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KLH Model Five - A Whole Different Bag

audiojones

audiojones

Jonesin' for audio
Subscriber
I just picked up a nice set of KLH Model Fives from CL tonight. I've always wanted to check them out, so when this pair showed up within 15 minutes of my house I grabbed 'em. Hooked them up to my Adcom GFA-555 PRO and put on Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky". :eek: I thought they'd sound good, but these are AR3a good.
I've had lots of Model Sixes over the years - but this Model Five, man, this is a whole different bag than the Six! I know Henry said that the Six was the speaker that "got everything right" and that he was very proud of it, but to me the Five outperforms it by leaps and bounds. The midrange is silky smooth and very present without being "honky" (thanks to the twin 4" drivers which are the same as the ones used in the Twenty One table radio). The bass response can knock your fillings out from across the room yet it is very controlled and impressive. The highs roll off a little bit early (even for NE speakers) but hopefully a recap will help with that. I've always assumed that the KLH Model Five was the answer to the AR5, but to my ears it performs more like the AR3a. I'm gong to recap them (CSP has the schematic now) and refinish the cabs with Watco's Danish eventually, but for now I just wanna play 'em! :music:
 
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Yes own a pair of 5s and 17s. I agree with your assessment. The five is indeed special. They are also incredibly heavy and well made!
 
The 5 was made to compete with the 3a. It was top of the line. The tweeter caps are gone. They do fail completely causing a total loss of tweeter output in some cases. I had 6 model 5s 4 of them had no tweeter output at all.
 
Yep, the Model 5's when recapped and the surrounds redoped to ensure cabinet sealing, have come the closest to my Quad ESL63s in sonic presentation - only with more bass output when needed. Further, they handled all the power a Hafler P500 (250wpc) could throw at them without breaking a sweat.

I had to leave my pair with an exgirlfriend....bummer for me but good for her. It was the right thing to do.

Cheers,

David
 
KLH Model Fives up and running

Well I cleaned up the Model Five cabinets and treated them with Watco's Danish Oil. When it was all dry and rubbed out I coated the finish with bowling alley wax and buffed it to a beautiful luster. Also redoped the surrounds with some watered down surround sealer (the full strength mixture is way too stiffening). I can see the surrounds puff out when the cones are pushed in and the return is nice and slow - they are definitely sealed now. They were very floppy and quick to return before, and I could smell the inside of the cabinet through the surround when the cone was pushed in, so they were leaking for shure. The bass response is phenominal on these Fives - it easily goes as low as my Ar3a speakers. Also, I take back what I said the other day about the highs being rolled off - they are right where they should be. I was listening to them on a thickly carpeted floor with furniture in front of them. When placed on the shelves where they are now they sound absolutely heavenly and very real, so maybe I'll recap them later.

An interesting side note, the two controls on the back have absolutely nothing to do with the midrange drivers. They strictly control the tweeter crossover points and nothing else. The mids go from the input terminal through a .8 mh series inductor, a 16 mfd cap, a 4.8 mh parallel inductor and a 15 ohm resistor to the mid drivers which are wired in series. I thought there was something wrong because I couldn't hear the mid drivers change with the control, but after looking at the schematic I now understand.
I really like the oatmeal colored grill fabric, and fortunately I had an extra KLH badge to replace the missing one. I placed them on the shelves sideways with the woofers closest to the corners and the badges on the bottom right and left corners.

The Fives are temporarily taking the place of my AR3a speakers while I rebuild them (the 3a's are having a mid-life crisis right now) and they are quite suitable substitutes for the ARs - they both sound very similar. Right now they are playing some Wayne Shorter courtesy of WBGO (it's Wayne Shorter's birthday today) and I'm still amazed by these speakers.

Don't be fooled into thinking that these are the same as the Model Six - If you ever see the KLH Model Five on CL or at a yard sale BUY THEM! You can talk your wife into them later - if she hears them you may not have to. :music:

Thank you for putting up the schematic, CSP. You guys and AK are the GREATEST!
 

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audiojones said:
Well I cleaned up the Model Five cabinets and treated them with Watco's Danish Oil. When it was all dry and rubbed out I coated the finish with bowling alley wax and buffed it to a beautiful luster. Also redoped the surrounds with some watered down surround sealer (the full strength mixture is way too stiffening). I can see the surrounds puff out when the cones are pushed in and the return is nice and slow - they are definitely sealed now. They were very floppy and quick to return before, and I could smell the inside of the cabinet through the surround when the cone was pushed in, so they were leaking for shure. The bass response is phenominal on these Fives - it easily goes as low as my Ar3a speakers. Also, I take back what I said the other day about the highs being rolled off - they are right where they should be. I was listening to them on a thickly carpeted floor with furniture in front of them. When placed on the shelves where they are now they sound absolutely heavenly and very real, so maybe I'll recap them later.

