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KLH Model 6 woofer frequency range.

RoSu_30

RoSu_30

Active Member
For a first time user this is a daunting experience.

I have a pair of KLH Model 6 speakers second gen. The woofers are screwed in rather than epoxied.
I might have to replace the woofers, probably with new modern speakers. I would like to match the frequency range but haven't been able to find that information. I would appreciate some help'
Thank you.

MRA
 
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Why do you have to replace the woofers? If they do in fact need to be replaced, finding used replacements is the way to go, not just putting in some random aftermarket woofer. And frequency response is probably one of the least important specs.
 
Henry Kloss designed woofers are difficult to replace with aftermarket if the goal is to preserve the original sound of these speakers. I don't have any KLH but I do have two sets of large Advent speakers. The original woofers are intrinsic to the design. Replacing with original KLH model 6 woofers or refurbishing/repairing your originals is a better way to go.
 
Agree, they are common and listed frequently on fleabay. I would never throw in some aftermarket woofer in there. Originals are excellent unless pushed too hard and have had the VCs. bottomed out.
 
^^ Agreed on both of the above. What's going on with the current woofers? Many issues can be fixed, you might be surprised.

But to answer your original question, if you HAD to find a new replacement, the truth is there is a lot more to woofer parameters than just the frequency response range. Including: impedance, sensitivity, suitable for ported vs. sealed cabinet (i.e. Thiele-Small parameters) to name a few. That's why the above advice is not only the right way but also rather convenient because you don't have to worry about all that stuff if you get the correct originals. Looks like you could get a pair for about $50 on the bay, which is not bad, considering what a decent woofer costs new.

For a few speakers, there are actually suitable replacements that are discussed here regularly. I don't know if there is one for the KLH 6 but I kinda doubt it.
 
1) I appreciate all of your quick and fair questions to my inquiry-
2) let me clarify that I meant to ask for the woofer Resistance not Frequency-
3) this is why I think one woofer needs replaced: I had my Sherwood S7200 receiver repaired because both channels had static through both speakers, but more on the right. Increased static when I turned the unit off. Then the receiver stopped working. I had it repaired. I was told it was 3 bad transistors in the treble (?) on both sides. It worked fine until a few days ago when the same static returned to both speakers.
4) The static was very loud on the right speaker. I turned the amp off and removed the grill. I smelled something burning from the right speaker. No smoke nor evidence of ignition.
5) I removed both woofers and the fiberglass. No visual evidence of damage. I don't have an Ohm meter.
6) I pushed down gently on both cones. The cone on the right pushes in about 1/2" more than the left cone. The right speaker near the outer edge of the cone appears to be higher than the left speaker.
7) That's what made me think I may need to replace the speakers with something newer.
8) I totally agree that I will not find a new replacement that is as good as the originals.
9) I also found that many ebay sellers tell me I can replace my model 6 speakers with model 17 speakers. I think that's inaccurate.
10) I think the first thing I will do after the amp is repaired is test the R of both speakers. Replace the Caps. Reassemble and reconnect. Then watch and listen for the results.
11) Your responses helped me get to this point-thank you.
 
The best way to test if a problem is being caused by your receiver or your speakers is to swap the channels - hook the left speaker to the right channel and vice versa. If the problem stays with the speaker than that's the problem. You can also try swapping the woofers between cabinets.

You're correct that woofers between the 6 and 17 are incompatible. We have many KLH 6 (and other model) owners here, and you've already gotten some good advice. If you see a woofer for sale that looks like it might work properly but you're not sure, you can ask here (give specifics, but don't link to an auction listing - that's against the rules in all subforums except for Dollars & Sense).

And welcome to AK. Hope you decide to stay.
 
Geez what a hassle.

Static noises can also be caused by dirt and corrosion inside the volume/balance etc. controls, as you probably know. But bad transistors also make staticy noises. Sounds like whatever caused the transistors to fail in the first place, is still going on. That receiver is, what, early to mid 70s? It may have other components failing.

You might check the DC offset on the speaker outputs. If you are in the US, $5-$20 spent at Harbor Freight can get you a decent basic meter that will do what you need. You can also check the drivers with it.
 
F W:
Hey, thanks-I'm a big fan of AK, but could never figure out how to ask or reply to a ?-until today-it's a great community-but enormous-

One of the first things I do when I suspect a problem is switch speaker wires from R to L and L to R-

That's the first thing I did this time (but forgot to mention) the static went from the R Woof to the left- I connected a pair of Minimus 7's to the Sherwood same static louder on the right-The Sherwood's going back to the fit-it guy tomorrow-
he either made an error, installed faulty part(s) Or there is a different issue-,

After that we'll Ohm the speakers and replace the caps-removing the epoxy if need be (I've heard) may require a chisel. (sad)

These speakers' have thin piece's of poorly applied weatherstripping as surrounds-I assume they should be replaced with real surrounds??

