Vintage KLH Model 6 speakers: Oh my god!!!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by audio, Aug 1, 2003.

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  1. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Well, the most amazing thing happened tonight. The other day I bought a pair of vintage KLH Model 6 speakers at a flea market for $12. I gave them to a friend of mine to try out and told him I would sell them to him for $75 if he wanted them. He brought them back and told me that they didn't have as much bass as his little book shelf speakers and so he wasn't interested. I told him that something was wrong and that he either didn't hook them up correctly or his amp was a pile. I suggested that we plug them into my Arcam Alpha 9 and see how they do.

    Both of us were absolutely BLOWN AWAY by how good these speakers sounded. In a sense, the bested my $1900 Jean Marie Reynaud Cantabiles in that they did many things better and I spent only $12 on them! The Cantabiles were more detailed in the high end and were slightly faster, with more air and space around the vocals. At the same time, they sounded dry and analytical, overly bright, mechanical, and miniature. For these reasons, the KLH speakers sounded more like a live event because of their 'larger' sound. I felt that the Cantabiles, while certainly providing wonderful clarity in the upper registers, were giving me everything I didn't want emphasized in the music.

    The KLH speakers sounded bigger, more natural, more musical, with a subtle honey colored glow that struck me as being a pleasant and welcome coloration. While the KLH lacked the pristine detail in the very top end, they sounded fantastic and friendly without a trace of harshness. The KLH delivered more presence, better tonal reproduction of various instruments, better bass, and threw out a surprisingly huge soundstage and actually disappeared! I'm not sure what would have happened if I would have flicked the treble switch on the back or removed the grills in terms of matching the etched and surgical high end of the Cantabiles. Not that the KLH speakers lacked high end by any means, in fact they were quite proficient and actually had wonderful top end reproduction, they simply weren't quite as impressive as the Cantabiles, but it was a welcome phenomenon due to how velvety the KLH tended to sound in contrast.

    Minuses? On certain program material, the KLH sounded a tad boxy, certain vocals sounded a little veiled, and there was definitely a hump in the the lower mids, but again, this was pleasing to the ear and it's hard to determine what is closer to reality because of the size of the 10" KLH woofer compared to the 6" in the Cantabile. The KLH also tended to blur slightly during loud and complex passages such as the last section in "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. However, the KLH were set up poorly and I would think the smaller woofer in the Cantabile would move faster and be understandably more nimble.

    To be even more fair in favor of the KLH units, they were sitting flat on the carpet, a mere 23 1/2 in height compared to the Cantabiles being at perfect listening height, perfectly placed, and on spikes. Perhaps on stands and at a proper listening height, the KLH speakers would outperform the Cantabiles across the board. The bottom line is that after listening to the KLH speakers, I was excited and happy. I thoroughly enjoyed them and wanted to hear more music! After comparing the Cantabiles, I felt relieved to turn the music off and rest my ears. While the Jean Marie Reynaud Cantabiles have a reputation of being warm and smooth in today's market, I'd say they definitely need to be matched carefully with the right tube gear, etc.

    I don't know if I just stumbled across a perfect system match with the KLH speakers, or what. This experience made me want to start swapping out amplifiers and cd players just to see how good these Model 6 really are. One thing is for certain, I am DEFINITELY going vintage. I am sure it only gets better from here. Tonight I FINALLY heard what was missing from my modern system and I'm not going to look back. I have to be honest and say that I am totally shocked at how fantastic the KLH speakers sounded in my system. In fact, after I sell my Cantabiles, I am looking forward to living with them while I wait for my Tannoys to arrive. Taking price into consideration with all the above factors, these swap meet specials handsomely trashed their expensive and exquisite imported competition. If you are looking for a great pair of speakers that won't cost you a dime, you should be able to pick up a pair of these on ebay for $100. If you don't like them, I'll put you in touch with my friend Matt who is mad now because I told him these are temporarily no longer for sale.:righton:

    Gear list:

    Arcam Alpha 9 integrated amplifier 70 wpc
    Music Hall CD 25 HDCD player
    12 gauge Tributaries copper speaker cable

    Test material:

    Soundcheck II MFSL
    Super Furry Animals-Rings Around the World
    Delibes-Lakme
    Radiohead-OK Computer
    The Jam-Sound Affects MFSL
    Bob Marley-Catch a Fire MFSL
    Queen-A Night At the Opera DCC
    The Kinks-Something Else
    Judas Priest-British Steel (original cd)
    David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust RCA
    The Beatles-Abbey Road
    Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon MFSL
    Serge Gainsbourg-Aux Armes Et Caetera
    Motley Crue-Too Fast For Love
    Flaming Lips-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
    Primal Scream-XTRMNTR
    Serge Gainsbourg-Melody Nelson
     

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  2. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Sounds like you're hooked!

    Congratulations on your big score!

    I may have to keep an eye out for these!

    Just what I need - yet another set of speakers.... "sigh"
     
  3. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana

    I wouldn't say that I'm hooked on these, just impressed. All this did was confirm that I am making the right choice by building a vintage system to replace my current gear. On the other hand, the thought did cross my mind that I might fall in love with these speakers. I'd definitely recommend them to you, Gary. I think you'd be quite shocked at what these babies can actually do!
     
