Gorgeous KLH Model Five's

[Angler]

I had to travel 300 miles round trip today to pick these speakers up and I'm so glad I did. They were on craigs list last week so I emailed the owner and said I couldn't get over there until today. The Lady wrote me back and said if I would commit to buy them at her asking price she would take them off the site. I wrote back and said I would and she did. She said they were in good working order and they were in pretty good shape. I could only take her word but she sounded nice and seemed honest. When I got there I nearly passed out. I haven't seen a pair of any model KLH's in this nice of shape in years and years. She said her husband bought them new in 1970 with a Marantz receiver and Pioneer cassette deck. She also said that nothing had ever been done to them service wise and nobody has ever tried to put a tool to them. I believe her. The speakers do have a few flaws but jeepers they're nearly 42 years old. There is a little bit of white paint on one side of the edges where she had them laying horizantally on a shelf and she would move them to dust. I'm sure it will come off and isn't really noticable anyway. A few small scratches on the bottoms and thats it. I wiped them with a dust rag when I got home and then hooked them up to my Yamaha CA-600 and CT-800 tuner. I know they need to be recapped and you can tell by the sound but I expected that from the beginning. All the drivers work and they look just like they did when they left the factory but the sound isn't there and as soon as I get done with my other speaker project I'll take these apart and do them right.
I'm wore out and going to bed. It's been a long but fruitful day.
Thanks for looking. I'll put some more pics up tomorrow when I clean them a little better and oil them.
Al

Oh', the serial #'s are only two digits apart.

 

[dshoaf]

Man, those do look great, Angler. I _know_ you're going to like them and even more when you get them fixed up.

When they have been, they're the closest thing I've heard to Quad ESL63s and they'll take as much power as you'd like to apply to them, too.

Cheers,

David

 

[audiojones]

Absolutely beautiful - they look like they've just been unpacked from the factory cartons! Never come across one with a black painted baffle board before - interesting.
You're right, recapping always helps KLH speakers of that vintage (they used lousy capacitors but everything else in them is top notch). Enjoy them!

 

[tubed]

Gorgeous.
Enjoy your new vintage speakers

 

[Angler]

Thanks folks. I've seen that black stuff on others as well. I don't think it's paint and it looks more like some kind of overspray from a sealer or something like that. I'm thinking it was probably a clear spray when applied and darkened depending on the concentration. These were hand built so that would certainly be possible. I'm going to try to find out more.
Thanks again guys.

Al

 

[jlovda]

I got a pair like this in virtually perfect from an executive who bought them at an Army PX. The seller told me that while I was driving to his house two other interested buyers called him. One tweeter was blown and it cost me about $40 to get a replacement off ebay. Yours and mine are interesting in that there is no front logo. I don't see any mounting holes. I wonder if this setup was only for overseas versions.

I have attached a photo of my recap job.

 

[Angler]

Hey jlovda, thanks for the pic. I was wondering about the badges yesterday but I got side-tracked and forgot about it. It doesn't look like any were ever there. That's interesting. I'm going to contact the seller and inquire about that. I might as well because I was going to send another "Thank You" anyway.
Thanks,
Al

 

[jlovda]

Hey jlovda, thanks for the pic. I was wondering about the badges yesterday but I got side-tracked and forgot about it. It doesn't look like any were ever there. That's interesting. I'm going to contact the seller and inquire about that. I might as well because I was going to send another "Thank You" anyway.
Thanks,
Al

On mine, if you take off the grille, you will not see any holes on the back side of the masonite grille board or any screw holes on the baffle. There have never been any logos installed. I also have a pair of Model 12's and they do have logos installed.

When you recap the crossover, consider changing the two threaded wire connectors to the more modern plastic red and black type as used on JBLs. They are mounted under the main aluminum plate, not on it. I find them hard to use in a dimly lit room since they are recessed in the small rectangular hole. I didn't realize the situation until I put everything back together and it's too late now. I won't bother.

Finally, some members of this forum are fanatics about resealing the woofer and mid surrounds to "reseal" them. Their contention is that the fabric surround begins to look like Corn Chex over time with holes in the weave, decreasing the acoustic suspension performance. Listen to them first and see if you're happy. If you screw up the application of the water based cement (too thick) it will increase the stiffness of the cone decrease the bass response. Virtually impossible to remove. Just a word of warning.

 

[Angler]

On mine, if you take off the grille, you will not see any holes on the back side of the masonite grille board or any screw holes on the baffle. There have never been any logos installed. I also have a pair of Model 12's and they do have logos installed.

When you recap the crossover, consider changing the two threaded wire connectors to the more modern plastic red and black type as used on JBLs. They are mounted under the main aluminum plate, not on it. I find them hard to use in a dimly lit room since they are recessed in the small rectangular hole. I didn't realize the situation until I put everything back together and it's too late now. I won't bother.

