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KLH Model 12 owners?

that70sguy

that70sguy

Well-Known Member
I picked up a pair of KLH Model Twelve speakers complete with the external contour control units for each speaker. The previous owner says one woofer's voice coil needs repair, but other than that all else works fine. The cabinets and grills are in great shape - these babies are HEAVY! A few minor nicks here and there, but they cleaned up very well.

Anyone here have experience with these speakers? I heard that the mids and tweeter is the same as in the KLH Model Five, but apparently the woofer is a 12 inch in the Model Twelve and a 10 inch in the Model Five. The documentation I've seen from KLH on this speaker says it is a 12" woofer. It actually measures 11" in diameter and from the outer edge of the surround, it's just over 10".

I haven't taken a look inside the crossover units, but they're pretty cool with wood veneer cases.

would like to hear other folk's impressions of these. thanks!
 
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You've picked up possibly the 2nd best KLH speaker, the 1st being the Nine. I thought the woofer was from the Five also. Take some time and bring them back and you will be more than happily rewarded. Congrats.
 
Another happy 12 owner here. You'll be quite pleased with these once they're up and running correctly. Make sure and replace the caps in the outboard crossovers. The 5's do have the same drivers as the 12's only the 5's have a smaller cab. I have a pair of 5's as well. I also had issues with my 12's woofers having gone through 3 of them with very bad voice coil rub. They do have an oddball size not 10 and not 12 either. I had a pair of optimus's version of the klh woofer laying around. They fit perfectly and will do fine for me till I find a pair of originals. I hate to say it but the vintage optimus rubber surround speakers seem to have better bass than the original klh woofers. I still plan on changing mine back though once I locate a decent quality pair of the originals.
Right now I drive mine with a proton d1200 100 watt amp. The sound is excellent to my ears. Great imaging and like the vintage klh ad says "the 12 will overturn furniture if called upon to do so." Congrats on owning one of Mr. Kloss's better creations.
 
thanks for the replies. these will definitely get the careful attention to bring them back to its glory. I couldn't pass these up as they were a steal, even with the hour drive to get them.

motorstereo said:
The 5's do have the same drivers as the 12's only the 5's have a smaller cab.
Click to expand...

Motorstereo, how do the 5's compare to the 12's since they have the same drivers?
 
I have a pair of 12s that I plan to restore. Mine are in rough shape. I have the woofers out and plan to re-foam them. I believe that these are different than the woofers in the fives. I think that the magnet is twice as large (depth). I also saw a discussion thread at the CSP that was authored by a former KLH employee who was discussing the difference in the woofers between the 5,6,12. I also suspect that the larger volume of the cabinet (12 vs 5 for example) was provided to accommodate a woofer with longer travel. Yes, I am delusional, but I have my reasons.

Due to the rough condition of my set I was considering an econo-wave conversion. Any opinions? Many of the econowave discussion first document inadequacies in the mid-range - typical of a vintage Kloss products. Does the 12 have such a weakness (in other words how good is the mid in the 12)? I have the cross-overs but they were dropped or crushed and will require complete rebuilding. Another way to ask this same question ... do you think that the KLH 12 woofer's performance is worthy of matching it with a compression driver and horn?
 
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that70sguy said:
thanks for the replies. these will definitely get the careful attention to bring them back to its glory. I couldn't pass these up as they were a steal, even with the hour drive to get them.



Motorstereo, how do the 5's compare to the 12's since they have the same drivers?
Click to expand...

To be honest I got the 5's with the intention of robbing the drivers for the 12's. Then I hooked up the 5's. No way am I going to that now. To me the 5's sound quite similar with the 12's having a bit more bass. Course this isn't a fair comparison as they're in 2 different rooms and the 12's aren't completely original. I do know they both have mids that are actually pleasant to listen to and they both image nicely.
 
rmeade said:
I have a pair of 12s that I plan to restore. Mine are in rough shape. I have the woofers out and plan to re-foam them. I believe that these are different than the woofers in the fives. I think that the magnet is twice as large (depth). I also saw a discussion thread at the CSP that was authored by a former KLH employee who was discussing the difference in the woofers between the 5,6,12. I also suspect that the larger volume of the cabinet (12 vs 5 for example) was provided to accommodate a woofer with longer travel. Yes, I am delusional, but I have my reasons.

