KLH 20 dead tweeter, modern replacement?

[Timingfool]

Hi,

I am a new member here, but have read the forums for some time when cruising junk stores for vintage gear.

As fate would have it, I lucked into a Pioneer SA-9100 for peanuts a few days ago and found a pair of KLH 20's in a nearby thrift store.

Well, I did the Parts Express Shuffle and recapped the KLHs, pulled the SA-9100 apart and hosed it down with Detoxit D5, cleaned up my Technics SL-D202turntable and tried it out.

The SA-9100 is dead quiet (lucky!) after the cleaning.

Seems I have a dead tweeter on one of the speakers (and the stylus on my Pickering XV-15 might be hosed as well, but that's another thread...).

The woofer works fine, but nothing coming out of the tweeter of the right speaker. I know I should check it with a ohm meter and confirm I don't have anything grounding-out in the crossover (and will do that tomorrow), but was wondering if there were modern replacements that would do the trick and how do I determine which one to choose?

Parts Express seems to have an abundance of relatively inexpensive 4 ohm tweeters...

Ideas?

Thanks!
Frank

 

[crazy-in-az]

Welcome to AK!

Do the speakers have a switch on the back? Try hitting that with deoxit and then try again.

 

[GD70]

Hi,

I am a new member here, but have read the forums for some time when cruising junk stores for vintage gear.

As fate would have it, I lucked into a Pioneer SA-9100 for peanuts a few days ago and found a pair of KLH 20's in a nearby thrift store.

Well, I did the Parts Express Shuffle and recapped the KLHs, pulled the SA-9100 apart and hosed it down with Detoxit D5, cleaned up my Technics SL-D202turntable and tried it out.

The SA-9100 is dead quiet (lucky!) after the cleaning.

Seems I have a dead tweeter on one of the speakers (and the stylus on my Pickering XV-15 might be hosed as well, but that's another thread...).

The woofer works fine, but nothing coming out of the tweeter of the right speaker. I know I should check it with a ohm meter and confirm I don't have anything grounding-out in the crossover (and will do that tomorrow), but was wondering if there were modern replacements that would do the trick and how do I determine which one to choose?

Parts Express seems to have an abundance of relatively inexpensive 4 ohm tweeters...

Ideas?

Thanks!
Frank

Hi Frank!
Welcome to the forum.
KLH speakers of this era are notorious for having dead tweeters, almost always due to bad caps.
Before you do anything, pull the tweeters and check on your meter to see of they are really open and dead. A recap is pretty simple and you can get them at Parts Express. Get the polys, very reasonable. If a tweeter is really dead, then look on line for a correct replacement, not an off brand, as it will not sound as designed or intended. Henry Kloss knew what he was doing.
The other thing you should do is reseal the woofer surrounds as the original is most likely dried out and air is passing through the fabric weave. Th test for an air tight enclosure, gently push the woofer cone in, and let it go. Does it spring back immediately, or return slowly. You want slowly. eBay seller "vintage-ar" sells the correct sealer, which is the closest
T stuff to the factory sealer you can get. Once sealed, you will notice much better bass response.
Many here have the Seventeens, which are the 8 ohm version of the Twenty's.
Glenn

 

[sol7]

If the tweeter shows open upon testing, it might be repairable. I had a dead tweeter from some sixes (I think). I figured there was nothing to loose, so I removed the metal grill to examine the tinsel leads. Sure enough, one was broke. I was able to solder it and the tweeter lives again.

 

[Timingfool]

Hey,

Thanks for the great response everyone!

I found the problem; a short between the headsets!

I messed up the wiring and corrected it, so the tweeter works fine.

What a maroon!

Frank