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KLH 5 or 6 to stack with 17's

A

awat

Member
Hello KLH Gurus,

I've got a pair of KLH 6's that sooth my soul. I just picked up a nice pair of 17's that I want to stack with the 6's. Now, I also just stumbled across my first girlfriend - a pair of 5's - they look so good in the photos that it paralyzes me. I'm picking them up on Wednesday (I'll be sure to switch out all CAPS) and I can't wait.

What do you all think - do you think I should I pair the 17's with the 5's or the 6's?

Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on which you think is a better speaker - the 5's or the 6's.

Lastly, I recently picked up a really gorgeous pair of Klipsch Forte ii's and they're in my barn where I can play music really loudly. As I've gotten to know them (and after having to complete with my ear for the 6's), I'm finding that I only really like (not really love) how the Forte's sound when they're getting pushed at very high volume by my B&K avr 507. I'm more super-impressed with them; the forte's are so good at playing loudly that it's relatively easy to speak over them. They're just so clean an unobtrusive. I did NOT do any upgrade work on the Forte's and I am aware of the difference it will make. At low volumes the Forte's feel...like clumsy (for lack of a better word).

What I'm wondering is: do you think that by stacking either the 5's or the 6's with the 17's, that they will give me the kind of clean power at high volumes that the Forte's give me, and still keep that soft pillow sound? (and do you think switching out the AVR 507 for something vintage of high wattage from Sansui or Luxman would help my cause? (I use a Luxman r-1050 to drive my KLH 6's in my house).

Thanks as always for the advise!!!

Adam
 
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Don't think you'll need the Seventeens. Opinions on the Fives and Sixes vary, generally
in favor of the Fives. Some think the midrange is too much, so adding Seventeens would
definitely overload that range. The Fives were KLH's best single-woofer system of that
era. But will a stack match the Forte's? No one's asked or answered that question, that
I'm aware. You get to find out, it would seem!
 
What I like about the Fives is the control over the mids, they can be damped a little if they ever get to be "too much," which I never hear, BTW. You'll love the Fives, both in performance and in appearance.
 
RxDx said:
Don't think you'll need the Seventeens. Opinions on the Fives and Sixes vary, generally
in favor of the Fives. Some think the midrange is too much, so adding Seventeens would
definitely overload that range. The Fives were KLH's best single-woofer system of that
era. But will a stack match the Forte's? No one's asked or answered that question, that
I'm aware. You get to find out, it would seem!
Click to expand...


I was thinking it could be a mid-range overload with the fives, but since the 5’s have that larger cabinet, I thought maybe...will try and see. I’ve never driven my KLH’s with 100 watts of power. I’m excited to see how they do! What do you think about stacking the 5’s and 6’s?....perhaps the 6’s with soften the mids of the 5?...
 
awat said:
I was thinking it could be a mid-range overload with the fives, but since the 5’s have that larger cabinet, I thought maybe...will try and see. I’ve never driven my KLH’s with 100 watts of power. I’m excited to see how they do! What do you think about stacking the 5’s and 6’s?....perhaps the 6’s with soften the mids of the 5?...
Click to expand...
I agree with quiet. The only speaker stack* I've seen in comments that had/has
some potential is the large Advent. I have two pair, tried the combo, and was
not impressed (unless it would be for, say, a rock concert where the goal is
maximum sound). But your results might be different. There's no way to
predict.

The one place I did have some success was stacking AR-2s with the
Seventeens, but that was a case of each filling a range the other didn't
cover, or cover well. Eventually I donated the Seventeens to a local thrift
once I got AR-2a/AR-3a pairs.

* of roughly equivalent speakers
 
awat said:
I was thinking it could be a mid-range overload with the fives, but since the 5’s have that larger cabinet, I thought maybe...will try and see.
Click to expand...
I've had Fives for many years and have never perceived them to be overloaded in the midrange. They are the best vintage KLHs I've ever heard, followed by my Twenty Threes. I had Sixes many years ago, they were also wonderful. And as much as I liked the Seventeens, they weren't able to keep up with the others.
 
Agree with the others that 17's are not Fives's or Six's. Still, they are good for office, garage or bedroom unless you have better for those extra locations. I tend to gift them to friends and family, but that's just me. My Sixes are in main rotation. I have a set of Fives in the queue. Not knocking the 17's - just that if you have better then why not use better?
 
