KLH-3 - Bored, looking at stuff.

[drbiggles]

Hi Everyone,

First, I would like to thank you all for giving me, and everyone else, a nice place to be when one is bored. And then, for the last week I've been coming down off my high of finding and restoring a pair of Rectilinear III Highboys. What's next? What can I get my fingers in to and have some fun without spending much money. It was this morning I remembered a little pair of speakers I haven't used since the early '90s. I thought I'd poke around inside'm just for fun.

I bought these used KLH-3 rigs back in about 1984, it was all I could afford. I think I was 20, yeah. Sure, what I wanted were huge hell-beasts with 42 18" woofers, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
I found these at a place in Berkeley, took me a few weeks of saving to come up with the cash. They came with the "computer controller" thingy and I used it off and on for years. When people came over I went to a decent amount of effort so see what, if any difference the mystery box did. Not just for my ears, but for anyone willing to put up with me and my tinkering. I remember the gauge of the wires the box had for making it all work and being sickened at how thin they were, even smaller gauge than the wires in the speaker enclosure. After a handful of years it was decided nobody could hear any difference or could tell whether the box was turned on or not. I lugged it around with me for probably another 15 years, it's long since gone.
In maybe 1990, the tweeters went south for one reason or another (read here, I blew them) and I stopped by The Sound Well in Berkeley for some replacements. I was lucky! I was told they were phasing out their raw speaker stock, but they had a few tweeters that would fit the bill. Not only that, they were absolute direct physical replacements. I listened to them for about 3.5 minutes before it was decided they were absolutely a sonic upgrade as well.
Soon after that, maybe 2 years later they got set to the side and have remained unused since. I do regret ditching the "computer" and the original tweeters today, but only for originality. Sonically, I don't miss them at all.
Now that I have them open and I know the values of the caps, I'm going to see if I can get some replacements. The ones for the Rectilinears were inexpensive enough, I think I can handle another dose.
Wahooooo!

xo, Biggles

 

[artbrewer]

Tweeters look just like the Philips used in DCM's

 

[GD70]

Caps look like a quick easy job.
Are those 6 inch woofers? Looks like they should sound pretty decent.

 

[drbiggles]

Caps look like a quick easy job.
Are those 6 inch woofers? Looks like they should sound pretty decent.

I've kept them for about 29 years, that should say something right there. They sound more than decent and I can hardly wait to recap 'em and get them back in to service. I plan on jacking them in on the B channel to my main system in the living room. Clean, oil and recap. Yeah!

Biggles

 

[allsmith]

Sounds like you're having fun!

 

[Fun2Learn]

More Info from other threads

If you never thought they were anything special for their size then I
would guess you did not have them set up right. You should get
a replacement for the computer. You should NOT run
them with other speakers at the same time.

Here is some more info for you:

KLH 1 2 3

Brochure

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/klh/klh-1_series_klh-1_klh-2_kl/

Operating Guide

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/klh/klh-1_series_klh-1_klh-2_kl/klh-1_series_operating_guid/


In this thread pay attention to posts 7-8-9

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=444762

Quote From From Post #7

"These are from 1978-1980, when KLH was owned by Infinity. The Analog Bass Computer is a sixth order active EQ with a feedback loop to limit overexcursion below a set frequency; in the case of the KLH1s, that would be 32 Hz. These are capable of digging seriously deep and generally sound pretty neutral, a hint on the warm side. The LK10DT tweeters absolutely benefit from recapping (found that out from my KLH3s, their little brothers, which are 6"x8"x12" and go down to 40 Hz) and open up beautifully afterwards." (emphasis added)

Another Thread with more specs

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-263398.html

 

[drbiggles]

If you never thought they were anything special for their size then I
would guess you did not have them set up right. You should get
a replacement for the computer. You should NOT run
them with other speakers at the same time.

Here is some more info for you:

KLH 1 2 3

Hi Fun 2,

Thank you so much for the additional info, really appreciated. I apologize for not going in to greater detail about how these speakers were received by myself and all my friends and family throughout the years. I absolutely adored them, small size or no. Whether I was just using them as background noise or doing actual careful listening or jacking the volume all night with friends, they were a true joy. I was so impressed with their service, I never sold them. I have never even remotely considered selling them and that's why I've pulled them out for a recap.
The "negative" words I used was directed any any noticeable difference with the computer. The system was only 4 years old when I bought it, so I would think it was still operational. But when it was on, or off, or disconnected, there was no discernible difference. Nada.
Some day, soon I'm shooting for, I'll have a job and will be able to afford a replacement computer. I'll do it for sure, but not today.
I'll go ahead and read through the additional literature you offered up. I'm confused as to why I should not run these as a second pair of speakers. I wouldn't run my main speakers at the same time, that wouldn't make much sense. You'd never know the little ones were running! But running them as the B set by themselves shouldn't be a problem.

