KLH 4 Bookshelf Speakers

Water

Well-Known Member
I found these KLH 4 small bookshelf speakers at a yard sale today for $5 for the pair. The people that lived there had almost nothing else for sale. Anyway, they seem to be quite well made. Still trying to decide if I like the way they sound. There is one other thread on these speakers that I could find but barely any info.

klh4s.jpg


klhback.jpg


Now I just have to decide what to do with them.
 
My guess is these were made by Singer (who bought KLH from Henry Kloss et al). Singer owned KLH from, I think, the early '70s to 1980 when the company was sold again and moved to California.

Singer, for a time, continued to make good and faithful versions of classic Kloss designs. When new models began to appear they were at first quite close to the original designs in philosophy and quality but at some point the new products began to depart from the original design concepts. You can identify the transition by the change from, for instance, "Model Six" to "Model 4". The written out numbers were the originals or the ones inspired by the originals.

John
 
I think most or all of the Henry Kloss woofers had inverted cloth surrounds and heavy paper cones.
 
I've had more time to listen to them and I'm quite impressed. They really put off an amazing amount of bass for small speakers. They are doing basement duty with an '80s Sony 45WPC receiver. I'm glad I picked them up.
 
Those are amazing little speakers, I have two pairs that my father-in-law gave to me, I use on pairs as my surrounds and the other pair are in my daughter's room, I tried to get one more pair from him but he won't budge ( he still has 8 more pairs...yup you read it right), I also have their big brother KLH 2, also a sweet sounding set.
Enjoy them.
Actually the set in my Daughter's room are the KLH 3, the twin brother of the 4's


John
 
Yea they are impressive for their size, I want to use them too, but I recently got a pair of Infinity Reference Twos which are bigger (8-inch woofers) and sound better so those are now where I had the KLHs. Probably going to keep them and use them in a future surround sound setup using small cheap vintage speakers I have collected. These KLH 4s in the front, and Mini Advents as the rears. I gotta find a center channel and I have a Yamaha subwoofer.
 
Are those supposed to be used with the 'computer' equallizer box? They have the same tweeter and mid/woofer as the other KLHs that used the box. But I don't know.
 
I'll ask my FIL, he worked at KLH so he'd know better than I, but I think it was the model 3 that used the computer/equaliser.


John
 
From what I read on another thread it sounded like the KLH 3s came with an equalizer box, and the KLH 4s are very similar but did not. Who knows if that is correct though.
 
Yeah -- they look like they might have been the entry level model, without the equallizer, which would have raised the cost too much. I suspect they ported it, which would boost the bass without equallization, and raise the efficiency to the point that power handling might not be an issue for even unrealistic sound volumes.
 
These KLH models were introduced to the N.American market in 1982, a year after KLH was sold to Infinity, and consequently they were made in SoCal. All but the smallest model used an Analogue Bass Computer-Feedback EQ unit. Sort of a quasi servo -feedback system that would limit low end cutoff, (and hence Xmax) during high SPLs, quite clever. I listened to the whole line and thought they were above average for their $500-$1800/pr price range. The KLH 1 were very punchy and had decent mids and imaging. I did however feel the soft dome tweeters were a little less extended than the best domes of the period. If you see ANY model 1-4 get them, they are rare. If you know someone familiar with electronics you could have the Bass Computer refurbished. They didn't sell well and were dropped by 1984... and the KLH name soon followed.
 
The model 4 is not shown in this literature b/c it did not use the bass computer but it is from the same series, and all of them appear to be ported. This is all of the literature I can find.
 

Attachments

  • KLH 1-2-3.jpg
    KLH 1-2-3.jpg
    69.5 KB · Views: 81
I read that the 1982-1984 KLH line are extremely rare because this was the transition time period for KLH. They also did not sell very well because of the worldwide recession in the early 80's.

Speaking of which, I found these KLH 4 last week :) :smoke:

15721426667_c633a01860_c.jpg

15905213661_dc4076905c_c.jpg

15905214031_ce663dce7a_c.jpg

15287545283_2e767142f3_c.jpg

15719898420_7f0ff2e898_c.jpg

15881397806_7894947a07_c.jpg
 
i have the KLH-1
it is my understanding that the bass computer was an option and a rarity in itself.
have you connected these to a source yet and if yes whats your initial impression?
 
Last edited:
computer?

Yes, look ontop of speakers - computer controlled speakers

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=3585#entry69668

klh1(1).jpg


Audio Magazine published an interview with Daniel von Recklinghausen in the February 1981 issue. A side column explained his new Analog Bass Computer, which was part of KLH's Computer Controlled Loudspeakers, introduced at the June, 1979 Consumer Electronics Show.
The design was detailed in a paper(preprint 1617)presented at the 65th Audio Engineering Society Convention.(From the article): "The Analog Bass Computer concept is comprised of three basic elements: A variable gain equalizer with equalization slopes that are also dynamically variable, a threshold circuit to determine the levels at which gain and slopes are altered, and a transducer analog circuit that examines the power amplifier signal returning from the loudspeaker for evidence of thermal overload or mechanical fatigue. The analog bass computer is in essence, therefore, an equalizer that changes its equalization curve continuously over a wide range of levels to protect the loudspeaker from damage that might result if a simple bass-boost circuit were used."
The three speakers in the series are vented designs based on the Thiele-Small parameters.
The computer alters the amount of bass boost by as much as 30dB, depending on signal level, and removes it entirely during very high-level passages.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/klh/klh-1_series_klh-1_klh-2_kl/klh-1_series_brochure/

klh_1_brochure_03-2.jpeg
 
Last edited:
yes- i have the big ones on the far right...
i was asking if YOU had the computer...
regardless- whata ya think of them? had a good listen yet?
 
yes- i have the big ones on the far right...
i was asking if YOU had the computer...
regardless- whata ya think of them? had a good listen yet?

I havent hooked them up yet. Waiting on 1 speaker terminal nut to arrive in the mail.

10_05_27_4500.jpg
 
Only the models 1, 2 and 3 had the ABC (analog bass computer) - - the model 4 did not, as confirmed by the ad shown in post 15. Don't know about the models 1 and 3, but the KLH-2 had notes on the back stating that the speaker must be used with the ABC, and use of speakers without the computer voided the warranty.

On the KLH-4, the x-o is assembled on a nice little removable circuit board (see pic), and the woofer magnet is truly massive for such a small driver.
 

Attachments

  • KLH-4 x-o.jpg
    KLH-4 x-o.jpg
    91.5 KB · Views: 65
Curiosity question, were those designed for optimum performance stand upright or on their sides, or doesn't it matter?
 
Back
Top Bottom