KLH Model 5 crossover help....please!

[joelongwood]

I'm hoping for some help here from some of the more knowledgable speaker guys around. I recently acquired a beautiful pair of KLH Model 5 speakers. Unfortunately, one of the tweeters was not operating due to a defective capacitor in the crossover network. I bypassed the cap and the tweeter now works, but the output is rather high in comparison to my other speaker. It also seems to intrude too much into the midrange. I used an equalizer to tone it down and it now sounds almost exactly like the other speaker.
I noticed an on-line seller (audio.net) that had a crossover from a KLH Model 5 for $25. If it didn't work, he said I could return it. I just received it today. Even though it says KLH Model 5, and the back plate looks identical to my original, except for the knobs which are slightly different (they have silver inserts), the crossover itself is quite different......it has far fewer components than mine, and uses a printed circuit. The serial number on the back appears to make it a much newer model than my original. I think KLH manufactured the Model 5 for 4 or 5 years.
Was it common practice for KLH to change the crossover on the same model speaker over a period of time?
I guess my main question is, before I go to the trouble of removing and replacing the entire crossover, is this: Do you think this newer crossover will change the sonics of the speaker significantly, just a bit, or will it match the original? Any thoughts?
Thanks.

 

[GordonW]

Danger Danger Will Robinson...

DO NOT, repeat DO NOT use the speaker with tweeter cap bypassed. You are sending FULL RANGE audio into the tweeter, which will QUICKLY over-power and burn out the tweeter!

What you need to do, is to look at the numbers on the old capacitor, and determine the value. Then, just buy a replacement capacitor from any of the electronic suppliers, locally or on the net, and replace the cap. THEN, it'll be safe to listen to the speaker...

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[dbwinger]

arsenal.net

Go to this page:classic speaker pages

The middle of the page has a lot of info on the KLH 5 including a schematic.

 

[joelongwood]

Thanks for your advice and help, guys. I guess I was lucky that I didn't blow the tweeter, but I did make sure to operate it below normal listening levels. Anyway, rather than wait for the 4u capacitors to repair the original crossover, I installed the entire new crossover last night, and voila!............it works great! Even though the two speakers now have different crossovers (both are KLH Model 5 crossovers, but different years), they sound identical.....at least to my old ears.
As a side-note, I think I prefer these to my beloved AR3a, as they seem to have a more detailed midrange and a bit more of the top end as well.
Thanks again.......LOVE this site!!!