Biggles

 

[Fun2Learn]

With Other Speakers

As I understand it you are correct.

A or B would be fine. A+B with the computer could
damage the other speaker set. One of the posts in
the other threads addresses that.

As I said in one of the other threads I have a set of
the KLH 2s which I have had since new and they are
a wonderful speaker.

The reason I believe they never got much market share
is that you had to have separates or a receiver with pre outs
to run them. Then you had to be willing to put up with the extra
bother to set them up and then you could not A+B them.

Remember back then anyone who was willing to spend that kind
of money for speakers probably had at least one and quite possibly
2 tape decks; a RR and a cassette, so most of the KLH sets were
probably not put into a tape loop.

Recap and enjoy and then give us your report as a 30 year owner.

 

[Gang-Twanger]

That's impressive-looking. A cast-framed woofer on a pair of smaller speakers from the early '80's. Can't argue with that. Probably puts out nice midrange too, what with the smaller woofer-size (Probably behaves well in that size cabinet in terms of bass-response while also being able to put out good-sounding mids).

 

[HSAH]

There's something nice about resurrecting a pair of speakers which have been owned for decades. It seems that often folks buy speakers, repair them, only to move on to another pair. I've had my KLH model 14's since I was 13 in 1974....simple & small, but would never let them go.

Those KLH's of yours look like decent little speakers, well worth the time.

When I saw this post, at first I thought it was about the model 3's from 1957 which are rare - don't know of anyone who has a pair...I believe only about 1200 were produced.

 

[drbiggles]

The reason I believe they never got much market share
is that you had to have separates or a receiver with pre outs
to run them. Then you had to be willing to put up with the extra
bother to set them up and then you could not A+B them.

Remember back then anyone who was willing to spend that kind
of money for speakers probably had at least one and quite possibly
2 tape decks; a RR and a cassette, so most of the KLH sets were
probably not put into a tape loop.

Recap and enjoy and then give us your report as a 30 year owner.

Thank you and will do! Don't forget a turntable or 2. I've been attempting to go back in time and see if I can remember what was going through my mind, or at least the feelings of having to have the "computer" to make the speaker system right. There was what you mentioned, but I also seem to remember some skepticism. Did I truly need the computer? Was this just a fad or some way to get myself and/or others to buy new speakers? Was this going to be the "new thing" that everyone was just going to have to have? What was so different about the drivers, the crossover, the enclosure that absolutely required this magic box? Or was it just another attempt at marketing and forcing new, useless technology our way.
The new caps have been ordered and are scheduled to be sent out today. I should be setting up the recapped speakers in probably a little less than a week and a half.

That's impressive-looking. A cast-framed woofer on a pair of smaller speakers from the early '80's. Can't argue with that. Probably puts out nice midrange too, what with the smaller woofer-size (Probably behaves well in that size cabinet in terms of bass-response while also being able to put out good-sounding mids).

I remember it being a great little speaker that did everything well and made listening enjoyable. Even with somewhat larger rooms, the power handling of those little things gave you the ability to give them a good shot of juice and off you went. I drove them for years with a very, very, very physically ragged ESS 500n power amp. I still have that amp today, it worked the last time I used it years ago. Who knows what it'd do today.

There's something nice about resurrecting a pair of speakers which have been owned for decades. It seems that often folks buy speakers, repair them, only to move on to another pair. I've had my KLH model 14's since I was 13 in 1974....simple & small, but would never let them go.

Those KLH's of yours look like decent little speakers, well worth the time.

When I saw this post, at first I thought it was about the model 3's from 1957 which are rare - don't know of anyone who has a pair...I believe only about 1200 were produced.

When I pulled them off my bookshelf in the living room yesterday and marked down the model number and attempted to use google on them, I didn't really come up with much. Putting that 3 in the search terms gave me all kinds of crazy results, I'm sure the '57 version was in there somewheres too.

