KLH 17 vs AR4X

Bigboi33

Bigboi33

Dazed and Confused
Hi folks,

I'm hoping this is a fair comparison. Which would you say has the better bass response? Most accurate? Helping a dear friend move away from his current pair of Monitor Audio computer speakers. He listens to a variety of different music. Everything from Classical down to the latest tunes on the radio. Any suggestions which would fit him best? I've personally never dealt with these particularly so can't really give him opinions or advice. They are available local and hoping to drive him out to pick them up this weekend. Whichever he chooses.
 
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I had them both. I bought them as a package from a CL listing from the original owners son.

To me, they were fairly equal. Both sound excellent, have good bass and can go very loud.

The 4x is slightly smaller with an 8 inch woofer. The highs may be a tad more forward with the Seventeens. Both are classic east coast sounding speakers, which are not in your face. Both will be good for any type of music.

My AR's are currently doing TV "surround sound" with a larger pair of White Vans and it sounds great! The Seventeens I gave to my daughter, and she loves them.

Both are good for rooms around 12 X 12.

I believe the AR's are less efficient, and can take lots of power. The Seventeens not as much as I experienced woofer "POP", bottoming out the VC. As long as you're careful with the volume & bass you'll be fine.

Keep in mind these will most likely need some restoration work, replacing the caps, and sealing the woofer surrounds, especially the KLH's. The sealer is available on fleabay from seller "vintage-ar".

Glenn
 
I think the AR4x is the better speaker overall.
I had the Seventeens never was that impressed. The Six and the Five are much better.
 
I like the Ar4x better too. It's hard to explain why. They are similar, but the 4x seemed to have more get up and go. In comparison, the 17s were a little bit boring, lifeless.
 
I had some Seventeen's and really like those a lot. They do really need a recap due to age, but where very nice sounding.
 
I liked them both, but kept the AR's, also preferring their sound a little better than the Seventeens.
 
Hey Bigboi
I own a pair of AR4x, restored by me. Nice bass, able to play loud,
powered by a 16watt Marantz receiver. Prices for these are all over the place.
Does your "dear friend" want to deal with 45+ year old speakers?
Many have switched or mismatched woofers and replaced tweeters.
You got to do your homework with these.
Can't speak for the KLHs
Good luck!
Jimmy
 

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Thank you for all the suggestions and tips! I spoke with my buddy over dinner about some of the things you guys mentioned (He actually took some time while waiting for our table to read all of your informative posts).. I tried my best to give him an even view of both sides as I did not want to discourage him from at the very least trying vintage gear out. He plans to use them with a refurbed Pioneer SX737 that he just received back from the tech along with a Pioneer PL A45d. Hopefully, it will be enough power for whichever speaker he chooses.

From what the seller of the AR4x says is that he purchased them refurrbed from that auction site, new caps and all doped up. So no need to go inside them. The KLH 17's on the other hand have never been touched so that's the drawback. It is however a toss up as the KLH's is going for half the asking price for the AR4x.

We shall see the outcome tomorrow as his journey into vintage unfolds. Wish us luck!
And thank you all once again! One of the reasons I enjoy the community here!
 
Bigboi33 said:
Thank you for all the suggestions and tips! I spoke with my buddy over dinner about some of the things you guys mentioned (He actually took some time while waiting for our table to read all of your informative posts).. I tried my best to give him an even view of both sides as I did not want to discourage him from at the very least trying vintage gear out. He plans to use them with a refurbed Pioneer SX737 that he just received back from the tech along with a Pioneer PL A45d. Hopefully, it will be enough power for whichever speaker he chooses.

From what the seller of the AR4x says is that he purchased them refurrbed from that auction site, new caps and all doped up. So no need to go inside them. The KLH 17's on the other hand have never been touched so that's the drawback. It is however a toss up as the KLH's is going for half the asking price for the AR4x.

We shall see the outcome tomorrow as his journey into vintage unfolds. Wish us luck!
And thank you all once again! One of the reasons I enjoy the community here!
Click to expand...

