KLH 22 help

[hornbostel]

I just finished re-capping a pair of KLH 22s. They are pretty early models with serial #s
002685 and 006289. These units are so similar I almost think that the 006289 was wrongly typed and should be 00’26’89. The date stamp inside one of the speakers was 9-67. The black ‘Tennessee Electronics’ caps were actually in ok spec at 3.5 and 3.6 uF. Not too shabby after 53 years.

In one of the speakers I found a screw stuck to the woofer magnet. Looks like the same screws used on the tweeters. These hadn’t been cracked open ever as far as I could tell. So that screw has been in there since manufacture. Just an oddity I thought I’d mention.

Anyway after the re-cap they sound pretty darn good. The woofer could probably use some redoping. But I’ll leave them alone for a bit.

My main question regards the finish. Are the 22 finished in vinyl or walnut veneer? My wife thinks it’s vinyl. It’s fairly thick veneer. The bottoms have some scratches and give a hint of walnut. But I’m not sure. I don’t want to go sanding away on them without m owing for sure.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[alteclipsch]

They should be walnut veneer, and I think I remember them having a solid walnut front bezel. I had a pair briefly in my peak speaker hoarding days. Nice sounding speaker, but then I think all vintage KLH's sound great.

 

[alteclipsch]

If you decide to redope the woofer surrounds, please use only the correct butyl concoction made by Roy C and sold by him or Vintage AR. Anything else will destroy them.
Oh, and post some pics!

 

[hornbostel]

They should be walnut veneer, and I think I remember them having a solid walnut front bezel. I had a pair briefly in my peak speaker hoarding days. Nice sounding speaker, but then I think all vintage KLH's sound great.

Thanks for the quick reply. But this isn’t the definitive answer I was looking for. The veneer either is or isn’t walnut. ‘I think’ isn’t at all helpful.

Has anybody on AK actually restored the exterior of a pair of KLH 22s? Are they finished in walnut veneer? Or vinyl?

 

[Mike Stehr]

It's thin veneer. I think it is walnut...
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/klh-model-22-project.829199/#post-11810348

 

[kfa888]

Thanks for the quick reply. But this isn’t the definitive answer I was looking for. The veneer either is or isn’t walnut. ‘I think’ isn’t at all helpful.

Has anybody on AK actually restored the exterior of a pair of KLH 22s? Are they finished in walnut veneer? Or vinyl?

Are you saying you can't tell if vinyl or veneer? Post a picture. Usually VERY easy to tell in person.

 

[RTally]

My main question regards the finish. Are the 22 finished in vinyl or walnut veneer? My wife thinks it’s vinyl. It’s fairly thick veneer. The bottoms have some scratches and give a hint of walnut. But I’m not sure. I don’t want to go sanding away on them without m owing for sure.

Vinyl is plastic. Get it wet and wipe it off. It will look the same before, during, and after (other than the fact that any dirt on the surface has been removed).

KLH speakers with wood veneer had an oil finish. Get it wet. The wood will soak up some of the water and take on a darker look. After wiping the water off, the wood will stay dark until the water evaporates from the wood. To clean wood veneer, many wipe it down with mineral spirits. This will change the appearance of the veneer as the grime is stripped off and the mineral spirits soak into the wood. Veneer wet with mineral spirits looks really good. After the mineral spirits dry, the wood takes on a lighter tone. Before sanding, the first step should be a wash with mineral spirits.

If the wood veneer has a poly finish, it will not soak up water and be more like vinyl. But close examination of the surface show that the wood grain is below the surface of the finish.

 

[alteclipsch]

Thanks for the quick reply. But this isn’t the definitive answer I was looking for. The veneer either is or isn’t walnut. ‘I think’ isn’t at all helpful.

Has anybody on AK actually restored the exterior of a pair of KLH 22s? Are they finished in walnut veneer? Or vinyl?

Yes. Me. Mine were walnut veneer. "I think" refers to a solid walnut front trim, which "I think" mine had. I also qualified my comment by saying they should be walnut. Since I haven't seen yours, I have no idea what you have. I stand by my comments. Read my response in detail. If my information isn't helpful, then don't believe it.

 

[hornbostel]

Thanks for even more replies. I’ll post some pics shortly. I’m new to the AK even though I’ve been a super loooong time lurker. I recently finished a pair of 1st gen KLH 6s (61xxx serial #) that I’ve been hoarding for quite sometime. The pandemic lockdown has somehow freed up the time. And this would definitely not have been possible without the extensive pics and discussions on this list! I am still finding and cleaning up epoxy around my work bench and hair! I’ll post pics of that renno in a separate post.

I apologize for the questions about the veneer. I’ve refinished a lot of speakers over the decades and it’s always been super clear what I’m working with. These 22s I’m still not sure. The veneer is ~1mm thick. It has the consistency of floor vinyl. It’s pretty hardy.

Given you all’s feedback I may just start sanding on the bottoms, which are pretty scratched up anyways, and see what happens.

I’m still trying to figure out how to get my pics Inline with my text. Once my little mind figures this out I’ll post the pics from the 22 recap project as well as some other peculiarities from my super early serial # (0026xx) and a not too much later version (0062xx).

 

[hornbostel]

Here is a couple pics of the 22s next to some Smaller Advents I’m working on. Also lurking in the background are recently redone Boston Acoustics A150s and A70s (both first gen). The Advents are certainly vinyl. The 150s certainly oak veneer. Wetting the scratched places on the bottom as suggested by RTally seem to suggest that the 22s have walnut veneer.

 

[hornbostel]

You guys were correct. Walnut veneer on the 22s. But the stain on them was so thick I had to take an orbital sander to them. A couple coats of Watco danish oil and these baby’s look great. Here’s a pic along with a Realistic STA 47 (12 watts) I’ve been working on. Really good match I think.

Thanks for all your help and input!

 

[hornbostel]

I realized that I didn’t finish up this thread. Here are a few pics of the recap. The cloth woofer surrounds were actually in remarkable shape. They are stick tacky to the touch. I decided to just leave them alone.

Tons of fiberglass in each cabinet.

Note the pic with the screw attached to the magnet! I didn’t put that’s there. It’s been there for 53 years.

Also there was no gasket between the cabinet and woofer.

These 22s are really nice sounding. Currently serving as my home desktop speakers.