Have a nice weekend-

Rob
:
 
Toxcrusadr:

Thanks those are all good suggestions-
And yes- it's a real hassle- a domino effect-
The Sherwood is a '72 model-
Forgot about Harbor Freight for a meter-
I don't yet have the skills to check components inside an amp-
The tone controls and quiet vol pot have been cleaned-
I'll ask about the off-set tomorrow-
I suppose it's possible that a 48 yr. old receiver may need more repairs than it's worth-but that's a value judgement-I bought it based on the repair guy's word that it's in good shape he "went over it" before I bought it-for 120 bucks + one 60 $ repair job-but I'm done putting $ into it-it sounds like tubes-

Have a nice weekend-
Rob
 
I've got a 1980 silver faced Sherwood I put $300 into a few years back, didn't really intend to but it was my first receiver. If you like it, a few bucks is no big deal. ($300 is more than a few, don't start thinking I'm loaded!).

Ah, your speakers don't have proper surrounds? Yikes. That should be fixed before playing them at all.
 
The originals were cloth, and they were an inverted surround as I recall. Cloth is probably not available anywhere, but there is probably a good foam substitute that fits.
 
RoSu_30 said:
These speakers' have thin piece's of poorly applied weatherstripping as surrounds-I assume they should be replaced with real surrounds??
Click to expand...

Pictures would help. The woofers originally had cloth surrounds that are inverted. That is, the curved part goes inside toward the magnet.

If a previous owner removed the original surrounds and replaced them with something else, you would probably do best to look for some Model Six woofers to replace what you have.

RoSu_30 said:
6) I pushed down gently on both cones. The cone on the right pushes in about 1/2" more than the left cone. The right speaker near the outer edge of the cone appears to be higher than the left speaker.
Click to expand...

If your amp was pushing dc to the speakers, you may have damaged your voice coil, which could account for lack of cone travel. This is all the more reason to replace the woofers with some other Model Six woofers. KLH woofers appear on ebay or you could become an AK subscriber and check Barter Town.
 
toxcrusadr:

I have no idea how to respond to individual suggestions-except as a response for each one-like this-

I would say there were no surrounds when I bought these-just some thin pieces of ?foam-not meant to be surrounds-

I did find foam replacements on the web but can't recall where right now-

RTally:

When I take the Sherwood in tomorrow to be repaired again for the same issue I will ask about your "dc" suggestion-

As to replacing both woofers with equally old speakers from ebay my concern over that is I have no way of knowing what the condition of those speakers are-just the word of the seller-and I have found that to be of questionable reliability-

I would rather use the AK source-

I would be glad to post pictures of the speakers on AK, when I figure out how-

Thank you both-have a pleasant evening-

Rob
:


 
RoSu_30,

So I checked your link at Simply Speakers and the KLH Six isn't listed as one of the compatible speakers for that surround. It does however mention that they can be stretched for the KLH 23 and KLH 5. You might be able to make these fit the Sixes as I think the cone and basket are the same dimensions across the 23, 5 and 6, but you might want to confirm you actually have KLH Six speakers before you order.

Can you share a picture of the front and back of the driver so we can confirm you actually have KLH drivers?

It's somewhat unusual that the surround would fail on the KLH Sixes as they were cloth surrounds that I've seen last 60 years or more, so maybe someone replaced the drivers with non-KLH drivers at some point. (Just postulating.)

(Even if they are the original drivers, at $50 for a used pair vs. $25 for the surrounds I'd go with used (with the original cloth) rather than re-foaming, but that is just me. Note that the original driver will probably have to be re-doped too, so that will up the cost above the $50, but I'd still do the used ones.)

Let's see what others say......
 
IMG_2231.JPG Tim D-

I see you made the link live-cool-
I went back and checked-no it doesn't say they are for the (6) "Ya' see what ya' wanna' see and ya' hear what ya' wanna hear" Nilsson The Point-
I'll take pics of the front and back tomorrow-if I have them now I can't find them-
I didn't do the above-the previous owner did-I didn't know that until a few days ago-
Rob
 
both speakers are out-i'll take more pics for verification Sat. It's clear by the crossover plates on the back that these are Model 6 cabinets-
 
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