21 year old Klipschhorns

[LotusFool]

My wife is going to sheetrock our living room, so the stereo rig was moved yesterday. In the back of one of my Khorns I saw a tag that said made by "somebody" 1997. That means my speakers are now 21 years old. I bought them used 10 years ago. At what point in time might the woffers need re-foaming, and should I take a look? I don't even know where and how to see the woffers. I'd say they sound fine, but at 21 years old, maybe I should inspect them somehow.

Thanks
Gary

 

[avguytx]

They never need refoaming...they have accordian style surrounds. Main thing would be to snug up all the bolts, nuts, and screws.

Your wife is going to sheetrock the living room?

 

[MannyE]

Please send your wife to my house. My garage needs some sheetrock.

 

[silversport]

your crossovers might need freshening but just enjoy...BECtoo on this Forum does crossovers for Klipsch and has very nice prices... critesspeakers.com

 

[Coytee]

To see / gain access to the woofers, you need to (if I recall) remove the grill on the side and there should be an access panel there. Might even be where the wires go through. I don't recall....been near 12 years since I had mine to look at them.

I agree that you shouldn't ever need to replace the woofers. I think they used a cloth surround (?) and it's going to last a long time unless they get hit with some serious sonic abuse.

My LaScalas are 1979 and have original drivers in them.

 

[Drugolf]

Shouldn't need anything yet. Unless you get the modify/upgrade bug.

 

[usedto]

My 89s are bone stock and sound spectacular.

 

[rmeade]

Gee, I am still curios about the 'wife going to sheet-rock ... ' comment. I am proud of my wife - who paints and will performs a variety of small repairs. Sheet-rocking is two levels (at least) above these skills. So where did you find this gem? Of course, having skills means that she has higher expectations of you -on what you can do, both in quantity (time) and quality (you poor bastard).

 

[musichal]

"so the stereo rig was moved"

Hmmm, note the passive sentence structure, ie, not "I moved the stereo..."

She do that, too? How is she at running wire in tight attics? I may need to borrow her, as well.

The 41yo pair of Khorns I owned still had original drivers with no issues, except that I recapped the crossovers.

 

[LotusFool]

I moved the McIntosh stuff, but she moved the Kornerhorns! They slide well on carpeting. I hurt my back 6 weeks ago removing a cherry tree, so she's trying to do all the heavy work for me. Glad to hear I don't have to inspect the woffers.

 

[Silentnet]

Raccoon them woogers!

 

[Dethklok]

Had a pair of Khorns for 25 years, never had a single issue. They are nearly indestructible. Kinda wish I still had them.

 

[twiiii]

View attachment 1227265 When my better half bought her house it had 1/8th inch paneling attached to 1 X ^6 studs. So when she decided to take the partition out between the living room and family room all the paneling was
removed and the walls were filled with a treated paper insulation and double sheet rocked with either 3/4 or 5/8 inch. She also made them double sheet rock the ceilings and add a layer to the sheet rock in the living room after filling the cavities with insulation. She installed a Spanish or Moroccan tile on one wall. Thick carpet was installed with soft padded furniture and soft padded drapes . Her Beta speakers sounded Great. What was a Beta Speaker. Basically a 4 ft tall La Scala, but with a direct radiating 15 " woofer feeding a short horn that was ported looking a like a Tannoy Westminster that had been shrunk with a the La Scala top on top. The speakers were between a Cornwall and Klipschorn in size with the same response as the Cornwall. The didn't need to be placed in corners unless placed in a hard room.
Its a shame they never really caught on as we wished, Big speakers were on the way out in popularity by the early 70's. The company made three different sizes as I remember. The smallest unit about 8 " taller than a Hersey and half the size of a Belle really out performed both of them though not as efficient as the Belle. You can tell the crossovers were 6 db per octave which gave the system a different sound, too. I wonder how they would sound with modern Klipsch or Crites new drivers? The second photo shows what the wall looked like two years ago Christmas.

 

[Nemo bit]

Never will need a re foam not a foam surround. At the young age of those they really should need nothing. I guess if you want to do something I guess you could upgrade crossovers. I am sitting here with my 50 year old Corn walls and planning to do mine soon.. but they still sound amazing at the age of 50. Cheers!

 

[Bucky Badger]

Well you don't see those everyday.
Nice.

 

[HarleySG]

The midrange and tweeter may need new diaphragms, maybe not. But I would look at replacing the xovers even if the caps are still ok. Better performance can be had in the aftermarket. I have a pair of Volti VX xovers and it was a pretty big improvement over the stock AA, even after a cap refresh.