Due to the rough condition of my set I was considering an econo-wave conversion. Any opinions? Many of the econowave discussion first document inadequacies in the mid-range - typical of a vintage Kloss products. Does the 12 have such a weakness (in other words how good is the mid in the 12)? I have the cross-overs but they were dropped or crushed and will require complete rebuilding. Another way to ask this same question ... do you think that the KLH 12 woofer's performance is worthy of matching it with a compression driver and horn?
Click to expand...

At one time I had a square magnet woofer in one of my 12's and the half round one in the other. I could not detect a difference in the sound between the two at all. Maybe a machine could but my ears certainly couldn't.
I do know that the original woofers were voice coil problematic that inverting wouldn't fix.
To me the mids are one of the 12's strong points. If your crossover boxes are smashed though maybe an econowave would be the way to go. The cab construction is certainly robust enough. My 12's have been supporting a pair of 160 lb speakers now for over a year with no complaints. If you do go the econowave route I'd be interested in hearing your impressions.
 
motorstereo said:
At one time I had a square magnet woofer in one of my 12's and the half round one in the other. I could not detect a difference in the sound between the two at all. Maybe a machine could but my ears certainly couldn't.
I do know that the original woofers were voice coil problematic that inverting wouldn't fix.
To me the mids are one of the 12's strong points. If your crossover boxes are smashed though maybe an econowave would be the way to go. The cab construction is certainly robust enough. My 12's have been supporting a pair of 160 lb speakers now for over a year with no complaints. If you do go the econowave route I'd be interested in hearing your impressions.
Click to expand...

160lbs?? Not sure I follow. You're talking about the weight of the complete, converted Econowave cabs? Or something else? Excuse my ignorance.
:scratch2:

I would have to learn a lot more, but it would be nice to convert some old AR or Wharfedale cabs. Some of the "end results" I've seen posted are pretty-amazing.
 
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Gang-Twanger said:
160lbs?? Not sure I follow. You're talking about the weight of the complete, converted Econowave cabs? Or something else? Excuse my ignorance.
:scratch2:

I would have to learn a lot more, but it would be nice to convert some old AR or Wharfedale cabs. Some of the "end results" I've seen posted are pretty-amazing.
Click to expand...

No; I have a pair of speakers that weigh 160lbs sitting atop my klh 12's.
I haven't ventured into the econowave zone yet but I'm sure at some point in time I'll have to find out for myself.
 
Yes my surrounds have deteriorated and, mine are not cloth. I have a number of KLH speakers and this is a first for me.
 

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motorstereo said:
No; I have a pair of speakers that weigh 160lbs sitting atop my klh 12's.
I haven't ventured into the econowave zone yet but I'm sure at some point in time I'll have to find out for myself.
Click to expand...

Gotcha'.

It looks like those woofers have inverted surrounds. What's the benefit of that? I notice a lot of speaker companies did this.
 
I've never seen a set of 12s with foam surrounds. I suspect these were replaced at one time and as the magnet structure does seem familiar as being the earlier KLH, I suspect that the KLH replacements had the foam in lieu of the cloth. A/D/S used to replace their earlier foam surround drivers with the same driver with a butyl surround as the foam was falling apart in only a couple of years.

I'd keep a look out for a pair of the cloth surround woofers just to maintain the original look and to get away from foam and the associated problems. I understand that you can source butyl surrounds and it may be a better alternative.
 
Hi all,

Bumping this old thread today as I just found a pair of KLH Model 12's. Might someone suggest a knowledgeable "Tech" to RE-cap old caps in the KLH's outboard Cross Over boxes. Also.....might anyone know how much these darn Speakers weigh ?
Dear God are they HEAVY! Thanks.

SixCats!
 
SixCats! said:
Hi all,

Bumping this old thread today as I just found a pair of KLH Model 12's. Might someone suggest a knowledgeable "Tech" to RE-cap old caps in the KLH's outboard Cross Over boxes. Also.....might anyone know how much these darn Speakers weigh ?
Dear God are they HEAVY! Thanks.

SixCats!
Click to expand...

Those crossovers were my first recap job, extremely easy to recap. Just get the non polarized caps, poly Dayton for smaller values and Bennic for higher value electrolytics. A long and detailed write up from "Kent" on the lansing forum gave me the confidence to try it myself....great find! Goodluck...
 
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