Well, first of all I'm not going to change the connectors to something that's not original. It's not a problem for me even though they're not the easiest connectors to use.
I wonder if there were changes made during the production of these. Probably so. I'm going to get on that speaker site (can't remember the name) and start reading up on these.
Thank you very much for the input. I posted a "help needed" thread the other day concerning some other speakers and didn't get one reply.
Thanks again.
Al

edit: I spoke too soon. Thanks for the reseal comment also.

 

[gshuff]

I just recently picked up a pair of KLH 5s that only had one badge. It was glued to the wood on the bottom of the speaker. It was a little crooked and I didn't like the way it looked so I tried to move it but it broke loose very easily. The glue had deteriorated over time and harden up. I believe that this is the reason why you never find badges on these. See if there is any glue residue on the bottom center. Mine sounded very muddy too and a recap is in order as well.

 

[wsissons]

Juicy looking speakers.....Worth the 300 miles....

 

[Angler]

Thanks wsissons.
Hey gshuff, I don't see any type of mark on the bottom of these. I have no idea why someone would put a badge on the bottom of a speaker. These were designed to be layed either on the bottoms or the sides so it would seem that a badge glued to the bottom would make it difficult for them to sit on unless of course I completely miss-understand what you are saying.
Al

 

[Soundminded]

You can get a great deal of knowledgeable help on repair/restoration at Classic Speaker Pages web site under forums. There's one forum exclusively for KLH speakers and much excellent advice.

KLH Model 5 was a further development beyond Model 6. It used the same tweeter, a beefed up 12" acoustic suspension woofer, and two 5" full range drivers used in many of KLH's smaller systems and table radios as midranges. It was designed to compete directly against AR3a. I think the Model 12 has the same drivers in a larger enclosure and came with a 4 switch control for each enclosure unit to adjust FR.

Enjoy your new speakers.

 

[Wolverine]

Hey jlovda, thanks for the pic. I was wondering about the badges yesterday but I got side-tracked and forgot about it. It doesn't look like any were ever there. That's interesting. I'm going to contact the seller and inquire about that. I might as well because I was going to send another "Thank You" anyway.
Thanks,
Al

FWIW -

I have badges on both of mine KLH grills. They were just glued on but I assume they are original to those speakers which are in mint condition.

My experience with other KLH speakers indicates that either through age or the process/glue that they used not a lot of their badges stay in place.

 

[Angler]

Yes, The Classic Speaker Page is the site I was trying to remember. They have pictures of the fronts with and without grills and one of them has the dark masonite and one is lighter. I think it has something to do with the process but what I don't know. I do know that I haven't seen any two that look alike.
As for the badges, some of the Model Five's I've seen have badges and some don't and also don't look like they ever did. I can't see any type of residue on the grills that I have. On the same site they have pictures of these same models with badges on the lower left hand side and some with badges on the lower right hand side and they are completely different badges. I'm sure some people add whatever badges they might have. As for what was originaly on these, I have no idea.
Thanks,
Al

 

[VINTAGCHRIS]

Congrats on acquiring a gorges looking pair of speakers!

 

[jlovda]

Thanks wsissons.
Hey gshuff, I don't see any type of mark on the bottom of these. I have no idea why someone would put a badge on the bottom of a speaker. These were designed to be layed either on the bottoms or the sides so it would seem that a badge glued to the bottom would make it difficult for them to sit on unless of course I completely miss-understand what you are saying.
Al

I think he mean't the front wood edge just arround the fabric grille. I have never seen a logo put in that location.

By the way, considering the price and position in the product line-up, I was assuming the Model 5 speakers had the cast and painted logo with the wood screw glued to the back.

 

[montrecott]

Wow, those are beautiful! I would love to hear a pair of those someday (I have the Model 6, 23 and 24). Anyway, enjoy them!

 

[Angler]

I think he mean't the front wood edge just arround the fabric grille. I have never seen a logo put in that location.

By the way, considering the price and position in the product line-up, I was assuming the Model 5 speakers had the cast and painted logo with the wood screw glued to the back.

The only thing on the back is the speaker connections and the tweeter and mid range adjustment knobs that are mounted on the L-Pad. I think it's called an L-Pad anyway. It does have the model # and other info on it but it's secured from the inside. The pic's show what I'm talking about. I don't know, maybe I'm not understanding what you mean about "cast and painted logo". I was under the impression that you had the same model. I must not be reading this correctly.
Thanks guy's for your nice comments.
Al

 

[Angler]

One thing that struck me about these are the serial numbers. Yes, they are only two digits apart but the thing that has me looking for more info is how low the serial numbers are. One of the pair on The Classic Speaker Page has a number with two letters followed by a seven digit number. Mine have no letters and only a six digit number. I think they made the Model Five from 1968 to 1972. Why is there so much of a difference in how they numbered these? Using letters or no letters and having six digit numbers and also seven digit numbers. That seems strange. Mine were bought in 1970 but I don't know when they were made. Has anyone figured out KLH's serial numbering system?

Al