An interesting side note, the two controls on the back have absolutely nothing to do with the midrange drivers. They strictly control the tweeter crossover points and nothing else. The mids go from the input terminal through a .8 mh series inductor, a 16 mfd cap, a 4.8 mh parallel inductor and a 15 ohm resistor to the mid drivers which are wired in series. I thought there was something wrong because I couldn't hear the mid drivers change with the control, but after looking at the schematic I now understand.
I really like the oatmeal colored grill fabric, and fortunately I had an extra KLH badge to replace the missing one. I placed them on the shelves sideways with the woofers closest to the corners and the badges on the bottom right and left corners.

The Fives are temporarily taking the place of my AR3a speakers while I rebuild them (the 3a's are having a mid-life crisis right now) and they are quite suitable substitutes for the ARs - they both sound very similar. Right now they are playing some Wayne Shorter courtesy of WBGO (it's Wayne Shorter's birthday today) and I'm still amazed by these speakers.

Don't be fooled into thinking that these are the same as the Model Six - If you ever see the KLH Model Five on CL or at a yard sale BUY THEM! You can talk your wife into them later - if she hears them you may not have to. :music:

Thank you for putting up the schematic, CSP. You guys and AK are the GREATEST!
Click to expand...

Nice!
I like how you redid the badges to match the direction you have the speakers sitting. I think I saw that pair on NJ CL for like $150 when I was on business in PA and was almost tempted to make the drive.
 
Bought my KLH Model 5s back in about 1975, in college, from the original owner, along with a Dual 1229Q turntable for $200... They're still with me, still in use, and are still the one set of speakers I have that I wouldn't part with. Completely stock - so you've got me curious about 'recapping' them - I don't know anything about how to do that...::confused:
 
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Nautiker - I recapped my KLH 5s a while ago and was very pleased with the improvement. It requires some patience because the new caps are larger and in 1 or 2 situations, I had to combine 2 caps to maintain the original value. Because there are a number of different caps, it takes more time than speakers that have just 1 or 2, but I recommend it. The improvement in the high frequencies was significant.
I only did it because others encouraged me - I thought they sounded fine before. I'm very pleased that I went through with it.
 
Forgot to mention - If you do it, please post feedback after you've listened to the "after" version.
 
Recapping the KLH Model Five

If you want to recap your KLH Model Five speakers here are the caps you will need to buy and the circuits that they serve. I don't know of any production or value changes, but it's possible so you may want to check inside of your cabinets before you order. There are a number of high quality, tight tolerance exotic and polypropylene replacements out there as well as much cheaper electrolytics, the choice is up to you. I usually use Dayton Polypros from Parts Express, they are very good caps with 10% tolerance ratings at a reasonable price. The cost per speaker with Dayton Polypropylene caps comes to $20.47 per cabinet plus shipping. If you go the cheaper electrolytic route it comes to about $3.64 per cabinet plus shipping. The original schematic rates the tolerance at +/- 20%, so if you use the 10% Daytons you can fudge the values a little if the exact one is not available. I'd go lower if the value is just a little bit off. Remember to factor in the tolerance of the replacement cap to see if it's within KLH specs before ordering or using them. You probably won't have to build up any values (connecting multiple caps in parallel to achieve the value rating) because Dayton and most other cap manufacturers offer caps close enough to the KLH specified 20% tolerance band with tighter 10% and 5% tolerances to work just fine.

The Model Five uses 6 capacitors per cabinet. They are as follows:

Qty--------Value------------Circuit------Min / Max mfd (+/- 20%)

(3)--------4 mfd------------Tweeter-----3.2 / 4.8

(1)--------3 mfd------------Tweeter-----2.4 / 3.6

(1)-------16 mfd------------Midrange---12.8 / 19.2

(1)-------25 mfd------------Woofer------20 / 30

All caps are 50 volts minimum and non-polarized.

If you recap them it might be interesting to do one at a time and compare the original KLH sound against the one that you just recapped and post your results. Bear in mind that Polypro caps need some "burn in" time before they really settle in and sound the way they should. Some folks have noted that they are a little harsh or forward at first, but that after some use the caps "get right". :music:
 
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I have 3 pairs of Model 5's, just recently picking up a pair for $10 in New Jersey also. They are kicka$$ speakers thats for sure!

I hope your shelf is anchored to the wall, as you know, they are heavy!

Sal
 
salb203 said:
I have 3 pairs of Model 5's, just recently picking up a pair for $10 in New Jersey also. They are kicka$$ speakers thats for sure!

I hope your shelf is anchored to the wall, as you know, they are heavy!

Sal
Click to expand...

$10?! :dammit: That's a great deal no matter what condition they're in - you are one lucky dog. I never see Model Fives around anywhere - good thing most people don't know how great they really are!

The shelves are very securely anchored into the studs and backed up with heavy gauge L brackets. They've been holding a pair of AR3a (considerably heavier than Fives) and AR2a speakers for about 12 years. They ain't goin' nowheres :thmbsp:
 
I just purchased a pair of Fives this week, and thought I'd resurrect this old thread.

