Sound of KLH 17 with SET tube amp

[martin15560]

Is there somebody who could tell me how the KLH 17 witch tube set amp sounds. I have tu-8200 8wpc and I would like it for rock, classic and dance music, thank you.

I am thinking about adding sub to KLH 17 later...

 

[dshoaf]

Locate them in a small room with jazz or small ensemble classical. Headbangers would need to add more power.

Make sure the 17s have been updated with new crossover components and the surrounds sealed.

Cheers,

David

 

[martin15560]

Locate them in a small room with jazz or small ensemble classical. Headbangers would need to add more power.

Make sure the 17s have been updated with new crossover components and the surrounds sealed.

Cheers,

David

According what the owner said they are original without any changes so the crossover would need a change?

 

[teebee]

They will sound amazing after new caps and diluted butyl on the surrounds. KLH Seventeens have glorious midrange, natural, quick highs, and decent bass for their size. They sound a bit tighter than the 6 and have a little more bloom in the middle.
Lovely speakers, even better with a subwoofer.

 

[teebee]

The red and black caps that came with many vintage KLH are widely known to go bad. If they work, enjoy them.

 

[GD70]

The Seventeens are terrific for small rooms in the 10X12 range. I love my Sixs with the Scott LK-72, a sublime combination, so the Seventeens with tube should also sound terrific.
The caps should be replaced and the woofer surrounds resealed as noted. If you don't have access to butyl and toluene as a thinner to mix together, then get the sealer from eBay seller "vintage-ar".

 

[Tim D]

The reason everyone keeps saying the caps need updating is because the typical electrolytic caps don't age well and end up having problems over time. (Read that as sounding bad or non-optimal or also could be dangerous to the tweeters if shorted.) The general recommendation is that if they haven't been changed in the last decade then they should be replaced. Lots of recommendations on what kind of caps to use, but basically whatever you use should have same capacitance (within 10% if you can get exact values), be non-polarized and have a voltage rating of the same or greater value than what is in there. Anything else is frosting on the cake.

 

[peerson]

I am not sure if 8wpc is enough power for the KLH Model Seventeen. Try it and see, I guess. Mine work well with my 50wpc receiver. They like the SX1250 @ 160wpc better, though. Make sure you use a POWERED Subwoofer if you decide to add one.

 

[Tim D]

I am not sure if 8wpc is enough power for the KLH Model Seventeen. Try it and see, I guess. Mine work well with my 50wpc receiver. They like the SX1250 @ 160wpc better, though. Make sure you use a POWERED Subwoofer if you decide to add one.

True. The 17's aren't a highly efficient speaker, but they were a child of the KLH Six developed when tubes and low-power were the only choice. (The Six and 17 are almost identical in cross-over and tweeter. The woofer in the 17 is slightly smaller and the cabinet is smaller.) You aren't going to get to ear-bleed levels with that combination (or any combination with the KLH 17), but if you just want to have a good listen and have the opportunity to crank it a little and still talk to someone in the room, it might be sufficient. Whether it is sufficient depends on the OP's listening habits and preferred genre's. As peerson said, "try it and see." I'd love to hear that combination myself. Let us know how it works out.