Kinetic Audio Trapezium $40,000 speakers i need more info HELP

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mskhan97

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So i just picked up a pair of Kinetic Audio Trapezium floor standing speakers off of craigslist. I don't know what the guy was thinking when he sold these but i backward traced as much as i possibly could and i found out that Kinetic Audio when they were in business sold these speakers for $40,000 a pair. Its a 5 way speaker and they're huge and heavy. I need more information on these like what the cross-overs are and etc. The mid ranges and the woofers were dry rotted so im sending them out for repair but i've never heard of the brand what made me buy them was what they retailed for can anybody please help me out and give me more information where i can possibly find more parts or someone i can get in contact with. I've uploaded some pictures and the price list that was on the manufactures website that has been archived now since the company is no longer existent if you look on the list the speakers i have are the Kinetic Audio Trapezium Kinetic Audio 1.jpg f1e298e4818548a8aa3fab48d21d9e29.jpg price list.png
 
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I'm not familiar with them either, but you can probably reverse engineer the crossover if it's not too complex. Of course, I assume you're talking about an internal passive crossover. What in particular are you looking to find out?
 
Primarily looking for more information on these like sound quality, brand of the parts that are used the design is very complex and to get into it i have to dig through which im not trying to do.
 
I vaguely remember them as being one of the few commercially marketed large transmission line speakers. Driver complement is unknown - looks like a 3/4', 1 1/4" and 2" dome high end array, maybe a 6" lower mid, and a 12" woofer. Last two seem to be polypropylene cones, which could mean any number of manufacturers. Pop a few of the drivers out and post pics of the codes.
 
image.jpeg image.jpeg So I pulled out the woofer and the mid range because those are need to replaced regardless the first number on the mid range is diminished a little but seems to be an 8
 
Why you think the drivers need to be replaced? You do know that the woofer and midrange can have the surrounds replaced? At $40K/pr you have some latitude for how you get the work accomplished.
Edit: sorry misread you initial post. I see that you are sending the woofers and midranges out for repair. If the crossover networks are whole, I'd suggest to remount the repaired drivers and then make a decision as to more or less work.
 
575 = Heppner, one of the leaders in low cost OEM loudspeaker components.

The most outstanding thing i see so far is the alleged profit margin, and maybe the cabinet work. They look like they have some pretty nice looking bookmatched veneer, would like to see a better pic of that.
 
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I am going to post some more pictures up today guys of the speakers the cabinets are rosewood. Real nice structure I am a little concerned about the woofer and the midrange cause I think they might not be original but what's throwing me off is the KA model number because it can stand for kinetic audio I think testing it out after the repair I will know the true quality of these
 
There is another thread for kinetic audio speakers on this forum. Go back to yesterday or a little earlier and try to find it if you can.

If you google "Kinetic Audio speakers" you should find a pic or two of similar speakers. They have what looks like much higher quality paper cone woofers and mid woofers. Also, Sound and Vision has an article from 2003 about a pair of Kinetic Audio Trapezoid speakers if you google it.
 
mskhan97 said:
what's throwing me off is the KA model number because it can stand for kinetic audio
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I think that's an astute observation.

Please don't take my use of the words "low cost" to imply low quality.

Heppner was one of those OEM companies that could be contracted to build drivers to manufacturer's specs, and they built drivers for some very highly regarded loudspeakers.

Anxious to see that Rosewood, it is usually an indication of premium quality, and i suspect that it's beautiful, perhaps in need of oiling.

FWIW, it looks like these were probably built early in 1979. Date code on the woofer is 6th week of '79, mid is date coded 35th or 36th week of '78. I can't tell if that last digit is a 5 or 6.
 
So the drivers i am sending out to get re-foamed because they will work once i get them back from refoaming i have to let them settle in and then go from there. I took some more pictures with the drivers out and closer upfront of the cabinets. The rosewood is amazing but does need to be cleaned up a bit. I have not taken a look into the cross over yet because it is a complex design i thought i would see it when i pulled the woofer out but thats not the case. Audio 2.jpeg Audio 1.jpeg Audio 3.jpeg
 
Looks like they are stuffed to the gills like the AR9. Crossover will probably be on the back of the rear input panel.
 
since these are (apparently) transmission lines, removing the stuffing probably isn't going to get you any closer to the crossovers. There may actually be no way of getting to them without destroying the cabinets. It appears that the crossovers/connection panels are glued in, so your only hope would be to cut or soften the glue enough to pry it away from the rear panel, then rotate it and pull through the opening.
 
swechsler said:
since these are (apparently) transmission lines, removing the stuffing probably isn't going to get you any closer to the crossovers. There may actually be no way of getting to them without destroying the cabinets. It appears that the crossovers/connection panels are glued in, so your only hope would be to cut or soften the glue enough to pry it away from the rear panel, then rotate it and pull through the opening.
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Given what looks like bi(tri) amp inputs on the rear, and four fuse holders and four L-pads on the motorboard, i wouldn't be at all surprised if the networks are largely point to point wired.
 
Now this Kinetic driver is more like what I'd expect to see in a $40k speaker.

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