonderful dynamics. If anyone in Austin wants to hear something, just send me an email spencer_ledlow@yahoo,com.
Spencer
 
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