Back when I had a large man cave that was not joined to the house I stacked 5's and 23's for high volume events. Otherwise when listening at normal and low volumes I'd listen to the 5's or 23's. Their sound signatures were slightly different but it was hard to rank one over the other. I also tried stacking the 5's and 6's, 23's and 6's and that was great as well. Keep in mind that the benefit of stacking IMO only comes into play at higher volume. In the room set up that I had at the time along with no close neighbors I had all the freedom to do a lot of trial and error and I also aggravated my ongoing tinnitus. A major part of the equation is having the right amplification. Stacked and with both sets engaged at high volume, dipping briefly below a 4 ohm load is more likely than not. Make sure and check your amp specs. It's the journey that makes this hobby fun. Cheers!
 
Tim D said:
Agree with the others that 17's are not Fives's or Six's. Still, they are good for office, garage or bedroom unless you have better for those extra locations. I tend to gift them to friends and family, but that's just me. My Sixes are in main rotation. I have a set of Fives in the queue. Not knocking the 17's - just that if you have better then why not use better?
Click to expand...
Exactly. Mine are in daily use in my daughters smallish family room. She and hubby love them.
 
I don't believe in stacking speakers unless they were designed to be that way. To many narrow bands of mutual interference will destroy the accuracy of either speaker used individually. If you have read anything about line arrays and the difficulties in mating all the components acoustically you will realized you never stack speakers and even worse place them side by side.
 
quiet said:
I don't think my 5's need any help and adding another speaker removed a lot of detail.
I have 17's, never use them.
Click to expand...
Yes, good point. The 17’s can/would essentially muddle with what makes the fives great. Any vintage receivers you like to use to drive the fives?
 
alteclipsch said:
I've had Fives for many years and have never perceived them to be overloaded in the midrange. They are the best vintage KLHs I've ever heard, followed by my Twenty Threes. I had Sixes many years ago, they were also wonderful. And as much as I liked the Seventeens, they weren't able to keep up with the others.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your insights. May I ask, what do you like to drive your fives with? I’m thinking about using my B&K avr 507, but I really want the warm sound and visual delight of vintage 70’s drivers. Appreciate it!!!
 
Tim D said:
Agree with the others that 17's are not Fives's or Six's. Still, they are good for office, garage or bedroom unless you have better for those extra locations. I tend to gift them to friends and family, but that's just me. My Sixes are in main rotation. I have a set of Fives in the queue. Not knocking the 17's - just that if you have better then why not use better?
Click to expand...
I’d love some vintage driver recommendations, if you have any. Thanks!
 
Grnrra
twiiii said:
I don't believe in stacking speakers unless they were designed to be that way. To many narrow bands of mutual interference will destroy the accuracy of either speaker used individually. If you have read anything about line arrays and the difficulties in mating all the components acoustically you will realized you never stack speakers and even worse place them side by side.
Click to expand...
Generally, how does one “place” two sets of speakers to run simultaneously?
 
Haha
gbroot said:
Back when I had a large man cave that was not joined to the house I stacked 5's and 23's for high volume events. Otherwise when listening at normal and low volumes I'd listen to the 5's or 23's. Their sound signatures were slightly different but it was hard to rank one over the other. I also tried stacking the 5's and 6's, 23's and 6's and that was great as well. Keep in mind that the benefit of stacking IMO only comes into play at higher volume. In the room set up that I had at the time along with no close neighbors I had all the freedom to do a lot of trial and error and I also aggravated my ongoing tinnitus. A major part of the equation is having the right amplification. Stacked and with both sets engaged at high volume, dipping briefly below a 4 ohm load is more likely than not. Make sure and check your amp specs. It's the journey that makes this hobby fun. Cheers!
Click to expand...

haha, that’s how I’m looking to use the “stacked” pair. I have an old barn and hope to use them for a big party when this pandemic ends. Thanks fir your help. I hope to find 23’s one day. That’s for the heads up on ohm loads. Can you give me some high wattage vintage receiver recommendations? Thanks a lot!
 
awat said:
Thanks for your insights. May I ask, what do you like to drive your fives with? I’m thinking about using my B&K avr 507, but I really want the warm sound and visual delight of vintage 70’s drivers. Appreciate it!!!
Click to expand...
I have an old Kenwood integrated amplifier, KA 405, around 50 wpc I think. It's a solid match for the Model Fives, plenty of clean power and a looker, too, with pretty VU meters and that classic 70s appearance.
 
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