KLH Model Twelve, Five Pounds of Capacitors into a Four Pound box.

[chuck labby]

This might be a dumb question, But here goes I have a pair of KLH model 5s that I just sealed the surrounds and thinking about rebuilding the crossovers. I also have a pair of external crossovers for a KLH model 12's from what I have been able to find out the 5 and 12's have the exact same drivers, Just the cabinets and the way the wires are connected on the back of the cabinet are the only things different. From just looking at the wire connections on the model 12 it looks like there is the two wires coming from the amp. and the four wires to the speaker cabinet are Black for common and three for high, mid,low? I do not see how it will hurt anything to try and see what it will sound like?

 

[RossW]

Shouldn't hurt anything but I don't think it will sounds great. People like to call the 5 a baby 12, but in reality the only driver the 5 and the 12 share is the mids; the tweeter and woofer are unique to the 12 (the 12 tweeter is actually stamped M12 on the front to distinguish it from the myriad of other near-identical KLH tweeters and the woofer has a double magnet).

 

[cjpremierfour]

I found a pair of KLH 12 in a Goodwill bin about 3 years ago. No one wanted to carry the things out I guess as they were super heavy. I was able to track down a pair of crossovers at Audio Classics in NY about 6 months later. After a recap and 1 replacement woofer, had them up and running. The 12's sound "big and dynamic" but I think the KLH 6 is a better sounding speaker in my size room. ( 16' x 16.5' ) I think I need about a 18" speaker stand made as these overpower my room. I tried tilting them back but still wasn't real happy. Are any of you guys using stands for these?

 

[gbroot]

I have no experience with the 12's but I've tinkered with positioning of 5's, 23's, and 6's. 18"s was too high (at least in my setting). I found that they were optimal for delivering great bass on traditional speaker stands about 6"s off the floor.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Nice project. Much easier doing a crossover board outside the speaker and with this one separate, nice adjustments available.

If you want to cut down on the electrical tape holding the binding posts to the wire going to the crossover, I've found these to be very nice.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10Pcs-Bras...544741?hash=item2a74e13d25:g:0xwAAOSwvSBaX1n2

available in numerous choices of quantity and more than just red and black. Best cheap ebay chinese electrical thing I have bought.

 

[FireGuruMN]

I have purchased similar separate female banana connectors. I did not like that option because it still allowed the male connectors to touch each other. At the time I was using the Sewell connectors from Amazon:
Sewell Silverback Banana Plugs, 24k Gold Dual Screw Lock Speaker Connector, 12 Pairs
Which are super nice connectors but they do have metal covers. There is a minor bit of sealer or something which prevents a little conducting but it quickly wears off. I now cover the male connectors with heat shrink which looks nice and is a great insulator.
WindyNation 1/2" 10 Feet Black + 10 Feet Red 3:1 Dual Wall Adhesive Glue Lined Marine Grade Heat Shrink Tube Tubing
Everyone loves pictures:

While we are on a banana plug kick: These are super nice also from E-pray (long lead time from china)
10PCS Banana to Spade Adapter Plug Speaker Cable Connector
I usually have to cut the spades a little shorter to prevent shorting out on screw terminal speaker connectors. They can be applied to amplifiers and I have put them on speakers also. They can also be covered in heat shrink to prevent shorting. Nice for people like me that move vintage equipment around a lot.