  4. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    Model 6's rock(ed)! Anybody remember the bookshelf-size Model 100 "loudspeaker system?" I had a pair in college, when I lived in shoebox-sized dorms. Er, this was a looong time ago.
     
  5. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Welcome to the club! I entered the fray a couple of months ago when I bought a pair of waist-high Tannoys at a local garage sale for $15. I didn't leave the house for a week!! It's like Christmas times 10, isn't it?
     
  6. IanL

    IanL Senior Member

    Location:
    Oneonta, NY USA
    There are a pair of KLH Model Seventeen speakers that are in my office here at work. They were here when I started working here and I hooked up some old stereo equipment to them. I always wondered about them since I had never heard of them before. Anybody know how Seventeen compared to the other models in their line?
     
  7. Monsieur Gadbois

    Monsieur Gadbois Senior Member

    Location:
    Hotel California
    I had a friend used four of these speakers stacked(one on top of another on each side)???? I don't understand the logic behind that .......

    BTW Prix, that's quite a bit of LP storage back there!:thumbsup:
     
  8. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    I have a pair of KLH Six speakers, and my reaction to them was quite different to Prix's. I found them sort of big and exciting, but highly colored and ultimately fatiguing. So I guess your mileage may vary.
     
  9. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Wow. I have a pair of these -- I bought them at an estate sale two years ago. They've been in my garage and I haven't even powered them up yet. I even asked about them in a thread in this forum.

    Now I have a real good reason to hook them up to the tubes. That is, if I can pull myself away from my Cornwalls :thumbsup: .
     
  10. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Wish I had more. What you see in the photo represents about 1/8th of my collection. They're all over the room, on the floor, in the living room, etc. I've got a major storage problem with lps and cds.
     
  11. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana

    Yes, I found them sort of big and exciting also. I also found them to be colored, as is noted above. The point I was trying to make is that these are the most musical speakers I've heard in a long time and they only cost $12. Not only that, but I'm not convinced that all of what I heard is coloration really was that. As audiophiles, I think we get used to hearing huge sounds stuffed through tiny, little speakers and long, slim cabinets. Now that's coloration. What it all came down to is that I asked myself which speaker sounded more like the live event. The answer was the KLH Model 6. As to you finding them fatiguing, I did not notice that at all and I had them up loud. I am also hyper-sensitive to the slightest hint of any fatiguing aspect of a speaker because I can't stand harshness. The only time the KLHs bothered me was during the fast, loud part of "A Night at the Opera". For some reason Freddie Mercury's vocals sounded a little too bright and a little abrasive. Also, during one Radiohead track, the vocals sounded a little hard, but more in a boomy way that wasn't necessarily bothersome. Perhaps when you listened to yours, you had the high frequency extension switch in the maximum position?
     
  12. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Vintage KLH Model 6 speakers: Oh my god!!!



    They're not too big. Grab 'em, bring 'em in, and fire 'em up! Let us know what you think. It would be nice to know whether my ears are telling me the truth or not. Maybe I've ruined them with too much loud monitoring through the cans.
     
  13. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Interesting comment in that other thread regarding efficiency. I definitely have the impression that these babies dig power. One comment I forgot to add was that while they sounded great through my modern 70 wpc Arcam, they sounded pretty poor and wouldn't really move with the 2.5 wpc vintage Realistic tube amp in the living room.
     
  14. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    KLH Model 6 speakers: mystery terminals

    You're right. They're not too big (but they are heavy little buggers). Well, not too big compared to my Cornwalls ;).

    I might have some time this weekend to fiddle around with the sytem. One thing that threw me about the KLHs was the three terminals on the back of them. Two leads in my speaker wires, but three terminals on the back of the speaker. Are your KLHs like that? Which wire to I attach to which terminal?
     
  15. Monsieur Gadbois

    Monsieur Gadbois Senior Member

    Location:
    Hotel California
    It'll be a dirty job but somebody gotta do it, go ahead and send to to me:laugh:
     
  16. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: KLH Model 6 speakers: mystery terminals


    There are only two terminals. Looking at the back from left to right there is A) Ground (the - terminal) B) the high frequency level switch which is three positions that you may be confusing with a speaker terminal C) 8 Ohm (the + terminal).
     
  17. Clay

    Clay Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saratoga, CA
    Hey Prix, send me your email address and I will send you a copy of the brochure for the model 6 that I found for Gene in his thread.

    Anyone heard of the Wharfedale model 60? 2 way 12" vintage with alnico magnets? I have a pair in the garage. Possibly they sound like the KLH.
     
  18. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Re: Re: KLH Model 6 speakers: mystery terminals

    I just snapped a blurry digital picture of the back of one of my speakers:

    [​IMG]

    From left to right:

    A: Amplifier Connect / Ground
    B: 8 ohm +
    C: another 8 ohm + terminal?

    Is this setup the same as yours?

    Might as well go hook them up to the Dynaco ST70 and find out. I'll report on the sound later.
     
  19. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Tough way to spend a Saturday!