I've owned quite a few pairs of speakers throughout the years, some went pretty quickly and some stayed for 10+ years. I kept these because of the build/sound quality, sentiment and because they're so darned small. They've been on my bookshelf neatly tucked away for 13 years without even a thought. Easy peasy.

xo, Biggles

 

[Freds.Bands]

Durn, that is a big magnet structure for a 6" woofer. Looks HQ.

 

[drbiggles]

Durn, that is a big magnet structure for a 6" woofer. Looks HQ.

These little dears are rated up to 200 watts! And trust me brother, they can take it too. The new caps are due here on Tuesday. As soon as they come, I'm on it.

Biggles

 

[tubed]

One of those crossovers is probably a shunt to roll off woofer high frequency.
Replacing the 6.8uf cap should yield a pleasant change even with the "hot" philips tweet.
I hope to someday run into a pair of KLH-1s w/EQ module, stands too

 

[drbiggles]

One of those crossovers is probably a shunt to roll off woofer high frequency.
Replacing the 6.8uf cap should yield a pleasant change even with the "hot" philips tweet.
I hope to someday run into a pair of KLH-1s w/EQ module, stands too

There's some empty #1 or #2 enclosures on ebay, kinda useless at this point though. In any case, I'm really looking forward to the renewed crossovers. Yeah, the upgraded tweeters were hot, but I remember being exceptionally pleased at the change. Soon!

xo, Biggles

 

[drbiggles]

Dang. Well, that didn't work out so well. I replaced 2 caps in each speaker, easy peasy. Only took about an hour and a half to go from start to finish for both speakers. 1 speaker makes absolutely no sound whatsoever and the other sounds as though it's all midrange and you must push about 15 watts before you can barely hear anything. Dang.

xo, Biggles

 

[drbiggles]

Editor's note: Slightly corroded speaker terminals were cleaned and they popped to life.

I'm choking up, actually did that a few times. I decided to play the B-52's Wild Planet, all of it. I packed these up maybe 22 years ago and haven't given them a good listen since. And with the recap, I'm expecting to hear what I used to. And I do, for the most part. The tweeters are not bright, they're smooth and sound as they should. I suppose my listening, am hoping, has refined a bit over the years. I'm not getting the deeper lows I'm used to with larger low frequency drivers. I'm sure it's the fact I don't have the bass analog computer. Even so, they nice! The entire area is filled with plenty of crisp music and the little woofer is pounding out plenty of bass. I can feel it in the kitchen, inside the house. They're in my outdoor kitchen at the moment, I needed a place to run the tests to see what the deal was. The integrated amp I'm using as my test machine is only that, I'll be moving them inside soon.
They still need a cleaning, then some feeding and waxing of the veneer. Some decent placement in the living room and we'll be ready to go. All in all I'm quite proud of my first recap job and exceptionally pleased I was able to resurrect my old friends.

xo, Biggles

ps - Just put on Abbey Road, plenty of good bass in there.

 

[bakes]

Just saw this thread. I'm in the process or resurrecting my beloved KLH3s - had them since 1980 - and cannot wait to get them back into rotation. They originally came with Peerless LK10DT tweeters, which will be a bit calmer than the Philips domes in my experience. And if you can find an analog bass computer, do so - those things will shock the hell out of you with how much bass appears. Nicely done!

 

[drbiggles]

Just saw this thread. I'm in the process or resurrecting my beloved KLH3s - had them since 1980 - and cannot wait to get them back into rotation. They originally came with Peerless LK10DT tweeters, which will be a bit calmer than the Philips domes in my experience. And if you can find an analog bass computer, do so - those things will shock the hell out of you with how much bass appears. Nicely done!

Hey mang!

I couldn't agree more, these little beasts are absolutely amazing. Mine haven't been in any rotation since maybe '91 or '92. At that time, I actually liked the newer Philips. But replacing drivers in good, vintage equipment is such taboo these days, I now regret what I did. I should have at least kept them, the same goes for the bass analog computer. I can't speak for everyone, but there are more than a few things I regret doing in my early twenties. Ahem.

When this post went up, there was one on fleabay for sale. They guy wanted 200 bux, no dickering. Even if I had the money, I ain't paying that. I've held on to them this long, I can wait a bit more.

The old capacitors came out, the new ones went in without a sneeze. Probably 10 minutes at best for both.

Biggles