Vintage KLH model 32

[Boston Tom]

Recently acquired a pair of vintage KLH model 32’s and when I picked them up from previous owner they looked like they hadn’t moved since the early 70’s when placed high on a cabinet. (I can tell they haven’t moved by the thickness of the settled dust on the top of speaker cabinets)They are all original never been opened up, immaculate grills and sound great. A few questions though. Should I and is there an easy way to remove grills and reattach after checking the surrounds. Also the finish is slightly faded on the side that was facing the window. Thanks all

 

[crdm6]

I just re-did 2 pairs.
If you can reposition the grills exactly over the brads then put a board on the grill and tap the board with a hammer it might work.
Good luck.
I just pulled the brads out and went with velcro.
The other thing is the single 4uf capacitor should probably be changed. If you reach in with a gloved hand you can disconnect the cap lead from the tweeter: it has a push on connector. You can then cut the cap out and replace it. Using a Poly or Mylar cap does seem to brighten them up a bit. It's annoying but not too difficult to get the connector back on the tweeter tab.
If you re-goop the surrounds, just do one coat. Get the goop from vintageAR on Ebay.

Another handy tip, 32's had a spray on finish of unknown composition.
You can't just lightly sand and re-oil. If you try to get it off, normal refinishing fluids turn it into a gelatinous goo so you end up sanding it all off. Oh yeah, I have never seen veneer that thin. Careful.

The 22's and 24's had a normal oiled finish.
They really went cheap on the 32's.
Having said all this bad stuff, they were the first speakers I ever bought new back then.
I also think they sound better than 17's.

 

[Boston Tom]

Thanks for the info CRD. These seem to sound great still. the grills are nearly immaculate. Like I said just wanted a closer look at the surrounds to see if there was any drying out.
Cheers.

 

[ra.ra]

Mostly I agree with CRD. The grilles can be carefully removed, and the brads are nearly invisible. The wonderful little black edge reveal at the grille perimeter is helpful - - it allows for a delicate thin tool to be inserted which enables the grille frame to loosen up - - just work slowly. Also, definitely replace the capacitor in each cabinet.

Some of the finishes KLH applied to certain speaker models are indeed difficult to work with, but I did not find this to be the case with the Thirty-Two. Perhaps yours do not require extensive restoration, and maybe can be rejuvenated with a lighter touch. Maybe Howard's Restor-a-finish is well-suited in this case?

Here is a thread on my resto project:
http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?/topic/10078-klh-model-thirty-two-loudspeaker/

 

[crdm6]

The ones I did weren't all beat up so I thought some Restore-a-Finish, a bit of sanding, some Tung Oil and it's all good.
No. The Howard's turned whatever it was into gunk. I supposed if I had dipped the box into Howard's that would have worked but I don't have a dip tank full of Howard's. There well may be differences depending on their date. There are definite differences in 17's depending on when they were made. Older better, newer bad QA and worse wood. The tweeters are different too. Older ones have lower Fs.

 

[Boston Tom]

Thanks guys really appreciate the info. I will work on removing the grills will keep updating. The cabinet I think just needs some mild cleaning. And will post finished pics later. Here they are in the condition I got them.

 

[rwh63]

Still waiting for those pics!