I have a pair of the Quantum Line Source 2-way model 5 that have been in storage many years. Cosmetically in good shape with nice dark walnut veneer. The original watkins woofers are good but need refoaming, the emit tweeters are good, the midranges are bad and need replacing with similar aftermarket drivers. Pots need replacing. The speaker repair professionals have quoted a price of $250 to $275 to do the restore. Or they will purchase them as is for $40. I am considering purchasing an already restored pair of KLH 23's that they have for sale which would cost me about $200 after taking the $40. Any thoughts or considerations?
Infinity Quantum 5 should I restore
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gbroot
Super Member
You'd be hard pressed to find a better 2 way speaker than the KLH 23's. The 6's get a lot of love around here. The 23's have a slightly larger cabinet and a slightly different woofer than the 6's (larger magnet). You might say they are 6's on steroids. The 23's would be my choice, only because I have had a couple of pair and wish I still had them. I am not familiar with the quantum 5. Perhaps others will chime in.
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
I have KLH 23, have owned KLH 6, and also have QLS-1. I’ve heard Quantum 2, but none of the other Quantum models. I’m familiar with the sonic characteristics of the EMIT tweeter, dome mid (Phillips, maybe?) and Watkins DVC woofer. The KLH’s will be considerably less demanding when it comes to amplification and upstream gear, but if you feed the Infinities something better than mid-fi electronics and an amp that can control the Watkins woofer with authority, the KLH’s will not be able to keep up in most every facet of audio performance. This assumes speakers can be set up properly in a room that presents a favorable acoustic profile for the speakers.
Michael
Michael
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
Also, to answer your question about the $275 restoration expense being worth the investment...kind of a tough call. I think the resale value and desirability of a (vintage) speaker these days boils down to the type of history/lineage that follows it and what people generally have to say about it within the many internet audio discussion forums that exist and offer, often times, rather biased and half baked observations about its merits and/or flaws. Regardless, these opinions are often regarded as truth and can influence a speakers value, justified or not. A lot more KLH 23’s were sold than Infinity Q5 so there are a lot more people out there still listening to them. They’re a fine sounding speaker but, IMO, are absolutely not anything noteworthy in the context of performance that is available if one is willing to spend two or three times as much as what 23’s sell for...and that difference in performance is not slight. For instance, a clean pair of Vandersteen 2ci’s can be had for around $500 and, having lived with a pair for a few years, can say with confidence these speakers will handily outperform the 23’s in most every category. Now, that having been said, I would bet the Q5’s close the gap between the Vandees and 23’s, but is the $275 investment worth it? If you’ll be keeping the speakers for a good while and plan to enjoy them regularly then yes, probably so. But if you think you’ll want to upgrade from then soon then probably not as there simply isn’t enough good press out there for the Q5 (although the EMIT and Watkins are very highly regarded) to support high desirability in the marketplace and consequently high resale value...in spite of it being an excellent sounding speaker. Also, there are some electrolytic caps in the Q2’s that will almost certainly need to be replaced to realize their full potential.
Michael
Michael
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
Take this over to the Infinity forum here on AK and ask about a suitable replacement for the dome mid used in the Quantum series. Seems I’ve read there’s something out there that is a direct swap.
Also, only the QLS-1 is a line source. All the other models are simply “Quantum”.
Also, only the QLS-1 is a line source. All the other models are simply “Quantum”.
