KLH Six: Best of the Vintage KLH Bunch?

[Airjmax]

I have a chance to get a pair of KLH Model Six locally. Can you please answer a couple questions?
I’ve got some Seventeens, and have restored a pair of Twenties and Twenty Threes, how do the Six’s rank among them?
How do the Sixes rate overall against speakers you have?
Obviously, I’ve read many comments on AK about them, and all seems to be positive.
Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!

 

[tomlinmgt]

23’s and 6’s virtually identical with 23’s having a little more bass heft...but nothing EQ/tone control can’t make up for. 6’s in the grand scheme of things...a capable, pleasant and polite sounding speaker, not fussy about set up or upstream electronics and forgiving of poor recordings but FAR from the last word in sound stage/image resolution, detail, transient response, dynamic scale...which is basically the case with the typical East coast speaker. If you want something that approaches the real thing, you won’t find it with this type of speaker design. But if you want a sound that generally pleases all at the expense of higher fidelity then this is a great choice....which you’ve already experienced with the other models you’ve owned.

 

[RTally]

I have both KLH Six and Twenty, both recapped and redoped. I have them in my office with a less than ideal setup. I rarely play them loud. I am listening to the Sixes now with Paul Butterfield playing.

The sound is very similar with the Six going slightly deeper. But most of the music I listen to does not go that deep. So, the two are indistinguishable for most music.

 

[RTally]

In my office I have KLH Six, Rectilinear III Lowboys, Magneplanar MMG, Polk Monitor 5B, and Klipsch KG 4.5. I have Pioneer, NAD, and Yamaha receivers connected to them. The setup is not ideal, but each one sounds good to me depending if I am using my standup workstation or sitting at my desk. I do not use these speakers for "critical listening." I use them to play the soundtrack to my working life and I listen to them between 6 and 12 hours a day. Sometimes loud, sometimes at background levels.

Each time I switch to another pair of speakers, I think to myself, "Damn, that sounds good." To me, each of the 5 speakers are comparable. They all do not sound the same, and each has their strengths and weaknesses. They are all pleasing to my ear.

 

[peerson]

There are many, many, many good to great speakers. The KLH Model Six is just one of them. There is no "Best". It is all subjective. Another rhetorical discussion.

 

[Airjmax]

There are many, many, many good to great speakers. The KLH Model Six is just one of them. There is no "Best". It is all subjective. Another rhetorical discussion.

You are correct about the sound of speakers being subjective, however there is generally a consensus about whether the sound of a speaker is bad, good, or great. I have changed the title of the thread to specify that I was inquiring within the vintage KLH family of speakers. Also, I don't agree that the discussion is "rhetorical". That implies rhetoric, where as in this case, the discussion may be moot, due to each individual opinion.

 

[Bodyblue]

You are correct about the sound of speakers being subjective, however there is generally a consensus about whether the sound of a speaker is bad, good, or great. I have changed the title of the thread to specify that I was inquiring within the vintage KLH family of speakers. Also, I don't agree that the discussion is "rhetorical". That implies rhetoric, where as in this case, the discussion may be moot, due to each individual opinion.

I own a completely rebuilt and reconed and recapped set of 6s. The blow the 17s into the water bass wise. I sold my 17s after a few months for that reason. I love my 6s and I recently replace the grill fabric from the funky white. I also own a pair of recapped Marantz Imperial 6s which I like better, but not by a lot. The Imperials are easier to drive and have more bass at lower sound levels.

If you do get the 6s use a decent power amp. You will see people saying they sound good with 30 wpc etc and that is true. But they sound better with more power. The smallest I ever use with mine is the Sony STR 5800 at 55wpc.

I also own a set of Realistic Optimus 5s (designed to compete against the KLH 5). The 5s have not been recapped so it is harder to tell what they are really supposed to sound like but they also are neck and neck with KLH 6s.

My 6s are going to sound different from ones with the stock surrounds and cones. The professional speaker service that did the work on them (Neals's in Norcal) claims they sound better since the modern material used on the woofers is more compliant and better than the old material. Either way they are a really nice and smooth speaker.

 

[spark1]

I believe that the "best" of the vintage KLH's is the Model Nine.

Next would be the Twelve, or Five...although it would certainly not be unreasonable to find the Six to be preferable due to the fairly significant difference in voicing of the Five and Twelve vs the Six. They are distinctly different sounding.

Personally, I find the 23 to be lesser than any of the models listed above...too dark and wooly for my tastes.

I have owned and restored all but the Nines. For smaller models, I prefer the 24 over the 17/20...but most folks would rank the 17/20 above all the other smaller KLH "classic" models.

 

[Nat]

Bodyblue: I'm not sure you can fairly compare what look like a heavily modified pair of Sixes (at least reconed) to other standard KLHs and give a fair comparison. Unless, of course, your point is that the Sixes (or other KLHs can have drivers replaced and sound different, and maybe better). Your input is worthwhile, but I would have liked to have known upfront that you weren't describing original Sixes.

 

[bigaltx24]

I have Sixes and Seventeens, both recapped and sealed. The bigger cabs and woofers on the Sixes let them dig deeper on the low end and also give the lower midrange more authority. They use the same tweeter and crossover at the same frequency so the high end is very similar. Since I got into open baffles I rarely listen to box speakers, but when I do it's usually my Sixes.

 

[audiojones]

Funny how very subjective speakers can be! Over the past 30+ years I've had many pairs of Model Six, Seventeen and Twenty speakers and while they all sound very good I found the Model Twenty-Three to be far more articulate with a much sweeter midrange and dig down much deeper. Many folks think the Six and the Twenty-Three have the same drivers but they absolutely do not. The tweeters look very similar up front but they have a different magnet structure and a more articulate and less "honky" or "sqwuaky" tone to them. The woofers are like apples and oranges; larger magnet and voice coil structure, longer throw, etc. They are the same woofers and tweeters as used in the Model Five and Twelve.