Which ever pair he decides to get, neither will disappoint. The Seventeens are very easy to re-cap, and reseal the woofer surrounds, which makes a dramatic improvement.
 
replacing "computer" speakers

Bigboi33 said:
Hi folks,

I'm hoping this is a fair comparison. Which would you say has the better bass response? Most accurate? Helping a dear friend move away from his current pair of Monitor Audio computer speakers. He listens to a variety of different music. Everything from Classical down to the latest tunes on the radio. Any suggestions which would fit him best? I've personally never dealt with these particularly so can't really give him opinions or advice. They are available local and hoping to drive him out to pick them up this weekend. Whichever he chooses.
Click to expand...

Will be curious to see the outcome. If your friend is able, pick both sets up and do a comparison for yourselves. As Glenn said neither will be a wrong choice however my personal preference would be the ARs. Also, it sounds (if seller is correct) as if the 4x are ready to plug and play and 17s may need some work. I have not heard a set of 17s in many years but recall the KLH to be more accurate and the ARs to be richer in sound.

Didn't see it at first, but the Pioneer should be fine with either (or both) sets.

Geoff
 
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stupidhead said:
...If your friend is able, pick both sets up and do a comparison for yourselves. As Glenn said neither will be a wrong choice however my personal preference would be the ARs. Also, it sounds (if seller is correct) as if the 4x are ready to plug and play and 17s may need some work....
Click to expand...

And this likely is why he cannot audition both sets to make a valid comparison....
 
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I had a pair of AR-4x's in my college dorm room in the late 60's. Sold them to buy a pair of KLH Sixes. This is a looong time ago but as I remember, the 4x's were (to me) much more beautiful with a gorgeous dark flat walnut finish and appealing grill cloth. The Sixes did sound better though. :yes:
 
That Pioneer is rated at 35wpc - for that reason I'd go with the 17's. I found the 4x need more juice to really wake them up. My buddy uses a 35wpc Fisher 500c with his restored 17's and it's a really great sounding matchup.
 
Update:
Both me and the buddy went to listen with the AR4x and then with the KLH 17.
Both sellers were nice enough to allow him to bring and hook up his Pioneer SX737.

In the end (to his ears) the winner was the AR4x. This it due largely to the fact that the AR's did not need a refurbish saving him the effort (not very handy, although I was willing to help). Not to mention, he really liked the way the AR's handled HF, it was much smoother to his ears.

As for the KLH 17's I picked them up. (I couldn't help myself). I will be looking for some replacements caps soon and gonna look into doping up the surrounds. I will probably then pair them up with a nice Sansui 5050 I have laying around and gift them to my cousin for his Bday.

As for my opinion on both speakers. I can only say I will wait till I have the KLH's refurbed before making any opinions.
 
Good luck to you and your friend. I just hope he was able to see the drivers with the grills removed. And that the pot is still in the crossover circuit.
Happy listening!
Jimmy
 
Bigboi33 said:
Update:
Both me and the buddy went to listen with the AR4x and then with the KLH 17.
Both sellers were nice enough to allow him to bring and hook up his Pioneer SX737.

In the end (to his ears) the winner was the AR4x. This it due largely to the fact that the AR's did not need a refurbish saving him the effort (not very handy, although I was willing to help). Not to mention, he really liked the way the AR's handled HF, it was much smoother to his ears.

As for the KLH 17's I picked them up. (I couldn't help myself). I will be looking for some replacements caps soon and gonna look into doping up the surrounds. I will probably then pair them up with a nice Sansui 5050 I have laying around and gift them to my cousin for his Bday.

As for my opinion on both speakers. I can only say I will wait till I have the KLH's refurbed before making any opinions.
Click to expand...

Nice B-Day present!
 
jlovda said:
I had a pair of AR-4x's in my college dorm room in the late 60's. Sold them to buy a pair of KLH Sixes. This is a looong time ago but as I remember, the 4x's were (to me) much more beautiful with a gorgeous dark flat walnut finish and appealing grill cloth. The Sixes did sound better though. :yes:
Click to expand...

In the 60s I also bought AR-4x's and replaced them with KLH Sixes, after I built my AR-15 receiver which also now needs repair. I gave the 4x's to my father, where they now need pad cleaning. Eventually I sold the Sixes.

I just didn't think I liked their sound all that much. The sixes were better, but I wanted more detail than that.
 
Glad to hear both sets were ultimately picked up. Both models in question are worthy and well regarded speakers. Enjoy to both of you.

Fred, thanx for clarifying and yes, difficult to audition both for what they could be, given the description. If the price was right, I would have picked them both up as long as their aesthetic condition was to my liking.
 
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