KLH Model Twenty Three - Restored

[Airjmax]

I paid $150 for these speakers plus a very clean Sansui Model Seven receiver from the original owner, and I was pretty excited to get them home for a listen. Unfortunately, both tweeters in the 23's were dead! No problem, I thought, new caps will cure them. It was not the case. Both tweets had the ultra-thin copper wires broken, and in such a way that repair was impossible. I tried to source some original tweeters for them, but I was having no luck. Thanks to AK member @Ruppert, I have fully-functioning speakers! While waiting for tweeters, I sealed the surrounds, recapped, and refinished the cabinets. They look and sound very nice, especially with the Sansui Seven. I still can't get over how much bass these things produce, along with non-fatiguing highs. Thanks again @Ruppert

 

[Redikilowatt]

Nice and the cabs look great!

 

[Airjmax]

Nice and the cabs look great!

Thanks. They were in fairly good shape to begin with, but I sanded a few shallow scratches and applied some Howard's Restore-A_Finish.
BTW, when I was a kid, there was a large neon sign on one of the main power substations which had an image of "Reddykilowatt". Was that a national thing? I'm from Peoria, Illinois, and I thought it was a logo/mascot for CILCO (Central Illinois Light Company).

 

[Ruppert]

Those pieces are showroom quality. What a beautiful restoration.

 

[Redikilowatt]

Thanks. They were in fairly good shape to begin with, but I sanded a few shallow scratches and applied some Howard's Restore-A_Finish.
BTW, when I was a kid, there was a large neon sign on one of the main power substations which had an image of "Reddykilowatt". Was that a national thing? I'm from Peoria, Illinois, and I thought it was a logo/mascot for CILCO (Central Illinois Light Company).

Like you, I thought it was a regional thing that I observed as a kid near Charlotte, NC. However, variants of Reddy extended to many areas, including Canada.

 

[Airjmax]

Those pieces are showroom quality. What a beautiful restoration.

Thanks @Ruppert Here's the "before" photos:

 

[ra.ra]

I'm from Peoria, Illinois, and I thought it was a logo/mascot for CILCO (Central Illinois Light Company).

That's correct - - Reddy Kilowatt was sort of a graphic mascot for the industry of electrical distribution, and his image was used by regional distributors in many states. For me in northern Indiana, he was a familiar figure with instant recognition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddy_Kilowatt

 

[GD70]

I paid $150 for these speakers plus a very clean Sansui Model Seven receiver from the original owner, and I was pretty excited to get them home for a listen. Unfortunately, both tweeters in the 23's were dead! No problem, I thought, new caps will cure them. It was not the case. Both tweets had the ultra-thin copper wires broken, and in such a way that repair was impossible. I tried to source some original tweeters for them, but I was having no luck. Thanks to AK member @Ruppert, I have fully-functioning speakers! While waiting for tweeters, I sealed the surrounds, recapped, and refinished the cabinets. They look and sound very nice, especially with the Sansui Seven. I still can't get over how much bass these things produce, along with non-fatiguing highs. Thanks again @Ruppert

Beautiful work. One of KLHs nicest cabinet designes.
Cheers, Glenn

 

[Airjmax]

Beautiful work. One of KLHs nicest cabinet designes.
Cheers, Glenn

Thanks Glenn! High praise from a master restorer like you!

 

[gbroot]

Wowsuh! beautiful! The 23's and Sansui together equals what I would think is an exceptional combination. Well done sir!

 

[1rebmem]

Lucky guy!
Great combination and a fantastic price!

I have a pair of 23's in equal condition. But I paid $200!
I replaced the 4uF cap's and sealed the surrounds.
Great sounding speakers and just beautiful cabinets/grille's.
Jef

 

[Onthebus]

Exactly what caps did you choose? Thanks. Also, would tweeters from any other models work? I guess I should replace the caps first to see if that’s the cause of the dead tweeter?

 

[Airjmax]

Exactly what caps did you choose? Thanks. Also, would tweeters from any other models work? I guess I should replace the caps first to see if that’s the cause of the dead tweeter?

Great info here: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...r-capacitors-on-klh-model-23-speakers.696320/
I used the same caps.

 

[Onthebus]

Nice work. Thanks!

 

[SpinninAgain]

Also, would tweeters from any other models work?

I believe the tweeters from the Model 5 is the same. The same with the woofers. I will double check this.

 

[Onthebus]

If you ever see one around from any model that would fit my 23’s. Man, no luck anywhere yet.

 

[RxDx]

Five, Twelve, and Twenty Three use the same tweeter.
Six, Seventeen, and Twenty use a different version. It fits, but has
a different voicing. Nothing at auction right now, which is unusual.

 

[Qtronic]

Really nice.

 

[tonedeaf57]

nice job. i've redone 17's and 32's for my daughters but your cabinets are much nicer. btw, i'm from bloomington.

 

[Airjmax]

nice job. i've redone 17's and 32's for my daughters but your cabinets are much nicer. btw, i'm from bloomington.

Thanks! I pretty much learned how to do everything here on AK. I know Bloomington well, I'm originally from Peoria. Unfortunately, those Twenty-three's have moved on to a KLH collector. He loves them. I thought they were attractive and sounded great for a vintage speaker, but they are quite large and I have limited room for my growing speaker collection. I have a pair of 17's that are in pristine original condition that I recapped and resealed. Those will probably stay around.