I did find that the Model Twenty-Three took some getting used to, in other words if you do an "A/B" type of comparison with a more modern speaker the Twenty-Three will come away sounding quite dark and laid back, but the midrange they produce is fantastic and natural. The highs are actually quite natural too, they don't shout or sizzle but sound (IMO) more lifelike. In the past I've described listening to the Twenty-Three's as if you are coming inside on a very bright day, it takes a little bit for your eyes (in this case ears) to adjust to "normal" levels. Twenty-Three's will always come away sounding bad in a quick A/B comparison though, and they're not everyone's cup of tea to be sure. The Six was definitely not my cup of tea, I liked the bass and the overall sound but they were just too "shouty" in the midrange and upper registers for me. IMO the Twenty-Three was KLH's best two way loudspeaker.

 

[GD70]

I've had Twenty Three's, Seventeens, two sets of Sixs, currently have one set of Sixs and Fives.
I agree with the overall consensus, but love the Sixs and Fives. The Twenty Three's were great, and I only sold them because my Sixs are from the original owner and I know their history. The Fives are on another level, and on the same level as the AR3a.
If I hadn't heard a set of Sixs, and they are in good shape for a good price, I'd jump.
Glenn

 

[quiet]

Did Kloss say he was particularly fond of the 6? Of the 6, 17, and 5 my preference is the 5. All stock, except two caps in the 5, stone cold dead. One in each speaker. No woofer resealing of any.
The 6 is gone, the 17 nobody here wants. I will keep the 5.

 

[spartree]

The 6 and the 5 are both really good. For me the 5 is the overall better speaker, but the 6 is just so smooth and seductive. I think if I solely listened to Jazz I’d prefer the 6.

 

[Tim D]

From other sources:

'In the words of Henry Kloss himself in a 1996 interview - "Everything was right about the model six".'

 

[Tim D]

I've got a pair of early Sixes (1963) in my primary rotation being driven by a 1963 Fisher KX-100 integrated amplifier. It's a sublime combination with my Dual 1019/Shure M91ED. It's going to take a lot to knock the Sixes out of first place at my house and I've got 25 pairs of speakers right now - and not a lot of junk either. (Advents, Polks, Wharfedales, Technics (SB-6060), other KLH's, etc.) I just like them that much. Subjective? Yes, but I'll bet I'm not alone.

 

[Bodyblue]

Bodyblue: I'm not sure you can fairly compare what look like a heavily modified pair of Sixes (at least reconed) to other standard KLHs and give a fair comparison. Unless, of course, your point is that the Sixes (or other KLHs can have drivers replaced and sound different, and maybe better). Your input is worthwhile, but I would have liked to have known upfront that you weren't describing original Sixes.

Huh? The drivers were NOT replaced. How in the world did you come to that conclusion? The original drivers were reconed. This is what I said "I own a completely rebuilt and reconed and recapped set of 6s" AND I posted a picture of them.

And yes, with the new cones and foam they do sound better than they did before. But the old cones and surrounds sounded very nice, with far better bass than the 17s. Modern materials made a noticeable difference. The only reason I had them rebuilt is because a Fisher integrated amp popped an STK pack and took one of the KLHs out. The cones and foams used were Advent, because the KLH original stuff is not avail.

 

[GD70]

Huh? The drivers were NOT replaced. How in the world did you come to that conclusion? The original drivers were reconed. This is what I said "I own a completely rebuilt and reconed and recapped set of 6s" AND I posted a picture of them.

And yes, with the new cones and foam they do sound better than they did before. But the old cones and surrounds sounded very nice, with far better bass than the 17s. Modern materials made a noticeable difference. The only reason I had them rebuilt is because a Fisher integrated amp popped an STK pack and took one of the KLHs out. The cones and foams used were Advent, because the KLH original stuff is not avail.

I'd be very curious to hear your opinion of the re-coned woofers vs. an original set. There's several original Six woofers on fleabay now pretty cheap.

 

[Bodyblue]

I'd be very curious to hear your opinion of the re-coned woofers vs. an original set. There's several original Six woofers on fleabay now pretty cheap.

The simplest way to describe them is faster. They sound much more like a modern speaker if that makes any sense. I really noticed the difference after a 100 or so hours of play. The have that nice tight acoustic suspension bass but it seems to me they respond to heavy bass lines better.

When I got my set they had been recapped and nothing else. The surrounds seemed fine....that is till the STK pack took it out like a gun shot. It collapsed the spider completely. I took them up Neal's Speaker service about 30 miles up in the mountains from me (he also takes units mailed to him) and he had them done in a week. He had to fabricate a part on a 3D printer. When I picked them up it was snowing/sleeting like crazy and did not get exactly what part that was. If you look up Neal's Speaker Service on Facebook you can ask him. He is a great guy and will get back to a private message in a day or so. He is very reputable and just a great guy........and he loves Henry Kloss designs. I am sure he will tell you what part has to be fabricated. He told me even 5 years ago he could have not have done the job because parts are scarce.

If I remember correctly he charged about $140 for both speakers. He also looked at the recapping work and said it was done well and did not need to be touched. And when I saw the surrounds were some kind of dense foam I asked him will they seal the same. He said they were still sealed but for sure will sound better than the old school surrounds........and he was exactly right. I felt terrible when one of them blew. They were in premium condition and I got them for a good price.



.

 

[Bodyblue]

Oh I recovered the grills with a darker fabric. When I got them they did not have the original badges so I ordered a reproduction set from a guy on Ebay. They dont have the pin on the back, they use adhesive and are thinner. But they were $9.99 shipped and look great. He also takes custom orders.