I am a big fan of KLH speakers. I have owned Models 24, 28, and 31, and currently own Models 6, 14, 17, and 32.

My "new" Fives are in excellent cosmetic condition. The only thing I need to do is to acquire a missing badge for one of them. The original owner had made custom smoked-glass tops for them, and so they don't have the usual plant rings. All of the drivers work, and surprisingly, they all tested out well at the local speaker shop. So, for now, I'm not going to recap them.

Having auditioned them for a day now, I think the original poster got it right: these Fives really are distinct from the other renowned KLH models. At first I thought they sounded a little dull compared to my Sixes and Seventeens (both of which have been recapped), but after a few hours I started to get it -- these speakers are all about tonal balance across the frequencies, and so there is (to my ear) less upper midrange coloration compared to the KLH 2-ways.

Another thing I'll say about the Fives is that they may be the most enjoyable speaker for classical music that I have heard since the vintage audio bug bit me five years ago. I've been listening to some of my favorite classical works, such as Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", and Jovanes' "Mystery Mountain," and wow, do these speakers sound wonderful! Stately and majestic are the terms I'd used to describe them.

I also auditioned some of my favorite jazz as well, including Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue" and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". The Fives did not disappoint here either. I definitely noticed how the bass driver digs deeper than that on the Sixes.

Finally, I listened to some vocal jazz, including Melody Gardot and Diana Krall. Vocals are another area where the Fives distinguish themselves from the KLH 2-ways. Whereas the 2-ways tend to veil the vocals (IMO), it's all there with the Fives. Very engaging.

All of this leads me to believe that the reason that there isn't as much traffic about the Fives on this site and elsewhere is that the original owners never wanted to part with them.

Needless to say I'm a very happy camper this morning!
 
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poorman said:
I just purchased a pair of Fives this week, and thought I'd resurrect this old thread.

I am a big fan of KLH speakers. I have owned Models 24, 28, and 31, and currently own Models 6, 14, 17, and 32.

My "new" Fives are in excellent cosmetic condition. The only thing I need to do is to acquire a missing badge for one of them. The original owner had made custom smoked-glass tops for them, and so they don't have the usual plant rings. All of the drivers work, and surprisingly, they all tested out well at the local speaker shop. So, for now, I'm not going to recap them.

Having auditioned them for a day now, I think the original poster got it right: these Fives really are distinct from the other renowned KLH models. At first I thought they sounded a little dull compared to my Sixes and Seventeens (both of which have been recapped), but after a few hours I started to get it -- these speakers are all about tonal balance across the frequencies, and so there is (to my ear) less upper midrange coloration compared to the KLH 2-ways.

Another thing I'll say about the Fives is that they may be the most enjoyable speaker for classical music that I have heard since the vintage audio bug bit me five years ago. I've been listening to some of my favorite classical works, such as Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", and Jovanes' "Mystery Mountain," and wow, do these speakers sound wonderful! Stately and majestic are the terms I'd used to describe them.

I also auditioned some of my favorite jazz as well, including Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue" and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". The Fives did not disappoint here either. I definitely noticed how the bass driver digs deeper than that on the Sixes.

Finally, I listened to some vocal jazz, including Melody Gardot and Diana Krall. Vocals are another area where the Fives distinguish themselves from the KLH 2-ways. Whereas the 2-ways tend to veil the vocals (IMO), it's all there with the Fives. Very engaging.

All of this leads me to believe that the reason that there isn't as much traffic about the Fives on this site and elsewhere is that the original owners never wanted to part with them.

Needless to say I'm a very happy camper this morning!
Click to expand...

Congratulations! I'd really love to get a pair of those. I've had quite a few pair of the 2-ways and have loved them all. I'm still looking for Twenty-Threes and Fives. Just missed a minty looking pair of Fives on CL for $50. They lasted about 5 minutes. :(

Enjoy them!

John
 
Congrats! The Model Fives are superb speakers. You might want to keep a lookout for a pair of Model Twenty-Threes too. They have the woofer and the tweeter from the Model Five but a much simpler crossover network and (believe it or not) even smoother and more natural midrange response (IMO). They are the most under-the-radar speaker out there and can often be found in excellent condition for peanuts. If you've got the room it's nice to have both, but the Five is a fantastic speaker and was built as competition for the AR3a.
 
You know what? I forgot to note that I had a pair of 23s as well. Like audiojones said, they are under the radar, and I got them for cheap. They, too, were in excellent cosmetic condition, and after a recap they sounded great, too. I sold them in favor of the Sixes (mostly for size and room aesthetics reasons), and have regretted it ever since.
 
I've gotta +1 for the KLH Model 5 love. Picked up a pair at a thrift store, recapped them, and have loved them ever since. They do have a bit of a subdued sound that demands a lot of clarity from the upstream components. But if you match them up with an appropriate receiver/amp the sound is really pleasant.
 
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