    [​IMG]

    Well, I put them on top of my Cornwalls, freshened the terminals and toggle switch with some ProGold, connected the positive to the B terminal (it turns out there's a jumper between B and C), and put in a Greg Brown CD, and powered up the tubes.

    Wow, these things sound good. There's surprising presence, and they sound pretty non-fatiguing. Think I'll go have some quality music time.
     
  20. Taurus

    Taurus Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    Somewhere I read the Model Sixes have a top end that rolls off pretty quick after 13kHz, accounting for their warm/veiled sound. (And from other sources.......) This was done deliberately--by other manufacturers too--because the equipment in that same price class sending the speaker its signal had problems with those particular high frequencies: tape sources had a lot of hiss, and cartridges/turntables didn't reproduce them well in the first place (remember, many 'tables at that time still used heavy carts that utilized ceramic crystals to generate the signal--bleh!) and also casual vinyl users didn't care for their records very well so irritating pops/crackles were very prevalent. (Better speakers didn't usally have restricted highs--I've heard JBL L100s, Klipsch La Scalas and a pair of old Infinity's with the EMIT tweeter that sounded very clear-n-shimmery just like modern speakers).

    I've heard some Large Advents (with the "fried egg" tweeter) that also had this type of sound. While it bothers me that some of the important upper treble frequencies were missing, detracting from the recording's "you are there" quality (in this case, Spring Session M by Missing Persons--really, it's good stuff! :)) they sounded good enough that I am looking for a pair to buy. And the bass was awesome. But man, do these acoustic suspension designs suck the watts!!

    Anyway........

    So when the Compact Disc digital era dawned (yea, yea, I know) speakers no longer needed to be hobbled with mushy high ends to compensate for crappy source equipment. One negative side effect though--while your equipment at home rose in quality, any editing mistakes, bad EQ or other problems back at the studio were now revealed in all their distracting glory.

    If you want to see what KLH is up to now, check out your local Best Buy and ask to audition a pair of KLH Rave-12's. No, they definitely aren't mellow sounding, but this big ol' box speaker actually has a pretty nice character to it. Not as bright as a Cerwin-Vega though, and cheaper too: I think they sell them for only about $375 per pair. Built quite solidly too. These would be great for a basement stereo or budget HT system. But if you have a wife, watch out because she will hate them! These are macho-man speakers, something you would see in Home Improvement for Tim's sound system. :D

    [T]
     
  21. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Tough way to spend a Saturday!



    God, yours are much more beautiful than mine! I love those blonde cabinets!! Mine must be an earlier model because mine don't have the B and C terminal for the 8 ohm connection. They just have one. Are you surprised by how good these sound or what? I mean, they're by no means the best speakers in the world, but I could easily live with these for a while. As far as the 12K roll off, I think the highs are pretty damn good and I heard plenty of tape hiss when I listened. What do you think?
     
  22. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Interesting comment about the "top end that rolls off pretty quick after 13kHz, accounting for their warm/veiled sound" Taurus!

    Would this be a good speaker for overly EQ'd modern recordings?

    I should pull out my New Large Advents. They have a switch at the back to increase or decrease the tweeter output....

    I've always been afraid of this, you know.

    Imagine a friend coming over to my place.

    "Welcome to my home! Why so many stereo systems? This is for overly EQ'd modern remasters, this is my audiophile system for properly mastered music, this system is designed to make overly compressed music sound listenable, this system is for.... "

    :help:
     
  23. Taurus

    Taurus Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    I'm sure SH would know what frequencies that certain types of hiss inhabit.

    Also, someone here recently wrote about some classic Tannoys they owned needing help with frequencies above 12kHz (I think in a thread about speaker cable).

    Does anybody know if there is much useful musical information above 13kHz? If there is, is it confined to just a few musical genres like rock or pop? For example, how far do a cymbal's frequencies extend, i.e., which ones are responsible for giving it its characteristic delicate "shimmery" sound you hear standing next to it in the studio? Or a triangle's "silvery" ring? Because these are some of the sounds those Large Advents weren't very good at reproducing. Technically speaking, I could hear them, but they had a distant sound to them, like I had some cotton in my ears.

    And on a side note: one reason I like these older speakers is because they look so nice, like pieces of furniture that just happen to make music. I am so sick of seeing black skinny boxes everywhere! It would be like having two of those monoliths from 2001 hanging out in your living room all the time-yech. FYI: I have an Advent brochure from 1983 showing the Large Advent in an optional light oak finish which looked pretty good.

    [T]
     
  24. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    I think those are my Advents! I have oak fronts to mine. I certainly agree with you about the ugly black monolith boxes! Although I'd probably make an exception for Wilsons or the like. ;)

    I'll pull them out one day....

    They were first speaker that I actually bought. My previous speakers came with an all-for-one-price stereo (including no-name speakers) which were probably worth $50.00 back in the late '70's!

    I keep them for sentimental (or 70 mental) reasons. :D
     
  25. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Re: KLH Model 6 speakers: mystery terminals


    I wonder what the difference between our speakers is? The back plate of mine are totally different. Is it just cosmetic, I wonder, or do ours sound like different speakers? What are your impressions of these after a day of listening?
     
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