Scored some KLH Model 6's

... Not the hardest thing to find, of course. Got them for 25.00/pair. I wanted to try to restore them, on the assumption they'd be better than my current (recent Wharfedale bookshelf speakers!).

Now, 1 of the KLH's has a busted tweeter. But just going by the sound of the other one -- are these speakers really so great? Much better bass than the others, of course, but there is a kind of veil or blanket thrown over the high frequencies (have I just come to expect too much crispness, due to our modern ways with mastering?).

Should I go ahead and have both Model 6's reconditioned? (My amp is a Jolida 35-watt tube amp).

Thanks to all, speaker peoples!

 

I don't have KLH 6s, but I do have a pair of Small Advents. When I first got them, the treble was very muffled, IMHO practically nonexistent. There was some output from the tweeters, but barely! No telling if they were made that way, deteriorated from age, or were fried by the last owner. This also makes me wary of buying another pair from eBay. Point is: can you trust getting another used pair of tweeters?

I have a pair of Audax soft-dome tweeters I'm going to try in them. Currently using an older pair of Philips mylar-dome tweeters, which balanced out the sound nicely.

 

Thanks, Rudy. By the way, I see you're in Michigan -- I am too: haven't changed my handle yet but I moved to Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago. You don't know anyone in the area who does speaker repair, do you?

 

I had a pair of KLH model 6s.....UUGGHH. not worth repairing, IMHO.

 

I wonder what made me think these were a classic model? Can you be a little more specific about the Model 6? (I got these because someone said UUGGHH about my little Wharfedales.)

 

I Had a pair of KLH 6's when they were new in the mid 1960's. Built like a tank but sounded just as you describe them. Muffled. They wound up being used as shelves for plants. They looked very nice that way.

All the best,

Gary

 

mine just didnt sound any good, pure and simple.

My test was always The Ventures "Hawaii-5-0". If that sounded flat on a pair of speakers, I would get rid of them. That song sounds good on just about any quality speaker.

 

I have a pair of 6's in my son's room. They haven't spent much time in the listening room but he likes them. I'll have to get them out and try them.

rick

 

Not offhand...speaker repair is something I've never searched for, though.

I'm only about 20 minutes due east of Ann Arbor, by the way. Canton's just the other side of Ypsilanti. Have you discovered Encore Records yet (over on E. Liberty)?

 

Yes, and PJ's, on Packard, harder to find but worth it!

 

I've been visiting Ann Arbor for 20+ years (ever since a buddy went to school there), and I have yet to visit PJs! Amazing, I know...but I usually go later in the evening and end up closing Encore, then grabbing a bite. Wazoo is still around but I haven't been there in a decade, when they stopped carrying vinyl for CDs. For all I know they could have ditched CDs and gone back to vinyl!

Quite an interesting little town, AA is...

 

I like it. Wazoo has plenty of vinyl. Not so much as either PJ or Encore. But at wazoo I just got Beck's "Midnite Vultures" on LP for $10 new!

 

Lil.fred: just out of curiosity, are these similar to your KLH's?

BTW: you might want to give Cambridge SoundWorks a call about those tweeters--the tweeters used in the modern Model Six look quite similar to the ones pictured above.