KLH 17 - KLH 20 comparison

1

12J5

Active Member
Has anyone who has KLH Models 17 and 20 ever A-B compared the speakers to determine sonic differences between them? I have a pair of 20's (recapped and re-doped) and am contemplating purchase of 17's. Would there be any discernable difference between them or would that be a waste of money?
Thanks,
Bill
 
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I just picked up a pair of functional twentys with water damaged cabinets, do you think these speakers are good enough to rebuild the box? How would you characterize the sound? I was going to remove the rca hookups as part of the plan, and replace with a more standard arrangement. Do you se the rca hook ups with non-rca amps?
 
I have a set of model 20s and they sound awesome. The RCA jacks aren't really a big deal, you can solder connectors onto your speaker wires or buy cables with the ends premade at Radio Shack.

The sound is very bassy compared to my Bose, you can feel it in your gut.
 
Can't help you with the OP question, but if my KLH 23s are anything to go by, it's worth picking them up, and it's worth rebuilding the cabinets, if necessary. They are very :music: speakers! :yes: :thmbsp: I've read before that the 23s are very close to the 17s and the 5s in sound quality (but that is hearsay, as I haven't actually owned/compared those models).
 
I know this is an old thread, but I have the 17s and 20s, and have not been able to hear any real differences in them. What I've never been able to find out, however, is whether the 20, being 4 ohms, requires more power than the 17, or for that matter, any of the other vintage KLH like the Six, Five, or 23.
 
I have a pair of 20's I need to recap. any help on this would be appreciated as the values are different than what is currently available. My speakers are dead.

I thought 4 Ohm speakers required less power.....or could handle more power....
 
The Seventeen & Twenty should sound pretty much the same. The Six, Twenty Three and Five are on a whole different level. The Seventeen sounds great, the KLH sound signature is there, but cannot compete with the other three.
 
The Model Twenty will just sound louder than the Seventeen, that's about it. 4 ohm speakers require less power to reach the same volume level as an 8 ohm speaker, and the reason the Twenty is a 4 ohm design is to wring more power out of the little power amp in the KLH Model Twenty Phono System that they were supplied with.

That's also Henry's design philosophy behind the 4 ohm Smaller Advent Loudspeaker, it's designed to give you great sound from lower powered amps (but they can take bucket loads of power from big amps too). Just gotta watch that you don't use two sets of 4 ohm speakers on the same amp because it averages out to 2 ohms or less which the typical amplifier output circuit does not like - very close to a short circuit!
 
whathahell said:
I have a pair of 20's I need to recap. any help on this would be appreciated as the values are different than what is currently available. My speakers are dead.

I thought 4 Ohm speakers required less power.....or could handle more power....
Click to expand...

When you say dead does that include woofers? On both speakers? Usually bad caps wouldn't cause the entire speaker to go dead, they usually just affect tweeter output. You may have to peek inside and take a looksee for loose connections etc. Probably would be good if you started a new thread so that you'll get more viewers and feedback.
 
Yes, all woofers and tweeters are present and wiring is there. The drivers all read with current meter so I assumed the caps needed replaced/ there is no sound in any driver

I'll look around the forum to see other threads, thanks
 
audiojones said:
The Model Twenty will just sound louder than the Seventeen, that's about it. 4 ohm speakers require less power to reach the same volume level as an 8 ohm speaker, and the reason the Twenty is a 4 ohm design is to wring more power out of the little power amp in the KLH Model Twenty Phono System that they were supplied with.

That's also Henry's design philosophy behind the 4 ohm Smaller Advent Loudspeaker, it's designed to give you great sound from lower powered amps (but they can take bucket loads of power from big amps too). Just gotta watch that you don't use two sets of 4 ohm speakers on the same amp because it averages out to 2 ohms or less which the typical amplifier output circuit does not like - very close to a short circuit!
Click to expand...
FINALLY, an explanation I can understand, at least on a basic level. Thank you.
 
Can I replace KLH 20 Woofers with KLH 17 Woofers? Will they physically fit? And, will they work (the resistance is 8ohms vs 4 ohms for the Model 20). Is there another adjustment I need to make when mixing driver resistances? In the crossover, for example, if I use them in my KLH 20 cabinets?
 
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