6 replies to this topic

[tnt1451]

Hello, my friend just scored a pair of KLH model 5's but I cant listen to them since we are on opposite sides of the continent. There is very little information on the web about these particular speakers. I was just curious as to what some of their characteristic features are, anything special I should know about them(so I could tell him if needed), how good they are, what their sound is, and anything else you might be able to tell me about them.

Thanks

[calvin l hoogavin]

HI, Great score! In my opinion, these are the most beautiful speakers KLH ever made. Aside from the sexy looks, they are well constructed with walnut veneer over MDF. They are acoustic suspension boxes(sealed boxes) They have a 10" woofer, 2 mid-ranges which are isolated in a partition , and the standard KLH tweeter. I have found that the old caps for the tweeters usually need replacing. Sometimes the coating on the fabric surrounds need re-coating to keep the box airtight.Of course sound is subjective to the listener,so here are my impressions. The bass response is very similar to Advent a-4 with all types of music. I mostly listen to Jazz, Bluegrass/Folk and 60's to 70's Rock. For Jazz and acoustic music the mids and highs are soaring, for rock-maybe a bit subdued. I think you will love them!

[JKent]

Calvin really covered it. The Five was KLH's answer to the AR3a. Outstanding speakers. Just wanted to comment on "very little information on the web." If you search this KLH forum you'll find a LOT of info on the Fives.
In my experience they benefit from new caps AND new resistors. Sealing the woofer surrounds properly (Roy's thin sealant works best) makes a world of difference. I sold my Fives because they did not sound as good as the AR3a's. Then, just before they were sold I put a THIN coating of Roy's glop on the surrounds. WOW!
Great speakers!
Kent

[tnt1451]

okay, cool.

I knew about the caps and resistors from all the different pages on here, could that be why the tweeters aren't making any sound in them?
Also, how much would it cost to recap/resistor them.

Tyson

[JKent]

That's like asking "what does a watch cost?" I have a $10 watch that keeps perfect time. A friend loves his $5,000 Rolex. Go figure. But here is a list. You could go with more expensive caps (member Rob used Clarity Caps) or less expensive (Carli mylars, Erse or the cheapest--electrolytics). You can also get perfectly good resistors for 1/4 the cost of Mills. And you can skip the "bypass caps" This will just give you an idea.
Kent

PS: Just checked the Erse site and youcan save a lot here:
http://www.erseaudio...-Film-Capacitor

Their 10 ohm resistors are 35 cents each. Their PeX capacitors are:
3uF 0.84
4uF 1.23
15uF 3.57
25uF 4.00

These are good quality components and would cost you under 20 bucks for everything.

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Edited by JKent, 28 February 2012 - 11:10 PM.

[calvin l hoogavin]

Good analogy Jkent! My first pair(crossover repair) I had done at a local repair shop and they charged about 35 bucks to re-cap both. I had removed the X-overs myself -less labor cost! They covered their work with sparkplug boxes and filled them with a glue stick gun! I quickly removed this and learned how to do it myself! While I just replace them now as a matter of course, you can easily check the tweeters first by using a known working X-over or by hooking them to the speaker output of your amp.-KEEP THE VOLUME AT THE MINIUM!!! if you do it this way! or poof-they're blown! You can find replacement tweeters on e-bay if you shop.

[tnt1451]

Sounds good, still waiting on his answer on whether or not the tweeters still work. Only reason I, or he, knows how to test them is because we had some problems with tweeters over the summer, and had to fix em somehow, but couldn't get anywhere without knowing what was wrong.

If it is the x-over, which it most likely is from what I have read, does anybody know of any shops that would do good work in the Warner, New Hampshire area? I don't think he would trust himslef with the repair.

Tyson