KLH Fourteen B
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markus
Master Procrastinator
are they the flat (ish) ones ?
I have both kinds - flat baffles, and the Model 19-ish ones . . they sound REAL good and dont really need a tweeter IMO. Sound best with jazz, acoustic stuff, etc . . you wont shake the walls, but played within their limits, they are very nice & smooth speakers.
both have the same driver complement (dual 4.5 fullrangers). They remain some of my favorite small bookshelf speakers. 2 X 2 inch port, and I *think* some passive contour network . . . the drivers themselves have a motor structure bigger than some 10 or 12 inch drivers from the same era - amazing little speakers :yes:
those drivers are designed for high excursion (from a 1960's perspective anyway) and they LOVE tube power. Mine sound great running off any number of little console tube amps (magnavox, Westinghouse, RCA, etc). I wouldn't put more than 15 or 20 watts to them.
I use the raw drivers (8 of 'em) in an open baffle line array and with a low pass crossover around 100 Hz, have fed them up to 100 watts of decent SS power and they sing. If you can choose, go tube though . . . .
I have both kinds - flat baffles, and the Model 19-ish ones . . they sound REAL good and dont really need a tweeter IMO. Sound best with jazz, acoustic stuff, etc . . you wont shake the walls, but played within their limits, they are very nice & smooth speakers.
both have the same driver complement (dual 4.5 fullrangers). They remain some of my favorite small bookshelf speakers. 2 X 2 inch port, and I *think* some passive contour network . . . the drivers themselves have a motor structure bigger than some 10 or 12 inch drivers from the same era - amazing little speakers :yes:
those drivers are designed for high excursion (from a 1960's perspective anyway) and they LOVE tube power. Mine sound great running off any number of little console tube amps (magnavox, Westinghouse, RCA, etc). I wouldn't put more than 15 or 20 watts to them.
I use the raw drivers (8 of 'em) in an open baffle line array and with a low pass crossover around 100 Hz, have fed them up to 100 watts of decent SS power and they sing. If you can choose, go tube though . . . .
Being a KLH collector, there are not many of their speakers I can say anything bad about. The whole family of small full range models made between 1960-65 were great - model Eight radio's speaker, 14 & 14B, 15, 19 - plus the single driver examples used with the model 11 modular phono, model 21 radio and the last gasp was the model 50 from the early 70's when the company was Heading south.
The unusually large magnet and a cone excursion of up to 1 3/8 of an inch set these KLH's apart from anything else in the 1960's. At $100 a pair when new, High Fidelity Magazine praised the model 14 in 1963.
These little speakers obviously can't reproduce deep bass, but if you set them up properly, you just might really enjoy how nice they sound - a classic in the "Less is more" philosophy of loudspeakers ! You still can find them for reasonable prices, say $10 to $ 30 a pair, but recently I've noticed some pretty high dollars being spent...up in the $100 range.
The unusually large magnet and a cone excursion of up to 1 3/8 of an inch set these KLH's apart from anything else in the 1960's. At $100 a pair when new, High Fidelity Magazine praised the model 14 in 1963.
These little speakers obviously can't reproduce deep bass, but if you set them up properly, you just might really enjoy how nice they sound - a classic in the "Less is more" philosophy of loudspeakers ! You still can find them for reasonable prices, say $10 to $ 30 a pair, but recently I've noticed some pretty high dollars being spent...up in the $100 range.
markus
Master Procrastinator
Anden:
question for you on the 14b's:
there appears to be a compensation network / EQ used in circuit with the drivers in their stock form . . .I know they drivers are run full range, so do you know what the purpose of this network is? As mentioned below I do love these drivers (and pretty much all KLH . . . they sound amazing on open baffles, and in a line array configuration.
markus,
The compensation network was to enhance low frequencies since the 14 & 14B's small driver size. The early examples had compensated hook up (screw terminals) and non compenstated (RCA plug) for when used with a amp that had it's own compenstation network, like the KLH phono systems. The later model 14's dropped the RCA plug. The models 15, 19 speakers don't have the compensation because they were sold with the systems, not as seperate speakers.
KLH dropped the small speakers in 1965-6 when the Model 22 speaker with a 8 inch woofer was introduced. Only the model 21 radio, 11 phono continued with the single driver speakers.
Singer bought KLH in '64 and it did'nt take long for the corporate influence to take hold......small company ideas were phased out, like the epoxied-in drivers of the big loudspeakers, Models 1,2,3,4,6,7.
Their products stayed great until about 1972, then it all seemed to fall apart. If you ever see a model 56, one of the last acoustic suspension speakers from KLH from about 1976 it is a far cry from the glory days, thin mfd cabinet wrapped in vinyl.
Stick to the early stuff....the earlier the better!
The compensation network was to enhance low frequencies since the 14 & 14B's small driver size. The early examples had compensated hook up (screw terminals) and non compenstated (RCA plug) for when used with a amp that had it's own compenstation network, like the KLH phono systems. The later model 14's dropped the RCA plug. The models 15, 19 speakers don't have the compensation because they were sold with the systems, not as seperate speakers.
KLH dropped the small speakers in 1965-6 when the Model 22 speaker with a 8 inch woofer was introduced. Only the model 21 radio, 11 phono continued with the single driver speakers.
Singer bought KLH in '64 and it did'nt take long for the corporate influence to take hold......small company ideas were phased out, like the epoxied-in drivers of the big loudspeakers, Models 1,2,3,4,6,7.
Their products stayed great until about 1972, then it all seemed to fall apart. If you ever see a model 56, one of the last acoustic suspension speakers from KLH from about 1976 it is a far cry from the glory days, thin mfd cabinet wrapped in vinyl.
Stick to the early stuff....the earlier the better!
