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KLH 5 2020 New VS Old

So who want's a new 5 that looks like an old 5? Well, that would be the people that know about the old 5. Now, how many people know about the old 5? That would be us. How many of us are there?
It's gonna need to sound a LOT better than, and be built as good as the old 5 if it's gonna get bought by use for 2 grand. Or us will just keep the 5 what us gots.
 
quiet said:
So who want's a new 5 that looks like an old 5? Well, that would be the people that know about the old 5. Now, how many people know about the old 5? That would be us. How many of us are there?
It's gonna need to sound a LOT better than, and be built as good as the old 5 if it's gonna get bought by use for 2 grand. Or us will just keep the 5 what us gots.
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I gots to keep my old Fives, but again, with the 50 ensuing years of advances in technology, the new ones are likely better, esp at $2K. But you have a good point. Us Fivers are a limited number, and most of us won't get the new ones.
 
Kind of like Yugo being revived and coming out with a "supercar".

KLH made crap for so long, I'm not so sure the name is held in high regard any longer.

I did enjoy the Model 5s I had.

FWIW, I wouldn't look at the new JBL L100, or any of the new Klipsch Heritage line, either. Just my 2 cents...
 
I’d hesitate to say Yugo-this isn’t Sounddesign we’re talking about! Perhaps a Chrysler 300 is a better fit. A throwback to the big sloppy rear-wheel drive sedans of yore, with modern creature comforts and some timeless American chintz.

The L100 Classic, on the other hand, is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat of speakers. It’s an updated spin on an iconic, but honestly fairly mediocre, classic from the ‘70s, taken to it’s logical performance extreme. It’s youthful fantasy for retiree pocketbooks. It’s rock ‘n roll rebellion that’s now the status quo. It’s a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. In short, boomer snoozers.
 
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FluxT said:
If they keep it <$1000, and offer a 2-way Model Six and smaller Seventeen, I think they’ll have a winning lineup. If it’s any more than that, pass.
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It looks like this might be a possibility.

"We will be doing special production runs of many of the famous KLH models including Model Five, Model Six, Model Seventeen and of course the iconic Model Nine and Model Eight..."

Count me as being intrigued.
 
They may be good speakers but.....

I guess I just object to them calling them a Five.

In way it's like calling "almond milk", milk.
Mammals make milk not almonds.
In Europe they register names and types of products so people can know for sure things are genuine.
Maybe speaker names should be retired like players' jersey numbers.

To be fair, their Nines DO appear to be Nines just not the Fives.

They're just trading on a famous names.
 
crdm6 said:
I guess I just object to them calling them a Five. Maybe speaker names should be retired like players' jersey numbers.

They're just trading on a famous names.
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I agree. Maybe 5.1 or maybe 4.9. And yes, they're trading on a long lost name. I do hope they do the vintage Fives justice by sounding good.
 
C'mon, 2K, it's not happening....
The original model 5's are really good! If I were to spend 2K it would be on 2 pair of vintage Cornwall's. If the new 5's came close I'd be likely to crap my pants!!!
 
doctorolds said:
C'mon, 2K, it's not happening....
The original model 5's are really good! If I were to spend 2K it would be on 2 pair of vintage Cornwall's. If the new 5's came close I'd be likely to crap my pants!!!
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You can't really compare new pricing to used. Maybe for AK members you can, but the majority of buyers are either looking at new speakers or they're looking at used. Yes, we know that the majority of speakers issues can be easily fixed, but someone who just wants to set up a good sounding system (and isn't interested in tinkering) for a few thousand is just going to buy what he likes at a store (assuming these hit the retail channel) or online, and be done with it.
 
A friend of mine will be there over the next few days. I'm hoping he'll report back. I will of course share.
 
FluxT said:
It will be interesting to see how they fare. JBL and Klipsch have the advantage of being HUGE companies with wide distribution networks, and their legacy products have much larger cult-followings than anything KLH ever put out. In that price range, reputation matters almost as much, if not more, than performance, and there’s a LOT of competition in that area.

As for me, I have to laugh at $2,000 speakers being “affordable”. It’s not a bad price for what you’re getting, but affordable ain’t the word I’d use. The Wharfedale Dentons and Lintons, at $400 and $1200 respectively, are the only reissued speakers that I’d call “affordable”, and even then only to the more well-heeled Average Joe. A new Model Six and Model Seventeen at those price points would really hit the ball out of the park.
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Well, I think the same held true for the original models-given most peoples income at the time.
I haven't heard them, so I can't comment, but if the truly offer full range sound that can be played at realistically loud levels with out distortion, I would say they are a bargain.
Same thing we all did back then, save you pennies or make payments.
 
Great that the brand is trying to resume making quality speakers. Except for metal trim they look like fives.
$2k with stands is reasonably priced, depending on how they sound.

Wonder if that 10" woofer will match bass of old fives.

Reminds me to finish my unfortunately long-term Fives rebuild.
 
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Snade said:
Will be interesting to see the reviews on these, at $2k a pair they may compete directly with the Klipsch Heresy IV at $3k a pair (to be released soon). The guy that recently bought the KLH brand and is putting out the KLH 5 is a former Klipsch executive.

I think it is very cool that companies like Klipsch continue to upgrade their Heritage line and companies like JBL and now KLH put out upgrades of vintage speaker designs.

The price tag of these new, vintage speakers seems shocking to guys like us on AK because we know of scores on old KLH 5 speakers for under $200. But at $2k for these new KLH 5, I bet if they sound good, they may sell a lot of them.

Snade
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Hmmm......IMHO the Heresy IV and this new KLH 5 seem on paper to be quite different. Acoustic suspension, vs (now ported). Average efficiency, vs high efficiency.brt
Klipsch vs East Coast Sound?
I have heard plenty of Heresy's over the years.
Seems like they have, on paper addressed the 2 main drawbacks. Lack of bass extension, and less then smooth midrange.
I have also heard some modded Heresy's that had ports, and modded horns that sounded very good.
If they can spread out the mid, and high sweet spot, and prevent the beaming at high volumes, along with the extended (and hopefully tight) bass-then they really have a winner IMHO-in a realitively small package-always the attraction with this speaker.
It would be a shame, if the porting meant loose bass-I kinda doubt Klipsch would do this, because they are better of keeping the nice tight bass the originals had.
The only issue I now see is placement with the rear port, because it is reproducing this bass extension below 58hz solely.
FIY, usually porting requires a bigger box then sealed-that's part of the reason it seems to be slightly bigger.
 
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